Debates of Feb. 16th, 2000

Human Resources Development

[Diane Ablonczy, Reform, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister should not be surprised that the opposition is calling her office to find out why she is mismanaging Canadians' money. And speaking of—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member may begin her question.

[Diane Ablonczy, Reform, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Speaking of sucking and blowing, Mr. Speaker, this minister is very good at—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

We are really not getting anywhere on both sides. I would ask members to please listen to the questions and then to the answers. I ask the hon. member to please go directly to her question.

[Diane Ablonczy, Reform, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this minister seems awfully good at sucking jobs from other ridings into her own with public money. She lured Duchess Foods and she lured an international call centre from Sarnia into her riding.

My question is very simple. Why should other Canadians be taxed to feed this minister's political ego?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, the programs are working in my riding and I am very glad, as are the members and constituents of the riding of Brant.

The hon. member suggests that members of the Reform Party are phoning to ask about the internal audit, which they are not. They appreciate, as does the hon. member, that we have a plan that is going to work.

What they are calling about are programs like the one on my desk right now from the riding of Skeena. The hon. member for Skeena wrote last fall saying “As member of parliament for Skeena, I wish to extend my support for Prince Rupert Custom Processors Limited”. The member went on to say that the creation of a minimum of 70 full time new jobs—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Quebec.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister took us by surprise with her statement that a computer problem could have left the impression that a number of projects were approved several months after receiving grants.

I would like the minister to explain how her department and its computer system can be so adept at going after unemployed workers and so ham-handed when a grant approval process involving billions of dollars is involved?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, on this particular issue that has been raised in the House with regard to the internal audit, we are taking it seriously. We have a plan of action that is now being implemented. The auditor general says it is going to work. As the minister, I will ensure that the problem gets fixed.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when the minister was telling us how her department had been in the dark ages as far as management was concerned, was she referring to computer problems, administrative methods, directives from the then deputy minister, Mel Cappe, directives from the then minister, who is now the Minister for International Trade, or all of the above?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, the work and investments made by the Department of Human Resources Development Canada are extraordinarily important across the country, whether they be grants and contributions, support for children and young people, skills development, employment insurance or old age security. Those are incredibly important and valuable investments that Canadians make on our behalf.

My job is to ensure that the foundation of our administration is strong. With the six point plan and our focused attack on this issue, we will ensure that is done.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, when the Minister of Human Resources Development was busy with Indian Affairs and Northern Development, she knew about problems with millions of dollars that were funnelled from HRDC to the Metis Provincial Council of B.C. In fact she received over 50 complaints from the Metis regarding, guess what, missing funds, sloppy bookkeeping, political interference and possible conflicts of interests.

What did the minister do? She did nothing. What has she done about this since she became minister of HRDC? She has done nothing.

Why does the minister do nothing about complaints, warnings and audits until they receive media exposure?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, again the hon. member is wrong. In reference to this issue, a third party audit was done by Consulting and Audit Canada. We are working with the Metis nation to improve the relationship we have with them and to deal with the issues that have been brought forward on that account.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the minister mentioned the audit because the audit of the Metis program stated “internal policies, procedures and monitoring were either not in place or not being followed”, referring to things such as nepotism, missing documents, missing applications. Does that sound familiar? Two audits, two programs, same minister. Does the House see a pattern here?

With her disastrous track record, why does the minister not just admit that she is way out of her league and resign?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, I categorically reject everything the hon. member has said here.

On this side of the House, we believe that the Government of Canada can work with individuals and organizations to make a difference in the lives of Canadians. We will continue to stand up for that, and I, as minister of Human Resources Development Canada, will ensure that in the area of grants and contributions we have an administrative practice and process in place that will support these very important programs.

Health Services

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has received a letter from Dr. Pierre Gauthier, the president of the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Quebec, calling on the government to abandon its plan to increase funding for home care. Dr. Gauthier reminded him that health is a provincial jurisdiction and that, under the Constitution, it is up to the provinces to define their health policies.

Is the Prime Minister going to ignore this warning from medical specialists, just as he is continuing to ignore what the provinces think?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that the present state of health services is unacceptable. The status quo is unacceptable.

We have put certain ideas on the table with a view to improving the situation and I think that these ideas are valid both in Quebec and elsewhere.

I have invited my counterparts to a meeting in a few weeks' time and I hope that Mrs. Marois will be there.

Chechnya

[Jean Augustine, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over the past few months many of my constituents, in particular organizations like the Polish Canadian Women's Federation, the Polish Combatants Association and the Polish Canadian Congress, have been expressing great concern about the human suffering in the Russian Republic of Chechnya.

Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell the House what Canada is doing to end this human suffering?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, last November the Prime Minister directly raised this question with the Russian leadership during the OSCE meetings. Following that, the minister for CIDA announced major humanitarian programs that would be allowed.

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to raise directly with the Russian foreign minister following on the Prime Minister's position that it is important to care about the civilians in that area, and in doing so, provide an opening for humanitarian intervention.

I think it is also incumbent upon the Russians to provide proper investigation of alleged atrocities in that area so that they can really live up to their commitments under international law.

Human Resources Development

[Val Meredith, Reform, South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, two weeks before the last election when the riding of Vancouver East was still in Liberal hands, it received a $500,000 job grant.

However, when the voters of Vancouver East tossed out their Liberal member of parliament, they were informed that they did not qualify for any job grant.

Could the minister tell us why this constituency qualified for job grants when it was a Liberal riding, but was told it did not qualify for job grants when it was an opposition riding?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to confirm that the project in the riding did create 18 jobs and did make a difference in that very poor riding that needs assistance.

To date there have been no requests from that riding for Canada jobs funds.

[Val Meredith, Reform, South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, since the minister's own audit said that 15% of the grants given out did not even have application forms, why should Vancouver East be the only one that requires an application form?

The 1996 census shows that only 13.2% of the families in the minister's riding of Brant were considered low income, yet her riding gets millions of dollars in job funding. By contrast, in Vancouver East, 34.9% of families are considered low income, yet this minister gives them not one single penny.

Why do the people in the minister's riding get millions of dollars but the people in Vancouver East get nothing?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, since the hon. member is so interested, I am glad to confirm that the people of Vancouver East did get millions of dollars.