House of Commons Hansard #82 of the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was family.

Topics

LobbyistsOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Ottawa South Ontario

Liberal

John Manley LiberalMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, as I explained on Friday, the ethics counsellor does look into the issue of whether somebody has been properly registered. Where there is justification, he will then give the appropriate information to the authorities to investigate further.

LobbyistsOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Peter MacKay Progressive Conservative Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS

Mr. Speaker, there is a pattern developing here with regard to friends of the Prime Minister. René Fugère acts as a lobbyist and does not register himself. Mr. Riopelle acts as a lobbyist and does not register his clients. Ordinary Canadians who are not friends of the Prime Minister are compelled to register under the Lobbyists Registration Act or face fines or possibly jail.

Why the double standard? Why are friends of the Prime Minister somehow considered to be above the law?

LobbyistsOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Ottawa South Ontario

Liberal

John Manley LiberalMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, that is a ridiculous question. The fact is that if there is an obligation to register, then of course he will have to do so. It is as simple as that. Apparently the member is in possession of information that he has not disclosed to me or perhaps he has disclosed it to the ethics counsellor which makes it an open and shut case for him. If he has such information, he should disclose it. In the meantime, justice will take its appropriate course.

Biotec CanadaOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Reform

Charlie Penson Reform Peace River, AB

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister that looks after lobbyists.

It was reported today that Industry Canada is paying dues to Biotec Canada. This a lobby group that works to influence government policy on biotechnology. The government can always find new ways to spend taxpayers' money. Now we find that Industry Canada is paying a group to lobby guess who, Industry Canada.

Why is the minister allowing this to happen and when did he become a registered lobbyist?

Biotec CanadaOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Ottawa South Ontario

Liberal

John Manley LiberalMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, we do not pay Biotec Canada to lobby anybody.

Biotec CanadaOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Reform

Charlie Penson Reform Peace River, AB

Mr. Speaker, that is simply not the case. It pays member dues to that organization.

We are not talking about a normal relationship between a lobby group and a government department. We are talking about Industry Canada belonging to this lobby group and paying its membership dues, $6,500 the year before last and $1,000 last year.

Why is the government allowing this to continue?

Biotec CanadaOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Ottawa South Ontario

Liberal

John Manley LiberalMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, this is a national technology association. There are many such associations. Industry Canada obtains useful information by being a member of the association. It derives information that is used for a variety of practical purposes. There is nothing unusual or untoward about that. The member should do his research and he would understand it.

Option CanadaOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Pierre De Savoye Bloc Portneuf, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs seems surprised to be asked about Option Canada. But Option Canada came under Operation Unity, which reported to PCO, and therefore to him.

I therefore ask him the following question: if the $4.8 million did not go to the no committee, what became of it?

Option CanadaOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Hamilton East Ontario

Liberal

Sheila Copps LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, the answer is the same one I gave two years ago.

Option CanadaOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Pierre De Savoye Bloc Portneuf, QC

Mr. Speaker, I am going to try to enlighten the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

How could they sit by, no questions asked, while $4.8 million disappeared into the mist surrounding such well-known Liberals as Rémi Bujold and Claude Dauphin?

Option CanadaOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Hamilton East Ontario

Liberal

Sheila Copps LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, the answer is exactly the same as it was two years ago.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Reform

Diane Ablonczy Reform Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Speaker, what is 78? That is the number of our access requests to HRDC that are past due. The law requires HRDC to provide information within 30 days of a request. The human resources department has breached the Access to Information Act 78 times with our requests alone.

Does the minister think she is above the law, or is there something she wants to hide?

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Oakville Ontario

Liberal

Bonnie Brown LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, I have already alluded today to the 75,000 pages of information that has been released to a number of requests that have never been asked for before. We are doing our best to keep up.

I would suggest to my colleagues on the other side of the House that even the media is getting sick of the fact that the business of the House is taking a back seat to theatre. It says here that social and foreign policy issues await debate while the Alliance chases scandal, while the Alliance engages in more theatre.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Reform

Diane Ablonczy Reform Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Speaker, we work for the people of Canada not for the media. I suggest the minister might want to do that too.

Many of our requests are simple requests for internal audits, documents that could be pulled out of a file and sent to us in minutes.

HRDC audits made public so far have shown a department in shocking disarray. We can see why the minister would like to hide further damaging information from the public but the law requires her to release these audits. Why is she refusing to comply?

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Oakville Ontario

Liberal

Bonnie Brown LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, there is no refusal to comply.

If the party opposite actually does work for the people of Canada instead of the media, why is it the only time it stuck to the same subject for more than two days in a row is the day it first landed itself on the front page?

Option CanadaOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Yvan Loubier Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

Mr. Speaker, in the Human Resources Development Canada affair, a grant of $1.2 million disappeared into the pockets of friends of the Liberal party.

Here, in the case of interest to us here, $4.8 million have disappeared, and the President of Treasury Board is trying to sweep the whole thing under the rug.

How can the clarity minister refuse to be accountable and to tell us, as President of the Privy Council and thus responsible for Operation Unity and Option Canada, who profited from this money?

Option CanadaOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Hamilton East Ontario

Liberal

Sheila Copps LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to remind the hon. member that the House was provided with over 100 pages of information two years ago, including the 1997 audit.

Option CanadaOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Yvan Loubier Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

Mr. Speaker, the auditor says that the minister did not provide sufficient information the last time, two years ago. She is telling us a lot of nonsense.

The minister of clarity, the President of Privy Council, is saying nothing, although primary responsibility for Option Canada and for Operation Unity is his.

There is only one thing we want to know. Where is the taxpayers' money? Who has pocketed the $4.8 million?

Option CanadaOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Hamilton East Ontario

Liberal

Sheila Copps LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member takes time to read the hundred-plus pages that were provided to the House, he will see that everything has been checked out.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Reform

Maurice Vellacott Reform Wanuskewin, SK

Mr. Speaker, the human resources minister is responsible for 78 breaches of the Access to Information Act. In case members over there were not paying attention, the fact that the word “act” is tagged on there means that it is a law. The minister, therefore, has an obligation to abide by it. I guess obligations do not mean much to a minister who broke the trust of taxpayers by bungling a billion of their tax dollars.

What is so damning about those documents that makes the minister so afraid of releasing them?

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Oakville Ontario

Liberal

Bonnie Brown LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, if we were afraid of releasing documents we would not have released 75,000 pages worth. That is nonsense.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Reform

Maurice Vellacott Reform Wanuskewin, SK

Mr. Speaker, it is really quite simple. Under Canadian law the minister is required to release that information within 30 days. A lot of these are just simply audits. Just put them on a copier and release them to us.

In that, the minister has failed 78 times with our party alone. What is the minister trying to hide?

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Oakville Ontario

Liberal

Bonnie Brown LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, I am really glad to have the admission from the Alliance Party members that in the last few weeks they have put in 78 access to information requests. Perhaps they are the ones clogging up the system so that average Canadians who do want information cannot get it because of the backup in the system.

External AffairsOral Question Period

April 10th, 2000 / 2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Daniel Turp Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister of Canada has just stated in his visit to Palestine that the Palestinians were doing well to hold on to the option of a unilateral declaration of independence in order to put pressure on Israel in the current round of negotiations.

Could the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs explain the bases for the Prime Minister's new position? What are we to understand from his remarks?

External AffairsOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Lloyd Axworthy LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister clearly stated that there must be negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians in order to determine the future of the occupied territories.