Debates of Oct. 11th, 2002

Softwood Lumber

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind my colleague opposite that the regions are ranked according to their unemployment rates. In a way, regions that will not receive the supplementary funds have an advantage because these are regions where the unemployment rate is below 10%. This 10% figure is the cut-off point for receiving supplementary funds.

I would also like to remind my colleague that the Government of Quebec also receives other funds under the agreement between Ottawa and Quebec.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Côte-De- Beaupré—Île-D'Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what we are saying is that the federal measures ought to have been targeted in order to help all softwood lumber workers. Yet, this is far from the case. In addition to leaving out softwood lumber workers in more than half of the regions in Quebec, the $71 million will be shared by all of the unemployed in the Gaspé Peninsula, Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, the North Shore, the Lower St. Lawrence and Abitibi.

Rather than trying to kill two birds with one stone, will the minister finally admit that employment insurance needs strenthening, and that there also need to be special measures for all softwood lumber workers?

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we have done.

We have strengthened employment measures. We have strengthened job sharing and workforce training. We have increased participation in training programs. We have also strengthened the pilot project initiative for older workers.

I would also add that for 2002-03, we will be giving the Government of Quebec a transfer payment of $597 million through the labour market development agreement.

[Jocelyne Girard-Bujold, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to the government, the reason loan guarantees are not included in its softwood lumber aid package is that it might be contrary to the rules for international trade.

Will the Minister for International Trade explain to us how Export Development Canada manages to provide loan guarantees to exporters without, or so it would seem, violating WTO and NAFTA rules, but does not have enough imagination to make adjustments for the current situation?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should stand up and congratulate the government for a $250 million package to respond to workers, to respond to communities, to make sure we have a competitive industry that can compete anywhere in the world. This is a program which ensures that for those workers who are affected and communities that are affected and provides for research and development. In Quebec $23 million will go toward making sure that the pulp and paper industry can be competitive. This should be applauded, not criticized, by the opposition.

[Jocelyne Girard-Bujold, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in committee, we asked that legal opinions be produced. They never did produce any. Why? Because they never looked into the matter.

Will the Minister for International Trade admit that, had his department looked into it, it would have realized that adjustments could be made to existing programs?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, when we made this announcement, we also said this file is a work in progress. We have, in May, announced $75 for research and development and developing new markets. Then we announced another $20 million for an advocacy program. Now we have announced $250 million.

We will monitor what is happening. This is a file that is ongoing. Meanwhile we are working to make sure we do everything we can to get an agreement with the Americans, a long term, doable agreement that will benefit both the U.S. and Canada. That is what we are working toward.

Meanwhile we have to monitor the situation--

[The Deputy Speaker]

Order. The hon. member for Winnipeg—Transcona.

Iraq

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister stated that Canada was prepared to participate in a strike on Iraq if there is a UN resolution.

My question is the following. If there is no UN resolution and the U.S. proceeds without one, will Canada participate anyway?

[Aileen Carroll, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our focus has always been, first and foremost, that we get Iraqi agreement to disarm through unconditional arms inspections, but we have always emphasized that where we wanted to go is to the United Nations, to a United Nations resolution. Our concern was that a pre-emptive strike was never one that was the Canadian route and always our emphasis was to go to through United Nations.

Government Programs

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—St. Clair, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday when the Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Works were asked about government energy efficiencies, they provided convoluted non-responses about past initiatives and nothing about what they are doing now.

We are 10 days away from mapping out Kyoto commitments. Canadians want to know what the federal government will do to provide leadership in energy efficiency.

I have a simple question. Will the government commit to requiring 20% of green energy in all federal departments in every province and territory in five years? Yes or no.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, first, our initial objective was to reach a level of emissions that was 20% below 1990 levels by the year 2005. In fact we have already reached that target. We have now established a new target to get to 30% below by the Kyoto period in 2010. We are confident that we will reach that and that further gains will be achieved, about 50%, through greater efficiency in our buildings and about 50% in improvements in our vehicle fleet.

Government Contracts

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in response to a question yesterday, the government stated that a cost overrun of over a quarter of a million dollars at the Greenwich development project was quite acceptable. We know that the president of the Liberal Party stands to make $30 million over the life of the deal. The minister has met personally with Mr. Banks and lo and behold taxpayers are left to foot the bill.

This is not personal. It is not about provincial prejudice. This is about responsible use of taxpayer money. With crumbling medicare, an underfunded military and crippling student debt, to mention a few, why are taxpayers of Prince Edward Island and Canada expected to pay for Tim Banks' overspending and his outrageously rich deal with the Liberal government?

[Sarmite Bulte, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the first response I have to the hon. member's question is that it is absolute nonsense. First and foremost, as I said yesterday, and perhaps the hon. member was not listening, Parks Canada paid an additional $235,000 for additional things that were required by Parks Canada. It is not unusual, even in private contracts, under a building contract, when we have change orders and when we have are extras, to pay extra.

If we look at it again, what we paid in relation to the total contract was less than 5%, which is well within the construction industry norm.

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

Mr. Speaker, what is outrageous is that the Liberal member responsible for P.E.I. will stand up for Liberals but will not stand in the House and answer questions.

Liberal Party president Tim Banks has been a huge beneficiary of the Liberal government. In addition to the sweetheart deal for the Greenwich development and the Confederation projects, from 1997 to 2000 one company under his umbrella, Atlantic Store Decor, has raked in over $2.5 million in grants and contributions from HRDC and ACOA.

The Premier of Prince Edward Island encourages legitimate development, and I agree, but is Tim Banks the only developer on the Island? How much more Liberal largesse granted by the Solicitor General has to be exposed before the Prime Minister sacks this minister?

[Gerry Byrne, Liberal, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)]

Mr. Speaker, while the hon. member, and I use that with discretion, states that he is for P.E.I., that he is for development on P.E.I., he continuously erodes the business confidence in the people of P.E.I. In fact, Premier Binns has noted that the reputation of P.E.I. is being slandered. By whom? By the PC Party of Canada.

He rejects the notions that have been put forward and, quite frankly, the Premier of P.E.I. would prefer a more suitable, more appropriate environment to foster growth on P.E.I. and that will be accomplished by the hon. member shutting his mouth.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[Gerry Byrne, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I will withdraw those last comments but I will ask the hon. member to please respect the people of P.E.I.

[Kevin Sorenson, Canadian Alliance, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Solicitor General. We know that David Nicholson, a former deputy minister of Veterans Affairs and president of ACOA, was a special adviser to the Solicitor General in December 2000. When did Mr. Nicholson cease to be employed directly by the minister and become an employee of Everett Roche's accounting firm?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague is well aware, and I have told him many times in the House, I had a long ongoing relationship with Mr. Nicholson. His advice was very important to me and to Prince Edward Island.

He is also fully aware that I issued a release on Friday of last week that indicated in specific detail when the contract started and what the contract was all about.

Mr. Wilson is evaluating the situation. Let him do his job.

[Kevin Sorenson, Canadian Alliance, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's pathetic rhetoric is absolutely appalling and an insult to the Canadian public.

We do not need an ethics counsellor to tell us that political interference on behalf of Tim Banks was wrong, that lobbying the commissioner of the RCMP and Correctional Service Canada on behalf of his brother's college was wrong, that violating Treasury Board guidelines for untendered contracts was wrong, and that giving a lucrative contract to his political pal and two-time official agent was wrong.

When will the Solicitor General finally do the right thing and resign?

[Gerry Byrne, Liberal, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)]

Mr. Speaker, we have already said and said very clearly that it is not Alex MacAulay's college. We continually recite the facts to the opposition parties but they do not seem to want to understand.

I will tell them that there is someone who says that things are going right in P.E.I. I want to quote from the Charlottetown Guardian:

--he [the Premier of P.E.I.] does know that the projects [the MP for Cardigan] was working on were in the best interest of the province...“Because of his efforts, I think we've been able to achieve some good results for P.E.I.”

Quebec's Delegations Abroad

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, business people expressed their support for the comments made by the Minister for International Trade on the importance to exporters of Quebec's delegations . The CEO of the Manufacturiers et exportateurs du Québec, Paul-Arthur Huot, said:

From a business point of view, having eyes and ears on a permanent basis abroad, having people in direct daily contact with the local market, gives us information on these markets that we could not otherwise have.

Are the simplistic statements of the Prime Minister on Quebec's delegations not another expression of his desire to impede Quebec's economic and cultural development in the world?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, one can see, for example, that Quebec spends about six times more than Ontario. The point here is that all provinces and all levels of government have the authority to make their own decisions.

Therefore, if Quebec wants to spend money, that is its own decision. However, we do not want Quebec to ask us for money, to ask us to pay so that it can spend in this fashion. Quebec has the authority to levy taxes.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, does the Prime Minister realize that by being the only one to deny the existence of a fiscal imbalance and the usefulness of Quebec's delegations abroad, he is showing that he is not only isolated, but that he is also totally disconnected from the reality of modern-day Quebec?