Debates of April 12th, 2002

G-8 Summit

[Kevin Sorenson, Canadian Alliance, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government cannot hide behind its canned answers forever. Security experts are unanimous: this blunder has undermined Canada's ability to protect foreign dignitaries and Canadians who live near the summit.

If nothing was wrong with the blueprints the government placed on the Internet, why were they taken down so quickly yesterday?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, of course if there is an organization that is seen not only in Canada but all over the world as expert in that field, it is by far the RCMP. As Canadians, we are very proud of the work done by the RCMP.

I said as well, and the member knows full well, that we are not getting involved in the operations of the RCMP, but let me say it has all the tools necessary in order to proceed with fantastic services and with good risk assessment. We have to bear in mind that over the past two years the government has provided the RCMP, CSIS and all police forces with an additional $2 billion in order to fulfil their duties and their work.

We are proud. It is going to be a success and that is why they do not like--

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe--Bagot.

Airline Industry

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on April 1, the federal government introduced a new air travel tax. This tax will have a devastating impact on the airline industry, regional development and all related sectors, such as tourism and travel agencies.

On behalf of all those who have unanimously expressed their firm opposition to this new tax, I again ask the government to simply drop it.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, it is difficult for me to understand the opposition's complaints about the economy. It is a fact that last month saw an increase of 88,000 in the number of jobs, the highest increase since such statistics have been kept. The increase in the first quarter was the highest in the country in 14 years.

And not only that, but Canada had an increase of over 100,000 jobs, while the United States lost one million. So things are looking good.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like someone serious in the government to answer a question as serious as this.

The International Air Transport Association, the IATA, has also just criticized the introduction of such a tax, saying that Canada is the only country in the world to try to offset all the costs of airline security through a tax.

My question for someone serious is this: will the government see the light, abandon this new tax and use its huge budgetary surplus from this year and the next four to pay for increased security?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, I have just given a very serious answer, which is that the Canadian economy, including that of Quebec, is doing extremely well. The number of jobs in Quebec has increased even more than the average for the country as a whole.

As we have repeatedly said, the total cost of security for $7.7 billion. It is therefore very reasonable to have users pay $2.2 billion out of $7.7 billion.

National Defence

[Rob Anders, Canadian Alliance, Calgary West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has been at his post for five years. There is no new equipment. The Sea Kings are no closer to being replaced. Social engineering of the forces has accelerated. Personnel are leaving in droves. Instead there are Challenger jets to fly the Prime Minister and his cabinet around in luxury.

How does the minister respond to a soldier who says “the military has lost its mental and physical toughness to be an effective force”?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member simply does not know what he is talking about. If he had visited the troops in Afghanistan he would have seen that they are making a very significant contribution. They do have combat capability.

Also, we have increased the budget by some 20% over the last three to four years. We are spending over $2 billion a year on new equipment. Yes, the replacement of the Sea Kings is advancing. I have said before in the House that by the end of the year we will have identified what in fact the replacement will be for the Sea Kings.

[Rob Anders, Canadian Alliance, Calgary West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I wish they would not borrow each other's answers.

Last August the government put a rule in place saying that soldiers were not allowed to leave the service without six months' notice. Why was the government locking our soldiers into the Canadian forces? Today we found out. One soldier, asked if he would return to the forces, responded “Not if I was eating from a dumpster”. The social engineering policies and the lack of funding has our soldiers voting with their feet and they are marching out the door.

Will the minister admit that he is a complete disaster?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question is a complete disaster. A handful of comments from people who are leaving the service is not indicative of the entire service. He cannot generalize that kind of comment.

The fact of the matter is that attrition is actually down some 20% in the last year. We have one of the lowest attrition rates of any of the forces in NATO.

The Environment

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Environment have on numerous occasions reiterated their commitment to ratify the Kyoto protocol by the end of 2002.

The minister has even given two possible dates, namely June at the time of the G-8 conference, or August at the time of the EarthSummit in Johannesburg . Yet yesterday the Minister of the Environment did a flip-flop and indicated that he had no timetable for Canada's ratification.

Will the Deputy Prime Minister not admit that there is a lot of improvisation going on here, and that we are entitled to know, today, when Canada is going to ratify the Kyoto protocol?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely wrong. There is no flip-flop. What the government has said is very consistent. We want to make sure that we do the consultations with the provinces, with industry and with stakeholders. We want to review and make sure we have all the facts on the table.

I do not know why this hon. member is against consultation with the provinces or consultation with the territories or consultation with industry. Why does he not like consultation with Canadians?

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the French minister of the environment, Yves Cochet, appealed to the Canadian government to ratify the Kyoto accord before June, as the Quebec coalition has also called for, and as the Prime Minister had promised.

This intervention by France is proof that our international partners' trust in Canada has been severely shaken.

Does the Deputy Prime Minister intend to heed France and make a firm commitment before this House that Canada will ratify the Kyoto protocol by this June?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we do not take instructions from Paris or Washington. We take instructions from Canadians and that is why we will be consulting with Canadians.

The solution will be what is right for Canada. That is why it is important to consult. We want to make sure that we are making that decision with full consultation and make sure that it is the right thing to do for Canada.

Terrorism

[Stockwell Day, Canadian Alliance, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we all know how important it is for Canada to consistently denounce not just specific terrorist acts but also specific terrorist organizations. The Prime Minister of France, who could never be accused of being blatantly pro-Israel, has now denounced Hezbollah specifically as a group and its activities as acts of terror.

We know our government denounces terrorism generally and we know that it will denounce today's murderous terrorist attack, and rightly so, but does our Prime Minister share the position of the prime minister of France relating specifically to Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and to its activities as acts of terror?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak for the Prime Minister but I can speak for the government. I will repeat what I said yesterday. It is not what France does or what the United States does. It is how we analyze in Canada what is taking place here. The government has been very conscientious in examining at all times what activities are taking place.

We have examined this with great care and have decided that we should not at this time do anything other than to stop Hezbollah's military arm from financing in this country. We will continue to do that but if the member has proof that there are other activities going on in this country which are illegal--

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Okanagan--Coquihalla.

[Stockwell Day, Canadian Alliance, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an interesting shift that ministers of the crown no longer speak for the government. It is fascinating.

The government refuses to accept past warnings from the RCMP, CSIS and intelligence experts who all agree on the danger of Hezbollah funding in Canada going to support terrorism.

My question is for the solicitor general. Will he tell the House whether the RCMP or CSIS have undertaken recent investigations into the fundraising activities of Hezbollah and, if so, will he immediately report those findings to the House?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows very well that I cannot comment on any operations of the RCMP. We are not commenting on any specific group but, generally speaking, we know that within Canada there are people involved in terrorism just as there are anywhere else in the world. It is a global problem within a global context.

However we have to bear in mind that over the past two years the government has provided the RCMP with an additional $2 billion to fulfill its requirements. It has also been provided with additional tools such as Bill C-36 and is doing everything in its power to bring those people to justice.

Research and Development

[Paddy Torsney, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government has announced major funding in genomic research across Canada. In fact just this week it made a significant investment in Ontario.

I wonder if the Secretary of State for Science, Research and Development could tell the House how funding in genomic research will improve Canadians' quality of life.

[Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal, Secretary of State (Science]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada intends to make this country a world leader in genomics because we understand its great potential.

This week at Toronto's sick children's hospital I made an announcement for 13 new research projects valued at $118 million, $59 million coming from the federal government through Genome Canada, which means that we have invested approximately $300 million in Genome Canada.

We are well on our way to making Canada a top ranking, innovation based economy. When it comes to achieving excellence in this area, we are focused like a laser beam.

Employment Insurance

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the human resources minister talks about the government's clear record on EI. Well, that it is. The government received more money last year from the employment insurance fund than all the workers together who actually lost their jobs in Canada. It keeps padding its budget surplus with dollars taken from the lowest paid workers and it continues to penalize mothers working part time who just cannot qualify under the government's backward system.

When will the government get with it, start to understand the reality of women juggling work and family responsibilities and start addressing the real needs of Canadian workers?

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

Mr. Speaker, the government is very proud of its record in supporting Canadians who lose their jobs with a strong employment insurance system.

When it comes to women in particular, I would remind the hon. member, that it is this government that has doubled parental leave for Canadian families so that parents can be at home in that very important first year of a child's life.

I would also remind the hon. member that through the family supplement Canadians of low income receive 80% of their earnings as opposed to 50% and this primarily benefits women heading families.

Airport Security

[Bev Desjarlais, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, air travellers using the Windsor airport are faced with a new $10 airport fee to cover loses as a result of decreased traffic. Now, thanks to the Liberal government, they face a $24 government security tax.

When will the government put the brakes on itself and stop this tax grab from air travellers? When will it get the message that this tax is hurting the air and tourism industries in the country?