Debates of April 30th, 2002

Wind Energy

[Claude Duplain, Liberal, Portneuf, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning we learned that the Murdochville area provided the largest wind energy compatible site in Quebec.

Can the Secretary of State responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec tell us how he plans to contribute to the development of this industry in the Gaspé?

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Portneuf for his question.

I am very pleased to make the announcement today that Economic Development Canada will be contributing $2.2 million to a project for the production of three wind-powered prototypes by a consortium of Quebec companies.

This project by the Groupement Éolien Québécois will make it possible to develop technological expertise that is unique to Canada. By so doing, we wish to develop an industry that will bring about true job creation and we hope to be able to continue to encourage the economic diversification of all of the Gaspé.

Pensions

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

Mr. Speaker, the former deputy prime minister and the former secretary of state for international financial institutions assured the House on a number of occasions that action would be taken to address the concerns of thousands of Canadians faced with unfair taxes on their U.S. social security benefits yet there is no sign of action.

Recently, when the finance minister was in Windsor, he refused to meet with them. In fact he snuck in through the back door and through the kitchen to avoid them.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Since the minister is ducking this issue, will the Prime Minister tell us when these pensioners will have their concerns addressed?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, quite the contrary. I have, on a number of occasions, met with those in the city of Windsor and elsewhere who were concerned with this issue. I am quite prepared to continue.

The fact is that this is part of a treaty with the United States and we are bound by the provisions of that treaty. Canada negotiated that treaty under this government and improved it substantially.

Highway Infrastructure

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the mayors of northeastern New Brunswick have formed a coalition to raise awareness among different levels of government of the need to invest in highway infrastructure.

In seven years, the Brunswick mine will close its doors. It will therefore be important to attract investors to this region.

Will the Minister of Transport commit to making a financial contribution to the highway infrastructure in the north of the province together with the Government of New Brunswick in order to attract investors to these regions and benefit from the local workforce?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, there is an infrastructure program for highways across the country. There is an agreement with the Government of New Brunswick and it is possible to build highways under this program.

Ethics Counsellor

[Rick Borotsik, Progressive Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, let me understand. Mr. Wilson is the ethics counsellor. He is supposed to rule impartially on conflicts of interest. He ruled in Shawinigate. At the same time he was ruling, he prepared answers for the Prime Minister to justify his involvement in Shawinigate.

Does the Prime Minister really not see how bad this looks? Does the Prime Minister not realize that he can fix the problem and restore faith in the system by simply appointing an independent ethics counsellor responsible to parliament?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there was no ethics counsellor in Canada before we formed the government. We call him an ethics counsellor so that members of parliament can consult with him and receive advice, like ministers do and like the Prime Minister does. He has appeared in front of committees and has replied to all questions.

When a member of parliament, a minister or the Prime Minister seeks advice, and we do have the right to seek advice, the ethics counsellor gives advice to that person. Mr. Wilson has appeared dozens of times in front of committees and has replied to all questions from all members of the House.

[Rick Borotsik, Progressive Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the last one was very tough. We will make this one easier.

Last week the Prime Minister told his caucus to tell Canadians that politicians are honest and not corrupt. The Prime Minister should lead by example. Will he implement effective conflict of interest guidelines that prevent ministers from interfering with crown corporations? Will he investigate rampant political patronage? Will he mandate disclosure of leadership contributions?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the guidelines exist and they are being followed by everyone.

A member of cabinet is a member of parliament. A prime minister is a member of parliament. Members of parliament have an obligation to do their best to help the constituents from the riding in which they were elected. We do that all the time. When that type of expression is used by a member it creates problems for all politicians.

This parliament has been a very honest parliament. Not one single member of this parliament has had to resign for corruption.

Immigration

[Leon Benoit, Canadian Alliance, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the immigration minister said that Canada had an obligation under the UN convention on refugees to accept people from the United States who claim refugee status in Canada.

In fact, Canada has an obligation to accept genuine refugees from camps around the world.

Will the minister admit that Canada has no obligation to accept bogus claimants from the United States?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what the hon. member means. We are doing that already.

All we are saying is that most of the people claiming refugee status come from the United States. That is why we are negotiating a safe third country agreement.

We have immigration control agents all over the world. For the last six years we have prevented 45,000 undocumented people from getting into Canada.

We have done this. We are working on both fronts, but Canada has a responsibility. This responsibility is to fulfill its international obligations, and we will do this.

[Leon Benoit, Canadian Alliance, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has fallen far short on its obligations when it comes to refugees. We have accepted very few refugees identified by the United Nations as refugees from overseas camps. That is a fact.

Will the minister just stand up and admit that Canada has no obligation to accept refugee claimants from the United States, which is a safe country?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, there are more than 7,300 refugees whom we have chosen ourselves in refugee camps, such as in Nairobi.

We are a country which operates under the rule of law. As such, we chose to sign the UN refugee convention. When a mother with her children desperately seeks entry to the country and applies for refugee status, we on this side of the House do not send her back. We take the necessary measures to see if we can keep her.

Softwood Lumber

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while the Minister of Natural Resources is showing an interest in establishing a loan guarantee program for companies affected by the softwood lumber dispute, as suggested by the Bloc Quebecois in its response plan, the Minister for International Trade is spontaneously rejecting the idea.

Is the Minister for International Trade not totally irresponsible to state publicly that such a measure would violate international trade agreements, since most experts feel that this concern has no real basis?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised to hear this comment. I do not remember saying that loan guarantees are inevitably illegal, or anything to that effect.

On the contrary, our government is looking at all the options available. We are doing this in a spirit of openness. Loan guarantees are one of the options mentioned by my colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, considering the demand made by softwood lumber industries, which are asking the government to help them make it through the Canada—U.S. trade war, and considering the interest shown by the Minister of Natural Resources for the Bloc Quebecois proposal, does the Prime Minister not think that he should call his Minister for International Trade to order and set up an assistance plan that would include a loan guarantee program for companies affected by the softwood lumber crisis?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, what I can say is that we are all working to find solutions to the softwood lumber issue. I really appreciate the support that I got from opposition members in this House, and from the Quebec government.

Yesterday, I was in Vancouver, where we took part in the British Columbia summit on the softwood lumber issue. We met industry stakeholders. We want to look after the affected workers and communities. We are also meeting with industry officials to ensure that we do what is most useful to them during the difficult times we may be facing in the coming months.

Immigration

[Rahim Jaffer, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, if we understand this correctly, 72% of Canada's refugee claimants have entered Canada from the United States of America, which means that 28% of refugees obviously come from refugee camps.

Is the minister telling us that we are only accepting 28% of legitimate refugees to this country who actually deserve to be raised to higher levels?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the member is telling us that legitimate refugees are only people who we picked up, that everyone crossing our borders or arriving at our airports are not legitimate. He should be ashamed of himself.

[Rahim Jaffer, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government is missing the point. Legitimate refugees need to be given top priority. My family came here as legitimate refugees and we know what that means.

This issue is a very simple one yet the government refuses to give a straight answer.

Our international agreement states that we are not required to accept refugees from safe countries. The U.S. is a safe haven. Why does the government accept 72% of our refugees from a safe country while millions of legitimate refugees wait in camps around the world?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, what is even worse is that the member does not want to let them in. We are both saying the same thing. If people are crossing the border or arriving at our airports, we have a duty to give them due process because we are signatories to the convention.

Is that party's new policy that it wants more refugees now? Maybe it is another flip-flop. I do not mind but it is not the point. The point is that we want to fulfill our duty. What will happen to the people who have been persecuted and are crossing the border? Does it mean that we say no to those people who cross the border? That is nonsense.

Official Languages

[Gérard Binet, Liberal, Frontenac—Mégantic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for the Francophonie.

In a study released yesterday, the Commissioner of Official Languages lamented the under-representation and even the absence of French on the Internet sites of foreign missions in Canada.

What does the minister intend to do to improve this state of affairs?

[Denis Paradis, Liberal, Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa) (Francophonie)]

Mr. Speaker, to begin with, I thank the Commissioner of Official Languages, Ms. Adam, for her recommendations.

First, I would like to point out that this concerns foreign embassies in Ottawa, which, as everyone knows, operate under their own rules.

We have already begun a campaign to raise awareness and I have asked the Deputy Minister, Gaétan Lavertu, to step up this campaign in the case of foreign embassies. I urge the embassies to do everything they can to ensure that their site reflects the bilingual nature of Canada.

Immigration

[Ken Epp, Canadian Alliance, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we are dealing with an extremely serious matter here today. Thousands of refugees are being denied access to the process because the system is clogged up by applicants from the United States.

When was the last time we heard of a family crossing the border from the Unites States because their lives were being threatened in that country and they needed to get to Canada?