Debates of May 1st, 2002

Sheila Copps Minister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, there is one thing that people have in politics and that is their good name. I have not spent over 20 years in public life to have my name smeared by somebody who does not know the facts.

I would invite the hon. member to make the statement that she just made in the House outside and she will be seeking the appropriate advice from her libel and slander lawyer.

Peter Adams Peterborough, ON

Mr. Speaker, this morning's National Post suggests that the replacement Challengers contain some new multimillion dollar defence suite straight out of a Hollywood movie.

Could the Minister of Public Works and Government Services confirm this and give us some details about the suite?

Don Boudria Minister of Public Works and Government Services

Mr. Speaker, although I certainly cannot go into specific details on security measures for the Challenger fleet, I can assure the hon. member that the contracts provide for equipment similar to the one we had in the other plane. To be more precise, this does not include any type of new defence system such as the one suggested erroneously by the media.

Herb Dhaliwal Minister of Natural Resources

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. government has made no representation to us with regard to the movement of radioactive material. However I can assure the member that this would require consultation with the Canadian government.

We also have an international joint commission, on which the former Deputy Prime Minister is a member, to assure that any movement will require full consultation and approval by the Canadian government.

Joe Comartin Windsor—St. Clair, ON

Mr. Speaker, the department, which studied this plan, showed that 108,000 shipments of radioactive waste will be made to that facility. It has proposed that there will be at least 50 to 300 accidents. This will have a direct effect on the drinking water of 30 million people in the Great Lakes area.

Will the Prime Minister ask the U.S. president to cease this plan, express our opposition and tell us what steps he will take to protect this country?

Herb Dhaliwal Minister of Natural Resources

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we have not been approached by the U.S. government. If it does approach us, it will be required to get approval from the Canadian government, the appropriate regulatory approval, and the Canadian government must be consulted fully before a decision on this is made.

However we have had no request and there is no proposal before us. Until we have the full plan we do not know. If a request does come forward the appropriate review will take place.

Inky Mark Dauphin—Swan River, MB

Mr. Speaker, since September 11 Canada has been focused on keeping our country safe and secure from terrorists, yet yesterday the immigration minister tabled a report which indicated that ministerial permits were signed to allow 11 terrorists into this country in the last year.

These permits were given to those who had been engaged in terrorism. Why does the minister of immigration allow terrorists to enter into Canada?

Denis Coderre Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Speaker, we did indeed table the report on special permits yesterday.

Incidentally, all the members of this House submit special requests asking that we show compassion in certain cases.

We are here to ensure public safety. We definitely do not want to let terrorists enter our country.

Elsie Wayne Saint John, NB

Mr. Speaker, it seems that with each passing week the Minister of National Defence is forced to confirm further problems with his bargain basement used subs.

Last week he would not comment on the possibility of problems with the hull valves, yet yesterday his officials confirmed that we were correct.

The question we now ask again concerns metal fatigue. Can or will the minister confirm that one or more of these used submarines is currently plagued with metal fatigue? Can or will the minister advise the House of all the problems currently known to his department with respect--

Art Eggleton Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of mental fatigue coming from that end of the Chamber.

It is like having a car. If the car has a couple of problems under the hood, what do we do? We do not write it off, we get it fixed. If it happens to be covered by warranty, we cover it by warranty, put it back out on the road and operate it. That is what we will do with these submarines.

James Moore Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC

Mr. Speaker, with so much evidence of scandal before us, it is time the government made a firm commitment to end it.

The Prime Minister could simply do what we have been asking him to do, which would fulfill the promise he made to Canadians, to have the ethics counsellor report directly to parliament. Why can the Prime Minister not keep that simple promise?

Jean Chrétien Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, there was no ethics counsellor before we formed the government. When we introduced this concept it was approved by the opposition. An individual's name was sent to the leader of the Alliance, the Reform Party at that time, and the name was approved. The individual was praised by the member of parliament who was the critic and he was praised by Mr. Bouchard who was the leader of the opposition at that time. It was understood that the ethics counsellor would advise ministers, members of parliament and appear before committees to reply to all questions. This is accountability. If he gave advice to me, he gave advice to me. If he gave advice to a minister, he gave advice--