House of Commons Hansard #185 of the 37th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was public.

Topics

EnergyOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Vancouver South—Burnaby B.C.

Liberal

Herb Dhaliwal LiberalMinister of Natural Resources

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of co-chairing the G-8 energy ministers meeting in Detroit last week, and along with me was the member for Athabasca, the critic for natural resources. We had an opportunity to talk about the most important global issues that affect energy. We talked about things like renewable energy, diversification of energy and how we can make sure that we have technology transfer and information sharing.

This is very important in terms of looking to the future, 10 to 20 years ahead, so that the global community can come together to help the developing world and to make sure it can develop its energy in a sustainable way so that we can build a better future for the world.

Gun RegistryOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Garry Breitkreuz Canadian Alliance Yorkton—Melville, SK

Mr. Speaker, the previous Minister of Justice said she was fully accountable and responsible for the Canadian firearms program, but yesterday in the House the Minister of Justice blamed the Quebec provincial police for issuing “Mom” Boucher's firearms permit. It appears that the new minister is accountable for everything in his department except the mistakes.

When will the minister start to take some responsibility for the huge mistakes in the gun registry?

Gun RegistryOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Outremont Québec

Liberal

Martin Cauchon LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, what a strange question. The member knows I am accountable for the firearms program. He knows that very well. He knows what I said yesterday, but if he does not know, he should maybe know better.

Actually, the question he is referring to is covered by the Privacy Act and based on the Privacy Act I cannot comment about any individuals who have access to the program across Canada. It is as simple as that.

Air TransportationOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Bloc

Diane Bourgeois Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC

Mr. Speaker, in connection with the preferential treatment of Dorval over Mirabel, the Minister of Transport stated yesterday, “Naturally, it is important to respect leases and I am not aware of the existence of any problem with the lease between ADM and the Canadian government. Both are international airports”. Yet the lease is very clear on the concept of “major international airport”. It is a matter of transporting freight and passengers.

How can the Minister of Transport honestly state that the lease is being respected and that Mirabel retains major international airport status, when ADM—

Air TransportationOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport.

Air TransportationOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Chicoutimi—Le Fjord Québec

Liberal

André Harvey LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, members of the Bloc Quebecois are the only ones prepared to demand the resignation of the ADM board before they have had a chance to say a single word. If the Bloc does not want to follow our advice, I recommend it follow that of Pauline Marois, “It is wiser to wait until ADM gives us an indication of its plans before reaching any conclusion”.

Presence in GalleryOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

The Speaker

I wish to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of Baroness Cox of Queensbury, Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and guest speaker at tomorrow's national prayer breakfast.

Presence in GalleryOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear.

Interparliamentary DelegationsRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

The Speaker

I have the honour to table the report of the Canadian parliamentary delegation that travelled to Japan from March 25 to 30, 2002.

I have the honour to lay upon the table the report of the Canadian parliamentary delegation to China, from March 30 to April 6, 2002.

Auditor GeneralRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Glengarry—Prescott—Russell Ontario

Liberal

Don Boudria LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the request I made to the auditor general on March 19 and also to the commitment made on that same day, it is my duty to table in the House the report of the auditor general on three sponsorship contracts.

Order in Council AppointmentsRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Halifax West Nova Scotia

Liberal

Geoff Regan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, a number of order in council appointments made recently by the government.

Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Halifax West Nova Scotia

Liberal

Geoff Regan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to five petitions.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Charles Hubbard Liberal Miramichi, NB

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present , in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, entitled “Registration of Pesticides and the Competitiveness of Canadian Farmers”.

This is an unanimous report from the committee. All parties are concerned with the operation of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, the regulations it has and how they affect Canadian agriculture. I would urge the minister to reply to the report as soon as possible so that Canadian farmers can use that agency in an effective way during this crop year.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Irwin Cotler Liberal Mount Royal, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the eighteenth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Sub-committee on Human Rights and International Development held hearings on human rights development and other matters in Colombia and prepared this report as a result of testimony received in Ottawa and Colombia.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, your committee requests that the government provide a comprehensive response within 150 days of the tabling of this report in the House of Commons.

Employment Insurance ActRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Bloc

Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-463, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (arm's length dealing).

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to introduce a bill that would end discrimination against workers who do not deal with their employers at arm's length. This type of discrimination has been recognized by the Canadian Human Rights Commission. This legislation would be particularly helpful to our small and medium size businesses and especially to our family businesses.

This is one of the horrors that can be found in our current EI system.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Bloc

Richard Marceau Bloc Charlesbourg—Jacques-Cartier, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of presenting a petition concerning rural mail carriers. We know that they often earn less than minimum wage and that they do not have the right to collective bargaining.

Therefore, I present this petition to have paragraph 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act repealed.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Bloc

Caroline St-Hilaire Bloc Longueuil, QC

Mr. Speaker, like my colleague, the member for Charlesbourg--Jacques-Cartier, and pursuant to Standing Order 36, I also want to present a petition concerning rural mail carriers.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Bloc

Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition that was signed in just a few hours by several hundred people in Murdochville, during a visit by the leader of the Bloc Quebecois.

The petitioners are calling on the federal government to take some practical steps so that the workers being laid off because of the shutdown of the smelting plant can be reinstated, find another job or receive adequate compensation.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Halifax West Nova Scotia

Liberal

Geoff Regan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

The Speaker

Is that agreed?

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Motions for PapersRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Halifax West Nova Scotia

Liberal

Geoff Regan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I would ask you to be so kind as to call Notice of Motion for the Production of Papers No. P-33 in the name of the hon. member for Sackville--Musquodoboit Valley--Eastern Shore.

That an Order of the House do issue for copies of all documentation, including reports, minutes of meetings, notes, e-mail, memos and correspondence since 1994 within the Department of Fisheries and Oceans pertaining to the Tulsequah Chief Mine.

Motions for PapersRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS

Insofar as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is concerned the Motion for the Production of Papers is deemed unacceptable due to the following practical considerations in responding to this motion:

One, the documentation since 1994 is voluminous and is housed in Ottawa at various current and archived files and other sources: Vancouver and Smithers, B.C., and Whitehorse, Yukon.

Two, the documentation would require an extraordinary length of time to compile, given the various source locations and the need to apply access to information and privacy, ATIP, criteria, which means identifying legal opinions, papers dealing with international relations and possibly affecting future foreign relations, papers affecting federal-provincial relations and requiring consent of the province, and commercial and confidential mining process information provided by a third party. It is estimated that it would take approximately two to three months to compile this information and a further two to three months to have it reviewed by officials of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Department of Justice.

Three, much of the federal documentation is readily available to the public on British Columbia's provincial website, www.eao.gov.bc.ca, and is part of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act public registry.

Four, almost all documentation is in English only and would require translation. The cost would be at least $30,000.

Five, likely this amount of effort toward addressing the motion could cause delay in co-ordinating the department's Canadian Environmental Assessment Act screening reports since the same individuals could be involved in both exercises.

Given the excessive costs and staff time required, we respectfully ask the hon. member to withdraw his motion and submit a more specific request.

Motions for PapersRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Etobicoke Centre Ontario

Liberal

Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, I would ask that this matter be transferred for debate.

Motions for PapersRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

The Speaker

The motion is transferred for debate pursuant to Standing Order 97(1).