House of Commons Hansard #108 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was norad.

Topics

JusticeOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Outremont Québec

Liberal

Martin Cauchon LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, as I said, at the beginning of week we renewed the national drug strategy. We will be investing $245 million over the next five years. Having said that, we will be doing research and investing in better enforcement.

This morning we were able to expand the national drug treatment court that we have in place. We actually have two pilot projects in place, one in Toronto and one in Vancouver. At the end of the process we will have five drug treatment courts. That will be a huge benefit to our society.

HealthOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Keith Martin Canadian Alliance Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC

Mr. Speaker, in 2001 the government made a long overdue commitment of $20 million to the Canadian Council for Transplantation and Donation to increase the safe donation of organs.

However, in discussions with the council we were told that its actions were not public knowledge. Furthermore, the provinces want to know where this money has gone and they do not know where it has gone because they have not been told.

My question to the Minister of Health is simple. Could she tell the House how this $20 million has improved organ donation in Canada and why this publicly funded group is not making--

HealthOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

The hon. Minister of Health.

HealthOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Edmonton West Alberta

Liberal

Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, my predecessor, with great foresight, created a secretariat in relation to organ and tissue transplantation in the city of Edmonton in the province of Alberta. In fact the council is hard at work.

I know the council has worked hard to develop a business plan. That business plan has been submitted to deputy ministers and I believe it is still under consideration.

If the hon. member wants further detail in relation to the work that has been done, the contracts that have been let and the future activities of--

HealthOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

Let us see what the next question brings and maybe she can complete the answer.

The hon. member for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca.

HealthOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Keith Martin Canadian Alliance Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC

Mr. Speaker, that is the point. We have been trying to get that from the council but it has refused to give that to us.

We have 3,700 people on waiting lists. More than 160 people on those waiting lists are dying every year, and those numbers are going up, as the minister knows.

Will the minister tell us how this $20 million investment has saved lives and reduced the number of people on waiting lists?

HealthOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Edmonton West Alberta

Liberal

Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member does, quite rightly, identify a real challenge for us. It is a challenge other countries face as well, which is why my predecessor put in place a secretariat to deal with organ and tissue transplantation and to create a council.

This is a federal-provincial-territorial endeavour. Some provinces are making more progress than others. However I think it is fair to say that this is an important step forward in bringing together some of the key clinicians, researchers and others in this area.

Yes, in the medium to long term we certainly hope to see a more coordinated approach that will lead to more organ--

HealthOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

The hon. member for Drummond.

AgricultureOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Bloc

Pauline Picard Bloc Drummond, QC

Mr. Speaker, the current mad cow disease episode has many repercussions. It has caused problems not only for cattle farmers and slaughterhouses, but also for laboratories that specialize in bovine semen and embryos, which are now banned by several countries. The news was confirmed by the Canadian embassy in Beijing and by the Canadian Livestock Genetics Association.

How could the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food tell us in committee that there was no ban when there has been one since May 21 that represents $20 million—

AgricultureOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

The hon. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

AgricultureOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Prince Edward—Hastings Ontario

Liberal

Lyle Vanclief LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Mr. Speaker, I believe in the committee I asked the hon. member to give me the specifics on that. She may have sent that to my office. However I can say that if there is a country blocking embryos and semen because of BSE it is against the Office International des Epizooties. If she would bring the specific case to my attention we will address it.

The EnvironmentOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Rex Barnes Progressive Conservative Gander—Grand Falls, NL

Mr. Speaker, the mayor of the town of Gander presented me with a 15,000 name petition, which will be presented in the House next week, with relationship to the downsizing of the weather forecasting station in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The people in Newfoundland and Labrador are very concerned about this move by the federal government.

Will the Minister of the Environment listen to the voices of the people and do what is right for Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada by maintaining a public and marine forecasting service in Gander?

The EnvironmentOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Victoria B.C.

Liberal

David Anderson LiberalMinister of the Environment

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of increasing the expenditure by some $75 million over the next five years for the Meteorological Service of Canada and the rationalization of services was to improve the service to Canadians in rural and in urban Canada.

We have succeeded in doing that with better forecasting and more frequent forecasting. This has led of course to changes in the personnel in various communities, including Gander. We have attempted to do our very best to make sure that the professional personnel in Gander remain there and handle a major marine section for both west and east coast.

HealthOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

NDP

Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North Centre, MB

Mr. Speaker, for over two years the health minister has had a very clear mandate from Parliament to require labels on alcohol warning of fetal alcohol syndrome. It has been two years and there is still nothing.

Now the Alberta Medical Association has written the minister and said bluntly that it is “very disappointed in the government's inaction to date” and that it believes “prevention through warning labels are yet another tool worth investing in”.

Why is the minister ignoring AMA's advice and the wishes of everyone but the alcohol industry?

HealthOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Edmonton West Alberta

Liberal

Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, we are not ignoring the advice and recommendations of the AMA and others. They are very much a part of our ongoing consideration of what is the most effective use of our resources.

We all know that FAS/FAE is a challenge in our society. What we want to do is make sure that we have a plan in place and labelling might very well be a part of that plan.

However at this point our research continues in relation to this. I would hope the hon. member is not suggesting that we should move forward with things without knowing whether they will actually help us deal with this terrible problem.

InfrastructureOral Question Period

May 29th, 2003 / 2:55 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

James Moore Canadian Alliance Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC

Mr. Speaker, highway tolls are rising, roads on the prairies are falling apart, the link to the Vancouver airport is struggling to be financed, there is still a toll on the TransCanada Highway in Nova Scotia, and traffic in the city of Calgary has doubled in the past four years.

We have all kinds of transportation problems but they cannot be solved because of the $4.7 billion in gas taxes that are collected by the government it is only reinvesting 2.5% into roads.

With all these problems, do Canadian taxpayers and travellers not deserve better than 2.5% of their gas tax dollars going into roads?

InfrastructureOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Oak Ridges Ontario

Liberal

Bryon Wilfert LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, the government has worked in a collaborative form both with the provinces and municipal governments when it comes to transportation issues.

In fact, it is rather ironic that his friends in Ontario have not come up to the plate yet for the $435 million that we put forth in the GTA for transportation improvements. They have been waiting for an election in Ontario and I guess they want to do it then. However the needs are now and we would like them to move on it now.

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Bloc

Yves Rocheleau Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC

Mr. Speaker, retired General Romeo Dallaire, who knows what he is talking about, said yesterday that the similarities between the Congo and Rwanda are striking. Without some quick decisions, he said, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is heading for disaster.

However, last week Canada announced a minimal participation in the intervention force being organized by the UN.

Having heard the alarm sounded by General Dallaire, does Canada plan on getting seriously involved and making a significant contribution, and doing so right away?

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford Ontario

Liberal

Aileen Carroll LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, Canada has been involved for some time in the situation at hand. We consider it a grave one. We have had a special envoy involved with international partners with regard the Congolese situation. We are supportive of assisting where we can. We are watching carefully the movement of the Security Council resolution in this regard and will be offering assistance commensurate with our resources.

Public ServiceOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Jim Pankiw Canadian Alliance Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK

Mr. Speaker, the vast majority of Canadians oppose discriminatory race based hiring schemes. However an access to information request shows that to meet a quota the RCMP pass mark for target group recruits was set 21 points lower than the non-target group, and postings for federal public service jobs routinely exclude 86% of Canadians from applying because they are the wrong skin colour.

Racism and discrimination are not Canadian values, so why is the government refusing to scrap racist hiring quotas in the federal government?

Public ServiceOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Westmount—Ville-Marie Québec

Liberal

Lucienne Robillard LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board

Mr. Speaker, the public service is committed first and foremost to the merit principle. However, we also want to respect the principle of employment equity.

I think that it is unacceptable that certain groups in our society are under-represented in the public service. It is time for the public service to represent the Canada of today, a multicultural society.

Presence in GalleryOral Question Period

3 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Dr. Mulatu Teshome, Speaker of the House of the Federation of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Presence in GalleryOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear.

Business of the HouseOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

John Reynolds Canadian Alliance West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the government House leader if the plans for the government from now until June 20 are the same as he outlined at the House leaders' meeting earlier in the week, and do we plan to have any late night sittings so that we can meet the government's objective to complete all those bills between now and June 20?

Business of the HouseOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Glengarry—Prescott—Russell Ontario

Liberal

Don Boudria LiberalMinister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, to answer the last question first, as to whether we need to have late night sittings, I suppose it depends on the co-operation on the part of the opposition, which is usually quite good, I must say.

Going to the substance for the next few days, we will continue this afternoon with the opposition day motion. The House does not sit tomorrow because of the Conservative leadership convention.

We are now entering June, the month when we try to wrap up the year's work and we will be consulting other House leaders on a daily, sometimes hourly basis, in order to determine the precise order of bills. However for the next few days we will be dealing mostly with report stages, third readings and consideration of Senate amendments to bills we have already passed.

The bills that will be considered next week will be, and I will start with the one on Monday, although we intend to have a minor conversation about another minor issue later, but generally speaking they will be as follows. We will start with Bill C-25, the public service bill. We will then move on to Bill C-31 respecting certain pensions for veterans and the RCMP. When that bill is completed I would hope to start Bill C-7 respecting first nations governance; and because they are all government days next week we are going to take them probably in roughly that sequence, Bill C-17 public safety; then Bill C-13, the reproductive technologies bill which is presently at third reading.

It would be my intention to then call Bill C-32, the Criminal Code amendments. When the bill is reported to the House, which hopefully will be one day next week, we could then commence Bill C-24, the political financing bill. We also have the amendments from the Senate which I understand might happen on Bill C-15, the lobbyist bill, and Bill C-10B, cruelty to animals.

At some point, we would also like to debate the second reading of Bill S-13, respecting the census, and Bill C-27, the airport bill.

As a matter of courtesy, I wish to indicate to colleagues that it is my intention to call the final supply day on or after June 12. This is not, of course, an official designation of that day at this point but that is why I say on or after, but at least to try and give an indication to colleagues in the event that they will not take other commitments at or about that particular time in order for them to be able to plan their agenda.