Debates of Nov. 30th, 2004
House of Commons Hansard #35 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was industry.
Topics
- Order in Council Appointments
- Government Response to Petitions
- Committees of the House
- Criminal Code
- Committees of the House
- Citizenship Act
- Human Rights
- Louise Pargeter
- Canada-U.S. Trade
- Bell-Allard Mine
- Computers for Schools Program
- Canadian Forces
- Canada-U.S. Relations
- Budget Surplus
- Welland Canal
- John Evans Knowles
- Huguette Plourde
- Tommy Douglas
- Canada-U.S. Relations
- Visit of U.S. President
- Canada-U.S. Relations
- Sikh Community
- National Defence
- Agriculture
- Softwood Lumber
- Canada-U.S. Relations
- Softwood Lumber
- Agriculture and Agri-Food
- Textile and Clothing Industry
- Privacy
- Citizenship and Immigration
- The Environment
- Visit of the U.S. President
- Justice
- Textile and Clothing Industry
- Oil and Gas Industry
- International Trade
- The Environment
- Aboriginal Affairs
- Health
- Justice
- Canada Post
- Citizenship and Immigration
- National Defence
- China
- Finance
- Public Service
- The Environment
- Foreign Affairs
- Agriculture
- Chinese Canadians
- The Environment
- Housing
- Supply
- Canada Education Savings Act
China
Oral Question Period
2:50 p.m.
Barrie
Ontario
Liberal
Aileen Carroll Minister of International Cooperation
Mr. Speaker, the development in China is very uneven, socially, politically and economically.
We have the opportunity to engage China in a manner that allows us to assist with its reform. We do not give money to the Chinese government. We work on capacity building with the Canadian bar. We work with Agriteam in Calgary, and we have the opportunity to assist in its governance.
We are engaging China in a manner that the opposition fails to comprehend.
Finance
Oral Question Period
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
Paul Szabo Mississauga South, ON
Mr. Speaker, the process of accrual accounting enhances financial reporting by ensuring that revenues and expenses are recorded in the periods to which they relate rather than when the cash is received or disbursed.
Since the Government of Canada adopted full accrual accounting in budget 2003, could the President of the Treasury Board advise whether this new process has been effectively implemented and comment on how this change in financial reporting has been received by stakeholders and other interested parties?
Finance
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Winnipeg South
Manitoba
Liberal
Reg Alcock President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, now and again we get a good question in this House.
I want to draw the attention of the House to something quite serious. Last night the Public Sector Accounting Board, which is chaired by the Auditor General of Canada, presented an award to the staff in Treasury Board and the Department of Finance for their hard work on this file. Frankly, we should all celebrate that.
I know it would be an abuse of the prerogatives of the House if I were to mention the presence of anybody in the gallery, so I will not do that.
Public Service
Oral Question Period
November 30th, 2004 / 2:55 p.m.
Conservative
Bill Casey North Nova, NS
Mr. Speaker, the Governor General of Canada recently advertised for two job openings in her office, but again she restricted those applicants to only those people with postal codes immediately around Ottawa. When I previously complained about this, she blamed it on the President of the Treasury Board and said that he was trying to cut costs and work in an efficient manner.
However, we now know that he gave her $6 million to travel around the world the equivalent of 16 times. If he can give her that much money to travel around the world with her friends, surely he can give her some money to go through some resumes from western Canada and from Atlantic Canada, and stop this discrimination by postal code.
Public Service
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Winnipeg South
Manitoba
Liberal
Reg Alcock President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, the member has raised this question many times and he has received the same answer. The policy has been in place since the 1960s. It is simply in place to limit the number of applications at lower levels of the public service because of the enormous cost involved.
However, I have good news for the member. The president of the Public Service Commission has, as he knows, been working on a solution to this. She is in beta testing right now. I think we finally will get to a point where we can actually offer service Canada-wide at a reasonable cost, something that we like to do.
The Environment
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Conservative
Jim Gouk Southern Interior, BC
Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to enforce U.S. environmental standards on Teck Cominco, a Canadian company operating in Canada under Canadian regulations. If it is successful, it will impact on Canada's jobs, revenue and sovereignty.
Cross-border issues must be settled by bilateral negotiations. What is the Government of Canada doing to stop this unilateral action of a U.S. agency, including a lawsuit now underway?
The Environment
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Saint-Laurent—Cartierville
Québec
Liberal
Stéphane Dion Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, we are against any unilateral action. We have a dispute settlement mechanism through the International Joint Commission. It is something that we will look at seriously.
Foreign Affairs
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Bloc
Roger Clavet Louis-Hébert, QC
Mr. Speaker, on December 2, the suspension of the death sentence against Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist lama who is well known and highly respected in his region, will come to an end and he will be in danger of execution by the Chinese authorities. He has been imprisoned for two years and there are reports that he has been tortured.
Does the Government of Canada plan to bring pressure to bear on the Chinese authorities to stay the execution of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and see that he is entitled to a new trial, this time a fair trial in compliance with international legal standards?
Foreign Affairs
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Pickering—Scarborough East
Ontario
Liberal
Dan McTeague Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question, and I am glad he has asked it. I know that this is a matter of concern to all members of this House. We want to give serious consideration to what was done today, and will be proposing action in the near future.
Agriculture
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Liberal
Françoise Boivin Gatineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is evident that the Canadian cattle industry has suffered from the effects of one case of BSE. It has caused distortions in supply, slaughter capacity and trade markets.
Considering the good news received from Hong Kong that its government is lifting a one and a half year ban on beef imports today, could the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food tell the House what additional steps he has taken to open our trade markets for Canadian beef?
Agriculture
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Parry Sound—Muskoka
Ontario
Liberal
Andy Mitchell Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Yes, Mr. Speaker, we have been making some progress. As I mentioned earlier in question period, there is the move of the rule to the OMB and today President Bush saying that he will direct his officials to expedite that process and progress in the Japanese and Taiwanese markets. Today we were very pleased to hear that Hong Kong is reopening its border to Canadian boneless beef under 30 months of age.
Chinese Canadians
Oral Question Period
3 p.m.
NDP
Libby Davies Vancouver East, BC
Mr. Speaker, approximately 81,000 Chinese Canadians were forced to pay an unjust and discriminatory head tax and were then subjected to a racist Chinese exclusion act. It is one of the darkest moments in Canadian history and yet today there is still no just and honourable resolution. I cannot imagine what excuse the government has for its failure to act.
Will the minister commit today to repay and redress this grievous wrong?
Chinese Canadians
Oral Question Period
3 p.m.
Richmond
B.C.
Liberal
Raymond Chan Minister of State (Multiculturalism)
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has done a lot to ensure that justice has been done and that the Charter of Rights is in place. We have been talking to the Chinese community to find some solutions to address some of the issues that we have felt sorrow about in the past.
The Environment
Oral Question Period
3 p.m.
Conservative
Jim Gouk Southern Interior, BC
Mr. Speaker, Teck Cominco's motion to dismiss the EPA lawsuit was rejected. On November 19 it filed an application to appeal the decision. Its application would be greatly enhanced if the Canadian government were to submit an amicus brief to the U.S. court within 30 days of that filing. This issue must be settled by bilateral negotiations and its position supported in writing by the U.S. ambassador to Canada. Time is running out.
Will the government file an amicus brief and, if so, when?
The Environment
Oral Question Period
3 p.m.
Mount Royal
Québec
Liberal
Irwin Cotler Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, that issue is being considered by our lawyers right now and we will be responding accordingly.