Walt Lastewka

[Ukrainian Canadian Restitution Act, March 24th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, I am pleased to respond to the question posed by the hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent concerning the negotiations between the Government of Canada and the Cree of northern Quebec.

During the question period on February 7, the hon. member expressed concern that the government's chief negotiator had not been granted a formal mandate. The member for Louis-Saint-Laurent argued that the negotiating process might falter unless the federal government's representative was provided with a clear direction without delay.

Work to conclude an agreement between the Government of Canada and the Cree of northern Quebec continues. Indeed, for a number of months, representatives of the Cree and the federal government have been examining various issues in an effort to reduce the time it will take to conclude an agreement.

For instance, Mr. Chrétien met with Cree representatives and concluded a statement of intent that sets out the objectives of the formal agreement. The statement proposes a final agreement founded on three core elements: a new regional Cree government; transfers of federal James Bay northern Quebec agreement functions to this new Cree government; and a funding package to support the new government and the transfers of functions and remove from the courts most, if not all, pre-litigation against Canada.

Using the statement of intent as a clear guideline, both parties continued to discuss many important issues and the minister has held extensive consultations with cabinet colleagues and members of Parliament. I too have met with the minister and had discussions with the minister as late as this past week.

I am the first to admit that much work remains to be done, but clear progress has been made. Important milestones have been reached. Great strides toward a final agreement have been taken. I can assure the House that we will continue to do everything possible to remain on target to reach the final agreement.

[Mirabel Airport, February 17th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been working with Mirabel and the people in the area and will continue to do so.

These items need investigation and it needs to be done carefully and not rush into decisions. Therefore we will continue to work with Mirabel and the surrounding areas.

[Ukraine, December 14th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, Canada was the first western country to recognize Ukraine's independence 13 years ago. Today we are building on that history.

Canadian Friends of Ukraine, a Canadian NGO, is working to promote democracy and reform in Ukraine. I ask every member of the House to show their support for the Canadian Friends of Ukraine and the Ukrainian congress in assisting democratic striving for the people of Ukraine.

Members of the House have unanimously declared their solidarity with the democratic aspirations of the people of Ukraine, so that the December 26, 2004 repeat presidential elections take place in an environment free of media censorship, intimidation and foreign intervention.

The take note debate and the motion in the House supported by all parties have demonstrated our support for free, fair and transparent presidential elections in Ukraine to be held on December 26.

We wish the Ukrainian people all the best in their journey toward democratic reform. Slava Ukraina .

[Ukraine, November 24th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to speak tonight, especially on the topic of the elections in Ukraine. Earlier today in the House the Deputy Prime Minister made the following statement on behalf of the Prime Minister, “Considering the allegations of serious and significant electoral fraud from international and Canadian election observers, the Government of Canada cannot accept the announced results by the Central Election Commission to reflect the true democratic will of the Ukrainian people”.

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Parkdale—High Park.

Canada rejects the announced final results. The Government of Canada calls for a full, open and transparent review of the election process. Canada will have no choice but to examine its relations with Ukraine if the authorities fail to provide election results that reflect the democratic will of the people.

Canadians are shocked and dismayed at what has transpired in Ukraine. There is disbelief that a country which has striven so hard to become free and democratic could have an election with such a questionable outcome. The international election observers mission had 563 observers in Ukraine. They have cited countless problems and they believe Ukraine's presidential poll was not fully free and fair.

Here are some examples of what the election observers have seen. During the election campaign the state's resources were blatantly directed to the support of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. The state-funded media overtly favoured the prime minister in all of its news coverage of the campaign. One independent station was restricted in coverage, in fact, not being able to cover Ukraine.

There was also interference in his favour by the state administration through state directives and through government officials. Media directives issued by unknown persons, it seems, restricted the public's free access to balanced information. Inflammatory campaign material of an ominous and questionable origin was sent out against the opposition. Individuals were subject to pressure and intimidation by those who supported Mr. Yanukovych. Citizens whose livelihood depended directly or indirectly upon the state were placed under duress to acquire and relinquish their absentee voting certificates to their superiors.

Former minister David Collenette, who was in Ukraine to monitor the vote Sunday, was just one of the many observers who concluded that the election was seriously flawed. “We do not have time to go through the whole litany of things”, he told CTV Canada AM in an interview from Ottawa on Wednesday. He said:

There were people bused in, there was mass use of absentee ballots, there were people removed from the list, there was physical intimidation. In the poll that I was in, there was invisible ink used in the pens before Yushchenko's people discovered it, and we've got one of the pens.

My nephew, Harry Ewaschuk, has one of those pens.

Mr. Yanukovych did not make a clear separation between resources owned or managed by the incumbent political forces and those resources of the state and the resources of big brother, Russia, and these are only a few examples. Taken together these crooked and unprincipled actions will not be tolerated.

For 70 years the Ukrainian people in Canada prayed for Ukrainian independence. At the steps of city hall, at cenotaphs, and in front of monuments like the great Ukrainian poet, Taras Shevchenko, we prayed for a peaceful transition to an independent state of Ukraine, independent so that the ordinary people of Ukraine could decide their fate and their future.

Independence in 1991 was to provide Ukraine with a better future. What we have today is a tragedy, another fixed election with Russia's interference and a return to the old communist rule. The state decides and not the people. How can so many international observers document so many infractions and the state still casts these observations aside?

With Mr. Kuchma's remarks, his meddling, restricting free independent broadcasting, directing officials to harass and threaten the ordinary people of Ukraine, he has obviously returned to the old communist way of conducting restricted elections.

Mr. Kuchma and company cannot hide from the world. The world is watching and will not stand for it any more. More importantly, Ukrainians are watching and millions of ordinary Ukrainian people are in the streets. The government can run. The electoral commission must accept that the election was flawed, unfair, undemocratic, and robbed Ukraine of its true choice by the people for a democratically elected president.

The possibility of bloodshed in the streets could emerge at any time. People in Ukraine are sick and tired of being put down by people like Mr. Kuchma and big brother from Russia. The people of Ukraine want freedom, justice and a truly democratic election. Canada has, through CIDA, promoted democratic development in Ukraine to the strengthening of government institutions and civil society.

The actions of this past week indicate very clearly that the Government of Canada must do more to help Ukraine. Likewise, we must more than ever support RCI broadcasts to help Ukraine to get good news.

My family left Ukraine because of the loss of democracy and the takeover by Russia. My father Michael and my father Pauline and my three sisters Millie, Mary and Phyllis came to Canada for freedom, for justice and for democracy.

Once again Ukraine is hurting, a loss of opportunity for a better future. The world must act swiftly for the good of the people of Ukraine.

I want to thank the member for Etobicoke Centre for all his work. I want to congratulate Ambassador Robinson for his excellent work in Ukraine before, during and after the election. I thank the Prime Minister, through the Deputy Prime Minister, for speaking today. I thank all my colleagues in the House and all the parties for their support.

Just like Canada supports Ukraine, the Ukrainian people need Canadians to help them on their road to true democracy. As they say in Ukrainian, Slava Ukraina .

[Welland Canal, November 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, on November 30 the Niagara region will celebrate William Hamilton Meritt Day and the 175th anniversary of the Welland Canal.

Every year approximately 3,000 ocean and lake vessels carry 40 million tonnes of cargo. Ships move up and down the Niagara Escarpment through the brilliant, yet simple, engineering feat of utilizing an abundant water source and the earth's gravity.

In 1824 William Hamilton Meritt, the great-great-great-grandfather of St. Catharines' current mayor, Tim Rigby, had a vision for his community: to link Lake Ontario and Lake Erie for the purpose of trade. This canal would bypass Niagara Falls and would provide a more reliable water supply for the saw and gristmills along Twelve Mile Creek. Construction began on November 24, 1824, and it was officially opened in 1829. The canal generated a shipbuilding industry which bolstered the local economy and saw three additional canals built between 1842 and 1932.

I am sure that all members will join me in wishing the Welland Canal Committee a happy 175th anniversary. May it bring another 175 years of prosperity to the Niagara region.

[Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act, November 22nd, 2004]

Madam Speaker, the Department of Public Works and Government Services addresses the marketplace on an ongoing basis . There are studies going on all the time. In fact, there are studies going on right now concerning members in the West Block and how to make changes there and move people into new areas. Those market studies are going on all the time. The member wants to blow up the studies to a bigger, inaccurate thing. He is not stating the facts.

The Minister of Public Works and Government Services expressed to him very clearly on previous questions exactly what public works does to study the marketplace. It studies the marketplace in both Ontario and Quebec to make sure that we have people on a 75:25 ratio. Those studies are going on all the time. The member should learn that those studies are going on all the time.

[Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act, November 22nd, 2004]

Madam Speaker, I wonder if the new member is finished or not. As a new member he is very quick to respond while someone else is speaking. I am surprised and disappointed in his actions.

Let me remind the House that the Prime Minister's first act when he was first appointed last December was to cancel the sponsorship program. Please understand that. He cancelled the sponsorship program.

Minutes after the Auditor General tabled her report, the Prime Minister set up a number of actions to ensure that they went into play and that a quick response was being taken.

Some of the measures included an independent commission of inquiry headed by Justice Gomery. I realize that sometimes the opposition does not want to let the Gomery commission do its work, but it has to do its work. It has to hear all the evidence.

The special counsel for financial recovery is well underway. We should be hearing more about it in the next number of months. There is the whistleblower legislation, measures to strengthen the audit committees for crown corporations, possible extension of the access to information for crown corporations, and reviews on changes to the governance of crown corporations. These are some of the actions that were taken immediately.

Let me remind the House that the RCMP continues to look into various matters. Charges have been laid and the RCMP will follow every lead, wherever it may lead. Last February, following the tabling of the Auditor General's report, parliamentary committees had yet to be struck.

The public accounts committee was struck immediately before the rest of the committees and the government cooperated fully with the committee's work. In fact, testimony filled documents more than three and a half feet in heigth. There were cabinet documents dating back 10 years. Does that look like we were trying to hide information and not being transparent? All that was available to the committee, for those who wanted to read it.

The Information Commissioner, in his recent report to Parliament, lauded the Prime Minister for early moves to boost transparency. The Prime Minister is working hard to ensure things are transparent. The commissioner stated that there were early and positive signs that the government would be sufficiently self-confident, courageous and honest enough to confront head-on the attitude of secrecy.

I understand that Canadians are outraged and so are we. The Gomery commission will, I am sure, get to the bottom of things. There were 178 calls in the House by members opposite for a public inquiry. This was done. The Gomery commission will get to the bottom of everything that was brought forward. If the member has any additional information, he should forward it to the Gomery commission.

[Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act, November 22nd, 2004]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the member for Nepean—Carleton. It is important that members of the House and Canadians as a whole understand how determined the Prime Minister and the government are to get to the bottom of the matter.

I want to remind everyone of the countless actions the government has taken, especially on the sponsorship program.

[Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Act, November 17th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, I am very disappointed in this member saying what he just said about the public accounts committee. In fact, the chairman of the accounts committee and his party voted, the same with the opposition and the government, that parliamentary privilege should be maintained within Parliament. To say that they did not is totally wrong. He should go back and talk to his chair. His chair was very clear on privilege in the past and is very clear on privilege now. I am sure he will also be very clear in the future.

May I repeat, Madam Chair? We cancelled the program. We disbanded Communication Canada. We set up an independent commission. We have a special counsel financial recovery report coming. We have done everything as far as access to information is concerned.

We should be taking the politics out of this and getting to the root of the problem and fixing it. The final report that was stuck in the public accounts committee was there because the opposition's chair left the country and did not allow the committee to finish its work. We should be tabling those 30 recommendations on governance in this House today.

[Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Act, November 17th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the member for Palliser. I welcome the fact that he asked for an adjournment debate on this question.

It is important that members of the House and Canadians as a whole understand how determined the Prime Minister and the government are to get to the bottom of this matter.

Today I want to remind everyone of the countless actions that the government has taken and continues to take. Let me remind hon. members that the Prime Minister's first act following his appointment in December 2003 was to cancel the sponsorship program and to announce that Communications Canada would be disbanded.

Following that, on February 10, 2004, minutes after the Auditor General tabled her report on sponsorship, advertising and public opinion research, the Prime Minister announced a comprehensive set of measures to get to the bottom of the matter and to ensure that nothing like this would ever happen again.

These measures include: an independent commission of inquiry headed by Justice Gomery; a special counsel for financial recovery; whistleblower legislation; measures to strengthen the audit committees for crown corporations and the possible extension of the Access to Information Act to crown corporations; reviews on changes to the governance of crown corporations, on changes to the Financial Administration Act and on the accountability of ministers and public servants.

In addition, the RCMP continues to look into this matter. Charges have already been laid and the RCMP is continuing its investigation and will follow every lead wherever it may lead.

With these various measures and investigations, I ask hon. members, does it look like we want to hide from the issues? No way. Does it look like we want to get to the bottom of it? I think the answer is clear.

Our actions do not end there. Last February, following the tabling of the Auditor General's report, we allowed the public accounts committee to be struck early so it could begin the review of this matter. The House will recall that when the Auditor General reported on February 10, committees had not yet been struck. The government cooperated with the opposition and allowed the public accounts committee to be struck early. The government cooperated fully with the committee's work. We took the unprecedented action of providing it with cabinet documents dating back 10 years. Does that look like we are trying to hide information? Of course not. In my office, three and a half feet of information was available to all the members of the public accounts committee.

May I add that the information commissioner, in his 2003-04 annual report applauded the government's openness. The commissioner commended the government's policy of proactive disclosure of the travel and hospitality expenses of ministers and senior officials and the government study on making crown corporations subject to the Access to Information Act.

Canadians are outraged by what happened with the sponsorship program, and rightly so. The Prime Minister, the Minister of Public Works and the government as a whole will not rest until we get answers. We believe that with the many actions taken and with the investigations under way, we will get our answers.

Members on all sides of the House have repeatedly called for a judicial inquiry. The Prime Minister set up the inquiry to get to the bottom of the matter. Justice Gomery is doing his work and we should be encouraging him. It is important that we allow Justice Gomery to do his work and the government looks forward to his final report.