Beth Phinney

[Supply, June 7th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I presume the hon. member knows that the interest costs have gone up considerably. We have been consulting with Canadians and we are spending in the areas where they feel spending is necessary in the next few years.

[Supply, June 7th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the question of the hon. member for St. Catharines gives me the opportunity to discuss another important government initiative, the proposed changes to the Federal Business Development Bank.

The changes in that bank are an example of the government's commitment to promote small business growth, innovation and job creation. Many people in small business have told us over the last two years that they have a lot of problems with the banks in negotiating, refinancing and getting new money for their small businesses.

The minister responsible has decided he needs to make some changes directly to the Federal Business Development Bank. These changes have been made as the result of a comprehensive small business policy that was developed in 1994. This institution will expand its operations thereby ensuring its programs and services meet the changing needs of small business today. This institution will be given a revised mandate to develop and deliver innovative responses to small business financing and managerial needs. Small businesses in all the ridings across Canada have expressed the need for this.

[Supply, June 7th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of everything has gone up but I still think the cuts we have made so far in the budget and in the government's spending over the last two years are the toughest since the second world war. We have reached the goals we promised Canadians through our red book.

[Supply, June 7th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Nunatsiaq.

Opportunities, growth, jobs, balance, honesty, fairness, vision, responsibility, consultation and compassion; we ran on those words in the last federal election campaign and the government has delivered on those words during the last two years. The Minister of Finance has delivered on those words in the budget. We made commitments to Canadians in the red book. We are keeping those commitments in these estimates.

Canadians told us they wanted deficit reduction with no increase in personal income taxes. The deficit is going down and for the second year in a row there has been no increase in personal income taxes.

Canadians have told us to cut spending. For every dollar raised in new revenues the government has cut $7 in spending. The government is launching the largest restructuring of government spending since the end of the second world war.

In contrast to the recommendations of the Reform Party the government is not simply slashing spending across the board. The government will not choke off growth. It will not throw the country back into a recession.

The government has carefully rethought the role and structure of the federal government. The redesign of the federal government launched by the program review is reflected in the esti-

mates and will result in a smaller and smarter government. Government can no longer be all things to all people.

The program review looked at all areas of government spending with the exception of major transfers to persons and major transfers to provinces. All the programs were reviewed under the following criteria: did the program serve the public interest? Did it involve a necessary role for government? Was it affordable and could the private sector or the provinces do it better?

As a result of the review the government is reducing subsidies to businesses and agriculture. Many government services will be commercialised where practical. The government can no longer afford to intervene directly in the economy. The government from now on must concentrate on creating the best possible economic framework in which the private sector can create jobs.

Canadians told us to revamp our social programs to meet today's needs but to make sure that we respected our heritage of social justice. The government has embarked on a program which will do just that.

The Canada social transfer is not an abandonment of national standards, as some have argued. This transfer will provide more flexibility to the provinces. It will allow them to experiment and find the best way to deliver social programs and reduce administrative costs.

The conditions of the Canada Health Act, universality, comprehensiveness, accessibility, portability and public administration, will be maintained. The government will be working with the provinces to develop a set of shared principles that will underline the Canada social transfer.

The Ontario New Democratic Party has suggested the federal government has abandoned the promises it made in the red book. This is not true. In the 1994 estimates every key commitment in the red book was funded. This year's estimates have maintained the government's commitments. The government will maintain the health of our social programs while getting the deficit under control.

As promised in the red book, the government has begun to bring the deficit under control while at the same time funding the national infrastructure program, cutting unnecessary defence spending, introducing gun control legislation, reforming the Young Offenders Act, establishing a national crime prevention council, taking action to address foreign overfishing, promoting trade with Latin America and Asia.

It is establishing a youth service corps, restoring literacy funding, establishing a national form on health, introducing parliamentary reform to give MPs more influence, introducing legislation to make lobbying more fair and open, reinstating the residential rehabilitation assistance program, establishing a prenatal nutrition program, beginning an aboriginal head start program, establishing a centre of excellence for women's health, restoring the court challenges program, restoring the law reform commission, eliminating, downsizing and privatizing government agencies, boards and commissions.

The government delivered a tough but fair budget. It has spread the cost of deficit reduction evenly across the country. Despite the claims of some Ontario provincial politicians, Ontario did not receive more than its share of cuts.

The government has started Canada on the path to economic renewal, social reform and fiscal responsibility. The government has not solved every problem but it has started in the right direction.

The Prime Minister remarked repeatedly during the last election that a Liberal government would offer Canadians realistic hope. That is the hallmark of the Prime Minister's approach to government and that is the hallmark of the budget.

If we are to offer hope we must introduce programs which will encourage job creation in the short term, in the medium term and in the long term. If we are to be realistic we have to make choices.

I know some people were not happy with the choices made by the government. However, after extensive consultations the government made the tough choices that best reflect the priority of Canadians. For example, if we are to find money to fund research on diseases affecting women or spend money on badly needed infrastructure then tough choices have to be made.

The government is taking steps to ensure our social programs are maintained. Many seniors in my riding of Hamilton Mountain are concerned about the future of their pensions. The government will be releasing a discussion paper on the future of the pension system later this year. The government intends to make the pension system fairer and more sustainable in the long term.

I have spoken to many students in my riding who are concerned about their future prospects. The government is taking steps to improve the employment prospects of today's students. The best means of improving employment opportunities of young people is to provide them with practical experience and job skills. The new youth services corps and internship programs sponsored by the federal government will provide students with the experience and skills they need to succeed in today's job market.

Many people have expressed concern about the changes to the unemployment insurance program. I assure Canadians the Liberal government recognizes the importance of the unemployment insurance program. The government's aim is to allow people to become independent, to increase help for those in

really desperate circumstances. The government's goal is to find the maximum dollars to put people back to work.

Many of my constituents have expressed their concerns over Canada's crime rate. In recognition of Canadians' concern about public safety, the smallest reductions in spending were made in departments dedicated to justice and corrections. The government is willing to spend the money necessary to ensure the safety of all Canadians.

Our goal is to create opportunities for all Canadians from all regions, from all backgrounds and from all walks of life to make the most of their own lives and to help our country seize the future.

In the budget and in other initiatives the government has created the opportunity for us all to seize the future together through growth, jobs, balance, honesty, fairness, vision, responsibility and compassion.

[Mrs. Priscilla De Villiers, May 12th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mrs. Priscilla de Villiers, the president of CAVEAT, who is receiving an honorary doctorate of law from McMaster University today.

This honour is well deserved in recognition of Mrs. de Villiers' valuable and tireless work on behalf of the victims of crime. She has served as director of the Canadian Resource Centre for victims of crime and is a member of the National Crime Prevention Council.

Mrs. de Villiers organized a petition that gathered over two million signatures of Canadians requesting changes to the legal system that would address the issue of violence in society. The success of the petition led to the founding of CAVEAT, Canadians Against Violence Everywhere Advocating its Termination.

Mrs. de Villiers and CAVEAT have done a great deal of valuable work that has resulted in many changes to the justice system to increase the protection for victims.

I am sure all members of the House will join me in extending congratulations to Priscilla de Villiers.

[The Media, May 11th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the CBC has been spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in the name of free speech to get the permission of the courts to show tapes of the Bernardo trial.

Has it asked Canadians if they want to see these shocking visuals? I want to know and the people of Canada want to know what can be done to protect the families of the victims of the Paul Bernardo case from the media.

In light the CBC's refusal to respect the rights of the victims' families, perhaps the CRTC should be given the power to prevent the wasting of tax dollars on this sort of tabloid journalism. Some efforts should be made to stop the media from its selfish and uncaring attempt to make money and boost ratings at the expense of the privacy of the families of the victims with total disregard for the rights of Canadian children.

[Hate Propaganda Via Electronic Highway, May 10th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak today on the motion regarding hate speech on the Internet.

I agree wholeheartedly that the government should move with speed to adopt legislative measures aimed at stopping the spread of hate propaganda through computer networks.

The information highway is a wonderful resource, which provides education and information to people worldwide. The Internet is a powerful communication tool. It links people of various nations and backgrounds easily and rapidly, helping spread understanding and knowledge around the world.

Like many tools or new technologies, the information highway can be used for harmful purposes as easily as for positive purposes. Unfortunately, the many benefits provided by the new technology are as attractive to hatemongers and racists as they are to scientists and students.

As I am sure many members are aware, even a brief glance through various Internet discussion groups reveals material that is deeply offensive and contrary to Canadian values. The material ranges from recruiting messages from the Ku Klux Klan to pornography and Holocaust denial tracts.

In January a university student was arrested in Michigan for issuing threats after he posted a computer message describing how he wanted to torture, rape, and murder a fellow student. In a recent case in Calgary, police arrested a man for possession of child pornography that he had acquired from a computer bulletin board linked to the Internet.

It is true that in order to obtain much of the offensive material one has to go actively looking for the appropriate computer bulletin boards. However, some sources of pornography advertise their services in the computer discussion groups.

Although some work is required to find offensive material, pornography and hate propaganda often end up in the hands of impressionable children. As I am sure many members are aware, children and young adults are often far more proficient with computers than their parents are. We should not underestimate the persistence of some children.

We need to develop software that would allow parents to screen material that comes into their homes or schools, similar to what we can now do on TV. Children should not have access to pornography through computer bulletin boards, just as they are not able to purchase pornography from local stores. Parents must be able to control what their children view.

There have been cases of white supremacists using computer bulletin boards to attempt to recruit new members, especially among students and other young adults. We do not tolerate white supremacists recruiting in person in our schools, so I see no reason to tolerate them sending their hate propaganda to school children through computers.

Freedom of speech is one of our most important values. However, freedom of speech needs to be tempered by responsibility. It may be a cliché but it is nonetheless true that freedom of speech does not protect one's right to yell fire in a crowded theatre. In a similar fashion, freedom of speech does not protect hate speech. Canada already has laws dealing with the distribution of hate propaganda by conventional means such as books or on TV and radio broadcasts. However, our current laws are not having much impact on the electronic highway. So far there has not been a single case I am aware of brought against anyone spreading hate across computer networks.

Some users of the Internet have argued that they can regulate themselves. Certainly there are some examples of Internet users challenging and discrediting hatemongers. However, there is much offensive material out there. In a perfect world self-regulation would work; but as we all know, this is not a perfect world.

A combination of legislative action and self-regulation would perhaps be the best approach. We should encourage the development of a code of conduct among Internet users to discourage offensive E-mail and discussion groups. Some have likened the Internet to a town square or a worldwide debating forum. Just as there are accepted norms of conduct for discussions in public places, there should be norms of acceptable behaviour on the electronic highway.

Along with self-regulation, there should be some direction from Parliament. Canada's current laws are apparently having little effect on the electronic highway. The motion we are debating at the moment is needed to push for the expansion of current legislation to cover the Internet. This motion may not have any legislative authority, but it will demonstrate this House's desire and will to limit the spread of pornography and

hate propaganda. It will provide the courts with some guidance as to the option of the House of Commons regarding this issue.

I compliment the Minister of Justice for his statement last week at an international conference on crime prevention in Cairo, where he said that the government is considering new laws to limit the harmful use of computer networks and other forms of communication.

I believe this motion will encourage this government and others to continue their efforts to find a way to limit the spread of hate propaganda and pornography through the Internet. We need to encourage international cooperation to deal with the spread of hate propaganda.

Given the worldwide nature of the Internet, regulation will require worldwide effort. It will be difficult to limit pornography and hate propaganda if what is banned in one country is easily available through a computer bulletin board in another country. Just as hate groups are cooperating in order to spread their hatred of others, all countries must unite to combat hate groups.

I am well aware that it will not be easy to find ways to attack the spread of offensive items on the information highway. However, just because something is difficult it does not mean that we should not try. At the very least, by passing this motion we will send a message to the hatemongers and pornographers in the Internet that their messages are not welcome in Canada.

I congratulate the member for Winnipeg North for having the foresight and initiative to bring forward this motion encouraging us to give serious thought to this matter. I hope all members of this House will support this motion.

[Supply, April 27th, 1995]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member says she does not believe in top down Ottawa directives to health care authorities in the provinces. How exactly does she see the Canada Health Act and its five principles of accessibility, comprehensiveness, universality, portability and public administration as constituting top down direction? The provinces and the territories administer the health care system, not Ottawa.

[Paul Bernardo, April 25th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure all members of the House will join with me in opposing attempts by various media organizations to allow public viewing of the Paul Bernardo video tapes.

The public showing of these tapes would not serve the public interest. This is not, as the media claims, a matter of free speech. The Bernardo trial will be open to the media and to the public.

Attempts by the media to gain access to the video tapes are simply an effort to boost ratings at the expense of the victims' families. The families of the victims have suffered enough without having these videos broadcast. This is a prime example of tabloid journalism at its worst.

I hope the courts turn down the media's request. I call on the media to show some restraint and consideration for the feelings of the French and Mahaffey families. They have suffered enough.

[Taxation, March 31st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Justice.

It is nearly a year since the Supreme Court ruled on the Suzanne Thibaudeau case on taxation of child support payments. At that time the government promised action on the level, enforcement and taxation of child support payments.

Can the minister tell the House why no action has been taken to make sure Canadian children get the support they need and deserve?