Sheila Copps

[Members Of Parliament, January 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the article in the Montreal Gazette was false. There were never any letters signed by me sent out to any members.

There is, however, a process being put in place through the President of the Treasury Board where in advance of a bill that is going to be tabled specifically dealing with members' pensions and the so-called perks of members of Parliament we are asking for the input of all members.

That survey actually went out under the signature of the Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board. He is asking for input from all members of Parliament so that we can take into consideration the concerns expressed every day in the House by members of Parliament and others.

Again it is a necessary part of getting our act together to make sure that we are being responsible to the Canadian taxpayers who pay our salaries.

[High-Speed Train, January 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is anxious to work together with the private sector on all modes of transportation that can be helpful as part of the infrastructure and provide applications for advanced technology. It is true that we are experiencing a budget crisis, as the hon. member's friend, the member for Saint-Jean, said in this House. Next month, when the Minister of Finance announces his budget priorities, the hon. member will see whether we are able to create jobs and at the same time meet our budgetary responsibilities. It is a difficult balancing act, but we are convinced that as a long term goal, public transit is good for the economies of both Quebec and Canada.

[High-Speed Train, January 27th, 1994]

When people mention jobs, jobs, jobs, it reminds me of that statement by Mr. Bouchard's friend. I think the Liberal Party made it clear that we are going to work with the private sector, as suggested in the study to which the hon. member referred. We want to improve public transit to promote the use of advanced technology in Canada for Canadians, but also to maintain an infrastructure that will give our economy a chance to expand. We are working on a number of measures, including the proposal put forward by the bipartite committee. I am sure that when we have a chance to discuss our budget priorities, the Bloc Quebecois will indicate whether this is their priority for the budget.

[Unemployment Insurance, January 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will know that under the previous government certain statutory obligations were laid out.

The current government has moved to freeze unemployment insurance premium payouts by employers in the short term. In the long term we are undertaking a complete review in which the member will be welcome to participate.

We are looking for his participation. We are looking for the participation of all Canadians. Indeed that is why just 10 minutes ago my colleague left for Winnipeg to begin the process of participation outside Ottawa.

[Unemployment Insurance, January 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member will know, the minister of human resources is on his way to Winnipeg in anticipation of further discussions about the whole review of unemployment insurance. The social policy review is considering all options.

I am sure he would be very happy to have the input of the hon. member and other members on this important issues.

[Commission On Environmental Co-Operation, January 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that the hon. member shares my interest in this very cosmopolitan city and agrees that Montreal is truly an asset for all of Canada. This approach is very well received.

We have also promised to distance ourselves from the previous government in that we want to implement a process which is open, transparent, public, and objective and one which can be subjected to scrutiny.

I believe that Montrealers, like all Canadians, want a process free of politics, which is precisely what the federal government is providing.

[Commission On Environmental Co-Operation, January 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. I want to take this opportunity to tell all the hon. members that the new federal government will use an innovative approach regarding decisions affecting commissions such as the ones which will be set up under NAFTA.

I announced, and in fact this week we signed a contract with a private company, with no politics involved, to review the applications submitted by 11 cities, including Montreal, Camrose, Edmonton, and several others, and I am very pleased to inform the hon. member, who is the critic on environmental issues, of that development.

For the first time in the history of a government, the selection will be made based on the environmental performance of those cities. I believe this a good approach and we expect to receive in the very near future the report of a consultant who will have reviewed the applications of all the cities, based on their environmental record and their infrastructures.

I know that Montreal is a strong candidate and will, along with all the others, be considered in a non-partisan fashion.

[Speech From The Throne, January 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it certainly goes to show what good, considerate people we are in this country when you see the hon. member for Yukon ask a question to the member for Hamilton in the other official language, and I thank her for that.

With regard to day care, of course we have a specific policy. As soon as the economy has grown by 3 per cent, we plan to open 150,000 new day care spaces within 3 years. That was clearly indicated in our red book, and there is no doubt that the Prime Minister will fulfil the promises made in that book.

[Speech From The Throne, January 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we intend to have the process public and transparent throughout. The final decision will be made by the Government of Canada.

I should also point out that in doing the analysis the independent consultant will be working without political input by any of the ministers. The assessment rating areas that have been set out, including environmental record, infrastructure, et cetera, will be done without identifying the individual cities.

[Speech From The Throne, January 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I will first answer the second question. The member for Saint-Jean is absolutely right about the serious problem of the food chain degradation in the far north.

I personally had the opportunity to visit part of the Arctic circle where mothers have an unacceptably high level of PCBs in their milk. These women were wondering if they ought to breast feed their infants or instead buy milk at $7 a litre. The latter option is not a very good one for people who already live in poverty. This situation reflects the importance of the work we are doing right now in co-operation with the Government of Quebec and all the other governments across Canada in order to improve air quality. A committee was set up to harmonize our regulations regarding CFCs and all other pollutants released into the atmosphere by industries and others.

In March, my counterparts, the provincial ministers of Environment, and I will try to find a way to harmonize some laws related to the environment. For example, the release of CFCs comes under provincial jurisdiction. Yet, if a problem occurs in Toronto, it ultimately will affect the air people breathe in Montreal and even above the Arctic circle. Therefore, we must work in co-operation with the provincial governments to develop a national policy which will garner the support of all the stakeholders.

I am very pleased that the member raised the issue of poverty, especially among aboriginal people, because the government has already announced, in the speech from the throne, its intention to be directly involved in a program called Head Start. This school program was first conceived by the Americans in the sixties and was targeted to the poor of a certain age group. It is our intention to implement this program which will serve as a model for aboriginal people. In fact, my colleague, the Minister of Health, is presently monitoring the development of that program.