Jesse Flis

[Team Canada, November 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure all members of the House will join me in congratulating Team Canada on its unprecedented success in landing big business opportunities for Canadians in the Pacific rim.

The latest success comes as the Prime Minister secured a place for Canada in APEC, the forum on Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation which will give us privileged access to the fastest growing trade markets in the world.

Team Canada includes leaders in business and government from all parts of Canada. Its success is proof that a team effort is far more effective than any province or territory on its own.

When the special joint committee reviewing Canadian foreign policy tables its report later this afternoon members will learn that foreign affairs are becoming less and less the exclusive concern of the federal government and more and more a Team Canada effort.

[Standing Committee On Industry, November 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I compliment the hon. member for Davenport on being such a strong advocate of the need to achieve universal convention to govern all uses of the sea.

Canada participated actively in the negotiation of the law of the sea convention and signed it in December 1982. Our involvement in the convention stems from three basic principles: our general support for rule of law and multilateral processes; our extensive coastline and substantial continental shelf; and a desire for stable ocean law and additional rights for coastal states concerning fisheries, navigation, pollution prevention and the mineral resources of the continental shelf.

Along with other industrialized states Canada did not ratify the convention due to concerns, as the hon. member said, regarding its provisions on deep seabed mining. After four years of negotiations these concerns were resolved. An agreement was adopted by the United Nations on July 28 and signed by Canada the very next day.

Canada has already been applying most of the provisions of the convention in practice as along with other countries we believe they reflect the customary law of the sea. We are now reviewing our domestic legislation to make certain it is in conformity with the provisions of the convention. This must be done before ratification to avoid any inconsistency with the convention.

We hope the hon. member's support for ratification of the convention will aid in the rapid passage of any amending legislation that may be brought forward.

I want to assure the hon. member for Davenport who has taken such a leadership role in this issue that the government intends to ratify the law of the sea as soon as possible.

[Credentials, November 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the hon. member is the past president of Parliamentarians for Global Action and is a continuing member on the international executive.

Through that organization I know the hon. member has devoted much time and energy to convince leaders and politicians around the world to ban the production, stockpiling and use of all chemical weapons.

In view of the fact that 150 countries signed such a treaty indicates that the will is there, but it must be disappointing to the hon. member that only 16 countries out of the 65 required have ratified the treaty in their Parliaments.

I can assure the hon. member though that with his assistance our government will likely table the required bill in this House in the new year, contingent on interdepartmental and industry consultations which are currently under way.

In addition to the information provided to the hon. member by the secretary of state I can tell him that pending ratification of the chemical weapons convention Canada pays a yearly contribution to support the activities of the preparatory commission for the prohibition of chemical weapons, the enforcement organization known as OPCW.

Canada has also created the chemical weapons convention action fund which provides grants to organizations or individuals who undertake activities to raise awareness about and compliance to the chemical weapons convention either internationally or within Canada.

In addition to this direct financial contribution, Canada has created two positions at our embassy in The Hague to participate in the various preparatory activities and to represent Canada's interests at the preparatory commission or the OPCW.

Other Canadian officials with special expertise have been made available to the OPCW for work on special committees, in particular a Canadian chairs the committee on chemical weapons storage issues which is responsible for drafting the model facility agreement which will be the basis for all future facility agreements.

I congratulate the hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce for taking international leadership in making this planet a safer place for our children and their children.

[The Arctic, October 28th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it has been part of this government's platform to safeguard Canadian interests in the Arctic. The House will be very pleased to know that the government has fulfilled that mandate by appointing Mary Simon as circumpolar ambassador.

She is the first Inuk to hold an ambassadorial position and will begin on Monday, October 31. This government is also supporting what the committee heard from many witnesses across Canada, the establishment of an arctic council to protect the interests of the aboriginal people, of the environment, et cetera.

The government is committed to supporting such an Arctic council. We are also very interested in preventing other nuclear spills and in protecting the environment.

I knew the members would be very interested in the government's commitment to protecting the Arctic and especially the indigenous people in that part of the world.

[Questions On The Order Paper, October 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[Bankruptcy Act, October 25th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Selkirk-Red River for raising this issue and a number of issues especially when the President of Ukraine is visiting here in Canada.

Canada's special relationship with Ukraine is based on the close ties established with the 1 million strong Ukrainian Canadian community. The Prime Minister has worked to put the G-7 focus on Ukraine.

Canada is hosting, as the hon. member has already said, a conference on partnership for economic transformation in Ukraine in Winnipeg on October 27 which will include representatives not only from the G-7 countries but the European Union, IMF, World Bank, European Bank, Russia and Turkmenistan.

Canada has encouraged the Ukrainian government to adopt genuine economic reform that would be supported by IMF and World Bank lending. We welcome President Kuchma's new reform program which represents a bold step forward.

Canada will continue to play a leading role in supporting reform in Ukraine. Canada and the United States were the only two countries to make pledges during a recent IMF meeting which considered Ukrainian financial needs for the fourth quarter of this year.

During the visit of President Kuchma to Canada this week several new initiatives have been announced. This package includes $23.8 million in technical assistance initiatives which target policy advice on reform, private sector development and nuclear safety issues; $13.5 million in balance of payments support and a new $20 million EDC line of credit.

Protection of the environment is of critical importance to Ukraine, and Canada is demonstrating its leadership in this area through a number of technical assistance initiatives targeting water resource management and nuclear waste management.

Canada was the first donor country to implement a major environmental project in Ukraine.

We are currently supporting a $5 million, three-year project to assist with the rehabilitation of the Dnipro River, the source of drinking water for 70 per cent of Ukraine's population and one of the country's most pressing environmental problems.

[Human Rights, October 25th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member for monitoring human rights violations, not only in India. I know she is doing this in other parts of the globe.

Members of this House will be happy to know that yes, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will be addressing this with the minister visiting Canada. Canada is taking advantage of its good relations with India to make continual representations to that country regarding our concern about the human rights violations.

At noon today members of the New Democratic Party, the Reform Party, the Liberal Party and the Senate met with a representative from Amnesty International concerning these human rights violations. I think all members will be happy to know that Canada has made representations for Amnesty International to visit other parts of India, not only Bombay, but Punjab, Kashmir, et cetera.

[Department Of Natural Resources Act, October 17th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, I listened very carefully to the words of the secretary of state and also to the previous debater from the Bloc Quebecois. I read Bill C-48 in great detail.

I am having difficulty understanding the concerns of the speaker from the official opposition about the federal government infringing on provincial jurisdictions. The secretary of state also represents a riding in that province. I am wondering whether he could clarify if the federal government is infringing on provincial jurisdiction or is the bill truly a bill which has as its goal sustainable development in which not only Canada will benefit but this entire planet will benefit?

[Department Of External Affairs Act, October 4th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today in support of Bill C-47, an act to amend the Department of External Affairs Act.

Our government made a commitment when we were sworn into office to change the name of the Department of External Affairs to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. This change in title is a recognition of the changes of the department's mandate that have occurred over the 85 years since its inception.

The Department of External Affairs was created in 1909 by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier to conduct Canada's foreign policy. Since then the mission of the department has adapted to reflect Canada's growing role on the international stage.

During World War I for example, Canada played an important role internationally as part of the allied forces and a member of the imperial war cabinet. By the end of the war, Canada was emerging as a fully independent nation. This maturation was reflected in changes to the fledgling department.

In the 1920s under the leadership of Dr. O. D. Skelton, the Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs, and Counsellor Loring Christie, the department began to evolve into its current structure and the Canadian diplomatic corps was formed.

The second world war contributed further to the growth of the department. Canada became an active world player. We were a founding member of the United Nations and a full participant in such other international organizations as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO; the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, GATT; the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and, of course, the Commonwealth.

In more recent years, Canada has steadily increased its role in world affairs and joined additional organizations such as the G-7, the group of seven major industrialized nations, La Francophonie, and the Organization of American States, the OAS.

The department contributes significantly to this role, fulfilling its mission to portray, promote and defend the interests of Canada, to improve Canadians' awareness and understanding of the world and to serve Canadians at home and abroad.

Bill C-47 will amend the External Affairs Act to change the legal name of the department and the titles of its ministers and senior officials. Under this act, the Secretary of State for External Affairs becomes the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The title of the Minister for International Trade remains unchanged. The title of the junior minister, the Minister for External

Relations, will change to become the Minister for International Co-operation.

Senior official titles currently including the term under-secretary will reflect ministerial changes, thus the Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs will become the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, referred to as the DM for foreign affairs.

Bill C-47 makes no substantive changes to the structure of the department. Rather the change in name affected by this legislation reflects the current mandate of the department.

I would like to add a few words about the roles of the two new positions not written into the act but important to the development of Canadian foreign policy. These are the positions of Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa, and I see the secretary of state listening very attentively to what I am saying, and of course the Secretary of State for Asia Pacific.

The secretaries of state have proven to be invaluable contributors to Canada's foreign policy. They travel and meet widely with leaders in many countries where Canadian foreign policy interests are being pursued. I know how active they are in liaising with the diplomatic corps here in Canada. They complement the work of the minister very effectively.

Let us not forget the role of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position also not incorporated in this act but a very important role to represent the Minister of Foreign Affairs in his absence when he is out representing Canada in his many, many duties. I know personally what a heavy role that minister plays. Therefore the roles of secretaries of state and parliamentary secretary are very helpful to the minister and to the department.

To conclude, I say that the object of the bill is very clear. It is simply to make sure that our presence abroad and in international organizations reflects today's reality.

In our history, we went from colony to dominion and finally independent nation. The new title of Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade makes this evolution official.

[Canadian Heritage, October 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his intervention on the low level military flying activities in Labrador and Quebec.

The Minister of the Environment met recently with representatives of the three native groups who have decided not to participate to hear firsthand their concerns with the panel's review procedures.

The minister listened very carefully to their views. She respects their perspective but considers that the panel is conducting its proceedings fairly and in accordance with its mandate and the long tradition of independent federal environmental assessment hearings.

The minister has stated in this very Chamber that if she is presented with any evidence of bias on the part of any panel member she would not hesitate to remove that member. However, to date there is no evidence of any bias among the panel membership. The panel will hear from those who are interested in participating in a process that is important to the government's decision making on this issue.

The participation of the First Nations and Inuit among others is an important aspect of the public review process. The member will be happy to know that the panel has indicated its willingness to be flexible in its procedures and in responding to the interests of key stakeholders.

Thus far there has been valuable participation of stakeholders, including First Nations and Inuit representatives, in the review process. It would be unfortunate if important groups continued to choose not to participate but no group or individual can be forced to be part of this open process.

The panel has received substantial written information from the groups that will not be participating in the hearings and will be using that information to the extent possible. The government encourages all affected groups and individuals to participate in the public hearings and I hope I can count upon my colleagues to also urge all affected groups to participate rather than to abstain.