Debates of Jan. 25th, 1994

Pay Equity

[Ron MacDonald, Liberal, Dartmouth, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in the previous Parliament the issue of regional rates of pay within the federal public service was the subject of two private members' motions that I placed before the House. Indeed the existence and unfairness of regional rates of pays was the primary cause of the national ships crews strike in 1989. It continues to be an irritant within the federal public service.

Thousands of federal employees who work in Atlantic Canada doing the same jobs as their counterparts in central and western Canada get paid less, and in some cases up to 30 per cent less, simply because of the region in which they have chosen to live.

Last Thursday in the House the President of the Treasury Board stated:

One of the programs this government is most committed to is the matter of pay equity.

This is a pay equity issue. I urge the President of the Treasury Board to take immediate steps to eliminate this abhorrent, discriminatory practice of regional rates of pay.

Yugoslavia

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the following poem was read by Corporal Stewart Lowe on New Years Day in my riding. It was written by his friend, Corporal Ron Hefferman, in honour of their chums who were killed in the former Yugoslavia.

Today it seems appropriate to share it with all members of this House:

Remember me

We bid farewell to family and friends

In hopes that someday we can live as brothers.

I pray for the day that wars will end

And my fate will be spared to others,

It was the war to end all wars,

That was what they said,

But after seventy six long years,

Canada still counts her dead.

I was a true Canadian, I wish you could see,

All I ask is-Remember Me.

In war I fought and died, I thought that it would cease;

Now under the blue beret I die for world peace like

Michael, Ralph, John Zerpapolski

Plus the thousands of soldiers before

On November 11 I died for Peace not war.

I was a true Canadian, I wish you could see-All I ask

is

Remember Me.

National Burn Awareness Week

[Roger Gallaway, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to urge all members of the House of Commons and indeed all Canadians to recognize and lend their support to National Burn Awareness Week from February 6 to February 12.

Burn injuries are a leading cause of accidental deaths in Canada with children, the elderly and disabled Canadians being at highest risk. Most burn injuries and deaths can be prevented by increased public awareness and education.

Burn prevention through education means greater use of smoke detectors, increased home escape planning and teaching children not to hide from fire. Prevention through education will result in many lives being saved and great reductions in suffering.

Finally I wish to thank the members of the Shrine of North America as well as the Canadian Fire Association for their hard work and dedication to supporting and promoting National Burn Awareness Week.

Democracy In Haiti

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Anjou—Rivière-Des-Prairies, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank you, on behalf of all Canadians and Quebecers, for having welcomed President Aristide in this House.

There are many long-standing ties between our two communities and it is only natural that many Haitians chose to live with us.

I am sure I speak for all Canadians and Quebecers when I express the hope that human rights and democracy will be restored in Haiti as soon as possible and that President Aristide will go back to govern that country as its sole democratically legitimate leader.

Peacekeeping

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in keeping with the new Reform tradition of constructive comments in the House, I would like to compliment the Liberal government for scheduling today's debate where members are free to express their own opinions and hopefully the opinions of their constituents.

I am optimistic this may set a precedent of the government listening to the people of Canada before bringing forward government action in future crafting of legislation. Because noisy, attention seeking, special interest groups frequently appear to set government agenda, it would be most helpful if the government continues this policy of listening to members of the House and ordinary citizens of Canada.

Reform MPs will be watching closely to see what action the government takes with respect to Canada's peacekeeping role, the future direction in Canadian peacekeeping policy and operations, and whether that action parallels the overriding consensus of members of the House today.

Hockey

[John Nunziata, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, hockey fans across Canada were disappointed when the NHL Board of Governors effectively prevented Toronto Maple Leaf star, Glenn Anderson, from playing for Canada's Olympic hockey team next month. A motion by Maple Leaf President Cliff Fletcher at the Board of Governors meeting which would have allowed Anderson to play for Canada was not even considered.

The NHL has come up with some rather lame excuses considering the fact that the NHL has allowed its players to play in the Olympics in the past.

It is not right that NHL team owners, a majority of whom are American, should dictate who should play on our Olympic hockey team. Canada should be permitted to showcase its best athletes on the world stage. To their credit, Mr. Anderson and the NHL Players Association are not prepared to let the matter die. It is time for Canadian hockey fans to tell the NHL what they think about keeping Anderson off our Olympic team.

I call on the minister responsible for fitness and amateur sport to meet with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at the earliest possible opportunity, with a view to allowing Mr. Anderson to play on our Olympic team.

Ontario Coalition Of Senior Citizens Organizations

[Jean Augustine, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the work of the Ontario Coalition of Senior Citizens Organizations.

The coalition of 56 organizations across Ontario with 460,000 members has succeeded in compiling a brief with recommendations which was distributed to all federal Members of Parliament. The brief is very well written and their concerns are succinctly articulated. I know this will contribute greatly to the ongoing discussion concerning our aging population.

I wish the coalition well in its endeavours and I present this brief.

Forest Industry

[Elsie Wayne, Progressive Conservative, Saint John, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the aerial spray program to control the spruce budworm has been actively ongoing in New Brunswick for more than 30 years. This program has been successful in minimizing the damage in tree mortality caused by the spruce budworm and has been instrumental in ensuring the long-term viability and vigour of the New Brunswick forest industry.

The future health of New Brunswick's forest resource and its forest industry depends upon adequate protection against the spruce budworm. If the registration of fenitrothion were to be cancelled, our New Brunswick forests would be at serious risk if

we are forced to rely on B.t. alone. At present we have only one proven reliable tool and that is fenitrothion. B.t. is still in its experimental stage from an operational point of view.

The forestry in New Brunswick is the most important industry we have.

Cigarette Smuggling

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Prime Minister.

Yesterday in Saint-Eustache something very serious happened, something that should disturb any responsible government. More than 1,000 people deliberately and openly defied the law.

The Prime Minister knows perfectly well why otherwise honest citizens went to this extreme. These people are angry about the continuing failure of the federal government and the RCMP to stop cigarette smuggling. And now, this movement may spread to the Sherbrooke area tomorrow. In other words, the government is facing an organized movement of civil disobedience.

My question: Has the Prime Minister forgotten that his first duty is to enforce the rule of law?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have asked the RCMP to enforce the law and the necessary action will be taken. Charges will be laid against those who disobey the law.

Meanwhile, I have had a chance to discuss with several provincial premiers, including the Premier of Quebec, the Premier of Ontario, and the Premiers of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the possibility of taking a common stand and dealing with a situation that I deplore as much as the Leader of the Opposition does. We hope to have an agreement within the next few days. If not, we will act unilaterally, and I hope we can count on the support of the Opposition.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, this is an attempt to hide behind a smoke screen of possible discussions and hypothetical agreements with the provinces, but meanwhile, the government has the authority and the responsibility to take the necessary action.

I will ask the Prime Minister a very simple question which everyone in this country would like to ask. Since the identity and actions of the smugglers have been public knowledge for a long time, why do the federal government and the RCMP not take immediate action to make them stop?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am informed that the police have made a number of arrests in the past few weeks. If any members of this House have the names of some of the smugglers, I hope they will act as responsible citizens and advise the police so that they can take the necessary action. If the hon. member knows any smugglers, it is his duty to give their names to the police.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I imagine the Prime Minister has a tv monitor in his office. If he looks at the monitor, he will see who is responsible. Earlier, he passed the buck to the provincial governments and now he is passing the buck to the members of the opposition. He is the leader of the government, he is Prime Minister and he should do something about this.

I would like to ask how he can expect people to trust him to enforce the law, when an average citizen in Jonquière, after selling illegal cigarettes for an hour, is arrested while professional smugglers have been able to conduct their activities on a regular basis without any interference at all. The question is this; is there a double standard in the justice system in this country?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is no.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Solicitor General. The professional cigarette smugglers who have been active for many months are doing great harm to convenience store owners and to the public treasury. The government's inaction is only worsening the situation, and the demonstration in Saint-Eustache is damning proof.

My question is as follows. The Solicitor General told us yesterday that he had not intervened directly before to collect sufficient evidence. Therefore I ask him today whether he has evidence not only for Saint-Eustache but also for Akwesasne, Kahnawake and Kanesatake?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, evidence is a matter for the RCMP to decide; it is not for the Solicitor General to make such operational decisions. But I wish to inform the House that over the past year, the RCMP arrested 3,500 people and also seized tens of millions of dollars of contraband tobacco, and the RCMP will continue to enforce the law throughout our country.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

All well and good, Mr. Speaker. I now ask the Solicitor General whether the RCMP has given him evidence that smugglers have been acting for months in full view and with the full knowledge of everyone in Akwesasne, Kahnawake and Kanesatake? If he has such evidence, why does he not act?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, yes, so far the RCMP has given priority to fighting the big criminal rings that smuggle tobacco. As I just said, it is up to the RCMP to give the Crown prosecutor evidence and if the evidence is suitable, the people involved will be charged.

Taxation

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question today for the Minister of Natural Resources, whom I would like to congratulate on her appointment. And I do not have to raise my voice to make my point.

The Minister of Finance and others have implied that the government has a revenue problem rather than a spending problem. These insinuations have led to concerns especially in Alberta that the government is considering the institution of a carbon tax to be paid by the producers and users of fossil fuels.

As the Minister of Natural Resources and as the member for Edmonton Northwest, will the minister make strong representations to the finance minister pointing out the discriminatory aspects of such a tax and its potentially negative impacts on development and jobs in the petroleum sector?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, let me say first of all to the hon. member, I thank you for your kind words of congratulations.

In relation to his specific question let me say that I believe it to be purely speculative. As the hon. member is aware the Minister of Finance has embarked on an unprecedented consultative process. He is in Toronto today. He will be in Calgary on the weekend. I know that you and members of your caucus have been invited to participate in that process.

I look forward to having you and others make their views known in relation to the carbon tax on Saturday.

[The Speaker]

I know the minister meant to address herself to the Chair throughout.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I did the same thing with my first questions.

I have a supplementary question for the Minister of Natural Resources. The same speculations about the government having a revenue problem rather than a spending problem have also led to another concern. That is that the government is considering repealing the Public Utilities Income Tax Transfer Act which permits income taxes paid by investor owned utilities to be rebated to their customers so that they are put on the same footing as the customers of government owned utilities that pay no such taxes.

Will the Minister of Natural Resources, the hon. member for Edmonton Northwest, make strong representations to the finance minister concerning the discriminatory aspects of any such repeal and the negative consequences of such an action, particularly on energy users, in her home province?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, let me assure the hon. member from Calgary that I know this is a very important issue.

I have received representations as recently as yesterday in relation to this particular tax measure. I have already raised it with my colleagues in the Department of Finance. I know my comments will be taken into account as part of the ongoing consultative process.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have one further supplementary for the minister. This is a terrible question for a new minister.

If the federal budget, notwithstanding the minister's strong representations, were to contain a carbon tax or the repeal of the Public Utilities Income Tax Transfer Act, would the minister be willing to resign?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.