Debates of Jan. 28th, 1994

Voter's Rights

[The Speaker]

I know that the Prime Minister, being a veteran of many years in this House, will always direct his comments to the Chair and I really appreciate it.

Social Housing

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Public Works. Since 1986, the federal government has steadily withdrawn from the social and co-operative housing sector, leaving the poorest of our society in totally unacceptable housing conditions.

Does the minister intend to fulfil the commitments he made during the last election campaign by establishing non-profit social and co-operative housing programs?

[David Dingwall, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her important question.

I had a meeting with ministers of housing across the country. We discussed their concerns as they relate to social housing. However I remind the hon. member that social housing is not only the jurisdiction of the Government of Canada but also provincial governments, municipalities and other stakeholders.

We are providing $100 million over a two-year period under RRAP to provide some needed assistance for low income Canadians. We have fiscal restraint and fiscal measures with which we have to deal, along with provincial governments and municipalities. Within that framework, we will try to arrive at some moneys.

I do not want to mislead the hon. member into thinking that large sums of money are readily available to go to the issue that she raises here today.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, will the minister agree that not only do social housing programs contribute to improving living conditions of low income families but that a renewal of investment in social housing could also contribute to overall economic recovery?

[David Dingwall, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is quite correct.

I had discussions with the minister of housing in the province of Quebec regarding the possibility of consummating a deal between the Government of Canada and the province of Quebec so that we may be able to piggy-back, if you will, some moneys we have to facilitate greater investments in that province and get a better bang for the dollar both provincially and federally.

My discussions with the minister, Mr. Ryan, are continuing and I hope to be able to have something in the very near future that will contribute to that objective.

Auditor General's Report

[Stephen Harper, Reform, Calgary West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister and also concerns democratic reform.

In his annual report, the Auditor General identified the confidence convention as a major stumbling block in the reform of the budgetary process.

In view of the government's commitment to carefully examine and consider the Auditor General's recommendations, will the Prime Minister inform the House that he will relax the confidence convention and allow free votes in the upcoming budget?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this has nothing to do with how one makes a budget.

Voting after the budget is one thing. How to prepare a budget is something else. If the Minister of Finance reveals what he will do while preparing the budget, he would be forced to resign.

Some ministers in England have had to resign. In Canada there have been a few controversies because there were indications of what was to happen. Some people might buy shares or speculate on what the government will do.

Confidentiality is to make sure that nobody profits from the upcoming budget through speculation. We have to do that, otherwise somebody can get rich at the expense of the work of this House.

[Stephen Harper, Reform, Calgary West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to the Prime Minister I am asking about the confidence convention and not confidentiality.

My supplementary question is for the Prime Minister. In his report the Auditor General said that Canadians want to feel that members of Parliament may vote freely, and they expect more free votes. How does the government intend to respond to that feeling regarding free vote and streamline the budget process?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the issue of confidence in the government's budget policy is a fundamental one for any Parliament. If members were allowed to vote freely on parts of the budget, we would no longer have a government. The government must assume its responsibilities; it is up to the House to decide whether or not it has confidence in the government. No one is obliged to vote for the government. Even on this side, we have seen people do so. But, if they bring the government down, they know full well that elections will be called immediately after. I believe that the budget issue is a question of confidence in the government. The budget is first discussed with MPs, but once the Minister of Finance has tabled a budget approved by cabinet, it becomes a fundamental question of confidence in the government.

Quebec City Airport

[Philippe Paré, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

My question is for the Minister of Transport.

Citing economic reasons, the Department of Transport decided in 1984 to close the radar control facility at the Quebec City airport, in spite of a 15-year long struggle for recognition of the right to work in French in Quebec air space.

So far, the department has been unable to break the will of those who work in this area and the radar control facility is still in operation.

Since this decision was made by the former Conservative government, is the minister prepared to overturn it, just as his government overturned the decision in the case of Pearson airport in Toronto?

[Douglas Young, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the question raised by my hon. colleague obviously relates mainly to security and the ability to be understood in one's own language.

Let me assure the hon. member that these two criteria will always be met in so far as the service at the Quebec City airport is concerned.

[Philippe Paré, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since economic reasons were cited for this decision, has the minister considered closing other radar control facilities located in closer proximity to their regional control centres, as is the case in Ottawa and Calgary?

[Douglas Young, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we are now in the process of reviewing the country's entire air traffic control system. I can assure my hon. colleague that the same criteria will be applied, whether it be in Quebec City, Calgary, Moncton or Vancouver.

Infrastructure Program

[Ken Epp, Reform, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for Infrastructure. The infrastructure program as proposed obligates the provinces and municipalities to match federal dollars.

Since all provinces, many municipalities and certainly the federal government are burdened with an immense long-term debt, does the minister have any plans to treat with fairness those municipalities who choose not to add to the debt load of the taxpayers by not participating in the program?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, there is no obligation on the part of any municipality to participate in this program. But I must tell him that we are inundated with requests from municipalities for information because they want to be a part of the program.

In their meeting with the Prime Minister on December 21 the 10 provincial premiers agreed to participate in this program.

They all want to be a part of it because they recognize the synergistic effect of bringing together three levels of government, and providing these infrastructure programs will help get people to work now.

[Ken Epp, Reform, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a supplementary question. My colleagues and I were elected largely because we represent the conviction that reduced government spending leading to reduced debt and reduced taxes is the real way to generate increased economic activity and produce ongoing prosperity and jobs.

What answer does the minister have for my constituents who are adamantly opposed to more government borrowing?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, we are not going to borrow more money to produce our $2 billion for this program.

We have said time and time again, and it is in the red book if the hon. member wants to refer to that document, that we will do it through reallocation. We are not going to add to the debt. We are not going to add to government spending. We are going to reallocate because we believe that getting people back to work is a high priority and it is a matter of setting high priorities.

Intergovernmental Affairs

[Maurice Bernier, Bloc, Mégantic—Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Members from both sides of the House undoubtedly remember the now famous Charlottetown saga that led to the October 26, 1992 referendum. In Quebec, that referendum was held pursuant to Quebec's Referendum Act.

The previous government made a commitment to reimburse the Government of Quebec for the cost of the referendum, namely $26 million.

Can the Minister tell this House whether he has honoured the previous government's commitment to reimburse this $26 million? If not, can he tell us what is happening with the negotiations on this?

[Marcel Massé, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada]

Mr. Speaker, if I understand correctly the background to this question, I do not believe that the previous government made a formal commitment to reimburse these costs.

[Maurice Bernier, Bloc, Mégantic—Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister should check this statement. Whether there was a commitment or not, and we maintain that the previous government did indeed make such a commitment, would it not be fair to reimburse Quebec since Quebecers have already paid through their taxes for about a quarter of the cost of the referendum held in the rest of Canada?

[Marcel Massé, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I will certainly check the records to see whether the previous Prime Minister gave his agreement, but I am confident that there was no formal agreement.

We are still reviewing the request from the Government of Quebec. There are a number of legal precedents to consider, in particular a case indicating that when the Quebec government decided to hold its own referendum within the province, it also had to assume all related responsibilities. This issue is still under study and we will be able to give a more detailed answer soon.

The Economy

[John Bryden, Liberal, Hamilton—Wentworth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have good news for the House. The Conference Board of Canada has released its index of business confidence which as members know is regarded as a leading indicator of economic activity.

The index shows a jump of 10 per cent to a level of 150.8 for the final quarter of 1993, bringing the index to its highest level since the first quarter of 1989.

My question is directed to the acting Minister of Finance. Can Canadians consider this most welcome news as a harbinger of the end of the recession?

[Doug Peters, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the hon. member for Hamilton-Wentworth. It allows me to state that this indeed is good news and that there will be some substantial improvement in the economic standing of this country. It is clear that the government's commitment to implement its infrastructure program, its commitment to develop the Canada investment fund and to improve the access to capital by small and medium size business has been very well received by the business community in this country.

Immigration

[Sharon Hayes, Reform, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this is not about such good news. The people of Port Moody-Coquitlam are demanding answers. Michael Drake, a convicted child molester, has once again been released into our community.

Drake was charged in 1992 with sexually assaulting a two and a half year old girl in Bellingham, Washington. He jumped bail and was convicted in absentia.

Drake has just been released until his deportation case resumes on February 16. Until then a menace to our community is free to come and go as he wishes.

My question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Being ultimately responsible for this case, what course of action does the hon. member plan to take in order to ensure that this convicted child molester is immediately deported?

[Sergio Marchi, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to share with the member and the House the frustration we all feel when individuals such as the one the member mentions pursue access to immigration programs.

I want to assure the member and all Canadians that this government will have a fair and progressive immigration policy. But to be fair and progressive we must be tough in applying the law across the board so individuals who are a threat to the community, to Canadians or to the system clearly do not fall through the loopholes.

I assure the hon. member that I will use all the powers granted to me under the Immigration Act, remembering the fact that privacy laws preclude me from going into specific details of this case or any other case.