Debates of Oct. 5th, 1994

Agriculture

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I recognize the importance of this issue to the province of Saskatchewan. It is also an important issue generally because of course the principle of equity with respect to action taken in Saskatchewan must fit with the overall programming of safety nets across the country.

I would hasten to point out to the hon. gentleman, who I think already knows, that I did not cause the problem with the GRIP in Saskatchewan. This government did not cause the problem with the GRIP in Saskatchewan. That dubious responsibility rests with previous federal and provincial governments. We are trying to solve the problem with respect to Saskatchewan and we intend to do it as rapidly as possible.

[Allan Kerpan, Reform, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre, SK]

Mr. Speaker, regardless of who caused the problem or whose problem it addressed, the details of this program were promised by the end of July. It is now October.

Why will the minister not stand up for farmers in his home province? Will the minister give this House today a real date for the release of this program?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman will know that in the past with respect to safety net programs in agriculture part of the problem has been a failure in the preparation and thought process that has gone into these programs to make sure that we get them right in the first place.

In this program that we are responsible for, we are making sure that we do it right in the first instance so it does not have to be fixed time and time again after the fact.

United Nations

[Jim Jordan, Liberal, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

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

I thought the minister's idea of a permanent United Nations army for rapid deployment to trouble spots around the world had a great deal of merit. Other member nations at the UN apparently did not agree with Canada's proposal.

Does the minister have any plans to modify or amend his proposal to try again to get it accepted or have we heard the last of this good idea from Canada?

[André Ouellet, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that we do not intend to capitulate at this moment. Obviously this is an idea that would give the United Nations a very effective instrument which could be used to enhance substantially its efficiencies.

There are a number of countries that are supporting this idea. Some superpowers have some hesitation in supporting it because it is quite clear their influence would be diminished through this initiative. Nevertheless we will carry on the study and invite as many members of the United Nations as possible to participate in the study and come forward with a resolution that will enhance immensely the efficiency of the United Nations.

Community Action Program For Children

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. On May 13, 1993, the Government of Canada and the province of Quebec signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the implementation of the Community Action Program for Children. Under the terms of the MOU, grants were supposed to be paid no later than the end of August or the beginning of September. Unfortunately, for the most part, this has not been the case.

My question is this: Could the minister, who belongs to a government which seems to be suddenly very concerned about child poverty, explain why she waited until yesterday, Tuesday, October 4, to approve grant applications presented by community agencies working among these client groups?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to see that the Bloc member is concerned about the welfare of Canadian children. However, I wonder where her party, which has a good research service, gets its information. Yesterday, I was in Quebec and every day, across Canada, I sign projects of this kind. As a matter of fact, we approved quite a few recently, including one in the member's riding.

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as she is very much aware, the delays caused by the minister are unwarranted and unacceptable.

Could the minister explain why her office refuses to give the Official Opposition the list of projects which were submitted and of those which were approved? What is she trying to hide?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to see the separatists so interested in federal programs. I applaud them. Of course I will give them all the information they wish to have. All they have to do is contact me and I will give them the information they request.

[The Speaker]

My colleagues, perhaps when we address each other we could address each other as parties. It might facilitate things.

Pearson International Airport

[Jim Gouk, Reform, Kootenay West—Revelstoke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Transport made light of my statement that without a public inquiry we will not know if the Pearson deal really was good or not. Obviously he believes it to be a bad deal.

Will the minister advise this House what proof of wrongdoing by the Pearson group led him to this position? What proof does he have?

[Joe Fontana, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I find it incredible that the critic for the Reform Party and the Reform Party, the so-called defender of the public purse, would stand here today and support paying the developers $445 million for the Pearson deal.

Before the election this Prime Minister gave notice that we were going to review the bill and if it was not in the public interest, we would cancel the bill. Everyone involved in that deal decided to sign it. We and all Canadians believe that the deal was bad. We cancelled it. The Reform Party is wrong.

[Jim Gouk, Reform, Kootenay West—Revelstoke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister offers no proof because there is no proof to offer. Yet he continues to refuse to hold a public inquiry to determine what, if any proof exists. Will the minister admit to this House

that his position is nothing more than a cover-up of a Liberal election strategy gone bad?

[The Speaker]

My colleagues, the use of the word cover-up sometimes is a little bit strong. I would hope that other terms might be considered when posing questions or answering questions.

[Joe Fontana, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I even find it more incredible that the Reform Party would be supporting the position of a previous government of Brian Mulroney with respect to the Pearson deal.

The Reform Party seems to forget that there have been public hearings on the bill. The public has been heard, the facts have come out and we have reports that indicated the deal was not in the public interest.

We believe we are on the right side of this. The people of Canada believe that we need to cancel the deal. We have and we intend to get on with building Pearson the way it should be, in the public interest.

Doubled-Hulled Ships

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in response to questions put to her in this House as to whether Canada had passed legislation on double hulling, the Minister of the Environment asserted in a sarcastic tone of voice that such legislation existed and had in fact been passed in 1993, did she not? How can the minister reconcile this statement made in this House on four separate occasions and the one made in Vancouver yesterday, when she said that there was no act on double-hulled ships and that, if such an act did exist, it would have the effect of shutting down the port of Vancouver?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I was hoping that would have been the last question on double hulls. As I pointed out to the member, I not only sent him a copy of the bill but the bill in question which was passed in 1993 deemed that all newly constructed oil tankers must have a double hull. That was the law of the land adopted in 1993 and I sent the member a copy.

What was suggested in Vancouver and to which I objected was that unilaterally Canada should prevent any ship coming from any other country that was built before 1993 that did not have a double hull for oil tankers.

What I suggested very clearly in the port of Vancouver is that when we move on double hulling, and my colleague the Minister of Transport is very interested in this issue and understands that we need to have an international agreement, we have to make sure that the port of Vancouver has the same chance to compete as the port of Seattle. That is why I made the point.

Patrick Kelly

[Bill Gilmour, Reform, Comox—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week I asked the justice minister to review the Patrick Kelly case and in particular to release the Ontario police file to Mr. Kelly's lawyer, but more fundamentally to order an independent review into the Kelly case.

Will the justice minister commit to this House that he is going to order an independent inquiry and if so, when and what form of inquiry?

[Russell MacLellan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is a little late. There has already been a press release issued. The Minister of Justice has appointed a special counsel to look into the Kelly case, both what has transpired and what will transpire. The investigation will continue through the department.

Law Of The Sea Convention

[Ted McWhinney, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and concerns the Canadian government's initiatives over the last year for modernizing the law of the sea and for fisheries conservation.

Will the minister assure the House of continuing Canadian support for the establishment of the new international tribunal on the law of the sea authorized under the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention?

[André Ouellet, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his question. I know he is well versed in the subject and has long experience in this regard. I want to assure him that the Government of Canada is very much committed to a convention on the law of the sea.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service

[Chris Axworthy, NDP, Saskatoon—Clark's Crossing, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Solicitor General.

It is now clear that the CSIS spy, Grant Bristow, was not only the key player in the creation of the Heritage Front, training its members in the art of intimidation, but he also acted for CSIS spying on legitimate organizations such as the Canadian Jewish Congress and even the Reform Party.

When the Canadian public is demanding to know how all of this could happen, CSIS is hiding Bristow in a safe house at a secret location at taxpayers' expense.

I want to ask the Solicitor General if he supports CSIS in these types of activities. If not, will he use his power to ensure that Bristow appears before the Security Intelligence Review Committee to blow the whistle on these outrageous activities of CSIS?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have already said publicly that I have indicated to the director of CSIS I expect the agency to act squarely within the law as passed by Parliament.

Furthermore, the Security Intelligence Review Committee has very extensive powers and I am sure it knows how to use them.

[Translation]

Presence In Gallery

[The Speaker]

I wish to draw the attention of members to the presence in our gallery of His Excellency Mr. Faustin Twagiramungu, Prime Minister of the Republic of Rwanda.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.