Debates of Nov. 22nd, 1994

Program For Older Worker Adjustment

[Janko Peric, Liberal, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw the attention of this House to a matter of grave concern to 22 of my constituents from Cambridge.

These constituents are former employees of Bundy Canada. They are all over the age of 55 and have received no income since they were laid off in 1991 due to problems with the program for older worker adjustment.

After numerous delays, my constituents are now being told that they must wait until the spring of 1995 for POWA designations and a resolution to this matter.

Many of these people have been forced to sell their homes, cash in their RRSPs and move in with other family members in order to survive. It is time that we returned some dignity to the lives of these people and relieved their emotional and financial distress.

I urge the minister to do whatever he can to encourage the Ontario government to agree to provide financial assistance to the affected workers under the current Canada-Ontario POWA framework agreement.

Violence Against Women

[Rose-Marie Ur, Liberal, Lambton—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, November is Wife Assault Prevention Month in the province of Ontario.

Statistics Canada says that one out of every four rural Canadian women is beaten. My riding of Lambton-Middlesex is primarily rural in nature. The fear and sense of isolation that every abused woman feels is compounded for abused women living in Canada's rural areas simply because rural living is more secluded and women feel they cannot leave the farm and farm business in which they are partners.

There is help for abused women in Middlesex county. The Women's Rural Resource Centre of Strathroy & area, which has offered protection for 200 area women over the last year, is also

conducting a rural outreach program for farm wives who are the victims of domestic violence.

In addition, the centre in conjunction with the Middlesex Board of Education is offering the services of a violence prevention counsellor for the children attending Strathroy's elementary schools.

We have to hope that proactive efforts like these will one day break the cycle of unacceptable domestic violence in Canadian households, both rural and urban.

Snowmobiling

[Andy Mitchell, Liberal, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, with the snowmobile season soon upon us, I rise in the House today to pay tribute to the volunteers who make snowmobiling in my riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka an important part of the economy, supporting a large number of businesses.

Snowmobiling is enjoying an incredible resurgence and it is fast becoming the number one winter sport. The tremendous growth has turned snowmobiling into a $1.25 billion industry in Canada, supporting thousands of jobs across the country. Largely financed by the user pay system, snowmobiling relies on the support and dedication of its volunteers.

In Parry Sound-Muskoka close to 850 of my constituents volunteer their time. Across Ontario the number is 10,000 and across Canada there are a staggering 30,000 volunteers who support the snowmobile industry.

Volunteers are a valuable commodity. In my riding these generous people are helping us fulfil our goal of becoming a four season tourism destination through the increasing popularity of snowmobiling.

Matthew Coon Come

[Laurent Lavigne, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, members of the Bloc Quebecois were flabbergasted at the Prime Minister's lukewarm response to the inflammatory statements made in Washington by the leader of the Cree Grand Council, Matthew Coon Come, in referring to Quebecers and their Premier.

Why did the Prime Minister of Canada remain silent after these attacks, when his government immediately poured millions of dollars into helping lumber companies in Western Canada that were criticized for clear-cutting? The Prime Minister of Canada preferred to avoid alienating his ally in the upcoming referendum campaign. He preferred to humiliate seven million Quebecers instead.

During his trip to China, the hon. member for Saint-Maurice gave us the assurance he would personally defend the interests of Quebec. Where is the hon. member for Saint-Maurice now?

Young Offenders Act

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week an acquaintance of mine driving in the mountains was stopped by a young man asking for help. He had suffered a car accident and his friend was still in the car badly injured.

When the police arrived my friend was surprised to find that the police were on a first name basis with this teenager who regularly steals cars, takes them up into the mountains and strips them before trashing them.

The police are more than a little discouraged. They continue to charge this fellow but under the Young Offenders Act nothing ever comes of it. A young criminal is still on the loose, more cars will be stolen and trashed and the teenager's friend is in the hospital with a broken back because the justice system does not have the guts to deal with young rebels.

This is just one more example of how the Young Offenders Act fails the young criminal, fails the innocent victims and fails the law-abiding Canadian public.

Gunther Plaut

[Barry Campbell, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Rabbi Emeritus Gunther Plaut of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto was recently in Berlin to deliver the convocation address at Humboldt University.

The rabbi, one of the world's most renowned theologians, was forced to flee Nazi Germany in the mid-1930s shortly after completing his Ph.D. at Humboldt University. His return there to give the convocation address marks the 60th anniversary of his receiving his Ph.D.

I know all members of this House appreciate the significance of this convocation address both for Rabbi Plaut and Humboldt University. The return in 1994 of a German citizen, a Jew, forced to flee from Nazi tyranny in the 1930s to address his German alma mater is a testament to how far Germany has come since the dark days of the Hitler tyranny.

In his address entitled "Asylum-The Moral Dilemma", Rabbi Plaut spoke of Germany's new, multi-ethnic face. He challenged Germany's young people to break new ground in tolerance and understanding and to forsake extremism.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Rabbi Plaut on the honour of his being invited to give the convocation address at Humboldt University in Berlin.

Government Operations

[Alex Shepherd, Liberal, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today the Auditor General released his report reviewing government expenditures and operations.

As vice-chair of the public accounts committee, it will be my and my colleagues' duty on that committee to review and make recommendations to this House on how to improve the way governments do business.

While the opposition may magnify government misspending, we in the government party realize a more mature approach is to consult with the bureaucracy in order to resolve these problems.

One of the areas that was reviewed was that of our prison system. I would like to report that I attended Millhaven penitentiary only yesterday in an attempt to understand how our system could become more cost effective.

I believe if the opposition parties took the time to see first hand how taxpayer dollars were being spent they could made recommendations that were more practical.

International Tribunal For Children's Rights

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the International Tribunal for Children's Rights was inaugurated in Paris yesterday. The headquarters of this tribunal will be in Montreal. The promoters of this extraordinary initiative were inspired by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed in New York in 1990, where several promises were made on behalf of children. Today we still find children who are drug addicts, prostitutes, conscripted, enslaved and even victims of traffic in body organs.

In this International Year of the Family, I urge members of this House to support this initiative and I encourage and congratulate those who will sit on this tribunal. Bravo!

Lacrosse Hall Of Fame

[Paul Forseth, Reform, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in 1963 lacrosse enthusiasts in New Westminster, British Columbia thought that since the city had such a great lacrosse heritage it would be the ideal location for the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame. It took some aggressive campaigning but it was worth the effort as the hall's charter was awarded in November 1964 and incorporated under the societies act in 1965.

In 1966, 48 charter members were selected by committees from the east and west. To date 284 inductees have been honoured in the hall of fame for Canada's official summer sport.

This past Saturday at the Royal Towers Hotel in New Westminister, the hall welcomed six new inductees, two builders and four box players. From the builders was Annie McDonald of Ontario and Mason Sheldrick from British Columbia. From the players was Grant Heffernan and Lou Nickle of Ontario and Bill Rawson and Doug Hayes from B.C.

These six inductees have served Canada's national sport honourably and I might say they have served it strike free. Congratulations to the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Friendship Centres

[Len Taylor, NDP, The Battlefords—Meadow Lake, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the aboriginal friendship centre program in the department of heritage improves the lives of urban aboriginal people through the provision of social, cultural and recreational services.

When the former Conservative government cut the program by 10 per cent in 1993, the Liberal opposition MPs rose in the House to publicly condemn the government's actions. Now that they are in government a department of heritage internal working document reveals that the Liberals are considering three proposals for funding reductions, a cut of 25 per cent, a cut of 50 per cent or a phase out of the program over three years.

Members of the National Association of Friendship Centres have been trying since last spring to meet the minister to discuss the proposed cuts, but without success. Because the continued survival of these centres is essential to the future of aboriginal people in Canada, I strongly urge the minister to meet with the National Association of Friendship Centres as soon as possible and I encourage him to exempt the valuable services that friendship centres provide from any planned budget cuts.

Vanier Cup

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the University of Western Ontario Mustangs finished an undefeated season with a record sixth Vanier Cup victory Saturday.

[An hon. member]

Again?

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, London West, ON]

Yes, again. I remember as a student cheering them on to their very first Vanier Cup in 1971. The Mustangs

won the Canadian varsity football championship in 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1989, and hopefully next year too.

Saturday's 50-40 victory was the first overtime victory in the history of the Vanier Cup. The Saskatchewan Huskies' valiant effort made for an exciting game for the spectators.

A Western fan, 82-year old Professor Emeritus Allen Philbrick, lapped the field after every Western touchdown, as he has done for the last 20 years.

I am proud to congratulate the team, the university and all the fans. I am very happy that they are in my riding.

Governor General

[Paul Zed, Liberal, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, it was with immense pride that I heard today in the House our Prime Minister announce that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has accepted his recommendation to appoint the Hn. Romeo LeBlanc as Canada's 25th Governor General. This is a wonderful tribute to a man who has served our country for so long and with such distinction.

The Prime Minister has bestowed an honour on all Atlantic Canadians, all new Brunswickers and in particular the vibrant Acadian community of North America.

On behalf of all New Brunswickers I wish to thank the Prime Minister for honouring us in this way. Romeo LeBlanc will make an excellent Governor General. He is a man possessed of unusual human strength, humour and compassion. I know his modest self-deprecating style and wit will endear him to all Canadians. He will be the people's Governor General, a man as comfortable chatting informally in a farmhouse kitchen in Sussex, New Brunswick, as he will be receiving a head of state at Rideau Hall.

The Prime Minister has made an outstanding choice. Members join me in congratulating Romeo, his wife, Diana, and their children Dominic, Genevieve, Joanna and Sarah. May God bless and keep our new head of state.

Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, following the Government of Quebec and the Mayor of Saint-Jean, Col. Marcel Parisien, Commandant of the Royal Military College in Saint-Jean, has proposed to the federal government an alternative to the brutal closure of the college in Saint-Jean.

In a letter addressed to his superiors, Col. Parisien confirms that Kingston does not have enough facilities to house the officer cadets from Saint-Jean and he expresses serious reservations about the ability of the college in Kingston to properly integrate French-speaking officer cadets in their language.

How can the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs refuse to consider Col. Parisien's proposal, since the colonel knows what he is talking about? Will he finally admit that the college in Kingston does not now have sufficient facilities for the French-speaking officer cadets from Saint-Jean?

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

Mr. Speaker, I checked again with defence department experts and with the defence minister himself. They confirmed for me that once all the costs of converting the college in Kingston are taken into account, the federal government would save $23 million a year net by putting all these military facilities there.

What must be done now is to implement the July 19 agreement so that the college in Saint-Jean can remain a post-secondary educational institution.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the minister quotes anonymous defence department experts for us. He should realize that the expert in this area, who is there on location running the college and knows what it really needs and what it must have in future and who also knows Kingston, is the commandant of the present college, Col. Marcel Parisien. He contradicts the minister.

The minister's attitude could drive one to despair. He is needlessly stubborn. When will he finally listen to reason, since he is practically the only one now who opposes his own commandant of the college in defending the brutal closure of the college in Saint-Jean, which Col. Parisien considers to be irresponsible and unrealistic?

Does he not realize that he is jeopardizing the attempt to reach the goal of 30 per cent French-speaking students in Kingston?

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

Mr. Speaker, again, I rely on the opinion of defence department experts. The commandant himself is not an expert on the costs of converting such an institution.

The experts are very clear. The federal government's position of concentrating all its teaching operations in Kingston is justified and the only problem still to be solved is to have the

Quebec government respect and ratify the agreement signed on July 19.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think that the minister has made himself look better and convinced anyone by discrediting the present commandant of the college, saying that he knows nothing about the operation, when he is himself appointed by the government to run the college. He is the government's representative to lead the college and the institution and we are being told that he does not know his work. They are hiding behind nameless officials who are under the minister's thumb.

Obviously, the minister still thinks that he alone is right on this issue. Does he share Col. Parisien's opinion that the college in Kingston cannot provide officer cadets with proper support to join the armed forces as French-speaking members and that their dropout rate will be higher?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is only appropriate since we are now not talking about the entente between the Government of Quebec and the Canada but rather the operations between the Canadian armed forces that I reply to the hon. member's question.

The commandant in question was sent this summer to wind down CMR. He was not involved in the original decision making and is therefore not fully apprised of all of the financial facts that were available to me as minister and to the department when the closure was announced.

What has happened here is something that should be explained. The commandant like a lot of base commanders across this country, faced with a lot of very frustrated and angry and upset people who are losing their jobs because of the base closures, whether they be in Chatham, Cornwallis, Dartmouth or North Bay, is trying to deal with his people in the best way possible.

In good faith he thought he was being helpful to the cause. We have pointed out to him that the facts in his letter do not add up. I now believe that the commandant realizes that the situation as we had described it originally and the facts upon which the original decision was based is the correct one.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once on site, the commandant of the college in Saint-Jean who was tasked with closing the college realized that the orders he had been given made no sense. This, I think, justifies his position.

In his report tabled today, the Auditor General states that infrastructure mismanagement in the Canadian Forces costs the Canadian government over $100 million a year. Furthermore, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs claims that closing the college in Saint-Jean will save $23 million, but he is very careful not to subtract from this $23 million the amount added to the budget of the college in Kingston for the teaching activities that will be transferred there.

Why does the government not admit that it erred by cutting the military college in Saint-Jean instead of targeting poor management practices that every year cost four times the total budget for all teaching activities in Saint-Jean?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the government made the right decision for financial reasons to close the two military colleges, Royal Roads and Collège Militaire Royal in Saint-Jean, regrettable as that may be. In fact we closed a number of facilities across the country. It has caused a lot of hardship to many communities.

What I think should not be lost sight of here is that the tactics of the opposition, the Bloc Quebecois, and the Government of Quebec are really distracting the focus of attention of those people who have to make a very important decision in their lives. By January 7 they have to decide whether or not to take the government offer, the civilian reduction plan, a program which has been offered to them.

What is happening is that hon. members opposite and their tactics are giving those people hope that somehow this decision will be reversed. The decision will not be reversed and they are doing themselves and the people of the province of Quebec a great disservice.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that the opposition wants to offer renewed hope to the people of Saint-Jean, unlike the minister who stubbornly refuses to change his mind.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

As the Auditor General of Canada said, the government continues to spend millions of dollars more on its real property than what is needed. These expenditures, says the Auditor General, are based on ill-considered political decisions.

Does the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs realize that building the infrastructure needed to accommodate 1,200 officer cadets in Kingston, when this number will be reduced to 900 within two years, is a waste of money, especially since such facilities already exist in Saint-Jean?