Debates of Nov. 29th, 1994

Firearms Registration

[Lee Morrison, Reform, Swift Current—Maple Creek—Assiniboia, SK]

Mr. Speaker, a 20-year man in the RCMP recently made the following statement to me: "In my experience the use of firearms to commit assaults or murders pale by comparison to the use of knives or blunt objects. Restricting the lawful use of firearms by other citizens is an unnecessary intrusion.

If the government goes ahead with plans to register long arms we will be so bogged down by paper work and enforcement that criminals will be much better off. We might as well put our uniforms and revolvers in the closet because we will be busy filling out forms".

In my experience, the most vocal opponents of firearms registration are RCMP officers and especially retired officers,

including former Assistant Commissioner Robert Head and a couple of fellows right here on the Hill.

L.H. Nicholson, the most respected commissioner in the history of the force was adamantly opposed to registration. Of course the Liberals are not interested in the views of people who actually know what they are talking about.

Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, for many years we have seen our access to the U.S. markets systematically reduced by the U.S. government. When Canada signed the Uruguay round agreement on April 15, 1994, the Canadian sugar industry applauded the conclusion of these negotiations.

Little did it know that the U.S. took the opportunity to severely restrict our already limited ability to export to the American market when it tabled its market access commitments. The result is that its market access stands to be virtually erased on January 1, 1995 when the U.S. implements its GATT schedule.

During the 1980s the U.S. government took action to ensure that Canadian cane refiners could not export to the U.S. Now it is the beet farmers who are going to be affected. There are 1,700 Canadian jobs that will be affected unless the government makes some changes.

I am urging this federal government to find a resolution to this problem. With less than one month to go time is running out.

Osteoporosis

[Paddy Torsney, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, November is Osteoporosis Month.

Osteoporosis is a debilitating disease which causes bones to become brittle and break easily. More than one million Canadian women over the age of 50 have osteoporosis and another two million are at risk of developing the disease. Further, there are 400,000 Canadian men who are suffering.

Through education and awareness this disease can be prevented and treated. For this reason Health Canada provides financial assistance to the Osteoporosis Society of Canada and its "build better bones" campaign which encourages Canadians to assess their diet, ensure adequate calcium intake and make healthier lifestyle choices.

The Canada prenatal nutrition program gives mothers to be counselling and proper nutrition so they can increase their calcium intake. Educating women on how to stay healthy before and after pregnancy improves the lives of the next generation of Canadians.

I am pleased that these initiatives have the well-being of every generation in mind and suggest that perhaps MPs should audit their own lifestyles and take action now.

Grey Cup

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to congratulate the B.C. Lions on an absolutely outstanding season, a brilliant win in the Grey Cup and keeping our treasured cup in Canada.

The B.C. Lions exceeded our expectations and defended Canada's honour by ensuring that a no-name team returned home as it arrived, empty handed. The Lions have made all Vancouverites, British Columbians and Canadians proud.

On behalf of all members of Parliament and all constituents of Vancouver South, I congratulate a fantastic victory by our football team, the B.C. Lions.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

Bosnia

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned that Bosnian Serb forces have stepped up their offensive against the Muslim enclave of Bihac, where 70,000 people are literally under siege along with 1,200 powerless peacekeepers. Meanwhile, the noose is tightening considerably around the peacekeepers in Visoko, whom the Bosnian Serb army is threatening to bomb within 48 hours.

Does the Prime Minister confirm the information that the Bosnian Serb army is about to bomb the Canadian peacekeepers' base in Visoko?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have no indication that the Serbs are about to resume their attack on the base in Visoko. We hope that everyone will stay calm, that the fighting will end and that a ceasefire will be declared as soon as possible.

The Canadian troops are there not to wage war but for humanitarian reasons, to distribute food and medicine to the population. They have done a great job so far, and neither the Serbs nor the Muslims have any reason to attack our brave soldiers.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, has the Prime Minister ascertained that the UN resolutions allow the peacekeepers to retaliate and assure their own safety in case the Serb forces carry out their bombing threats?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the United Nations issued very specific rules of engagement to every group operating under its authority. They can retaliate against any real attack, but I hope that they will not have to use their right of self-defence.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, can the Prime Minister tell us if Canada intends to use its influence so that the contact group composed of France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany and the United States will adopt a uniform position on how the peace process in Bosnia should be put in place?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our Minister of Foreign Affairs is now in Moscow. He talked with his Russian colleagues a little earlier today. Everyone agrees that we must try to find a negotiated solution and that a ceasefire must be declared as soon as possible.

Mil Davie Shipyard

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. The Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board just made its ruling regarding the award, without call for tenders, of a construction contract to Saint John Shipbuilding, as part of the Hibernia megaproject. The Board ruled unequivocally that the MIL Davie shipyard, in Quebec, had suffered a prejudice, since it had bidden on this contract, unlike Saint John Shipbuilding. This important contract involves several hundred jobs.

How can the Prime Minister justify the decision made by the Hibernia consortium, of which he is a shareholder, to directly award the contract to Saint John Shipbuilding, rather than to MIL Davie, which is a blatant violation of the applicable rules?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I was informed of this regrettable incident yesterday. I agree with the hon. member that the contract should not have been awarded directly to Saint John Shipbuilding. I have asked the Minister of Natural Resources to immediately contact the chairman of the consortium and ask him to review the decision. Some claim that there was legal authority to act as they did, but they certainly violated the spirit of the agreement, to the effect that everyone should have a fair opportunity. We hope that they will review the decision and allow MIL Davie to bid, like other interested parties.

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

Mr. Speaker, will the Prime Minister pledge to give clear instructions to the representative who sits on Hibernia's board of directors, so that he will make a plea in favour of awarding the contract to MIL Davie?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have been in touch with the consortium to the effect that it should review its decision. We made it very clear. There is one representative, not directly of the federal government but of a corporation connected with the federal government, and we will give him instructions to vote in favour of changing the decision.

The Economy

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today a confidential document produced by the International Monetary Fund states that the government's goal of reducing the deficit to 3 per cent of GDP is woefully inadequate and will permit the addition of another $155 billion to the federal debt over the next few years.

The problem here is that the minister's deficit reduction target is essentially political, geared to appeasing proponents of high spending rather than a real fiscal target aimed at balancing the budget.

My question to the finance minister is will he follow the IMF's advice and introduce more ambitious deficit reduction targets now?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance and Minister responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development-Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, the 3 per cent target is a very important target. It really does mark that point in the evolution of the nation's economy where once again the growth in the economy becomes superior to the growth in the debt.

The 3 per cent target as well is a very ambitious target. It means having the deficit as a percentage of GDP in under three years. It is a target that has not been hit by any government in over 20 years, and it is going to require a very ambitious program.

I would say that not only are we prepared to follow the IMF's advice but in conversations we have had in Madrid along with all the other countries in the IMF Canada was singled out for its economic performance.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister beats around the bush. Is not the real reason that the finance minister will not commit to firmer deficit reduction targets that he cannot convince enough of his ministerial colleagues to take the necessary measures to reduce government spending?

Over the last month we have seen minister after minister and heads of agencies show up at committees pleading for increasing or maintaining high levels of spending, not putting forward major reductions. For example, the minister of heritage last week is said to have promised his resignation if the CBC were to be partially privatized.

Is the Minister of Finance prepared to make the spending cuts, the level of cuts advocated by the IMF and others, even at the expense of the resignation of some of his ministerial colleagues?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance and Minister responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development-Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, this cabinet and this government are united behind our goal to achieve the 3 per cent deficit.

There are no splits on this side of the House contrary to the splits which existed in the Reform Party when the leader of the Reform Party's hand was forced when his own members said finally after a year maybe they should get constructive and start saying what that party would do in terms of the deficit.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the fiscal reality is the international money markets have already factored in the government's deficit target, the Canadian dollar is weak, interest rates are rising and unemployment is still at the 10 per cent level.

Unless the government adopts a more courageous stance on deficit reduction during the present recovery it will make exactly the same mistake the Mulroney government made in 1984-85.

I ask the Prime Minister why does he not expend some of his present political capital on eliminating the deficit rather than allowing ministers to fritter it away on half baked measures?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have a program that is very clear. We have cut expenditures and we will keep cutting expenditures. We are making sure at the same time that we have growth in the economy.

If tomorrow we were to eliminate the deficit from $42 billion to zero there would be a huge recession in Canada. The wise thing is to do it in a progressive way. We are doing that.

There are a lot of people complaining because we have too many cuts but we will achieve our target of 3 per cent of GDP by the third year of our administration.

Hibernia Project

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Richelieu, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Natural Resources.

The federal government has been pouring billions of dollars into the Hibernia project. It has one of the six seats on the board of directors, which allows it to influence administrative decisions such as the one resulting in awarding a contract without tender to Saint John Shipbuilding.

Can the minister explain why she has consistently refused to answer the questions put to her by the opposition for several months now with respect to the lack of supervision of the day-to-day management of the company, which has led to the current problems with respect to the way contracts were awarded to Saint John Shipbuilding?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, let me reiterate that which I have said before and perhaps correct the hon. member in one small way.

We are one of five on the Hibernia management company. That company is seized with the responsibility of the day to day management of the Hibernia project.

I will reiterate here today, as I have before, it is not this government's intention to micro-manage on a day to day basis that project.

However, as the Prime Minister has indicated, in relation to the situation involving MIL Davie there is a clear report from the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Board indicating MIL Davie and other Canadian companies were not given full and fair opportunity to bid for the work in question. The Prime Minister's answer has been clear today that we are as concerned about that as the hon. member and we will take action.

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Richelieu, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the same minister.

In view of the minister's answer not to interfere with the day-to-day management of the project, am I to understand that the federal government's refusal to intervene is part of its strategy to close down the last major shipyard in Quebec, while Quebec has supported 90 per cent of the efforts made to streamline the shipbuilding industry?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to repeat what I said earlier. I was informed yesterday that this contract might have been awarded without tender. We intervened immediately. We asked the chairman of the consortium to review the decision and to allow other Canadian shipbuilders to bid on the contract.

We acted immediately. The member's accusations are unjustified.