Debates of Feb. 11th, 1994

The Late Louise Breau

[Harold Culbert, Liberal, Carleton—Charlotte, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to pay tribute to Mayor Louise Breau of Millville, New Brunswick, who passed away on February 3, 1994.

Not only did Mayor Breau serve her community, she also served on the New Brunswick Villages Association and on the Provincial Municipal Council for New Brunswick. She was keenly interested in the well-being of her fellow citizens and worked tirelessly on their behalf. She will be missed by Millville and throughout New Brunswick.

On behalf of members of the House of Commons I extend sincere condolences to her family and friends and to the citizens of Millville, New Brunswick.

Patrick Tremblay Foundation

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the last few months, the media have been talking about the case of a 21 year-old man, Mr. Patrick Tremblay, who is presently fighting against a devastating form of cancer in Texas.

A foundation under his name has been set up in order to pay for the costs of his treatment and to help other people who are in the same dreadful situation.

The people responsible for the foundation had asked for its incorporation and later issued in good faith receipts for income tax purposes, until they learned that the foundation did not have the necessary accreditation.

Without the financial support of the foundation, Mr. Tremblay would be forced to give up his treatment, which was having good results and contributing to his cure.

The accreditation request for income tax purposes of the Patrick Tremblay Foundation is presently under review by officials from the Department of Revenue. I appeal to the compassion of the Minister of Revenue so that he can put an end to the delay in accrediting this foundation.

West Coast Ports

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the government for dealing with the labour dispute at the west coast ports.

Our constituents, including many farmers who depend on the operation of west coast ports for their livelihood and who suffered direct financial loss from demurrage charges during these tie-ups, were very anxious to see this dispute brought to a conclusion. I am glad the government was responsive to their concerns.

This is not the first time that the government has had to legislate the end to a port workers strike. I hope the government has learned something from this experience and the experience of previous governments and will move in the near future to declare grain handling an essential service.

Cbq Radio

[Stan Dromisky, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Atikokan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I extend greetings to CBQ-CBC Radio of Thunder Bay on its 20th anniversary of reaching into the homes and hearts of northwestern Ontario from Manitouwadge to Kenora to Sandy Lake.

Due to the foresight of the founding forces such as the late Paul McCrae, Liberal MP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan, Doug Ward, Ken Dawson, the late Gladys Hart and the former mayor, Dusty Miller, to name a few, CBQ became the unifying link between eastern and western Canada.

Through creative programming of superior quality such as "Voyage North", "Indian Faces" and "The Great Northwest" we have listened to the heartbeat of the finest nation in the world, a nation of peoples of diverse values, religions, languages and customs sharing a common dream.

I say thanks to CBQ for being so distinctly Canadian.

Capital Gains Tax

[Beryl Gaffney, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Nepean constituents are calling and writing concerning the capital gains tax exemption of $100,000 for individuals and $500,000 for farmers and small business entrepreneurs. Overwhelmingly they are saying do not cut the capital gains tax exemption.

Canadians from coast to coast dedicate enormous amounts of time and effort planning for their retirement years. For many of them a crucial link in their strategy is their personal $100,000 lifetime capital gains exemption.

While many upper income Canadians may have already claimed their maximum lifetime exemption, it is the middle and lower income Canadians who will use the exemption to supplement their retirement income. The elimination or reduction of the exemption would penalize middle and lower income Canadians. The capital gains tax exemption was introduced to encourage investment in business. It is achieving this purpose.

Violence

[Walt Lastewka, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to join my colleagues in condemning violence in society.

Members on both sides of the House have indicated their concerns and those of their constituents over violence in society and the need for reform of our criminal justice system.

In this year, the year of the family, violence in the home is particularly intolerable. The Statistics Canada survey released last fall revealed that one-quarter of all women have experienced violence by a spouse or former spouse. Urgent steps must be taken to increase public awareness, to provide refuge and protection for abused women and children and to ensure offenders are penalized.

The Minister of Justice stated he will introduce measures to deal with violence, particularly violence against women and children. I am pleased the minister has seen the urgent need for action on this issue. I encourage him to bring forward these measures as soon as possible.

Tribute To Frédéric Back

[Gaston Péloquin, Bloc, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

On behalf of all Quebecers and Canadians, we wish to congratulate Frédéric Back whose new film Le fleuve aux grandes eaux has been selected for the Oscars in the short animated category.

It is the fourth nomination for this Quebec film-maker who already won two Oscars for Crack , in 1982, and The Man Who Planted Trees, in 1988.

This new film by Mr. Back, which has been described as a love song to the St. Lawrence River, was already awarded the Grand prix of the Annecy animated film festival in June 1993 and the prize for the best animated film of 1993 awarded in January by the movie critics of Los Angeles.

We wish to point out that this film was produced thanks to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which shows once more the need to maintain the budget of the CBC.

Good luck, Mr. Back.

Saskatchewan Winter Games

[Elwin Hermanson, Reform, Kindersley—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the residents of Kindersley-Lloydminster, I am pleased to rise in the House to pay tribute to the 1,600 athletes who will take part in the Saskatchewan Winter Games to be held from February 13 to February 19 in Kindersley, Saskatchewan. These young athletes have put in many long hours of training and I congratulate them for qualifying for the provincial games.

Kindersley is the smallest community in Saskatchewan to ever host the games. I am sure all members of this House will join me in wishing the organizing committee and all of the people of Kindersley and its surrounding communities every success in hosting such a large event.

I commend all of the volunteers and organizers for putting in the many hours of planning, preparation and hard work necessary to hold such an event.

I would encourage all members and all Canadians to take this opportunity to visit Kindersley and see the best young athletes in Saskatchewan compete in this year's winter games.

Capital Gains Tax

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, many farmers in the great constituency of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell are concerned about the future of the capital gains exemption for farmers.

Of particular concern to me and my constituents is that farmers are jumping the gun and incorporating their farm operations now before the budget is tabled. This is costing them between $5,000 and $10,000 for the incorporation plus additional accounting fees of as high as $2,000 per year. Worse yet, the decision to incorporate is virtually irreversible. This certainly cannot go on. Farmers need their capital gains exemption. It is the equivalent of a pension.

I call on the government to keep this exemption and to state so at the earliest opportunity.

South Africa

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

Mr. Speaker, four years ago today Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island in South Africa after spending more than 27 years in prison. South Africans, Canadians and people around the world are celebrating the anniversary of his release and the road to democracy which has been followed in South Africa.

I would like to pass on greetings to those who gather in Toronto tonight as part of a fundraising effort for voter education in South Africa. We wish our friends in South Africa well as they prepare and educate themselves about their democratic right to vote, a right which has until now been denied to 80 per cent of the people of South Africa.

All South Africans will have the opportunity to exercise this right for the first time on April 27, 1994.

Cigarette Taxes

[Bob Ringma, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House the Prime Minister cited a three to one favourable response to the tobacco rollback tax on an Ontario radio show. The Prime Minister said that this is proof that Canadians support the government decision.

A radio talk show in my riding of Nanaimo-Cowichan reports just the opposite. CHUB radio talk show host Larry Thomas says callers to his show are nearly unanimous in their condemnation of the tax break.

In addition, the Prime Minister cited some support for the plan from radio show callers in our leader's riding when the Minister of National Revenue appeared as a guest.

I suggest the hon. minister listen to the constituents in his own riding. Talk show host Terry Spence from CFAX in Victoria reports a poll taken in his show was 55 to 5 against the tax break. The callers see the main issue being one of law and order and suggest the best plan of attack is for the government to show some intestinal fortitude-

[The Speaker]

Order, please.

Health

[Audrey McLaughlin, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, the future of our health care system is as stake. Canadians deserve to have someone who will stand for our health care system, someone who will be a real leader. The Minister of Health failed on all counts.

The Minister of Health has refused to stand on behalf of Canadians. When her government reduced taxes on cigarettes, she refused to commit herself on the issue of reduction of taxes on alcohol. This minister's actions have not given Canadians a lot of confidence in her ability to advocate on their behalf in health care matters.

This minister's actions have become a hazard to our health. She must resign.

Cigarette Taxes

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in an interview with La Presse yesterday, the Prime Minister followed the lead of his health minister in announcing the end of the plan to lower cigarette taxes for next year, barely 48 hours after making his action plan public.

My question for the Deputy Prime Minister is this: How can she explain the Prime Minister's doing such an about-face 48 hours after he announced his plan? Does she not believe that it is sending the wrong signal to the smuggling rings?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have read the Prime Minister's interview, and what he said is that within a year, he expects the lost revenue, which now totals almost $1 billion, to be recovered because the government will control the cigarette smuggling problem. That is what he said. It was also reflected in the health minister's comments. Of course, the Prime Minister's remarks are part of our strategy to end the revenue loss caused by cigarette smuggling.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, can the Deputy Prime Minister say whether the Prime Minister did such an about-face to appease the anti-smoking lobby or to preserve the already-damaged credibility of his health minister?

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

Mr. Speaker, he did not do an about-face. What he said is that with the four-part anti-smoking program announced by this government, we will solve the revenue loss problem within a year. We already know that within a few days the Minister of Finance will be faced with a budget where the federal government is already losing up to $1 billion because of smuggling.

What the Prime Minister said here in the House, and it was reinforced in the interview, was that with our four-part program, we will solve the smuggling problem and at the same time bring back revenue to the national treasury to pay for health programs, which cost Canadians quite a lot.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Can the Deputy Prime Minister explain to us how she believes that the RCMP will be able to dismantle the smuggling rings, when the Prime Minister of Canada himself is sending the smugglers a signal that they will just have a year off and then business will resume next year?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would remind my hon. colleague that the smoking problem was not created during this government's mandate. We have been here for barely 100 days and it took us barely 100 days to work out a solution. The policy of the opposition leader should be challenged: for a year and a half, he was in the former Prime Minister's Cabinet and he did absolutely nothing.

We must say that when we were the opposition in the House, we raised the problem of smoking four years ago, but when the leader of the opposition was in Mr. Mulroney's Cabinet, he did nothing.

Obviously, a problem which has been dragging on for four years will take more than a year to solve. Yes, we took 100 days to launch our four-part program, which we hope will bring a solution within a year. I hope that is what you want, too.

Goods And Services Tax

[René Laurin, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister.

In an interview yesterday before the Commons committee on the GST, the Minister of Revenue announced that the government wants to implement a single consumption tax system in every province, including Quebec.

Does the Vice Prime-

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[René Laurin, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Does the Deputy Prime Minister- I apologize, Mr. Speaker.

[The Speaker]

I was about to say "hear, hear" instead of "order!"

[René Laurin, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Is this her way of asking Quebec to give up its own sales tax?

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

First of all, Mr. Speaker, I must admit that I have several vices but being Vice Prime Minister is not one of them.