Debates of Feb. 22nd, 1994

Bilingualism

[Ben Serré, Liberal, Timiskaming—French-River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to address statements made in the House on numerous occasions by the hon. Leader of the Official Opposition.

The hon. member often refers to our country being divided in two, with Quebec on one side and English Canada on the other, thus implying that Quebec is French only and the rest of Canada is English only.

I believe this is an injustice and an insult to the 20 per cent of Quebecers who are not of French origin; to the over one million francophones outside Quebec; and as well to the 35 per cent of Canadians who are neither of French or English origin.

I call on the hon. Leader of the Opposition to respect all Canadians of all origins and to please refrain from making such statements in the future.

Violence Against Women

[Nick Discepola, Liberal, Vaudreuil, QC]

In November, Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada published the findings of a survey of 12,300 women across Canada. The results are frightening: one woman in two has been the victim of violence at least once since the age of 16 and one in ten has feared for her life.

In my riding, the situation is even more serious because there is no women's shelter. The riding of Vaudreuil has a population of 110,000, 80 per cent of whom are French-speaking. Women who need a shelter for themselves and their children must go to the West Island of Montreal, an English-speaking community.

At present, La Moisson, a counselling and referral centre, tries to help battered women, but it is only open five days a week, during office hours.

In its last fiscal year, La Moisson responded to 478 requests from battered women and the demand has doubled since October.

The situation is serious and that is why I ask the Minister of Public Works and Government Services to deal with this issue and solve the problem as soon as possible.

Stay In School Program

[Audrey McLaughlin, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, these days we hear a lot about youth crime and youth unemployment but

what we do not often hear about are the successes. We do not often celebrate the fact that when Canadian young people are given a chance they can go on to achieve great things.

The Dawson City, Yukon, Stay in School Program is one such success story. Under the dedicated direction of school counsellor, Mr. Jim Johnston, the dropout rate has declined from 40 per cent to 1 per cent in three years.

The federal government has ended funding for this program in Dawson City, Yukon. The government says that it wants to tackle unemployment. One of the best ways is for our young people to get a good education.

In the name of the young people in the Yukon territory and in Canada I urge the government to reinstate funding for the Stay in School Program in Dawson City, Yukon.

Bosnia

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. According to United Nations Protection Forces officials, dozens of Serb heavy infantry weapons were still not under the control of UN forces in Sarajevo yesterday, but the UN expected to gain control over them some time today. All the while, Serb bombing continues over Bosnian enclaves like Tuzla and Bihac, while talks continue in Moscow and Washington in the hope of achieving a peaceful settlement and bringing lasting peace to Bosnia.

Can the Prime Minister tell us whether his government supports the proposal to put Sarajevo under UN protection and, in that context, is he prepared to reconsider the decision made by the Government of Canada to withdraw Canadian peacekeepers from Bosnia?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, no decision has been made concerning central Bosnia following France's proposal with regard to the status of the city of Sarajevo. This is a very interesting proposal, but we are not through consulting with other countries before making a decision.

As for the presence of Canadian troops in Bosnia, a final decision will be made by the end of the mission slated to end in late March or early April.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to ask the Prime Minister whether he is considering issuing further ultimatums to bring hostilities to a stop in enclaves such as Tuzla and Bihac, or whether he trusts that current diplomatic initiatives in Washington and Moscow will be sufficient.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the decision made ten days or so ago respecting the ultimatum and the siege of Sarajevo produced the expected results. So, for the time being, should we pursue this course of action? I think that the actions taken so far have been successful and that the ideal solution would be for the warring factions to end this distressing situation.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, by their firm and effective concerted efforts, the Allies have demonstrated that the proof is indeed in the pudding. Is a good solution in one case not worth a try in other cases? That is the question and I think that the government will have to answer it very soon.

Should the peace process require the build up of peacekeeping troops in Bosnia and throughout the former Yugoslavia, would the government be prepared to reconsider its decision not to detach additional Canadians peacekeepers?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what the Minister of Foreign Affairs said last week is the position of the government.

As a country we have the third largest contingent there. We have been at every peacekeeping mission around the world. Some countries have nobody there and it is a good occasion to send some people. If more countries are involved it is better for the world. Canada has always been quite generous, but others should take their share of the load too.

Indian Affairs

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, during Question Period, the Minister of Indian Affairs twice refused to answer our questions about Mr. Jerry Peltier's status in the federal government during the Oka crisis. Now that he has had time to inquire about this matter, can the minister tell us if Mr. Jerry Peltier was working for the federal government during the Oka crisis and what was his status?

[Ron Irwin, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I understand it, the allegation is that Mr. Peltier was employed by the former government at the time of the Oka crisis. I do not know if that is correct or incorrect. If my hon. friend has information to that effect, will he please bring it forward and it will be examined.

It is difficult in the daily operation of a band to go in and interfere because of the inherent right of self-government. On the other hand, we have an onus to make sure there are checks and balances that work.

As minister I have instructed my officials to examine the allegations carefully. Hopefully there will be some evidence forthcoming from my friend. I am committed to bring fiscal accountability to the House and present any reports that we have.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once the minister has checked the facts, would he tell the House for what type of services Mr. Peltier was paid $25,600 in retroactive fees?

[English]

[Ron Irwin, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Again, Mr. Speaker, if I might reiterate, this is an allegation. Even though it is done in the protection of the House and not outside, perhaps it should be treated a lot more carefully but my learned friend obviously does not want to.

If the allegation is that there was an irregular payment to anyone at a band level or with whom we are dealing with, any place in government, then bring forward the evidence and we will check it out.

At the same time I have asked my official to check out the allegation and look into the books of the former Tory government to see what is there. I am quite prepared to give that information to my friend.

Provincial Byelection

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

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

Last night PQ candidate Marcel Landry stormed to victory in the Bonaventure byelection.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Bonaventure has been considered to be the most federalist riding in Quebec. With a provincial election looming on the horizon, does the Prime Minister acknowledge the need for a new and more vigorous strategy to increase support for federalism in Quebec?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the best decision to that effect was by the Canadian people on October 25 when they replaced the former government with a Liberal government.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have a supplementary question for the Prime Minister.

When Quebecers vote for sovereignists, does the Prime Minister believe-we are seeking the advice of the Prime Minister-they are rejecting federalism in principle or are they simply rejecting the kind of federalism offered by traditional federalist parties?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased by the preoccupation of the leader of the Reform Party. I am happy he wants to make a contribution. If he wants to make a contribution he should support the policies of this government in favour of bilingualism.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the Prime Minister is concerned about this issue. Therefore, I ask what specific steps, and I stress specific, will he take between now and the upcoming provincial election to sell Canadian federalism in Quebec?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the best way to sell federalism in Quebec is to have a good, efficient, honest government in Ottawa.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

Indian Affairs

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last Saturday La Presse reported that Kanesatake was in financial straits. The Department of Indian Affairs reached an agreement with the band council to address this financial crisis.

We have also learned that the government has ordered an internal review on the management practices used by the band council. Will the Minister of Indian Affairs agree to table in this House the outcome of this review?

[Ron Irwin, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated, certainly.