Debates of Feb. 7th, 1994

Bosnia-Herzegovina

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister addressed that subject when he was in Brussels a couple of weeks ago.

The former government did sign on with the rest of the NATO nations in not ruling out air strikes in certain eventualities. However the Prime Minister made it clear in Brussels that linkage of air strikes with an attempt to open the airport at Tuzla and to liberate the Canadian contingent at Srebrenica was just not acceptable to the Canadian government.

Our position is that we believe that there are other ways to achieve peace there before we start taking drastic action.

Indeed the Minister of Foreign Affairs made a statement yesterday which has been broadcast widely on television to the effect that the negotiations must still go on and that we prefer a negotiated route before any further escalation.

Canadian Milk Board

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister of agriculture. The minister is aware that the subsidy cheques from the Canadian Milk Board were delivered to farmers almost eight days late in December and four or five days late in January.

In view of the problems facing the Canadian agricultural industry, what does the minister intend to do to assure farmers that those cheques will be delivered on time in the future?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. He is right. There was an unfortunate delay in the delivery of some dairy cheques in late December and early January. That delay resulted from communication problems between the Department of Supply and Services and Canada Post.

As soon as the Canadian Dairy Commission learned of the problem it notified all of the provincial milk boards and agencies to let them know the nature of the problem. The commission has also received the assurance of Supply and Services Canada and Canada Post that every effective control measure will be put in place to ensure that this kind of problem does not recur in the future.

Vancouver Harbour

[Jean-Paul Marchand, Bloc, Québec-Est, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Human Resources Development. I too would like to raise the issue of the labour dispute which has been paralysing Vancouver harbour and, consequently, has brought to a halt the export of millions of tons of Canadian agricultural products.

Has the minister asked the mediator, whom he appointed, for a report on this labour dispute and, if so, will he make it public?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development and Minister of Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, as I already said in answer to a previous question, we are tabling a bill today. During the debate on that bill, members will have several opportunities to exchange views regarding the report presented by the Department of Human Resources Development. I will certainly share all information with the members on both sides of this House.

[Jean-Paul Marchand, Bloc, Québec-Est, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what sort of delay does the minister intend to give to concerned parties before imposing this special law because it is very important. The minister knows that as long as western grain sits in the Vancouver port, Canadian grain farmers are not being paid.

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development and Minister of Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, that very much depends upon members of this House.

If in fact we got full co-operation from all members we could have the legislation passed by tomorrow.

It would depend upon the full and total co-operation of all members and deputies of this chamber. I would invite them to co-operate now that the decision has been taken to introduce legislation. It will be tabled tomorrow. If members co-operate we could have the problem resolved by tomorrow night. It all depends on members opposite.

Recall Legislation

[Ted White, Reform, North Vancouver, BC]

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

During this past weekend a meeting attended by more than 500 people in the riding of Markham-Whitchurch-Stouffville resulted in a demand that the government investigate the circumstances surrounding the election of the sitting member. A petition has also been initiated with the intention of collecting around 40,000 signatures to support this demand.

Will the Prime Minister acknowledge that these events are symptomatic of the growing public support for recall legislation among the voters of Canada.

[An hon. member]

Out of order. Ancient history.

[The Speaker]

Order. I believe we are straying off the mark with regard to these questions. Perhaps if the hon. member could rephrase his question in such a way that it was not so pointed we might be able to get answer. I wonder if he would try to rephrase the question.

[Ted White, Reform, North Vancouver, BC]

Mr. Speaker, would the Prime Minister agree that there is a general mood among the public of Canada in support of recall legislation?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the member is taking that. Perhaps he should read the editorial from the Calgary Herald that supported his party last election where they say recall is unnecessary.

He should read that. He will come to the conclusion that it has been tried in many places including the grandfather of his party, the Socred Party. They are the ones who recalled the recall.

[Ted White, Reform, North Vancouver, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister constantly brings up ancient history in response to this question. The constituents of Markham-Whitchurch-Stouffville are clearly showing they are not satisfied with the Prime Minister's suggestion last week in this House.

[The Speaker]

Order. I would rule the question out of order.

Taxation

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, now we all know that 190 Canadians with an annual income of more than $250,000 did not pay one penny in income tax in 1991. Even worse, that same year, 20 millionaires paid less than $100 in taxes to the government. And these are only a few examples of social injustice, a few of the scandals.

Like his Minister of Finance, does the Prime Minister intend to go on tolerating such situations as those concerning family trusts and tax shelters? Or does he intend to act quickly to put a stop to it?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, usually when people quote someone, they mention their sources. The problem was raised several days ago, in caucus and in the media, by the hon. member for Gander-Grand Falls. I think that is exactly what the Minister of Finance wants: to make the system more equitable. I hope that if he does and he manages to plug these loopholes, opposition members will not complain that he is raising taxes.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, about this concern for fairness, instead of attacking social programs, the middle class and the elderly who pay their taxes, can the Prime Minister promise Quebecers and Canadians that this disgraceful injustice will be stopped once and for all?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there will always be people who find loopholes in the tax system, and it is up to the Minister of Finance to deal with that.

The Minister of Finance is now trying to remedy the situation. The minister said that in his budget, he intends to bring fairness back to our tax system. Naturally, some people will be affected. As I said earlier, I hope the Opposition will not claim he is using the word fairness as an excuse to raise taxes. He will use it to ensure that everyone pays their fair share. If this happens to increase government revenues, that is fine, and I think everyone in the House will agree.

Michael Drake

[Werner Schmidt, Reform, Okanagan Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the minister of immigration.

On December 15, 1993, I sent a letter to the minister urging him to remember and to recognize that convicted child molester Michael Drake posed a serious enough threat to warrant detention but was released on bail and is still out on bail today.

To date I have heard nothing from the minister. What action is the minister of immigration prepared to take to ensure the safety of the children of British Columbia?

[Sergio Marchi, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that one of the hon. member's colleagues asked the same question last week.

I mentioned to her and through her to the House of Commons that privacy laws prevent me and him from going into the details. Suffice it to say that Mr. Drake is coming up for a hearing and I will use every method within the Immigration Act to protect Canadian communities and the security of Canada with respect to this case as with respect to other cases.

The hon. member should also know that since my appointment as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration I have acted to move and to deport individuals whom I thought thwarted the very system upon which this act is predicated.

Border Crossings

[Ovid Jackson, Liberal, Bruce—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question today is for the Minister of National Revenue.

Over the last number of weeks the minister announced in his proposed legislation some savings from the amalgamation of two departments. I would like to ask the minister today what part of that revenue, if any, is being used to make sure that our borders are more secure from criminals and the abduction of young people who are crossing the border.

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. I can assure him that because of a number of savings that have come about as a result of automation we have been able to put a large amount of resources, approximately $13 million, into computer and electronic surveillance equipment for our customs officers at border crossings.

In addition, I can tell him that through reorganization again we have the possibility of increasing the number of people at customs stations, so we will in fact have a larger number using

better equipment to reduce the number of abducted children that cross the border, and also deal with other elements such as terrorists, criminals or others who attempt to cross the Canadian-American border and other borders, and of course at airports.

I would specifically like to mention, as he has, that the programs for missing children are working effectively, but we need the support of the public in making sure that we have the maximum amount of information available so we can in fact use our automatic systems for licence plates and other such things and make sure that the numbers of missing children and abducted children who are recovered is increased.

Labour Disputes

[Leon Benoit, Reform, Vegreville, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Human Resources Development.

As the minister said last week, the Reform Party is the party of free enterprise. As such, we recognize that some labour disputes in monopoly-like situations may require third party intervention or regulation which will prevent the problem. Clearly the labour dispute at the port of Vancouver is such a case.

Will this government permanently resolve the problem of grain handling interruption by declaring grain handling an essential service?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development and Minister of Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier we will be putting on the Order Paper today notification of legislation. I will be more than interested in listening to the hon. member's comments on debate trying to justify such a position. I would hope he would not take too long because we would like to get the legislation passed and into law tomorrow so we could put people back to work.

He may want to hold back his larger philosophical discourse until another occasion when we can talk about labour relations in this country and how we can assure that both parties' rights are protected.

Public Works

[Réjean Lefebvre, Bloc, Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the wasting of public money seems to have no limits. This morning again, the Toronto Star revealed that Canadian taxpayers have had to shell out more than $150,000 for the reconstruction of the towers of the Caribou pier in Nova Scotia, and the Wood Island pier in Prince Edward Island. This expenditure was made necessary simply because the Department of Public Works did not check to make sure that the size of those piers could accommodate the ferry.

My question is for the Minister of Public Works. How can the minister explain or justify such irresponsible planning of federal investments, since it seems that those who built the ferry and those who built the piers had some communication problems?