Debates of March 17th, 1994

Goods And Services Tax

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there will be no old GST and no new GST.

Members Of Parliament

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Beaver River, AB]

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

It is quickly becoming a habit in this Parliament that any MP who disagrees with Ottawa's politically correct dogma is labelled as racist, prejudiced, ignorant or now rednecked, the pejorative definition.

When will the Prime Minister instruct his caucus that personal attacks are not acceptable? When will he demand the resignation of ministers and ministers of state when such attacks are committed?

[The Speaker]

I was going to make a little statement at the end of Question Period today as to how well we were doing together in the House. I hope at the end to make a brief statement.

I would hope, my colleagues, that we would continue as we have been for the most part since this Parliament first sat to come together and deal with each other on a very civil and very respectful plane. I would hope that neither the questions nor the answers would tend to inflame passion on either side.

That being said I will permit the Prime Minister, if he so wishes, to answer the question. It is of a general nature.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult for me to blame the minister of Indian affairs for quoting the member of the Reform Party.

The hon. member said that he was proud to be a redneck. He got up and said that a few minutes ago. Maybe he wants to withdraw what he said in the House. I never used that term myself. I invite the member from Edmonton and everyone else to be very generous with the diversity of this country.

When I was in Edmonton, I knew it would not be a popular statement on his part but the premier of Alberta said that he believed it is a good thing for Canada to have a policy on bilingualism. To me it is not imputing motives to people who do not subscribe to that but I have been in public life for 30 years. The fact that we have two official languages in Canada is a good thing. I can see some progress because some members of the Reform Party apparently are taking French lessons. I am very happy about that.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Beaver River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House are begging for generosity on behalf of cabinet ministers who are making inappropriate remarks.

For five years I sat as a member of this House and watched the current government members demand resignations for far less serious reasons while they were members of the opposition.

It makes me wonder, had George Orwell written a sequel entitled "1994", could he have foreseen the politically correct movement which seeks to eliminate not only words but ideas and even debate on issues of the day?

When does this government plan to begin living up to the promises made in the red book by reprimanding cabinet ministers and ministers of state who personally attack other members of this House?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult for me to reprimand somebody who is quoting Hansard when a member of Parliament said proudly that he was a redneck.

When the word was mentioned today, the hon. member stood up in his place and bowed to all of us. As long as it is on the record and he is proud to be a redneck, I will honour him in calling him a redneck. That is what he wants to be.

Indian Affairs

[Maurice Dumas, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

We were informed last Saturday that $21.7 million had been budgeted, according to the Minister of Indian Affairs, to buy land and various pieces of property which would form the nucleus of a future native territory in Kanesatake, near Oka.

My question is as follows: Can the minister tell us whether the $21.7 million is for all, and I mean all non-native land along highway 344, including the land owned by the people who are called the forgotten ones of Oka?

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

Mr. Speaker, when I took over this ministry I found that the Conservative government had acquired over 80 pieces of property including 57 houses in the area to which my hon. friend refers. I have had four or five meetings with the chief of the First Nations to encourage him to take over the property. As of now it has not been taken over. There is a serious concern by the chief that if he takes it over he cannot properly administer it by allocating some type of point system.

What has happened is that the houses have been taken over by other people who should not be in there. Until I solve that multimillion dollar problem I have been trying to solve I cannot go to the other side of highway 344.

[Maurice Dumas, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this has been dragging on since 1990 and the minister has given no indication of being more anxious than his predecessor was to help out the people of Oka who are at their wits end. When does the federal government intend to act on this issue?

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

That is incorrect, Mr. Speaker.

My first meeting with the Mohawk nation was to deal with that point to which I brought Grand Chief Bill Montour, Grand Chief Ovide Mercredi and my wife. We drove down there to deal with that specific problem.

We have met on four subsequent weeks. It is still not solved. We are putting our best people on it. We are trying to solve it because I know it is of serious concern not only to the hon. member but to me.

Walmart

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry.

The Walmart purchase of Canadian Woolco is now a fact. A network of manufacturers and suppliers in Canada was built up over the years to service Woolco stores. Some of those are in my riding of Peterborough.

Could the minister give us his assurance that he will do all he can to ensure that Walmart does not abandon these Canadian suppliers where they can show they are competitive with the U.S. suppliers?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I can and I do give that assurance.

I can also assure the hon. member that we have obtained from Walmart very specific undertakings with respect to the development and maintenance of a Canadian supplier network, as well as an undertaking to increase the acquisition and sale of Canadian books, magazines and other cultural products in their stores.

I took the undertakings seriously enough that I felt they warranted a direct call to Mr. Walton. He gave me his personal assurance of the importance of the undertakings to us and to him.

I would like to quote the CEO of Walmart who was quoted in the Financial Post in February as saying: ``It is our intention to run a Canadian company with Canadian people, fitting in as best as we can with the Canadian culture''. I suggest that is probably the best formula for success that Walmart could follow in coming into Canada.

Bowden Institute

[Bob Mills, Reform, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Solicitor General.

As the hon. minister knows the Bowden Institute is located in my constituency. Recently it has come to my attention that the government is expanding the institution by 745 square metres with a new recreation complex which is to include a lavish weight room, new gymnasium, hobby rooms, barber shop, et cetera. The cost to the taxpayer is $675,000.

In light of the recent budget does the government not find this expenditure on lawbreakers somewhat hypocritical?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question is an important one but it is quite detailed and technical. Therefore I will take it as notice and get back to him soon.

[Bob Mills, Reform, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a great number of constituents have asked this question and are quite concerned about it. At a time when they have to tighten their belts they are finding it a little difficult to understand this extravagant waste of money on this facility.

Could the minister assure us this sort of waste will not continue?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I do not accept the hon. member's premise underlying his question that what is happening is necessarily a waste.

I will look into it and get back to the hon. member. We are very interested in sound expenditure of taxpayers' funds and that is the starting point of my inquiry into this matter.

Indian Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Indian Affairs. The eviction from Kahnawake of 143 families affected by the band council notice contradicts principles in the Indian Act as well as in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Quebec minister responsible for native affairs, Mr. Sirros, recommended that federal authorities issue an injunction to prevent this eviction.

Does the Minister of Indian Affairs intend to take appropriate action to ensure that none of the 143 families are evicted from the Kahnawake territory, and not only the persons explicitly protected by the injunction currently in effect?

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

Mr. Speaker, the information I had yesterday which I brought to the attention of the hon. member was on the main action. There is an injunction. It stays there until the court hearing.

On the rest of the individuals, they received notice that if they sit tight it is up to the band to bring some type of judicial process. If the band does this then it is open to the rest to do the same thing and ask for the same type of injunction.

As I understand the situation now, no one is being forced to move until after the court case. If the court case solves the problem, so be it. If the court case does not solve the problem then we will have to look at legislation.

I do not think we should be interfering in a judicial process every time someone issues a writ. Under our custom and our creation we wait until a decision is rendered and deal with the decision accordingly.

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

Mr. Speaker, will the government finally assume its twofold responsibility under both the Indian Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? How does it intend to respond to the Quebec minister, who refuses to negotiate on a discriminatory basis?

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

Again, Mr. Speaker, there is nothing to negotiate or legislate until the court deals with the issue.

As I indicated several times it would be inappropriate for me to comment on this judicial process. Naturally I will be making comments on the outcome of the process.

Breast Cancer

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. I raised this issue in the House several days ago.

My question is based on the report that a researcher in Montreal has falsified information on breast cancer research. Incredibly it is suggested that he used patients in a study without their consent. The conclusions from this study have helped to formulate breast cancer treatment for the last 10 years.

Could the minister assure the women of Canada that the treatments they are receiving are safe and the very best possible?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I am very much concerned with what happened in the report that has come out of Montreal.

Let me assure Canadians first that no Canadian dollars were used to fund any of the research by this particular physician. Many other studies have proven the kinds of treatments being administered in Canada are good and effective in the treatment of breast cancer.

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I do acknowledge the hon. minister's comments to me. Having said that then I am certain the hon. minister will definitely agree with the statement that I am now about to make.

Women across the country are outraged by such an incident. The medical community has known about this for three years. The Canadian public has been misled by yet another health related cover-up.

To guarantee the quality of women's health in this country, will the minister agree to investigate this serious incident?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I will be meeting early in the coming week with the Medical Research Council which governs the use of research dollars and the studies which come out of those research dollars.

I am very interested in establishing some kind of practice guidelines for these kinds of reports in order that we can reassure Canadians that when these reports are made public they are indeed factual, using factual information and data.

The Environment

[David Iftody, Liberal, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question for the Minister of the Environment is about the recent spill of over 820 kilograms of the pesticide Busan-52 into the Winnipeg River by Abitibi-Price.

Abitibi-Price took four days to report the spill. Meanwhile 3,000 of my constituents who live on the Sagkeeng First Nation reserve and another 3,000 of my constituents in the Pine Falls-Powerview area were unaware that they may have been drinking contaminated water.

What is the minister doing about this intolerable action by Abitibi-Price?