Debates of March 7th, 1994

The Budget

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

Mr. Speaker, if I may quote from the speech I made to this House, the decisions we are making today are clearly putting us on a path leading to the government goal of reducing the deficit to 3 per cent of the GDP within three years. That is the position I stated here in this House and the Prime Minister took the very same position last week in Western Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, in light of the minister's answer and the budget, are we to understand that the Minister of Finance has abandoned the idea of cutting government spending and will deliberately maintain the squandering and tax leakage denounced by the Auditor General, relying solely on economic growth to curb the deficit?

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

Mr. Speaker, again, as I told this House very clearly, and the Prime Minister and I myself said in New York City and the Canadian cities I visited last week: "Actions contained in the budget will reduce the deficit to 3 per cent of the GDP within three years".

Also, we are presently reviewing a number of programs with the Minister responsible for Public Service Renewal. We are reviewing all committees, public affairs, all kinds of government policies and programs, and we are confident that this will promote a better than forecast economic situation.

National Unity

[Bob Mills, Reform, Red Deer, AB]

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

In my constituency in central Alberta as I travelled around this past week outright disgust was expressed for the separatist message delivered to our major trading partner, the United States.

Could the Prime Minister please tell me what action he intends to take to assure the United States that a united Canada is not only likely but one which the government is dedicated to maintaining?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, of course I will work very hard to make sure the policies of the government are so good that the people of Quebec will not have any hesitation to stay in Canada.

It will be very useful when I am able to report to the Americans that I have convinced members of the Reform Party to support the two officials languages of Canada.

[Bob Mills, Reform, Red Deer, AB]

I have a supplementary question, Mr. Speaker. I wish the Prime Minister would stop trying to pass the buck and show some leadership.

Could the Prime Minister please tell us what he is going to do to convince the grass roots of Quebec what it really means to separate?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is very important to have the guts to present candidates in every province of Canada and to have one message for all Canadians, not one for one part of Canada and one for another. That is why when I was in Alberta last weekend I received a fantastic reception. I was talking about the policies of the government vis-à-vis Canada and the people received me very well indeed.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

Bosnia

[Jean-Marc Jacob, Bloc, Charlesbourg, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

According to reports, the withdrawal of Canadian peacekeepers from Srebrenica has been held up because of the reluctance of Bosnian Serbs to let them leave. On January 13, the Minister of National Defence promised that Canadian peacekeepers would be relieved within thirty days, a deadline that has since passed. For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs informed us on February 16 and 21 that their replacement was imminent.

Can the minister confirm to us whether the withdrawal of Canadian peacekeepers from Srebrenica has been held up by the refusal of Bosnian Serbs to allow Dutch soldiers to relieve the Canadian contingent?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have made considerable progress. Of course, we would have liked to have had our soldiers out of Srebrenica by the end of February. Dutch soldiers arrived as expected; 500 of them are in theatre and Canadian troops are preparing to withdraw. Trucks are currently on route to Srebrenica. Bosnian Serbs have expressed some reservations, arguing that the roads were not very passable. Nevertheless, we believe that our troops will be able to leave within a few days.

Admittedly, they are several days behind schedule, but the operation is proceeding as expected. As for the rumour reported in the weekend newspapers to the effect that some demonstrations had taken place and that Srebrenica's Muslims were holding Canadian soldiers hostage, there is no truth to it. Muslims were merely staging a demonstration to thank Canadian soldiers for having protected them so valiantly during the past two years.

[Jean-Marc Jacob, Bloc, Charlesbourg, QC]

If I understand correctly, Mr. Speaker, they were prevented from leaving because they were being thanked.

I, along with the families of the soldiers, would like to know what approach the government is planning to take with Bosnian Serbs to ensure the departure of Canadian troops as scheduled? What does the government intend to do to ensure that the Serbs allow the withdrawal of Canadian peacekeepers?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

In response to the hon. member's question, Mr. Speaker, I would say that throughout last week and the weekend, negotiations for the withdrawal were being conducted, mostly under the direction of Commander Rose, the officer in charge of UN troops. According to the information we received a few minutes before entering the House, we have good reason to believe that Canadian solders will be leaving Srebrenica within the next 48 or 72 hours.

As I said, the operation is a few days behind schedule. It may take a little more time, but we hope that the process will be completed in less than 72 hours.

The Budget

[Ray Speaker, Reform, Lethbridge]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. It is further to the question by the member for Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot and is with regard to the Prime Minister's visit to Edmonton last week.

The Prime Minister said that Canadians would see no further spending cuts in the next three years. He also said that was according to the budget presented in the House.

Could the Prime Minister confirm whether or not that is true at this point, or whether there will be cuts as has been inferred by the Minister of Finance on other days?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would say exactly what the Minister of Finance said. In the budget that was presented in the House we made provisions for cuts over the next three years.

If we have 3 per cent and 3.8 per cent growth in the next two years, we will be at 3 per cent of GNP in relation to the deficit. The programs cuts for the next three years have been announced. They are the big programs like defence, social expenditures and so on.

In the meantime we have asked the minister responsible for federal-provincial relations to work very actively to find some duplications between provincial governments and federal government and to reduce the duplications, and to look into all the boards within government operations and to reduce them in order to find further cuts.

These will not be the major cuts as mentioned in the budget. When we talk about the cuts in defence and other cuts announced in the budget, they were very serious cuts indeed.

[Ray Speaker, Reform, Lethbridge]

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

The impression I have is that the reason we are doing the studies in social security programs, health, defence and some other areas is that we are looking at better priorities and reduction in spending by the government.

I have a question for either the Minister of Finance or the Prime Minister. What is the purpose of those studies if it is not to reduce and redefine those expenditure areas?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are very conscious of the seriousness of the financial situation in which Canada finds itself with the debt and the deficit.

There is no doubt that in the budget we have embarked upon cuts that are necessary for us to bring our deficit within an acceptable range in the next three years, certainly the target we have set out.

At the same time it is very important to understand-and the Minister of Human Resources Development has been explicit and very articulate on this matter as have the Minister of National Defence and a number of other ministers in the House-that we are Liberals. We understand the absolute necessity of public policy evolving along with the needs of the country.

The purposes of those studies are not simply cuts to bring the deficit into line. They are in fact fundamental reforms in those programs so that Canada can measure up to the very serious challenges that lie outside our borders.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Saint-Maurice, QC]

He is doing well.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

I am on a roll, Mr. Speaker. All I would simply say is that we are going to continue. We are going to review the problems of an aging population and of health. We are going to review the way in which our labour markets work. We are going to review defence and our industrial policy because we are going to build a better country.

Publishing Industry

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

The Canadian Development Investment Corporation has just agreed to sell its 51 per cent share of Ginn Publishing Canada, a Toronto company specializing in the publication and distribution of educational materials, to the American company Paramount Communications. This sale has caused an outcry of indignation in the press and the publishing world.

Could the minister confirm the suggestion made by Maclean's magazine that the secret agreement made it possible for the American company to take control of Ginn Publishing as soon as the book publishing policy was changed? If not, how does he explain the fact that the government has used certain unresolved questions such as the distribution agreement as excuses for not actively seeking potential Canadian buyers?

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the question is long and complicated but the answer is simple.

A previous government entered into certain commitments. They were no secret; they were known. The commitment as described by our colleague was that if a policy occurs the Canadian government which had acquired 51 per cent of the shares of Ginn would sell them back to the American parent firm. This is what happened.

I am pleased to say that while it is cleaning up past business, the policy of protecting our book publishing industry has not changed.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister will agree that meanwhile the Baie Comeau policy was changed to make it possible.

Is the minister aware that he is losing his credibility as a defender of Canada's cultural interests and can he reassure the House that he intends to review this unacceptable decision?

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, if we were to reverse the decision, which is in keeping with a contract, it would lead us straight into judicial action.

As I said, the policy of protection, not the Baie Comeau policy, is going to be sustained. Of course everyone is entitled to one's judgment about the credibility of the minister of heritage but a number of people in the industry have understood that this was an exception confirming the rule and that the industry will continue to receive support.

Fisheries

[Derek Wells, Liberal, South Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

As the minister knows, groundfish licences that were inactive in 1991 and 1992 were frozen for 1993. This freeze affected approximately 4,000 fishermen and has in effect penalized them for acting responsibly in the face of declining groundfish stocks. It was stated at the time that the freeze would not have a negative effect on anyone pursuing a licence renewal in 1994.

I would like to ask the minister if he will be acting quickly to resolve the issue of inactive licences and honour the pledge made by his predecessor to treat all licence holders as equals.

[Brian Tobin, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question.

As the member knows, the freeze in question was implemented by the previous administration. I indicated when I spoke to the MFU convention on February 4 that I was going to review the consequences of the freeze on inactive groundfish licences.

This past week we visited New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Quebec where we heard from many fishing industry and association groups re this subject. I am aware of the difficulties it has caused with respect to bona fide licences and the difficulties it has given to individuals.

I undertake to review and announce a decision in the very near future.

Unemployment

[Allan Kerpan, Reform, Moose Jaw—Lake Centre, SK]

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

Recently the minister told the House the Premier of Quebec could reduce unemployment by 1 per cent because of actions taken by the federal government. The budget predicts national unemployment to remain around 11 per cent.

Can the minister explain how the national unemployment rate can remain unchanged if in Quebec it falls by one full per cent?