Debates of April 11th, 1994

Budget Implementation Act, 1994

[Ian McClelland, Reform, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member opposite for his comments.

I wonder if the hon. member would expand on one thing he touched on in his speech. It was also in the presentation of the Liberal member who preceded him. It is the effect of part-time employment on a community. In particular, I wonder if the member opposite has given any thought to extending benefits to part-time employees. As many members are aware, a very high percentage of people are in our workforce now only because they are consistently able to get part-time employment and they have two or three part-time jobs.

I wonder if the member opposite could comment.

[Rex Crawford, Liberal, Kent, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank the hon. member for his question.

In my riding of Kent, which is the most depressed area in Ontario at the present time, part-time work is about the only type of job people can get.

Personally, I support benefits for part-time workers. I also feel that people who are on welfare should be allowed to work to top up their benefits without penalty. If people do find part-time work, as soon as they are laid off, which is usually within a few short weeks, then it is another battle to get back on the rolls again.

We have been promoting, and I think we have the hon. member's support, an ethanol plant in the city of Chatham. This $170 million plant will employ only 90 to 100 people within the plant. Outside the plant over 400 will benefit from it. It is something I have been trying to get through the government with the help of the opposition parties. I hope the hon. member will support it because I certainly support his views to a great extent.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to both the previous presentations. I wonder if the member would care to comment on the situation of students.

At the present time young people are having a particularly difficult existence. We are encouraging them to stay in school. We are encouraging them to get training. However the costs of school and the costs of training become more and more arduous.

We really must look at different ways for students to pay back their loans, in particular ways which mean that graduating students who get very low paying jobs do not have to pay their student loan immediately. Later those loans could be paid back in proportion to the money they earn, in proportion to the tax they pay, rather than in a very fixed period of time which really works against those who cannot early on in their careers obtain well paying jobs.

I wonder if the member would care to comment on that.

[Rex Crawford, Liberal, Kent, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank the hon. member for his question pertaining to students and repaying their loans.

I have had many students come to my office, especially over the last two weeks when we had a break, who are worried about this. They are now being billed by the banks and they do not have jobs.

The government through supporting job creation, youth internship and apprenticeship programs will certainly help to alleviate their problems.

I cannot give a figure on how much money right now, but I was talking to UIC and it is putting quite a few students back to work right now. UIC is giving them the opportunity to carry on their education or to be able to pay off the money they owe. The government is on the right track in helping these students and I certainly support it 100 per cent.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Kootenay West. The hon. member will note the time. Perhaps he would like to begin his statement but I would be interrupting him. If not, I could go to Statements by Members.

[Jim Gouk, Reform, Kootenay West—Revelstoke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, if I may make my full speech immediately after I would much prefer that.

[The Speaker]

Is it agreed then?

It being two o'clock, pursuant to Standing Order 30(5), the House will now proceed to Statements by Members, pursuant to Standing Order 31.

Montreal

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, following Montreal's selection as the host community for the NAFTA Environmental Commission, many inaccurate and vengeful things have been written about this city. Montreal has been described by some as an island in the middle of an open dump, as the worst city from an environmental standpoint not only in

Canada but in all of North America. These allegations reflect deep-seated contempt and are cause for indignation.

The Mayor of Montreal, Mr. Jean Doré, has reacted to these comments and has issued an update on the major achievements of the Montreal Urban Community in the field of sewage treatment. A number of important sewage treatment projects are in the works. In truth, Montreal has nothing to learn from other Canadian cities as far as this or any other field is concerned.

In our opinion, this kind of thinly veiled insult directed at Montreal only serves once again to tarnish the image of this city and of Quebec. It is an instance of provocation which must be denounced.

Chamber Of Commerce

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, unlike other members of this House, I have had to deal with two GATTs this winter. One was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, also known as GATT. The other was Vince Gatt, president of the greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Gatt and I do not always see eye to eye but I was delighted to see the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce wholeheartedly endorsing the National Chamber of Commerce program called Aim for a Million. This is a plan to create a million new jobs across Canada. Peterborough's share of this target is in the thousands.

Although the government can play key roles in job creation such as stimulating the economy, creating short term jobs and ensuring we have a trained workforce, in the end jobs are created by businesses. Many of those businesses belong to our Chambers of Commerce. I welcome the chamber's initiative in setting its sights on job creation. We need partners of this type.

In Peterborough both GATTs seem to be having some useful effects.

Bank Of Montreal

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Canadian company that is taking a leading role in human resource development.

The Bank of Montreal is the first company outside of the United States to receive the Catalyst award. This award recognizes companies that implement successful and meaningful employment programs.

The bank has made big strides in a short period of time to bring job equity to the workplace. It has increased its number of female executives from 9 per cent to 13 per cent. It has also increased the number of females in senior management from 13 per cent to 17 per cent.

What is remarkable is that this has been done without reverse discrimination or affirmative action programs. It adopted flexible work programs to meet the personal and professional needs of all its employees.

The Bank of Montreal has shown how fair mindedness when offering opportunity results in competent and committed employees in the workplace. I salute the Bank of Montreal.

The Budget

[Jean Payne, Liberal, St. John's West, NL]

Mr. Speaker, there is an old Chinese proverb which says that a long journey starts with the first step.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank my colleague, the Minister of Finance, because his budget is a giant step toward the journey back to fiscal stability in Canada.

His budget is a realistic approach to the problems that have plagued our nation for a long time. The measures the budget proposes will allow us to both provide the jobs people need and gradually reduce the deficit in a sensible manner.

The provision of employment is especially important in the riding of St. John's West which I have the honour to represent. It is especially important to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is also important to Atlantic Canada where unemployment has been unacceptably high for as long as anybody can remember.

The benefits of this budget have already been seen. Recent unemployment figures are down nationally and in Newfoundland. We should continue our efforts to reduce those figures and that is going to be the goal of this government.

It is encouraging to note the extremely strong commitment this government has demonstrated toward the survival of the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador and in the riding of St. John's West. During the next five years the government has committed $1.9 billion in assistance to Atlantic Canadian fisherpeople and plant workers. The government is putting the money where it is really needed.

It should be noted well that this long term approach is a vote of confidence in the fishing industry that is so vital to the people of St. John's West and to the entire province.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[Ron MacDonald, Liberal, Dartmouth, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express grave concern about published reports in today's paper concerning revelations over the RCMP's spying activities on black civil rights leaders in the province of Nova Scotia during the 1960s and 1970s.

The documents were released only after an access to information request by a Nova Scotia newspaper. Although highly censored they still contain unacceptable racial stereotypical references to blacks such as portraying black women as prolific child bearers and black men as layabouts and thieves.

This whole episode would be disturbing enough if these reports were written by any RCMP surveillance officer. However some of the most racially insensitive comments were in reports by Mr. William Higgitt who went on to become the commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

I ask the Solicitor General today to personally undertake a review of all of the uncensored documentation relating to this issue in an effort to search out and if found, stamp out any institutionalized racism in Canada's federal forces, the RCMP and CSIS.

World Hunger

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Fredericton—York—Sunbury, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Fredericton branch of RESULTS, an international organization committed to creating the political will to end world hunger.

In the time it takes to read this statement over 200 children will die in the world. Tragically, most of these deaths are preventable. As little as $5 per child could save thousands of lives.

As we debate how many billions to spend within our affluent society, citizens in countries in four continents seek our support for basic sustenance.

We cannot allow NGO over-bureaucratization, western cultural bias or fiscal pressures within to distract us from our humanitarian responsibilities around the globe.

I join all members in saluting the many organizations and individuals who quietly save children's lives.

I call upon the government to meet its 1991 commitment of $20 million for immunization and encourage putting money toward micro enterprise initiatives so that actual results will be the pillars of Canada's foreign aid policy.

Quebec Sovereignty

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Richelieu, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the NDP member for Kamloops stated that his friends in Quebec should shut up and stop talking about sovereignty because that implies the destruction of Canada and makes international lending agencies uneasy.

Such a statement calls for an indignant reaction. Markets are soft because of the pitiful state of Canada's public finances, which is the making of the federal system and should not be blamed on the people of Quebec. As it is, this uncertainty is a sure sign of the failure of this system.

Furthermore, the process the people of Quebec have embarked upon is legitimate; they want to assert themselves as a nation. They are not trying to destroy Canada, but rather to build their own country.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I urge the hon. member not to waste his time and energy, as the Bloc Quebecois will not shut up and will continue to promote the sovereignty of Quebec in this Parliament.

Student Loans

[Randy White, Reform, Fraser Valley West, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Michael McIntosh of Matsqui, British Columbia recently received one of those mean old letters from Revenue Canada which stated Revenue Canada was about to garnishee his income tax refund to pay off an outstanding student loan.

However, Mr. McIntosh has no outstanding student loan. In 1972 he paid it off in full. Now, 22 years later the government claims he still owes 75 cents principal and $39 in interest accrued. The error is with the government that delayed the processing of the payment 22 years ago. This is ridiculous.

The Prime Minister has said he has the people and he has the plan. How can one implement any plan with people who make decisions like this?

Ukrainian Elections

[Jesse Flis, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, democratic development and good governance are the hallmarks of peace and co-operation in the modern era.

The successful outcome of Ukraine's first fair and free elections since its independence is testimony to what can be achieved given the strong will and perseverance of a people who do not fear change.

The Canadian government played a significant role in providing a $2.5 million electoral assistance package, including ballot paper, media training and voter education.

I was pleased to lead a team of Canadian observers to monitor the elections on March 27. After the second round of balloting on April 9 and 10, I have been informed that 312 out of 450 deputies have been elected and further results are pending.

Given that the quorum has been reached to form a new parliament and that at least 50 per cent of voters cast their ballots in the Crimea, it may be concluded that the Ukrainian elections were valid and that Ukraine is on its way to achieving a healthy, multi-party democratic parliamentary system.

Wildlife Conservation

[Clifford Lincoln, Liberal, Lachine—Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on the occasion of 1994 National Wildlife Week, I extend an invitation to all hon. members, and to all Canadians, to take part in the week's activities.

Many dynamic projects will help Canadians to get to know wildlife better, and appreciate biodiversity in general. Perhaps more important, they will be able to take concrete steps to make our natural environment healthier. It could be something as simple as building a bird feeder for their backyards or as complicated as developing a wetland preservation project.

The theme for this year's wildlife week is: "Biodiversity works for wildlife, you can too". In French it is: "La biodiversité, tout un monde à sauvegarder". This is fitting because this is the year Canada will complete its biodiversity strategy.

This truly national strategy developed in co-operation with all the provinces and territories, with aboriginal peoples, with NGOs in the private sector, will be the instrument by which Canada-

[The Speaker]

The hon. member's time has expired.

Justice

[Stan Keyes, Liberal, Hamilton West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, March 30, 25-year old Joan Heimbecker, a graduate student at McMaster University, was brutally murdered in her residence apartment. She was shot several times with a sawed off shotgun. This senseless and cowardly act has left the Hamilton and area community in a state of shock and horror.

The individual responsible for this act of murder has not yet been apprehended and is still at large. It is our hope the killer will be located and prosecuted a.s.a.p.

Clearly, brutal acts of murder such as the one which claimed Joan Heimbecker's life reinforce the need to ensure that convicted murderers receive a life sentence for their crimes with no chance of parole for 25 years.

We must do everything in our power to protect the public from this kind of violence by fashioning a judicial system that is aimed at crime prevention and which, equally important, addresses victims' rights when violent crimes are committed.

I am sure all members of this House will join me in offering sincere condolences to the family, friends and fellow students of Joan Heimbecker.

Rwanda

[Maud Debien, Bloc, Laval East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the members of the Official Opposition and of all Quebecers and Canadians, I strongly deplore the massacres in Rwanda. In the capital city of Kigali, thousands of innocent civilians were killed, including several political figures and human rights advocates.

I ask the federal government to express our disapproval to the Rwandan government authorities. The protection of minority and human rights, and of the most fundamental right of all-the right to life-must be an integral part of Canadian foreign policy in Africa as in every other part of the world. We must encourage any attempt at national reconciliation in a spirit of democracy.

Many Quebecers who have contributed to Rwanda's development are personally affected by the events of the past few days. I would like to express our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the victims of these tragic events.

Aids

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it was recently brought to my attention by a concerned school librarian that the student body was in possession of a pamphlet entitled "Doing it in the 90s". This pamphlet was produced by the Canadian Aids Society in co-operation with the University of Toronto and Laval University.

It details the results of a survey administered to gay and bisexual men. The results explain how men have sex, whether they practice safe sex, why they do not wear condoms and whether they have been tested for AIDS and various AIDS related diseases.

I personally have no trouble with educating the public about the risk of AIDS. However, when a group of school children is able to get hold of a document with such graphic references to homosexuality and bisexuality, we have to question three things. How did it get a hold of this document? What are the benefits in the published information? Could our tax dollars, $500,000, not be spent more effectively through proper AIDS educational material, not advocating homosexuality and bisexuality and the practices associated with them?

Gun Control

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—Woodbine, ON]

Mr. Speaker, within the last week in Toronto and in surrounding areas three violent and horrific crimes have been committed with guns. A student was shot in her own home. Another, who was the daughter of a constituent of mine, was killed while enjoying desserts with her friends at a downtown restaurant. The third, a young father, was shot with a stolen gun at a party.

This painful loss of life must be the beginning of stronger, tougher gun control laws.

As a woman I feel particularly vulnerable. As a female constituent of mine stated, why must I lose my freedom and live in fear?

No longer should we tolerate these violent and senseless crimes.

I urge not only the Minister of Justice but the whole House to unite and move rapidly to adopt stringent gun controls.

Law Of The Sea

[Charles Caccia, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for the sake of unemployed workers in the fishing industry and the economy of Canada it is urgent that the Government of Canada ratify the Law of the Sea convention. This treaty would serve Canada's interests by enhancing Canadian sovereignty over coastal waters and contributing to a stable and more peaceful legal order for the oceans.

It specifically protects certain fish stocks and enshrines in international law principles contained in the Canadian Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act. This treaty would offer a legal framework that would eventually assist Canada's efforts to stop foreign overfishing.

Canada's long term interest is in ratifying and promoting the Law of the Sea convention if we are to bring back this industry at all. I therefore urge the Minister of Foreign Affairs to ratify the Law of the Sea without delay.

Crime Prevention

[Audrey McLaughlin, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were recently shocked by two senseless killings in Ottawa and Toronto. There is fear that our streets are not safe and that young people are more violent. That fear has focused attention on the Young Offenders Act.

I share the concern of Canadians about violence in our communities. I agree that laws should be reviewed to make sure they are effective but that review should be based on facts and not fiction. If we are prepared to change the law we must also be prepared to prevent crime.

Since 1992, RCMP funding has been cut by $33.4 million. As a direct result of federal underfunding the Yukon crime prevention program for example has been cut. By going directly to the schools I believe the constable in charge there prevented more crimes than the threat of stiff jail sentences.

It costs $1 for prevention for every $5 in incarceration. I call on the government to look at this aspect of crime prevention in our society.

The Budget

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Prime Minister.

Economists and financial analysts are practically unanimous in saying that the falling dollar and the increased spread between American and Canadian interest rates are mainly due to the federal budget's lack of credibility. The government has failed to convince financial markets that it is determined to fight the deficit and put public finances on a sound footing, and taxpayers are paying for this with increased interest rates.

Does the Prime Minister agree that the rise in interest rates as a result of the Bank of Canada's decision to stop the dollar from sliding further is mainly the result of a negative assessment by financial markets which are disappointed in the deficit reduction measures proposed in the budget?