Debates of April 29th, 1994

Income Tax

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I may add that 250 public servants complained about this kind of political interference, which to me is pretty factual.

Would the Prime Minister agree that these serious allegations may cause the public to doubt the impartiality of our tax system and will he undertake to clarify this question by calling for an independent investigation by the Auditor General, whose findings would be released as soon as the report is tabled?

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the department is aware of the survey and has a meeting scheduled with the union on May 11. It was scheduled before the announcement today. We will proceed with that meeting. The survey is an item on the agenda at that meeting.

Again I state there were no specific allegations released today.

Health Care

[Keith Martin, Reform, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

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

According to a recent study by the Association of General Surgeons, 23,000 people in Quebec are on waiting lists for surgery. Half of them have been there for over 18 months. This waiting list has doubled since 1985 and 626 of those individuals are cancer patients waiting for urgent surgery.

In light of this will the Prime Minister acknowledge that health care in this county is collapsing. The act is obsolete and reform of the act is crucial. We are not asking for more money.

I would like the Prime Minister to please guarantee that federal transfer payments for funding for health care will stay at 1992-93 levels at least and not decrease any more.

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, on the one hand the member says he does not want us to spend any more money. On the other hand he is pointing out the difficulties being faced by the provinces.

The Minister of Health met with provincial ministers in February. She has another meeting scheduled in the next few weeks specifically to discuss making sure that every Canadian has access to health care services at no cost to themselves.

Frankly, if we followed the suggestion of the Reform Party to cancel the Canada Health Act, every fibre of the work that we have done over the last 30 years in building one of the best health care systems in the world would be flushed down the toilet and we do not intend to do that.

[Keith Martin, Reform, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we do not have the best health care system in the world right now, but we should.

The government on the one hand is denying the provinces the right to get health care under control by forcing them to adhere to an obsolete Canada Health Act. On the other hand it is not living up to its commitment by continually decreasing funding for health care over the last 15 years.

Will you give us and this country, and on behalf of my patients-

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order. Will the hon. member please direct his question through the Chair and put his question, please.

[Keith Martin, Reform, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, will the government guarantee that it will live up to its commitments and provide federal funding for health care for Canadians based on 1992-93 levels and not continually decrease it?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I would certainly not agree with the member's statement about the state of Canada's health care.

Yesterday I had the privilege of discussing with the wife of the President of the United States their health reforms. She was asking me how they could put in place a system which would mirror or be similar to the system we have in Canada. The Americans are coming to this country to see a system that works.

Obviously the system has to respond to new realities.

We were very happy to see that midwives were finally accepted by physicians in some provinces, including Quebec and Ontario. It is very important that changes be brought to the system.

It is not enough to say that we will only amend the Canada Health Act. The answer lies in innovation and that is what we are seeking to do in cooperation with provinces.

Tainted Blood

[Maurice Bernier, Bloc, Mégantic—Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board.

The Minister of Health stated in this House on February 3, on March 23 and again this week on April 26 that the request for extra funds for the Krever Commission and the Canadian Hemophilia Society was still being examined by Treasury Board.

Can the minister promise this House that he will give immediately a clear, definite and positive answer regarding the request for additional funds for the Krever Commission and the Canadian Hemophilia Society?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, consideration of the matter is nearing completion. I can assure the hon. member that every opportunity is being taken to try to expedite the matter, understanding the importance of it.

I must also add that nobody is being denied an opportunity to appear before the commission and have his or her views appropriately heard.

[Maurice Bernier, Bloc, Mégantic—Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we can understand that the President of the Treasury Board is more eager to put on a show with the infrastructure program than to address the real problems.

My question to the President of the Treasury Board is this: Is he going to wait until the work of the commission is over to give an answer to the Canadian Hemophilia Society? What is the rationale behind such delay, given that granting additional funds requested by Justice Krever would allow the commission to carry on fully its mandate and to get right to the bottom of that scandal?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, the government has provided very substantial funds to the Krever commission. In fact it has asked for additional funds. That has taken some review but it is being done in an expeditious manner.

As I said a few moments ago, nobody is being denied an opportunity to have his or her views heard by the commission. We will continue to make sure that we advance this matter so that the commission can get on with its work and provide its report.

Justice

[Val Meredith, Reform, Surrey—White Rock—South Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice.

Jason Gamache of Courtney, B.C. was recently convicted of the first degree murder of six year-old Dawn Shaw. Evidence shows that Gamache was a repeat sexual offender who was not allowed to be with children. However, this fact was not known to the local authorities or to Jason Gamache's neighbours because of the protection of privacy sections of the Young Offenders Act.

Will the parliamentary secretary and the ministry advise the House if it is the government's intention to eliminate this section of the act?

[Russell MacLellan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, it certainly is the intention and the present activity of the Minister of Justice and the department to look into this important question.

The Minister of Justice has stated to the House that he and the department are presently analysing the question of a registry of

sexual abusers and that there will be something brought before the House in the not too distant future.

[Val Meredith, Reform, Surrey—White Rock—South Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would ask the government if it is prepared to commit to a philosophy that the rights of victims must come before the rights of criminals, or does it believe that the rights of the Jason Gamaches of this world should take precedent over the rights of the Dawn Shaws?

[Russell MacLellan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the children in our country are the future of our country. This government places the utmost reliance on our children. Nothing will come before the benefit and the welfare of the children of Canada.

Publishing Industry

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Anjou—Rivière-Des-Prairies, QC]

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

In order to justify the controversial sale of Ginn Publishing to Paramount, the governement has pointed out the specific commitments made by Paramount to ensure that Canada obtains a net advantage from that deal. But Paramount does not abide by its commitments. The 140 members of the Canadian Publishers Association ask the government to investigate the behaviour of Paramount.

Does the minister aknowledge that, by depriving the Canadian distributor Distican from a market of approximately $2 million and by entrusting it to a firm controlled by American rather than Canadian interests, Paramount blatlantly violates the deal which was agreed regarding the sale of Ginn?

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I am of course aware of the allegation just made. So is my colleague, the Minister of Industry.

Surely, a company must abide by its commitments, especially when these are made to the Government of Canada. This is the reason why an investigation has been launched in consultation with the Minister of Industry.

Food Labelling

[Pat O'Brien, Liberal, London—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, recently at a meeting of the Middlesex County Federation of Agriculture the concern was raised that Canada may have abandoned the idea of expanding and improving country of origin labelling for agri-food products. My question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Has Canada made any commitments with the United States and Mexico as part of NAFTA to implement country of origin labelling for food products purchased in Canada? Could the parliamentary secretary indicate what timeframe he might foresee for the implementation of such labelling?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food]

Mr. Speaker, country of origin labelling is required on products coming into Canada at the retail level. Most provinces also have requirements for any bulk vegetables or fruit to be labelled whether they are a product of Canada or another country. Also produce that is repackaged in Canada must have its Canada grade designation on it.

There have not been any changes in the rules with NAFTA on that. We will continue to ensure safety with the labelling so that the consumer knows where the product comes from.

Grain Transport

[Jake Hoeppner, Reform, Lisgar—Marquette, MB]

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

In a letter dated November 15, 1993 the Thunder Bay Harbour Commission Port Authority warned the minister that the rail car shortage problem had been some time in the making and was due in part to the policy of dispersing the rail car fleet into trades and routings outside its original purpose. This is just one of the several warnings the minister received.

Could the minister please explain what measures were taken in light of these warnings?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Transport I will take the member's question under advisement and undertake to get a reply to him as soon as possible.

[Jake Hoeppner, Reform, Lisgar—Marquette, MB]

Mr. Speaker, further to that I would ask the government whether it is doing something with demurrage charges that are piling up on the west coast. Grain and oilseed sales have been lost. Japan is in search of a reliable supplier to grow more canola next year.

Would the government indicate what measures it intends to take to keep Canada a reliable grain and oilseed supplier to the world?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food]

Mr. Speaker, all government departments are aware of the situation in grain handling in western Canada today. The minister of agriculture will be announcing later today that as soon as he returns to the country

he is bringing together the key players in the grain handling industry in western Canada to resolve that issue.

The rail car companies have informed us they will be putting several more thousand rail cars on the rails. They have already started. It is our intention to solve this so we can better serve our customers as we have in the past and will continue to in the future.