Debates of May 10th, 1994

Young Offenders Act

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I said in the House yesterday, we propose to bring forward specific legislation, particularly in relation to the Young Offenders Act but also dealing more broadly with the question of sentencing under the Criminal Code.

We propose also to announce the creation, the structure and the composition of a national crime prevention council within the weeks to come. Before the House rises in June, it will have before it legislation with respect to specific changes in the Young Offenders Act and sentencing as well as particulars of the crime prevention council.

I cannot tell the hon. member that this legislation will be enacted by the end of June. I can say in response that we will have concrete proposals before the House and that is in keeping with the commitments we have made throughout the session.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the minister's answer. We have heard this and the timetable before.

There must be something in that package, a change to the age of application to the Young Offender's Act, perhaps a change in the accountability of the parole board, something that the government could bring forward expeditiously and get passed to recognize the public's demand for swift action.

My supplementary question is this. How is it that when the government wants to act swiftly to undo certain acts of the previous government, like cancel the helicopter and Pearson airport deals, it can act overnight? How is it when it wants to ram a bill on redistribution of politicians' seats through Parliament it can use closure to expedite that? Why will the government not act with the same urgency and swiftness when the lives and property of Canadians are at stake?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, may I say two things in response?

First of all, the process of criminal justice reform is an area of law that uniquely engages the interests of the provinces, for they pay for much of it in terms of administration, particularly with young offenders. It seemed to the government that it was appropriate, indeed necessary, at the end of March when we convened a meeting with our provincial and territorial counterparts, to solicit their views with respect to the proposals we had. As a result of that consultation there are changes in the proposals we will be bringing forward.

The second and equally important answer that I proffer to the hon. member is this. One must not think that the problems of crime and violence in this society are going to be dealt with by specific amendments to this or that piece of legislation. That will help and we are going to do it. But what is really going to be required if we are going to make a significant difference in the safety of communities in this country is a longer term approach toward crime prevention.

The hon. member ought not to think that just changing a statute is going to get that job done.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian public is not stupid. If these types of answers had been advanced at these public rallies, that nothing can be done because of the complexity of federal-provincial relations or nothing can be done because the cause lies deep and far behind, the minister would have been booed off the stage.

My supplementary question is for the Solicitor General.

We understand that the prairie vice-chairman of the National Parole Board says he wants an apology for inaccurate accusations of his involvement in the release of convicted murderers.

What is the government's policy on officially apologizing to victims and citizens for the failures of the National Parole Board and is not this something that the government could do swiftly and expeditiously?

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

Mr. Speaker, this government wants to do more than apologize for omissions of the previous government. It wants to bring forward legislation very soon to modernize and improve the parole and corrections system so that the concerns of the public in that regard will be answered to in a concrete way.

I hope that we will have the support of the Reform Party when we bring forward this legislation because it is action people want, not just words.

Hepatitis C

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. This morning, we learned that close to 140,000 Canadians might be carrying the hepatitis C virus, several of them through blood transfusions without knowing it. After the contaminated blood scandal, this new problem again raises the issue of public health and safety in the context of blood transfusions.

Does the minister agree with the head of the federal office regulating blood products, who says that it is pointless to try to track down those who received contaminated blood transfusions and now carry the hepatitis C virus, because no vaccine or preventive treatment exist? Does the minister share that opinion?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, Canada's blood collecting system is recognized as one of the best in the world. It goes without saying that there will always be problems. Right now, the commission headed by Mr. Krever is looking at blood contamination problems to ensure that Canadians enjoy the best possible protection for their health. We are anxiously waiting the commission's report.

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, does the minister not realize that her primary obligation is to intervene as minister responsible for public health? Will she order an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding this new contaminated blood problem, and will she demand that the Red Cross contact all those who may have been contaminated?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, blood transfusions, like any other medical procedures, are relatively safe but there are never 100 per cent guarantees.

Hepatitis C infection is certainly a case in point. We are continuing to monitor the progress. We know that the Canadian Red Cross has brought in testing of donors and has made considerable progress.

As always, there are new threats and we must deal with them as efficiently and effectively as possible. We believe that Justice Krever in his report will address some of these very serious issues.

Correctional Service Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday two federal prisoners walked away from the Ferndale minimum security institution in Mission, British Columbia. When they escaped the press release issued by Correctional Service Canada stated that the two escapees were considered low risk.

On Friday these two low risk offenders were arrested in Oregon after robbing a store at gunpoint. When these two low risk offenders were arrested they were driving a stolen car of a man who was found strangled to death in his apartment and guess what, these two low risk offenders are suspects in the murder.

What guarantees can the minister give this House that there are not other such low risk offenders in Canada's minimum security prisons?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner of Corrections has just announced the setting up of a national inquiry into this whole situation. I am asking him to review this as a matter of urgency because protection of the public has to be our priority.

That is what I think the public wants whether the people in question are in a maximum security institution or a minimum security institution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I suppose the national inquiry might get at it in the long run but we want to talk about crime prevention in the House.

One of these low risk offenders was Michael Kelly Roberts. The criminal record of this low risk offender includes a 25-year sentence for attempted murder of a police officer and a life sentence for the murder of a fellow inmate. In 1988 he walked away from a minimum security prison as well and was on the loose for two years.

How could anyone, let alone a professional in Correctional Service Canada, mistake Roberts as a low risk offender and what action will be taken against the men who made this ridiculous decision?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is something I want to review urgently with the Commissioner of Corrections in view of what I think should be our priority and that is protection of the public.

The point made by the hon. member is an important one and I will insist that the Commissioner of Corrections take it aboard.

Pharmaceutical Products

[Pierre De Savoye, Bloc, Portneuf, QC]

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

On April 27, in answer to a question put to her by the Official Opposition, the minister stated that, before issuing a notice of compliance, her department must ensure that the medication is efficient and safe for the people of Canada.

Since BioVac has been waiting 22 months to obtain approval for its BCG cancer vaccine, are we to understand, from the answer provided by the minister, that the Department of Health does not consider the vaccine an acceptable drug to be marketed?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as I said on April 27, we have to follow a process, whereby the Department of Health along with its researchers and scientists must ensure that the medication they are about to approve will serve its purpose.

The 22-month delay may have been due to the great number of drugs we have to examine. As you know, we have a deficit and debt problem. We receive a lot of submissions for new drugs. As the list gets longer and longer, so do the delays.

There is no reason why the medication should not be approved shortly.

[Pierre De Savoye, Bloc, Portneuf, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a supplementary question.

Does the minister not realize that her department's failure to follow up on BioVac's submission is, in fact, very harmful to this Quebec company, all the more so since its Toronto competitor had a similar medication approved a lot faster?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, let me assure the hon. member that in all cases we are extremely efficient at doing our work at Health Canada.

At no time do we wish to jeopardize the lives of Canadians. At no time will we allow ourselves to not do our work properly because we have been lobbied by one company or another. I speak for Health Canada from the day I took over on November 4.

Haiti

[Bob Mills, Reform, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Foreign Affairs in consultation with the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations discussed the reconstituted UN peacekeeping mission to Haiti.

Trade sanctions have not worked in the past partly because of the uncontrolled border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Can the minister inform the House whether Canada will send peacekeepers to either the Haitian border to enforce UN trade sanctions or to uphold democracy after Mr. Aristide returns to power?

[André Ouellet, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the United Nations passed a resolution to impose a first set of sanctions against the military regime in Haiti. It has a period of time to comply and if it does not comply, full sanctions will be imposed against Haiti.

In the meantime diplomatic efforts are being made in order to obtain the co-operation of the Dominican Republic in order to ensure that the border is totally closed so that the military is not receiving products that it should not get because of the sanctions.

We have every reason to believe that the Dominican Republic is going to co-operate and adhere to the UN sanctions.

[Bob Mills, Reform, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is to be hoped that can happen. It has not in the past.

We have had a great many debates on international peacekeeping in this place. Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs explain the specific criteria that he will now utilize to determine whether Canada should provide peacekeepers especially to a place like Haiti? How does the safety of our peacekeepers factor into this decision?

[André Ouellet, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the hon. member that according to the Governors Island agreement, under the United Nations a mission of police officers was supposed to be sent to Haiti to assist the Haitian authorities in forming a police corps that could complement the work of the government in ensuring a stable democratic government in counterbalance to the influence of the military forces.

It is in this spirit of the Governors Island agreement that Canada has agreed to send RCMP officers to take part in this operation. Indeed, we will honour our commitment in this regard whenever the forces return.

We have not talked about sending military forces and this is not an option that we are considering at the moment.

Taxation

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. In a report tabled in this House in November 1989 concerning the GST, the Liberals, then in opposition, said that if the government really wanted to protect the poor against inflation by adjusting the credits and the thresholds, it should fully index the protection given to the poorest right from the beginning.

Now that his party is in power, and no matter which tax replaces the GST, is the Minister of Finance still of the opinion that the tax credit mechanism for the poor should be fully indexed?

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

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the Standing Committee on Finance is currently studying the GST, and the member knows this full well. It is certainly a very far-reaching reform of the tax situation. I feel that we will have to wait for the report.

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat my question to the Minister of Finance. Whatever the tax that will replace the GST, does the Minister of Finance still believe that the tax credit system to protect those with low incomes will be fully indexed?

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

Mr. Speaker, the position of our party, that is, the need to protect those with low incomes is very clear in all our policies. It is very clear in the position of the Minister of Human Resources Development. It is very clear in our desire to create jobs and it will be very clear in our job creation program, to truly protect low income Canadians.