House of Commons Hansard #71 of the 35th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was students.

Topics

Intergovernmental RelationsOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Bloc

Michel Gauthier Bloc Roberval, QC

Mr. Speaker, after their conference last week, the Western premiers asked for the transfer of federal powers to the provinces in several areas, including telecommunications and manpower, thus echoing Quebec's demands.

Does the Prime Minister admit that the western Premiers' requests show once again that there is a serious responsibility--

sharing problem in Canada and that the political structure is no longer adequate as it leads to costly and inefficient overlap and duplication?

Intergovernmental RelationsOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court ruled that telecommunications was an area of federal jurisdiction. So the government is only abiding by the Canadian Constitution.

Will it be possible to make administrative arrangements to satisfy certain provinces which control some elements of the telephone service? I hope we will be able to do so but there is certainly no duplication in this area because the Supreme Court has recognized very clearly that telecommunications come under federal jurisdiction.

With respect to manpower, the Minister of Human Resources Development is still discussing with the provincial governments at this time. We hope we will be able to make arrangements if necessary and I am glad to see that not only Quebec but also other provinces want better arrangements, and we hope to work out some kind of accommodation. Of course, what will be good for western Canada will also be good for Quebec and vice versa, and I hope that if everyone simply looks at the problem rationally instead of using it for political confrontation, we will be able to find a reasonable solution.

Intergovernmental RelationsOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Bloc

Michel Gauthier Bloc Roberval, QC

Mr. Speaker, can the Prime Minister explain in a satisfactory manner why his government and himself, who yesterday boasted of his determination to solve the unemployment problem, are still, after several months of negotiations, totally unable to sign with Quebec an agreement that would save $250 million a year in waste and better serve the jobless?

Intergovernmental RelationsOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Lloyd Axworthy LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development and Minister of Western Economic Diversification

Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that the hon. member check his facts. We have done an analysis. The numbers he used are not correct. They were based upon an OECD study which had nothing to do with Canada itself. It was simply an averaging of all countries in the OECD regime that did not explicitly look at the facts as they relate to Canada.

Therefore the facts presented are not exact. We have already communicated that to other governments and they understand the figures on duplication. At this very moment we are negotiating with the provinces a series of agreements to have single witness deliveries, to share locations, and to provide for joint sponsorship of programs.

Unlike the hon. member we are taking action when he only blows steam.

FederalismOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Reform

Preston Manning Reform Calgary Southwest, AB

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

As the Prime Minister knows the securing of Canadian federalism and the future of federalism in Canada is not solely a federal responsibility. The provinces have an integral role to play in the operation and preservation of the federal system, but last week a number of the western premiers expressed several concerns about how the national unity issue was being handled or not handled.

Does the federal government intend to actively consult the provinces and involve them in a joint effort to strengthen and promote national unity over the next few months?

FederalismOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I have no doubt that all premiers of Canada, including the premier of Quebec, want the country to remain together. I know when I met with them in December that we discussed that. They want to do what is needed to do that. Everybody agreed at that time that the best way was to provide good government and to look at the duplication that exists between levels of governments. Some western Canadian premiers made representation last week in different fields and we are looking into that.

When there are two or three levels of government in a country there is always a conflict of jurisdiction. It is inevitable but it is a system that works very well for Canada.

In countries like Great Britain and France in which there is only one level of government people want to have two or three levels to bring the government closer to the people. Everybody in Canada will recognize that with our federalism of today we have one of the most decentralized federation in the world, aside from perhaps Switzerland.

There is always a constant battle for adjustment. It is the dynamism of our federalism. We can adapt because there is a lot of flexibility in our Constitution.

FederalismOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Reform

Preston Manning Reform Calgary Southwest, AB

Mr. Speaker, I have a supplementary question.

Some of the premiers and many other Canadians want to be assured that the federal government is preparing a principal federalist response to the various problems and issues that Quebec's separation could create for Canada and the other provinces. These are problems and issues which the Prime Minister considers hypothetical and which he said yesterday the federal government does not want to think about for fear of being accused of accepting the inevitability of separatism.

Who should be preparing the federalist response to these problems and issues if the federal government is not prepared to accept the responsibility?

FederalismOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I accept the responsibility. I said to everybody that talking Canada down like the hon. member is doing all the time by saying that nothing works in Canada is conducive to that.

FederalismOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear.

FederalismOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

Jean Chrétien Liberal Saint-Maurice, QC

In spite of the difficulties I always said that Canada is the best country. I am not down on Canada. It is the best way to convince everybody that Canada is still the best country in the world in which to live.

FederalismOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Reform

Preston Manning Reform Calgary Southwest, AB

Mr. Speaker, each non-response from the government to this question just creates more uncertainty about the leadership for the advancement and promotion of federalism and where it is going to come from. Each non-response causes the national unity vacuum to grow.

Does the government intend to provide the House with an opportunity to freely debate the federal response to Quebec's separatism before we recess for the summer?

FederalismOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member said he will table a paper very soon. However, if the intention of the leader of the Reform Party is to reopen the constitutional debate, my answer to that is no.

Yesterday that was more or less the approach you took and on the second question you backed down. We will wait for your paper to see where you are.

FederalismOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

The Speaker

Order. I know that the right hon. Prime Minister will want to include me.

The EconomyOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Yvan Loubier Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister continually blames the opposition and sovereigntists for all economic woes, for the poor labour market and the sorry state of the nation's finances. The finance minister's irresponsible statements, erroneous forecasts concerning the 1993-94 deficit and anemic budget have had a major, very negative, costly impact on the economy and on financing Canada's public debt.

Does the Prime Minister not agree that the irresponsible statements of his Minister of Finance and his budget's lack of credibility are the real reasons that Canadian interest rates are higher than American rates and that since his budget was tabled, this differential has cost Quebecers and Canadians thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars?

The EconomyOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I do not agree that the Minister of Finance is irresponsible. No minister takes his work more seriously than the Minister of Finance. No minister is more respected by the business community than the Minister of Finance. He has my full confidence.

The hon. member knows very well that something within our control which can be done on financial markets now is to make our country politically stable, which would do a lot for its economic stability. We are not the ones creating political chaos in the land.

The EconomyOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Yvan Loubier Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

Mr. Speaker, does the Prime Minister not agree that instead of looking for scapegoats everywhere, he should look at his finance minister who, because of his weakness and lack of political courage, refuses to make real decisions to restore the nation's finances, create employment and give people confidence in the Canadian economy again?

He is the real culprit, Mr. Speaker.

The EconomyOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, all indicators clearly show that the Canadian economy is now headed in the right direction.

Since this government took office, consumer confidence has increased considerably. The number of unemployed people in Canada has gone down. I think that the budget presented in February was very, very well received by the financial community because they know that this Minister of Finance and this government have a very specific plan. We want to create jobs, that is our priority. To do so, we must reduce the deficit to 3 per cent of gross national revenue within three years.

We will keep this promise as we have kept other promises, and the financial community will indeed have confidence in Canada when we clearly establish this country's political stability.

HaitiOral Question Period

May 25th, 1994 / 2:35 p.m.

Reform

Bob Mills Reform Red Deer, AB

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

The UN economic sanctions and embargo on Haiti have been in effect since only May 21 but already we have seen an inability to enforce the embargo with gasoline and diesel fuel now crossing the border easily from the Dominican Republic.

On May 10 the Minister of Foreign Affairs told the House that he had every reason to believe that the Dominican Republic was going to co-operate and adhere to the UN sanctions. I pointed out to the minister at that time-

HaitiOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

The Speaker

Order. I would ask the hon. member to put his question now.

HaitiOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Reform

Bob Mills Reform Red Deer, AB

Can the Prime Minister comment on the substantive action that he plans to take to ensure strict compliance with the international embargo on the part of the Dominican Republic?

HaitiOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Northumberland Ontario

Liberal

Christine Stewart LiberalSecretary of State (Latin America and Africa)

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to respond to this question on sanctions in Haiti. Canada is doing everything it can to make sure sanctions stick.

We were part of a UN mission that explored the Dominican Republic border in the last few days. We will be making a démarche to the Dominican Republic, insisting it does everything it can to stop up the gaps in the sanctions net that exist at this time.

HaitiOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Reform

Bob Mills Reform Red Deer, AB

Mr. Speaker, we recognize the great job that our peacekeepers and foreign missions are doing. However Canadians need some criteria to go on before we get involved in further actions on an ad hoc basis.

Could the Prime Minister or the minister please tell us if they are prepared to work in conjunction with the foreign affairs committee to develop such a set of criteria for future actions or accelerated actions in places like Haiti?

HaitiOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Northumberland Ontario

Liberal

Christine Stewart LiberalSecretary of State (Latin America and Africa)

Mr. Speaker, the government has always stated it is open to having all manner of public dialogue on foreign policy. At this moment we are going through, with the assistance of the committee, a complete review of foreign policy. This does not preclude a discussion about how our peacekeeping efforts can be improved.

Having been involved as a country in peacekeeping missions all over the world and with scarcer resources today, we are very interested in the Canadian view of how we can be more effective and efficient in our peacekeeping role.

Social Program ReformOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Francine Lalonde Bloc Mercier, QC

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

One of the warnings given to the minister in a confidential draft on the communications strategy regarding the social program reform, which was made public yesterday by a member of Parliament, reads as follows:

"UI cuts seen by the population as evidence that government wants to fight the deficit on the backs of the poor".

Under the circumstances, will the minister tell us if the delay in tabling his action plan is the result of a split among cabinet ministers regarding what is at stake, as suggested in a recommendation from the same report which proposes this strategy: "-demonstrate Cabinet solidarity on socio-economic agenda"?

Social Program ReformOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Lloyd Axworthy LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development and Minister of Western Economic Diversification

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows over 80 per cent of Canadians are very anxious to see major initiatives taken to reform and improve our social programs. That very strong support is also reflected in the cabinet and caucus on this side of the House.

The only place where there are divisions, the only place where there is any opposition is in the source and background of the Bloc Quebecois. It is the only group in the country that does not want to see reform go ahead and we know why.