Debates of May 30th, 1994

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Leeds-Grenville.

D-Day

[Jim Jordan, Liberal, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, 50 years ago on June 6, 1944 thousands of Canadians with their allies stormed the beaches of Normandy in an exercise that became known as D-Day. On the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the downfall of the Nazi regime in Europe, Canadians will be paying tribute to thousands of their fellow Canadians who took part in the invasion.

I encourage all Canadians to take part in the upcoming D-Day ceremonies in their respective communities so that the pride of country and the great courage displayed by Canadians 50 years ago are not allowed to fade from our memory.

Quebec Sovereignty

[Jean H. Leroux, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Quebecois wishes to congratulate the Government of Ontario for having raised the level of the debate on Quebec sovereignty. Ontario has devised a plan aimed at preserving the major economic links between the two economies in the event of Quebec accession to sovereignty.

The Ontario business community has put pressure on its government to make sure that trade between the two entities is maintained regardless of the political status of Quebec. Bilateral trade between Quebec and Ontario accounts for more $48 billion a year. Obviously, business circles have every reason to try to protect these fruitful economic relations.

This calm and thoughtful reaction on the part of the Government of Ontario is a pleasant change from the recent thunderous and irresponsible statements by Premiers Harcourt and Romanow.

Atlantic Fishery

[Dave Chatters, Reform, Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to give special recognition to Alberta and Saskatchewan farmers who this month are sending wheat flour to the maritime families that are coping with the devastation of the Atlantic fishery.

During the depression, Atlantic fishermen sent salted cod, fruit, honey, clothing and other items to western farmers, trying desperately to survive the devastation of their industry. The grain these farmers are donating will produce 50,000 pounds of flour, enough to make 95,000 loaves of bread. By donation the flour will be shipped east and distributed to needy families through the Newfoundland food bank.

It is wonderful to see grassroots Canadians pulling together in a time of need, especially when their political leaders continue to debate the future of Confederation.

Aboriginal Self-Government

[Paddy Torsney, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there has been much excitement lately over the positions held by the Bloc Quebecois on aboriginal self-government. It would seem that there are several and that they are in conflict with one another.

Mr. Turp, president of the Bloc Quebecois policy commission, has denied the statements he previously made and published regarding aboriginal self-determination. Mr. Turp, an international law scholar, now has no comment on the issue.

He is, however, quoted in the Vancouver Sun as saying that he has taken a ``liberal and generous'' interpretation of the rights of our aboriginal peoples. I believe liberal and generous are in line with the Liberal government's approach toward aboriginal issues. If indeed Mr. Turp's knowledge and research on the issue are blocked by the Bloc, I would like him to know that his liberalism and generosity in aboriginal affairs would certainly be welcomed elsewhere.

Canadian Unity

[Ronald J. Duhamel, Liberal, St. Boniface, MB]

Mr. Speaker, we made it once more. Canada is first in the world according to a United Nations report.

This report of the United Nations places Canada in terms of human development in first place out of 173 countries. It considers average income, life expectancy and educational attainment.

Considering this enviable situation-the fact that we live in the best country in the world-why should anyone want to destroy it? Why not work together to improve even more the situation of the men and women of Canada?

The Constitution

[Stan Keyes, Liberal, Hamilton West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to relay my constituents' message that we stay focused on the mandate we were given by them last October. We must not be

sidetracked by all the counterproductive constitutional fearmongering from members opposite.

Let us not forget that there are millions of people who are unemployed in this country. Let us not forget that we have a $460 billion national debt to reduce. Let us not forget that we have a criminal justice system that is in need of serious reform. Most important, let us not forget the strong message voters sent to the previous administration.

We were elected to foster a sense of hope for the people of Canada by providing them with good government. We were not elected to sleepwalk into the abyss of the constitutional unity debate.

Regulatory Requirements

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to express a concern of the NDP caucus, the Canadian Labour Congress and others about discussions that are apparently taking place within government about a project or initiative called "Waiving Compliance with Regulatory Requirements".

Many people are very concerned about extending more and more discretion to ministers to waive compliance with certain labour and environmental regulations with respect to certain projects or applications by companies.

I call on the Minister of Human Resources Development and others to scrap this project now. There is enough leeway in the regulatory regimes now. We do not need any more deregulation than we have had already.

French Language Education Rights

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. Kingston city council recently passed a special resolution blocking the construction of a French language high school on an abandoned industrial site. The school would also have housed a francophone community centre. You may recall that the students of École Marie-Rivier have been attending classes for the past seven years in cramped, makeshift structures without washrooms.

Does the government intend to intervene directly to compel Kingston city council to approve the construction of a French school equipped with proper sanitation facilities?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the Leader of the Opposition is travelling around the country these days professing to be the great defender of francophone rights outside Quebec. When the time came to authorize real self-determination for Acadians outside Quebec, he and his party voted against this proposal. Why? In his own words, to punish those who voted against Charlottetown. The following question then arises: Does the Leader of the Opposition truly want to support student rights or is he merely interested in doing some politicking to advance his own separatist goals?

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I know the Deputy Prime Minister to be a polite, courteous and honourable person. I know she will want to check Hansard and the Votes and Proceedings of the House where she will see that the Bloc Quebecois voted in favour of linguistic equality for New Brunswick's Acadians. That is the truth. The Deputy Prime Minister is repeating the gossip and false rumours making the rounds. The Bloc Quebecois voted for equality-

[The Speaker]

Order! Order! I know that all members want to hear the questions and answers during Question Period. The Leader of the Opposition.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In any event, a check of Hansard will settle this argument. I would like Hansard to be verified immediately since I want Canadian citizens to be informed at three o'clock that we stated the truth.

Does the government recognize that the decision of Kingston city council is indicative of the kind of obstacles encountered by francophones outside Quebec when they try to avail themselves of their French language education rights? Getting back to the issue that concerns us and to this blatant example of injustice, can the Deputy Prime Minister tell us what steps she intends to take in order to have this hateful decision reconsidered?

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

Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition were really interested in Kingston's francophone students, he would have taken the time to learn the reasons why city council decided to oppose the relocation of the school. The proposed site was only steps away from a dangerous toxic waste treatment site and Kingston city council did not want students going to school there if their health would be endangered. The decision had nothing to do with the fact that they were francophones, but rather with the fact that the proposed location was close to a toxic waste site.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I see that the Deputy Prime Minister supports this decision and that far from distancing herself from it, she is even justifying it, even though it will continue to deprive students at

École secondaire Marie-Rivier of washrooms. Imagine, no washrooms for students, in a country like Canada.

My question is for the minister of defence. In view of the fierce opposition in the city of Kingston to the construction of a school for francophones, will the minister of defence continue to argue that Kingston is the best site for a bilingual military college, one where francophones will feel comfortable?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister answered the substance of the hon. member's question and I thought she did so very effectively.

With respect to the consolidation of the military colleges in Kingston there will be no change to our decision. There will be one military college that will be located at Kingston.

In fact I was in the area this morning talking with the local press. I am really quite heartened by the attitude that the people of that area have toward making Kingston a showplace of bilingualism as a federal institution.

Indian Affairs

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

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

Despite appeals from the Government of Quebec, the Kanesatake Band Council has continued the work to expand the Indian cemetery. In a letter to his federal counterpart, the Quebec Minister of Native Affairs, Mr. Sirros, asks the federal government to begin negotiations quickly with the Kanesatake Band Council.

As trustee, did the federal government intervene directly with the Kanesatake Band Council to convince it to stop the work and to return to the negotiating table or are we to understand instead that Chief Jerry Peltier still refuses to return to the negotiating table?

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

Mr. Speaker, the federal government has just appointed a negotiator in the person of lawyer Michel Robert for the very purpose of negotiating an end to this situation.

But on these issues, all sorts of opinions must be taken into consideration, including Daniel Turp's; speaking on self-determination for native people, he said to the Quebec National Assembly: "In my opinion, the fact that the natives are a people, that they consider themselves to be a people gives them a right to self-determination in the same way as Quebec".

Of course, when we consider the issue of self-determination for native people, we must consider not only the opinions of negotiators in this context but also those of the Bloc Quebecois's advisers.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my second question is still for the Deputy Prime Minister.

Can she tell us if the federal negotiator will make stopping the work now going on in the pine grove a precondition for resuming negotiations?

Does the federal government agree that it must act quickly to forestall any escalation in Oka? Does the federal government agree on that?

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

Mr. Speaker, obviously, when a negotiator is appointed by the federal government, he has all he needs to end this conflict. We want it to be settled generously, equitably and fairly in the interests of all concerned. We have confidence in the ability of lawyer Michel Robert and we await results. We do not want to consider proceeding until we have seen at least our negotiator's report.

Sexual Offenders

[Jack Ramsay, Reform, Crowfoot, AB]

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

Larry Fisher, who served a 23-year sentence in prison for raping seven women, was released from prison last Friday. Fisher is now free to travel wherever he pleases without any obligation to declare himself to local enforcement officials.

In an internal memorandum issued last week by the RCMP, it warned that because of his past criminal history it is likely that he will reoffend. So that people like Larry Fisher can be identified by local law enforcement officials, will the Minister of Justice include a national registry of sexual offenders in his forthcoming package of judicial reforms?

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

Mr. Speaker, in response to the specific question, it is not something that is planned at present but a national register of sexual offenders is something I would be happy to consider and discuss with the hon. member once I have had an opportunity to examine its implications.

I will deal more broadly with the thrust of the member's question without commenting on the case of Mr. Fisher who has completed his sentence and has been released at the end of the sentence which, by the way, was served without parole.

Let me speak more generally about the whole question of the release of offenders. As the hon. member will know, we have long since identified as a matter requiring action the whole question of the release of high risk offenders at the end of their sentences of incarceration.

I have already started with my colleagues in the provinces and territories an examination of alternatives. We have planned meetings with the ministers of health of those jurisdictions later this year to discuss specific changes to provincial mental health legislation to permit assessment and, if public safety requires it, continued confinement of such persons beyond the end of their criminal sentence in order to protect society.

[Jack Ramsay, Reform, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for his answer and his concern in this area.

Following in the same vein, it was recently reported that Easy Street, a children's centre in Calgary, unwittingly hired a janitor who had just been released from a 12-year sentence for sexually abusing a seven-year old girl.

Calgary vocational services which helped the man get the job said it knew of his criminal record but was bound by confidentiality. This example shows that action is needed now. Will the Minister of Justice include a national registry of child abusers in his forthcoming package of judicial reforms?

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

Mr. Speaker, in concert with the Solicitor General and the Minister of Health, we are releasing a discussion paper on the whole question of a national child sex abuse register for the protection of children to adapt existing technology to permit us to store for retrieval in appropriate circumstances particulars of convictions for sexual abuse. Protection of children in cases such as the one referred to by the hon. member is our paramount concern.

After we have the benefit of the views of Canadians including the provincial authorities on the alternatives set out in our discussion paper, we will put in place a national register with respect to those convicted of child sexual abuse.

As I informed the House last week, our objective is to have that in place in the fall of this year.

[Jack Ramsay, Reform, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, again I thank the minister for his response to these very urgent public matters.

On Saturday the Manitoba Teachers' Society endorsed a resolution that would inform schools whenever they had a young offender in their classes. Similar requests are likely from both Alberta and Ontario in the next few weeks.

Will the minister's forthcoming proposal include these requests, namely that school officials be informed of young offenders in their midst?