Debates of May 4th, 1994

Stu Shouldice

[John Finlay, Liberal, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate today a gentleman from the riding of Oxford for doing his part to protect mother earth.

Mr. Stu Shouldice from Woodstock was recently inducted into the Recycling Council of Ontario's Waste Reduction Hall of Fame. Mr. Shouldice and his family regularly recycle 95 per cent of their household waste.

Mr. Shouldice was reported to have said that increased recycling by all levels of government depends on the will of the people and how badly we want a pollution free world for our children.

I congratulate this gentleman on behalf of this House and on behalf of all those who can learn from the example he has set.

Garda Family

[Maurice Godin, Bloc, Châteauguay, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on April 6 last, Citizenship and Immigration Canada served the Garda family with a departure notice taking effect in a few days.

Today, I learned from the office of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration that the minister will not intervene in favour of the Garda family. This is extremely disappointing. The minister must spare the Garda family the humiliating torments suffered by the Maraloï family. He must defer the notification of deportation as long as it has not been proven that the Garda family does not have to fear for its life, should it return to its country.

Since the beginning of this whole process, several years have gone by and the Garda family is now well integrated in my riding of Châteauguay, and we will do everything we can to keep it.

Government Spending

[Mike Scott, Reform, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I recently received a copy of a letter sent to Revenue Canada by Mr. Barrie Carter, a constituent of mine from Smithers, British Columbia. It reads:

Please find enclosed two post-dated cheques to cover taxes owing. However, I think it only reasonable that the minister of revenue assure me that my money will not be spent on golfing trips by government officials on government jets.

Like all Canadians, I do not object to paying my share of taxes providing the money is spent in a reasonable manner. Therefore the minister should have no trouble making that assurance to me before the cheque dates become due.

This letter underlines the hostility that is generated when Canadians see their hard earned tax dollars spent in a frivolous or cavalier manner.

Contraventions Act

[Andy Mitchell, Liberal, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as we head toward Victoria Day weekend and the beginning of the traditional tourist season I would like to share with the House public concern over Bill C-46, the Contraventions Act.

The Contraventions Act received royal assent October 15, 1992 but to the disappointment of many Canadians it has not yet been proclaimed.

The act sets out a ticketing procedure for dealing with minor federal offences. The act will allow enforcement officers to properly police Canada's inland waterways and ensure that residents and tourists can enjoy summer water activities in a safe and secure manner.

The reason given for this delay has been the need to co-ordinate the bill's implementation among the provinces. I have been told that this process which has already taken 18 months will take at least another 12. This delay of two and a half years means that more of my constituents will be at risk on the waterways. It is unacceptable and I urge the Minister of Justice to expedite the process.

National Nursing Week

[Shaughnessy Cohen, Liberal, Windsor—St. Clair, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of National Nursing Week, May 9-15, 1994.

The theme this year, "Nurses Make the Difference", catches the essence of the great contribution that this profession makes to the health care of all Canadians.

Since the time of the first nurse in Canada, Jeanne Mance, nurses have remained the keystone of the Canadian health care system.

I commend all nurses in Canada for their high levels of commitment, skill, dedication and caring service to our people.

Bosnia

[David Iftody, Liberal, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to address once again the horrific circumstances that children in Bosnia live with day after terrible day. I have been asked by the children in my riding of Provencher what we can do to help them.

During World War II Canadians helped to evacuate children from danger zones for their safekeeping. Currently a number of European nations are actually helping to evacuate children of the Balkans. Canada has yet to take this step.

This is indeed one way we can help the children of Bosnia. It is my greatest hope the government will take the steps necessary to help preserve those most innocent in the Balkans during this, the year of the family.

Human Rights

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

Mr. Speaker, on March 24 last, in Tunisia, Dr. Marzouki was arrested and jailed after declaring that he would run for president.

His arrest can only be explained by the fact that he had denounced certain undemocratic electoral rules and given interviews to western newspapers.

Dr. Marzouki, who is a former president of the Tunisian Human Rights League, is well known in Quebec for his many conferences and publications on human rights and democratic development. It is therefore extremely shocking to learn that his fundamental freedoms have been violated.

Consequently, the Bloc Quebecois demands that the federal government put immediate pressure on the Tunisian government to free Dr. Marzouki.

Capital Punishment

[Garry Breitkreuz, Reform, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

On Sunday, May 1 in the Ottawa Sun the Canadian Police Association accused the Minister of Justice of using selective use of statistics and disputed his claims that there was no law and order crisis in Canada.

Statistics Canada figures show that in 1961 just before we stopped imposing the death penalty, there were 233 murders for a murder rate of 1.2 murders per 100,000 population. In 1992 there were 732 murders for a rate of 2.6 per 100,000.

Canadians know this is a massive increase in the number of murders despite the justice minister's reassurances to the contrary.

Over 90 per cent of my constituents are telling me they believe in capital punishment. If Canada is a true democracy then our laws should reflect what the majority of Canadians want. I ask this government for a binding referendum on the death penalty.

Hamilton West Questionnaire

[Stan Keyes, Liberal, Hamilton West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the constituents of Hamilton West for responding so quickly and vigorously to the questionnaire in my spring householder. In less than two weeks I have received nearly 2,000 responses and they are still coming in.

In addition to providing detailed comments and opinions on a number of important issues such as doctor assisted suicide and peacekeeping, many people seemed to appreciate the fact that someone was actually listening and interested in what they had to say. These are people like Norma who wrote: "I just want to say I appreciate your efforts at getting feedback from Canadians and I feel like there is someone in Ottawa who is actually listening to us".

With all the chirping that is going on about direct democracy from the members over there in the third party, and in this day and age of laptop computers, voice mailboxes, megabehemoth information superhighways, is it ever comforting to know that so far good old-fashioned pen to paper seems to work best.

I would like to point out that this form of direct democracy is available to each and every one of us. I encourage all members of this House to use it.

Government Publications

[Carolyn Parrish, Liberal, Mississauga West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to draw attention to a Tory legacy of waste and gross excess in government publications.

We are all accumulating dozens of annual reports from crown corporations and government agencies for the 1993 fiscal year. Each attempts to outdo the other in flash, ostentation and wanton waste.

One of many flagrant examples of excess is the 1993 report of the Royal Canadian Mint. At only 26 pages it is over one-quarter inch thick on glossy card stock with four colour pictures of management and partial clear coating on select sections. The cover is richly embossed in gold foil. It is impossible to recycle and literally must have broken the mint to produce.

CMHC whose purpose is to maximize housing assistance for Canadians in need produced an annual report that is outrageous with exotic half-page die cuts, expensive graphics and heavy coloured stock.

We must denounce this type of waste. We must encourage simple economical reports that set the tone of this new government and reflect the frugality and practicality that all Canadians are expecting of us.

National Forest Week

[Patrick Gagnon, Liberal, Bonaventure—Îles-De-La-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is National Forest Week. The aim of this national event, which is celebrated each year across Canada, is to heighten public awareness of the importance of our forest resources.

Our forests are a key part of our country's economy. No one knows the value of our forests better than the residents of Quebec's rural areas. I am thinking here, of course, about the residents of the Gaspé region. For generations, sawmill operators, Canadian forestry workers and their families have earned their living from our forests.

Throughout our history, an entire people has benefitted from the use of this great Canadian natural resource. Efforts to develop and regenerate our forests must continue.

Therefore, I call on Canadians to reflect upon the importance of our forests, Canada's treasured heritage.

Member For York South-Weston

[Michel Bellehumeur, Bloc, Berthier—Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member for York South-Weston declared yesterday that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service should investigate the activities of the Bloc Quebecois and the Parti Quebecois.

Such a declaration is totally unacceptable. It seems the requirements of democracy are too much of a burden for some members who would like the federal government to illegally interfere once again in the major decision Quebec is about to make.

Quebecers remember. They remember the arrests without warrants, the wiretapping, the break and enter searches which occurred during the days when the federal government readily mistook, some would say deliberately, legitimate and democratic aspirations for illegal actions.

I truly hope that the member for York South-Weston is the only one in this House to wish for Quebec and Canada to relive such a dark period of their history.

Government Spending

[Diane Ablonczy, Reform, Calgary North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are astonished that the Department of Canadian Heritage is giving away 70,000 tax dollars for a study of riddles.

Student tuition fees are increasing steadily. Workers are forced to take wage cuts. Someone with a brain tumour can wait over a month just to get a CAT scan.

Why, when we face such serious problems, would any government minister allow such a senseless waste of our tax dollars? Is there not anyone in charge who cares that we are losing ground on health care, education and financial stability?

This government seems to think that Canadians are cash cows to be milked to fund every silly program that comes along.

The only riddle this government should study is why the finance minister seems unable to understand that frivolous spending hurts job creation and funding for health care and education.

International Labour Code

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

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate with South Africans the birth of a new democratic South Africa, Canadians are proud of the role we played in maintaining economic sanctions against the old South Africa.

That pride is called into question by some of the things that have been said recently by the Prime Minister and the Minister for International Trade in which the linking of trade to human and political rights has been seriously downplayed.

At the Marrakesh meeting to sign the new GATT agreement, which brought the World Trade Organization into existence, the minister was quoted in the Financial Post of April 9 as saying that he was reluctant to follow the American proposal for an international labour code.

Without such a code, the world's multinationals will be allowed to prey even on the child labourers of the developing world and the process of globalization will certainly continue on its present race to the bottom.

I call on the Minister for International Trade to overcome his conservative inhibitions, to see labour as a trade issue and to take the lead in designing an effective social and labour code under the World Trade Organization.

Globalization without global community and global standards is nothing other than moral anarchy.

Infrastructure Program

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in my riding of Brant I had the privilege of announcing that the city of Brantford would be the first Ontario municipality to receive funding under the Canada-Ontario infrastructure works program.

With 15 per cent unemployment, one can imagine the open arms with which the announcement that $12 million would be spent locally in our community to restore our infrastructure and get our people back to work was received.

Brantford is not the only municipality that feels so strongly about this program. Fully 630 municipalities in our province have made applications for funding.

I would like to congratulate our government for working so expeditiously with the province and with the municipalities to get this program up and running. I would like to say to the Prime Minister how honoured I was to make the announcement, effectively an announcement that makes good his promise to help get Canadians back to work.

South African Elections

[Jean Augustine, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report to this House that I have just returned from South Africa where I was a member of the Canadian observer mission to witness the election that took place last week.

Our team was dispersed in different parts of the country. I observed in seven areas of the eastern cape around East London, Transkei and Ciskei, including the second largest black township in the country. We visited polling stations in hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, churches, schoolrooms, as well as city halls. We witnessed voter registration and saw evidence of voter education.

From our observations we determined the elections to be fair and free of intimidation and violence. A majority of the electorate was in a position to vote and did so. Logistical, administrative and inadequate distribution of materials were challenges which did not daunt the voters' enthusiasm to cast their ballots.

The South African people are to be congratulated for their tremendous achievement toward the goal of democracy.

Carman Lemcke

[Murray Calder, Liberal, Wellington—Grey—Dufferin—Simcoe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, millions of Canadians during the 1950s and 1960s watched the television series "The Andy Griffith Show".

Just recently I had the pleasure to honour the retirement of Carman Lemcke, police chief of Shelburne, a town in my riding. During Mr. Lemcke's 37-year career he never wore a gun. Carman is the longest serving police chief in the province of Ontario and possibly Canada.

One humorous story is the tale of hands-up-Harry. Two bank robbers tried to make a withdrawal while Carm was working in his front yard. Mr. Lemcke went to the local hardware store, borrowed a rifle and set out on foot to capture the two robbers. The getaway car left early leaving hands-up-Harry to become a story regularly told in Shelburne.

On behalf of myself and the people of Wellington-Grey-Dufferin-Simcoe I would like to wish Carman and Rose a happy, healthy and long retirement.

Restoration Of Democracy In Haiti

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. This week, the UN is to consider a draft resolution proposed by the U.S. to issue a 15-day ultimatum to the Haitian military junta and reinforce the trade embargo. At the same time, President Clinton took a tougher stand by clearly evoking the possibility of armed intervention to depose the military rulers he rightly accuses of killing innocent civilians.

My question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has just arrived. Can the minister give an update on the negotiations at the UN concerning the ultimatum proposed by the American president and can he indicate whether Canada supports this proposal?

[André Ouellet, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, naturally, we hope that a solution will finally be found to the long-lasting impasse in Haiti. We are making every effort to support the elected president, Mr. Aristide; we think he should return to his country. We think, as the American president said, that General Cédras and the chief of police of the city of Port-au-Prince must resign. We continue to believe that a total embargo is the only effective way to subdue the military.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Canadian policy is to suggest and try to convince the allies to impose a tougher military embargo. So far, however, the American president had not clearly stated his position, in particular on increasing the pressure he wants to exert on Haiti, since he is now hinting at armed intervention.

I ask the minister whether the Canadian government endorses the idea of armed intervention as proposed by President Clinton in case the Haitian military rulers refuse to comply with the proposed ultimatum.

[André Ouellet, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, in response to questions, the U.S. president stated that he was not ruling out any option, any alternative. I must say that Canada did not contemplate the possibility of armed intervention, whether multilateral or unilateral, as we are convinced that stiffer economic sanctions would overcome the military junta and that it is appropriate to impose effective sanctions, which involves the participation and co-operation of the Dominican Republic in particular. We think it is still possible to make the military rulers resign without having to resort to armed intervention.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, according to the dispatch I read, President Clinton went further than what the minister said. He did not simply say that he was not ruling out any option, he specifically said that he was not ruling out the option of armed intervention, which is an important distinction when a U.S. president makes statements on such vital issues.

I therefore ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs whether he can tell us today if his government received assurances that the proposed reinforcement of trade sanctions will not lead to an increase in black-market activities controlled by the military junta and the Haitian police.

[André Ouellet, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that Canada supports the return of President Aristide to Haiti.

We believe that a total embargo could bring about the withdrawal of the military people who are holding a suffering population hostage.

If the Americans and a number of other countries through the United Nations pass a resolution to bring a total embargo against Haiti, it is possible the embargo will not be a very long one. It will become very clear to the military people that they cannot stay there and they will resign in the following hours.

It is time to show unequivocally the military people there that they cannot perpetrate the denial of the vast majority of Haitians who voted freely for President Aristide.

Tax Fairness

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in a decision handed down yesterday, a court ruled that alimony received for child support should not be taxable. In fiscal terms, this is a decision with major financial implications. Yesterday in the House, the Minister of Finance was rather vague as to what his government intended to do about this decision, stating, and I quote:

-our biggest concern is financial support for children and tax fairness.

Can the Minister of National Revenue clarify what the Minister of Finance means by concern for tax fairness? Are we to understand that the government plans on making child support payments no longer taxable?

[David Walker, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as the member rightly points out, the decision yesterday is perhaps one of the more important decisions in the equation dealing with child support payments.

Under the Canadian judicial system we have 90 days to consider the decision and what actions the Government of Canada with the assistance of the Minister of National Revenue and the Minister of Justice will take. The Minister of Finance will be revealing that decision and will speak to the House at the earliest possible convenience.