Debates of May 6th, 1994

Arnold Smith

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Arnold Smith is a well known professional and public spirited citizen from High River, Alberta.

He came to practise dentistry in 1956 and has just retired after a very distinguished career. His wife and three children now wonder whether he will be busy enough. I know that he will.

He has served his community with distinction in Rotary, town council, the recreation board, the memorial centre board, the library board, the development appeal board and the Otter's swim club.

I recognize Arnold Smith as a proud contributor to his community and wish him well in his retirement.

Mental Health Week

[John Murphy, Liberal, Annapolis Valley—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, for the past 27 years I have worked in the psychiatric mental health field. It gives me great pleasure to rise today to inform my colleagues that this past week was National Mental Health Week.

I had the opportunity to attend the kick-off events earlier this week in my riding of Annapolis Valley-Hants. The focus of the week has been on the need to place greater emphasis on the integration of physical and mental health in our society.

Groups and individuals must work together to promote greater awareness of the mental health issues and to decrease the stigma often involved with mental health care.

I ask all members of this House to join me in praising the work of the thousands of professionals and volunteers in the field. Let none of us leave this important work to someone else, but rather join all Canadians in promoting active and healthy lives.

Canadian Federation Of Labour

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Federation of Labour is completing its national convention in Ottawa today based on the theme building Canada's future.

This organization has developed Working Ventures, a capital fund with nearly $300 million. This fund is used to start and expand businesses to create jobs to get Canadians working.

The Canadian Federation of Labour is to be applauded for developing good labour relations and eliminating the adversarial system of confrontations. As well, it is very approachable because of its non-affiliation to any political party.

The key to a prosperous and united Canada is co-operation which is being demonstrated by the Canadian Federation of Labour. We should all follow its example.

2002 Winter Olympic Games

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

Mr. Speaker, Quebec City is about to present a bid to host the 2002 Olympic Games. If its bid is successful, investments totalling hundreds of millions of dollars will be required from the various levels of government, including the government of Canada.

The mayor of Quebec City should be required to commit to investing or spending 20 per cent of the olympic budget in rural areas of Quebec.

For example, men's and women's downhill racing events should be held in the Gaspé Peninsula, because the railway and airport facilities required to welcome athletes and visitors are already in place.

[Some hon. members]

Ha, ha.

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

Go ahead. Laugh. We are the only defenders of the regions, you know.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

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

Quebec 2002 is the perfect opportunity to revitalize regional economies and will provide a forum to promote these areas of Quebec throughout the world. We demand nothing less than a fair distribution of the Olympics' spin-offs between Quebec City and the surrounding areas.

Quebec City-Windsor High-Speed Train

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

Mr. Speaker, today saw the inauguration of the tunnel under the English Channel which will join Great Britain and France via high-speed train. This train will cross the border of these two sovereign countries with the speed for which it is known. The borders of sovereign countries do not stop trains or communication lines.

So how can the Liberal government still drag its feet on the Quebec City-Windsor high-speed train? This project will be good for the economy, whatever Quebec decides about sovereignty.

The high-speed train must not become a political football; rather, it must be seen as an economic issue that could create thousands of jobs.

Children In Bosnia

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I wrote this because of the plight and tragedy of Bosnian children and I wrote this because I am a mother. It is called "Picture This":

Picture this Little stories, horror of the war zone on the late night news. Picture this Bosnia's joyless children, a reminder of war's human face. Picture this Small sad voices surge to wild cries exploding in a rush of flesh and steel and bone. Picture this Pillows wet with acid tears, cameos of babyhood, a grieving reminder. Picture this Tiny broken bodies languish in therapy crippled limbs, mindless thoughts, blistered experience. Picture this The sweet and precious face of your child and surely we all wanted to help

Young Offenders Act

[John Maloney, Liberal, Erie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak of a serious concern in the minds of many Canadians, namely the often inadequate protection of society from some of the criminals who fall within the terms of the Young Offenders Act.

Under the present legislation these individuals may commit serious violent crimes and subsequently not be profoundly inconvenienced by the response of the criminal justice system.

The Young Offenders Act needs to be revisited in the light of 10 years of experience and the results thereof which are often not laudable when dealing with crimes of a violent nature.

Later today I will be presenting a petition which thousands of Canadians have signed throwing their support behind the Pinard and Racine families in their crusade to have youths convicted of serious crimes severely punished and kept in custody longer than they are at present.

The Pinard family lost its eldest daughter, Carrie, to senseless violence on August 10, 1992 in a Toronto apartment building. A companion, Cheryl Racine, was scarred for life both physically and mentally. This tragedy is an example of our inability to eradicate the use of guns in our society and to control violent behaviour in general, especially among our youth. We have yet to find the balance between protecting our society and helping our troubled youth. At present neither benefits.

South African Elections

[Peter Milliken, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I was honoured to be part of the Canadian election observer team in South Africa for two weeks under the very able leadership of the Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa.

We were treated to a rare and historic opportunity to watch the peaceful transition to majority rule in South Africa as the black majority got the right to vote for the first time.

The warmth of the welcome for us, the enthusiasm of the voters and the great goodwill exhibited by all of South Africa's citizens toward one another were an inspiration for each one of us.

We were all satisfied that the election was free and fair, notwithstanding numerous delays and poor organization in some areas.

We were all optimistic that with continued goodwill South Africans can work together to forge a new, prosperous, multiracial and multilingual South Africa that will be an example for all peoples of the earth.

Unemployment

[Nelson Riis, NDP, Kamloops, BC]

Mr. Speaker, just days ago the government was celebrating six months in office and toasting its achievements in reducing unemployment. Well, the party is over. Cork up the champagne bottles; today's unemployment figures represent a growing hangover for this government.

Unemployment is up and the hardest hit are Canadian young people. This is before the job market is flooded with college and university students.

In spite of the election promise of jobs, the reality is that the job future looks bleak as Canadians wait for the Liberal government to deliver on its job creation promises. The Prime Minister said that job prospects were improving. Everyone wanted to believe him and hoped he was right but unfortunately he was not.

It is interesting to note that the bright light in the job creating area of Canada is in the province of Ontario, where the government has created an economic atmosphere which saw 49,000 jobs created in the past three months.

I urge the Prime Minister to get beyond Peter Pan economics, get real and take action on jobs now.

Jocelyne Fleurant

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as we approach Mother's Day it is appropriate that I stand in recognition of a member of my constituency, Jocelyne Fleurant, a proud mother of a Canadian peacekeeper in the former Yugoslavia.

Mrs. Fleurant began a nation-wide campaign of support for our men and women serving overseas after her son left CFB Chilliwack for his first tour of duty in Croatia during the spring of last year.

Symbolizing this support for our Canadian peacekeepers abroad, Mrs. Fleurant has made and distributed thousands of hand-made UN beret blue ribbons secured by a small Canadian flag pin.

I commend the tireless efforts of this mother to remind Canadians of the need to keep up the morale of our Canadian peacekeepers. Her commitment should be and is an inspiration to us all.

Unemployment

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

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

This month, unemployment statistics were not deliberately leaked by the government because, unlike the March ones, they show that the unemployment rate went up by 0.5 per cent to reach 11 per cent. In Quebec alone, the situation is a lot worse with an unemployment rate which went from 11.7 per cent in March to 12.6 per cent in April.

Is it not time for the Liberal government to implement concrete and structuring initiatives to deal with unemployment, instead of sitting tight on the record of its first six months in office?

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

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are not pleased with these numbers, not so much because of the numbers per se, but because they are a blow to the unemployed.

However, it is interesting to note that if there are 65,000 more people looking for a job this month, it is because they believe that the economic indicators are favourable. For instance, house sales have gone up by 30 per cent, consumer confidence is up by 13 per cent. People are regaining hope in increasing numbers and we are hoping that, as our economic recovery program is taking hold, the unemployed will keep on finding jobs.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, taking into account the population growth, does the Deputy Prime Minister realize that to get back to pre-recession employment levels, I do not mean full employment, just pre-recession employment levels, more that 900,000 jobs would have to be created in Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, since the month of February we have created 115,000 jobs. In the province of Quebec since last August there have been 74,000 jobs created.

That is 74,000 jobs in Quebec alone. We are not satisfied. We tried to do something in the first six months. We presented the Budget, we have the infrastructure program, and we are trying to do better than that.

The good thing though, if you can look at these statistics in a positive light, is that Canadians and Quebecers are now starting to look for a job because they feel better about the economy as a whole. That is why 65,000 more people have joined the labour force this month when they realized that there was work to be had.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with rising unemployment rates and the arrival, in April, of 66,000 new workers on the job market, does the Deputy Prime Minister not agree that the first six months of Liberal government are a failure, a deplorable and appalling failure when it comes to job creation?

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

Mr. Speaker, it has not been a failure. In fact since the month of February, we have created 115,000 jobs. We do not think enough has been done but we do feel that with the signing of the infrastructure programs and with the budget of the Minister of Finance, we are on the right track.

This month 65,000 Canadians thought that the job prospects were getting good enough that they decided to get back into the market. We see consumer confidence on the rise. We see the sale of houses up over 30 per cent.

We are on the right track but we are not going to solve the problems in six short months. We need more time and we need continued consumer confidence, something that we see as the bright light at the end of a very long tunnel for a lot of unemployed people.

Defence Industries

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to address my question to the Deputy Prime Minister. It is said in the Liberal Party's red book that a Liberal government will implement a conversion program to transform defence industries into civilian ones. However, the Minister of Industry quite surprisingly said yesterday that the government will not invest in such a conversion. In that sector, more than 10,000 high-technology jobs have disappeared since 1988.

How can the Deputy Prime Minister, who would do me honour if she would listen to my question, how can she reconcile the commitment of her party and the amazing declaration of the Minister of Industry who said during debate yesterday that it is the responsibility of the management and shareholders of those companies to solve their own problems?

[Dennis Mills, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is only quoting part of what the Minister of Industry said yesterday in the debate.

He did say that we would want to look to industry to make sure all of its strategic plans were being redesigned and reinvented in light of a very tough fiscal framework. He also said that in the budget we were redesigning DIPP so there would be less giving of cheques and grants but more of a situation where there would be loans for those industries that qualified and ones that were especially sensitive to conversion to peacetime activity.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, before I address my supplementary to the Minister of Finance who, I can tell, is dying to participate in this debate, I would like to mention to my hon. colleague that one of the headlines in this morning's papers said: "Ottawa will not finance the conversion of defence industries".

[The Speaker]

Order please! Members are not to show papers or documents of any kind during question period. The member for Hochelaga-Maisonneuve will put his question.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Finance how he can accept such a turnabout on the part of his colleague the Minister of Industry when he knows perfectly well that if nothing is done in a very near future, thousands of jobs will be lost in the defence industry. Does he accept the declaration, does he agree with the Minister of Industry's statement?