Debates of June 7th, 1994

Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, the negotiations are ongoing as we speak. Indeed one of the primary aims of the Minister of Industry is to have a speedy dispute resolution mechanism.

I guess the difference between the approach that the leader of the Reform Party seems to be advocating and the approach that we are seeking is that we would like to get consensus to work with the provinces, not against them.

Crtc

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the CRTC made a decision regarding the French-language all-news channel. This new service was awarded to Radio-Canada. However, the access of francophones outside Quebec to this new service will be left to the discretion of cable operators.

My question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Does he not consider quite inequitable the CRTC's decision, which does not give Canada's francophone and Acadian communities guaranteed access to the French-language all-news channel, when they have been financially supporting the English-language equivalent, Newsworld, for several years through their subscriptions?

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I took note of the CRTC's decisions and I understand the disappointment felt by the francophone and Acadian communities. I should point out, however, that there is an appeal procedure and that this procedure involves the Government of Canada since the appeal is filed with the government.

I myself will be involved in the appeal and I cannot be both a judge and a party at the same time. That is why I should not make any more comments.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would still like to get a very clear answer from the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Does this mean that the Minister of Canadian Heritage intends to personally ask the Cabinet to review the CRTC's decision? Is this what his somewhat diplomatic language means?

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for referring to my former life.

I simply tried to explain the procedure that must be followed. The initiative to appeal must come from the communities concerned and not the government. As I explained, since the government rules on the appeal, it cannot be both judge and party at the outset.

Dangerous Offenders

[Val Meredith, Reform, Surrey—White Rock—South Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Solicitor General.

On Sunday, Burnaby RCMP officers found themselves in the middle of a shootout with David Barlow. Fortunately no one was killed in this incident. However, David Barlow is responsible for the killing of two other persons.

In 1972 he was convicted for murdering a Florida police officer and sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life. In 1980, Barlow was returned to Canada where he was convicted of manslaughter for a killing in New Brunswick in 1967.

Will the minister explain to the people of Canada how an individual like Barlow can be considered a low risk and put back on our streets?

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

Mr. Speaker, I find this a troubling situation. I have asked for a full review and a full report on how this case was handled. When I get the report on this troubling situation, I will be happy to share the information with my hon. friend.

[Val Meredith, Reform, Surrey—White Rock—South Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, at the current rate of holding national inquiries into problems with the justice system, the minister will have more success in putting Canadians to work than the infrastructure program.

Nevertheless, in response to the Barlow shooting incident British Columbia Premier Mike Harcourt has stated that Canada's justice system must have a zero tolerance for dangerous offenders.

Is the minister equally prepared to call for zero tolerance of dangerous offenders like Barlow?

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

Mr. Speaker, there is currently a federal-provincial task force on high risk offenders which is expected to report to ministers in July. It is working on measures to deal with high risk offenders. We are anxiously awaiting the report so that we can take further action to deal with this type of difficult situation.

In the meantime, it is open to the premier of British Columbia to ask his crown attorneys to take more concrete action at the beginning to ask people to be declared dangerous offenders at the time they are first convicted.

However, we treat this at the federal level as a very serious situation. We intend to take action based on the federal-provincial task force because the solutions lie in a concerted effort at both the federal and provincial levels.

Double Hulled Ships

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of the Environment kept insisting that, last year, Canada had passed legislation on double hulling. She referred to the Maritime Shipping Act, which simply does not exist. She probably meant the Canada Shipping Act, which was amended last year by Bill C-121, in which the government merely announced its intention of legislating double hulled ships.

How can the Minister of the Environment justify her answer, when the legal services of the Department of Transport, her own department and the Canadian Coast Guard maintain that there is currently no legislation on double hulling?

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

Mr. Speaker, the so-called facts mentioned today by the hon. member are just as valid as those of yesterday, since my department does not even have jurisdiction over the Coast Guard.

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I simply ask the minister to give an answer.

[An hon. member]

It is because she does not know!

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

Mr. Speaker, I said yesterday that the Canada Shipping Act, which was passed on December 31, 1993, deals with the issue of double hulling for ships carrying oil, that is the tankers.

I also said yesterday, and I repeat it today, that if the hon. member is suggesting that all ships be double hulled in order to ply Canadian waters in any part of the country, the ports of Quebec City and Montreal will have to shut down. Somehow, I do not think this is what the Bloc Quebecois wants.

Dangerous Offenders

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

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

Since the release of repeat sexual offender Larry Fisher, the RCMP has issued an internal memo stating that he will probably strike again. Over the weekend Fisher was reported sighted in my riding in the city of Dawson Creek. Local residents are deeply concerned about the sudden appearance of Fisher in their community.

Which laws need to be changed so that dangerous offenders like Larry Fisher are never turned loose again?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to comment on the case of Mr. Fisher, but I will respond as best I can to the question in general terms.

The place to start is with enforcing the laws that are already on the books. Part 24 of the Criminal Code already provides in express terms that at the time an offender is sentenced the crown attorney in the appropriate circumstances can bring an application to have the court declare that person a dangerous offender. If that occurs that person can be detained indefinitely and not released until they die.

Therefore the first thing is, as my hon. colleague the Solicitor General has pointed out, that our counterparts in the provinces must be alert to the application of that section in appropriate cases. They should ask the court to designate persons dangerous when the facts justify the application.

There can be cases which fall short of dangerousness as defined in part 24 but still require continued detention in the public interest. As the Solicitor General has said we are awaiting the results of a report being prepared at the federal and provincial levels to deal with those kinds of cases. It involves the conjunction of the criminal system which is federal and the health system which is provincial. It is our intention in collaboration with the provinces to develop a system to deal with those cases for the safety of the public in Canada.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for his answer. I notice that once again we are hearing about reports and studies. The last thing Canadians want right now is another study into the causes of crime. This issue has been studied to death. People are demanding action from this minister.

With predators like Larry Fisher on the loose, how long does the minister plan to examine the alternatives he referred to in this House last week?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is easy to mock the process of study. If I may say so, I think the last thing Canadians want is ill-informed action by which government would rush to a solution which may not be effective.

My colleagues and I know that this issue is important and these cases must be provided for. We also respect the complexity of the issue and we are going to go about it in the proper way. The study will be thorough and our action will be effective. We will have results to show after we work it through with our provincial counterparts.

Indian Affairs

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Indian Affairs.

Tension continues to mount in Oka, where gun shots and machine gun fire have led residents to request an increase in police presence. The Sûreté du Québec has even seized an AK-47-type weapon with a laser scope, in addition to finding evidence of an impressive arsenal.

Considering the very serious situation in Oka, could the Minister of Indian Affairs inform the House whether negotiator Michel Robert was able to start negotiations with representatives of the Kanesatake Band Council?

[Ron Irwin, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, negotiations have begun to the extent that the mediator and negotiator have met. The agenda is being done.

As to the specific question of the shooting, this is more within the realm of the Sûreté du Québec. I received indirect reports that it has the matter in hand and this will not detract from the ongoing negotiations.

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my supplementary is directed to the Solicitor General. Does he agree that the offensive weapons identified by the police are evidence of the existence of large-scale arms smuggling, something the Solicitor General has refused to admit?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is wrong. I never refused to admit that large-scale arms smuggling existed. I said, as did the Prime Minister a few months ago, that one of the reasons for our national program against smuggling was the fact that arms smuggling was also a problem. That is why we set up the anti-smuggling program, which includes the smuggling of firearms, and we will continue our efforts with the Sûreté du Québec and other police forces.

Immigration

[John Loney, Liberal, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

I have received many representations from concerned constituents in my riding about the case of Alexandre Makar. Mr. Makar is presently teaching in Edmonton. His employment authorization expires on June 30, at which time he is expected to return to Ukraine on the grounds that he is medically inadmissible due to a rare kidney condition.

Could the minister of immigration please update the House on this case?

[Sergio Marchi, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question and for the concern he and other colleagues have shown in the case.

First, as was mentioned, the individual in question is on a work authorization. He has applied from within the country for permanent status. As a result of the medical test he has been found inadmissible.

It is the classic difficult case of the compassion which has been shown to this individual by the Edmonton community and the whole question of medical admissibility which is one of the tests on which Canadians expect all applicants to be assessed. It is not something we treat lightly. Last year of the over 325,000 cases assessed medically, some 2,000 were denied.

Second, while our health system is second to none in the world, its resources are limited and involve the provinces. Consequently I have opened a channel of official communication with the premier of Alberta to ascertain the position of Alberta vis-à-vis the health care and health consequences of this individual, should he stay. Also, since the premier of Saskatchewan has gone on the public record eliciting support, I have also been in contact with his office to see if there could be anything done vis-à-vis relocating this individual in Saskatchewan should discussions fail with Alberta.

The effort is to try to balance compassion and the whole question of being fiscally responsible in terms of a viable health care system across the country when many exceptions to the rules are being requested of my department.

Dangerous Offenders

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Solicitor General.

As I mentioned in the House last week, parolee Wayne Perkin was recently found guilty of murdering Angela Richards in my riding in 1992. When I asked the parole board for the details of the decision to release Mr. Perkin in January 1990, I was informed that information is classified since it happened before the new law was passed for hearings taking place after November 1992.

Is the Solicitor General prepared today to guarantee that he will change the legislation to allow access to parole board hearing reports that took place prior to November 1992?