House of Commons Hansard #82 of the 35th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was native.

Topics

Criminal CodeOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Etobicoke Centre Ontario

Liberal

Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, the review is being conducted within the Department of Justice.

On how much it is costing, I do not know that it is separately costed. I think it is part of the mainstream work of the department's professional staff but I can confirm that. As to what might become of the review, that is a matter for decision. No decision has yet been made whether proposals are going to be brought forward, whether discussion is going to be encouraged publicly, or whether a change is going to be proposed.

I can only respond by saying that like much of the justice system in general, that section is under consideration. No decision has yet been made whether a change will be proposed.

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Bloc

Michel Guimond Bloc Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC

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

The practice of foreign-flagging Canadian ships to bypass Canadian legislation has deprived Canadian sailors of jobs and the public treasury of revenues. The Minister of Finance will surely agree. Although this practice hurts Canada, some Canadian shipowners resort to it.

My question is this: How can the Minister of Transport justify the fact that two ships, the Bluenose and the Atlantic Freighter , which belong to Marine Atlantic, a company wholly owned by the Government of Canada, operate under the Bahamian flag?

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Acadie—Bathurst New Brunswick

Liberal

Douglas Young LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. It is certainly something that should be looked into. I want to assure the hon. member that I will check today exactly when these two ships were transferred, because we know that Marine Atlantic has been in business for a long time and that the Bluenose in particular has been plying the waters of the Atlantic region for quite a while.

I promise to get back to the hon. member as soon as possible to let him know when it happened. Of course, we will also examine the relevant policy.

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

June 9th, 1994 / 2:55 p.m.

Bloc

Michel Guimond Bloc Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries, who claims to be pursuing pirates everywhere on the seas, should perhaps start pursuing his colleague, the Minister of Transport, who is himself a pirate.

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

The Speaker

Dear colleagues, I hope we will stay here rather than sink to the bottom of the sea. I would like the hon. member to withdraw the word "pirate", please.

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Bloc

Michel Guimond Bloc Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC

Mr. Speaker, I withdraw the word "pirate" but I simply wanted to point out that the minister is behaving like a pirate.

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

The Speaker

I would ask the hon. member to withdraw that remark.

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Bloc

Michel Guimond Bloc Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC

Mr. Speaker, I withdraw that remark.

How does the minister explain that, according to the 1993-94 Lloyds Register of Ships , these two ships belonging to Marine Atlantic are registered in the Bahamas with Nassau as home port?

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Acadie—Bathurst New Brunswick

Liberal

Douglas Young LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, having listened to my hon. friend put his question, I now understand his rhetoric a little bit better. Obviously he did his research in the Bahamas and they have great rum there.

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh.

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

The Speaker

I think if this continues I am going to need a drink.

Ships Under Foreign FlagsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Liberal

Douglas Young Liberal Acadie—Bathurst, NB

Mr. Speaker, I have great consternation at being described as a swashbuckler so I thought I would find some rationale for it.

In any event I want to repeat my undertaking to the hon. member that I will look into the question of the registry of the two ships he has referred to. I will look specifically at when those ships were registered under the Bahamian flag because obviously they have both been in operation for a significant amount of time. I would want to see that the Bloc Quebecois, and especially the Leader of the Opposition, is consistent in its approach as to foreign flagging of vessels in Canada.

Air CanadaOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Reform

Jim Gouk Reform Kootenay West—Revelstoke, BC

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year the Minister of Transport made a backroom deal to grant Air Canada landing rights in Osaka, Japan. At the time he denied that any deal had been made, but two days later the story changed. Now Air Canada is pressing to have further landing rights granted in Japan and in China.

Will the minister advise this House if he is involved in or contemplating any unilateral backroom deal of this nature with Air Canada?

Air CanadaOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Acadie—Bathurst New Brunswick

Liberal

Douglas Young LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, no.

Air CanadaOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Reform

Jim Gouk Reform Kootenay West—Revelstoke, BC

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of Transport agree and commit to this House that negotiations involving Air Canada and Canadian Airlines will be left to those companies unless government intervention is requested and then be fully visible and transparent?

Air CanadaOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Acadie—Bathurst New Brunswick

Liberal

Douglas Young LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, of course if the senior people at Air Canada and Canadian Airlines International wish to discuss matters of mutual interest that is entirely within their prerogative. With respect to it being transparent, that again would be something they would have to decide on the basis of their commercial interests.

I do want to indicate that any decisions with respect to the allocation of routes is always looked at meticulously. We hope it will always be done in the best interests of both our national airlines and the Canadian public in general.

CrtcOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Liberal

Ben Serré Liberal Timiskaming—French-River, ON

My question is directed to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

I will take advantage of this lull in the opposition's offensive. Has the minister received formal objections from francophone groups outside Quebec regarding the CBC's news network, and what does the minister intend to do to ensure that francophones in Canada receive the services to which they are entitled?

CrtcOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Laval West Québec

Liberal

Michel Dupuy LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that I received a request from the Fédération des francophones et acadiens, asking me to intervene so as to amend or reverse the position taken by the CRTC regarding this network. I intend to make recommendations to the Governor in Council so that he can make a decision within the timeframe prescribed by the act.

Presence In The GalleryOral Question Period

3 p.m.

The Speaker

I draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of Dr. Sein Win, the Burmese Democratic representative.

Presence In The GalleryOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear.

Business Of The HouseOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Bloc

Michel Gauthier Bloc Roberval, QC

Mr. Speaker, as you may have guessed, I would like to ask the hon. member to announce the order of business for the next few days.

Business Of The HouseOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Windsor West Ontario

Liberal

Herb Gray LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, I respond to the request of the opposition House leader to deliver the weekly statement of business that the government intends to call.

First, I wish to thank the House leaders of the parties opposite for their co-operation in sharing information in order to facilitate the business of the House for the rest of the month.

In outlining this business I would caution the House that there may be changes from time to time in order to accommodate members with a view to expediting this business.

I must also point out that much of the agenda depends on the timeliness of bills being reported from committees.

Today the House will continue its consideration of Bill C-34 and Bill C-33, the bills regarding native self-government and land claims in Yukon. We hope that we will be able to complete second reading of these bills today but if we cannot we will fit them in for completion early next week.

Tomorrow we will call Motion No. 13 concerning a committee review of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

On Monday the first item of business will be Bill C-35, the citizenship department reorganization bill.

There are ongoing discussions as to whether we might be able to do this bill at all stages. If we are not able to do so we will merely complete second reading. This will be followed by Bill C-23, the Migratory Birds Convention Act, and Bill C-24 concerning wildlife.

I understand that there may be a disposition if there is time to commence with Bill C-11 regarding tobacco on Monday evening.

In any case this bill will be the first business on Tuesday. It will be followed by Bill C-16 regarding the Sahtu Dene Land Claims and Bill C-36 respecting the Split Lake Manitoba flooding agreement.

We would then begin the report stage of Bill C-22 regarding the Pearson airport.

In order to accommodate the critic for the Official Opposition on this bill who cannot be here on Wednesday, if the other business is moving less quickly than expected during the day we will discuss moving Bill C-22 up in order to get a start on it while he is still here.

On Wednesday we will begin with Bill C-12, the Canada business corporations bill, followed by Bill C-28 regarding student loans, and Bill C-31 concerning Telefilm Canada.

If this is not feasible, after consultation we could return to consideration of Bill C-37, the Young Offenders Act, a bill that I understand will require a considerable amount of debate.

On Thursday we will call Bill C-38 regarding security of marine transportation. It is the intention of the government to make this bill subject to the new Standing Order 73(1); that is, to refer it to committee before second reading.

The remainder of Thursday will be taken up by Bill C-22 and any other spill-over from earlier in the week.

We expect to introduce the lobbyist legislation late next week and to devote Friday to a consideration of a motion pursuant to Standing Order 73(1) to refer that bill to committee before second reading as well.

We are now beginning to use one of the new provisions that we all agreed to when we passed an order to update our standing orders a few months ago shortly after we adopted the throne speech.

In any event, it may be presumptuous to attempt to project into the last week the House will be sitting, the week of June 20, but I can at this time indicate to the House that the government intends to place before it during that week Bills C-32, C-30, C-25 and C-7, as well as a bill implementing miscellaneous statute amendments already reviewed by the justice committee in addition to asking the House to complete any unfinished business from the week before.

If we have time I am sure there is a lot of other work we can do.

Business Of The HouseOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Kilger)

Do I dare say is that all?