House of Commons Hansard #93 of the 35th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was sentencing.
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, it is very funny. We are in September, at the beginning of this session and the leader of the Reform Party cannot find anything more to do than create fear among the public. He should relax. There will be a budget in February and he will have his answer that day. In the meantime we will carry on with running the business of this country and will try to have the best figures possible, like the one this morning on trade: a $2.3 billion surplus in the month of July.
[Translation]
Michel Gauthier Bloc Roberval, QC
Mr. Speaker, according to two studies published by the C.D. Howe Institute and by Quebec economist Pierre Fortin, the government is an estimated seven to ten billion dollars short of being able to keep its election promise of reducing the deficit to 3 per cent of the GDP by 1996.
Since the Minister of Finance is quite obviously unable to say where he will cut, could he tell us by how much he intends to reduce government expenditures in order to keep the election promise?
Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance and Minister responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development-Quebec
Mr. Speaker, I was very clear when I tabled the budget last February. I said at that time that I would issue an update on the country's financial situation.
I said in the budget, and I quote: "Next fall [-]the government will release a comprehensive statement that will clearly lay out changes in the economic and fiscal outlook since the last budget". I intend to keep my word.
Michel Gauthier Bloc Roberval, QC
Mr. Speaker, faced with the difficulty of obtaining figures or anything solid from the Minister of Finance, I am asking him today-we know he has figures and a target-to tell this House by how much he intends to reduce government expenditures in order to keep the election promise made by him and the Prime Minister.
Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance and Minister responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development-Quebec
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is asking me not to conduct an open public consultation. In other words, you want me to rise and table the budget immediately, not in February but now in September, without any consultation.
But this is not how we intend to go about it. We want the people of Canada and Quebec to be consulted and they will be.
John Cummins Reform Delta, BC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.
There are 115,000 early Stuart sockeye missing from the Fraser River system. A report prepared by staff at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans makes it clear that DFO mismanagement and lack of enforcement are responsible. Further, the report confirms that the minister ignored the advice of his staff and chose not to close the fishery even though there were inadequate numbers of sockeye returning.
What does the Prime Minister intend to do about this incompetence which has led to the devastation of this sockeye run this year?
Herb Dhaliwal LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Delta. As he knows, there is a problem in that approximately 1.3 million sockeye are unaccounted for. This government has acted responsibly by asking for a full and comprehensive review of our present management techniques and the science.
As the hon. member is from the fishing community he should know that science is not perfect. We need to look at a number of areas like water temperatures which have a profound effect on sockeye.
We are looking for a full review, including all stakeholders, including the aboriginal community, to get to the bottom of this and to make the necessary changes to ensure we have confidence in the management of the fishery. We will do that and that is what the minister stated earlier.
John Cummins Reform Delta, BC
Mr. Speaker, the minister has provided unsubstantiated excuses for this loss of salmon and has ignored data prepared by his own department. The people of British Columbia are tired of in-house excuses, tired of in-house reports.
Will the Prime Minister commit to an independent public inquiry into the management of the west coast fishery, or does he intend to wait until the fish on the west coast have reached the levels they have on the east coast?
Herb Dhaliwal LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the minister has already asked for a comprehensive review from the independent community and also the stakeholders. It will be transparent.
If the hon. member has something to contribute we are willing to look at what he has to offer because every once in a while they come out with an idea we can look at. We will be happy to look at his suggestions.
Michel Bellehumeur Bloc Berthier—Montcalm, QC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday in this House, the Solicitor General rejected the opposition's request to establish a royal commission to investigate the very serious allegations concerning the infiltration activities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
My question is for the Solicitor General. Is he giving us to understand that by setting up CSIS, a monster was created that no one, including Parliament, can control anymore, although it was created for the express purpose of ending the RCMP's illegal activities in Quebec in the 1970s?
Herb Gray LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, CSIS was created under a bill passed by this House. CSIS must work within this law, in a legal fashion. The Review Committee monitors CSIS and I think that we must wait for the results of our efforts in order to have an answer to the allegations which at this point are surely just allegations.
Michel Bellehumeur Bloc Berthier—Montcalm, QC
Mr. Speaker, does the Solicitor General know that a creature of this Parliament already committed illegal acts in Quebec, in particular by stealing the membership lists of political parties, by burning barns and by planting bombs?
Does the minister realize that by refusing a royal commission of inquiry, he is helping to recreate the same scenario as in 1970 and thus failing in his duty as minister?
Herb Gray LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada
This government stresses the fact that any branch of the government operates within a legal framework and that is why we want the Review Committee to submit its report as soon as possible. I think that the people of this country, especially Quebec, will be rather surprised to see how the hon. member loves royalty so much that he is asking for a royal commission to investigate this affair.
Chuck Strahl Reform Fraser Valley East, BC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Public Works and Government Services.
Many years ago the government started shifting civil servants around the country at astronomical expense with no apparent efficiency benefit except to try to get ministers re-elected more efficiently. Today we find out in documentation that the minister has struck a committee that is going to consider moving more public servants to Atlantic Canada for the same apparent reason.
Is the minister honestly considering trying this experiment again?
David Dingwall LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member raises an important question.
I wish to advise him and other members of the House that the mandate as indicated by the Minister of Finance in his last budget has asked each and every minister to do a review of his or her department to find ways in which to increase efficiency. In fact section 5(2)(a) of the Department of Supply and Services Act reads: "investigate and develop services for increasing the efficiency and the economy of the public service of Canada".
I find nothing inherently wrong with the Government of Canada embarking upon a study to try to ascertain the efficiencies in order to do away with duplication and overlap.
Chuck Strahl Reform Fraser Valley East, BC
Mr. Speaker, we are concerned that public servants not be shipped around the country like sacks of flour for some form of patronage.
Will the minister demonstrate to the House, since we cannot get this program review from the other minister, that any moves for public servants will be made to save government money, to make government more efficient and not just to mess around with the lives of public servants? They have enough on their plates right now.
David Dingwall LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, again I thank the hon. member. I thought he was going to stand in his place and congratulate the Government of Canada.
I will give the hon. member a demonstrable item that the Government of Canada concluded with the province of Quebec in order to rid itself of overlap and duplication. We consummated an agreement relating to housing and the delivery of housing programs in the province of Quebec. It thereby costs less money to the Government of Canada and enables more Quebecers to take advantage of Government of Canada programs.
Pauline Picard Bloc Drummond, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. The Canadian people are very concerned about the contaminated blood affair and the minister has an obligation to act openly to inform and reassure the population.
Why, in these circumstances, did the minister at her September 12 press conference hide from the Canadian people that the FDA was conducting on that same day another investigation at the Halifax Red Cross Centre?
Diane Marleau LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question. This government has always acted with transparency and honesty and from the very beginning we have admitted openly that every blood donor centre would be inspected by the FDA. The FDA has now decided to change its regulations and require a licence for each centre. The Red Cross is in the process of applying for this licence.
Meanwhile, each of the 17 centres in the country must undergo the same inspection.
Pauline Picard Bloc Drummond, QC
Mr. Speaker, can the minister explain to me why she did not send a clear directive to the other Red Cross centres when she had in hand the American agency's report?
Diane Marleau LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, we must keep in mind that the FDA inspects these centres to enforce its own regulations. American regulations are somewhat different from ours because under the American blood collection system, donors are often paid, while the Canadian system depends totally on volunteers.
This does not mean that their regulations are better than ours or vice versa. We are working with the FDA and the Red Cross to harmonize the various regulations, to ensure that we have the best regulations, so that our blood collection system continues to be among the best in the world.
Karen Kraft Sloan Liberal York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Justice.
In my riding of York-Simcoe there are a number of responsible gun owners who have expressed concern over impending gun control legislation. These individuals along with other Canadians recognize the need for measures to curb the violent and illegal use of firearms.
Will the minister give assurance to Canadians today that in any new gun control legislation responsible gun owners will not be unfairly treated and that his efforts will be directed against those who abuse the use of firearms?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, the proposals we are developing through caucus to bring forward to the House focus on three areas.
First is the presence of illegal firearms in this country and what we can do to stop it. Second is the question of whether the criminal justice system should have a sterner response to those who misuse firearms in the commission of offences, and it will. Third is the question of whether the regulation of firearms in the hands of legitimate and lawful owners can be improved to enhance community safety and to work toward crime prevention, detection and prosecution.
In that process we will indeed be respectful of the legitimate interests of firearms users. We understand and we respect the importance of hunting not only as a long tradition in this country but as an important economic activity. Those values will be reflected in the proposals we bring before the House.
Deborah Grey Reform Beaver River, AB
Mr. Speaker, Michel Robert, a former Liberal Party president, has been given an untendered contract for $249,925 to act as an Oka negotiator. That is a whopping $74 under the limit for untendered contracts.
Somebody said recently this government and this Parliament would serve the interests of all Canadians, not the interests of the privileged few no matter how well connected. I doubt few would be fooled by the sham of the tendering process. I do not think anyone could now believe the words I just quoted, spoken by the Prime Minister last June.
Does the Prime Minister still understand what the word integrity really means?
Government AppointmentsOral Question Period
The Speaker
The question is rather far reaching. I would hope hon. members would be very respectful of one another. As such it is not a question which brings about information from the government.
Perhaps the right hon. Prime Minister or one of the ministers would like to answer.