House of Commons Hansard #255 of the 35th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was federal.
Agreement On Internal Trade Implementation ActGovernment Orders
The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Maheu)
It being six o'clock, pursuant to Standing Order 45, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred division at second reading of Bill C-88.
Call in the members.
(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)
Agreement On Internal Trade Implementation ActGovernment Orders
The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Maheu)
I declare the motion carried. The bill is therefore referred to the Standing Committee on Industry.
(Motion agreed to, bill read the second time and referred to a committee.)
The House resumed from November 3 consideration of the motion that Bill C-108, an act to amend the National Housing Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee; and of the amendment.
National Housing ActGovernment Orders
The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Maheu)
Pursuant to Standing Order 45, the House will now proceed to the taking of a deferred division on the amendment to Bill C-108, an act to amend the National Housing Act.
The question is on the amendment.
Don Boudria Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Madam Speaker, if you were to seek it I believe you would find unanimous consent that those members who were present for the vote on the previous motion be recorded as having voted on the motion now before the House, with Liberal members voting nay on the amendment to second reading of Bill C-108.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Members of the Bloc Quebecois also oppose this amendment.
Bob Ringma Reform Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
All real Reformers will vote yes to the amendment, Madam Speaker.
Jag Bhaduria Liberal Markham—Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON
Madam Speaker, I will be voting against this amendment.
(The House divided on the amendment, which was negatived on the following division:)
National Housing ActGovernment Orders
The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Maheu)
I declare the motion negatived.
The House resumed consideration of the motion and of the amendment.
Department Of Health ActGovernment Orders
The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Maheu)
Pursuant to Standing Order 45, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred division on the amendment of Mrs. Picard to Bill C-95, an act to establish the Department of Health and to amend and repeal certain acts.
Don Boudria Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Madam Speaker, if you were to seek it, I think you would find that the House agrees that all members who voted on the motion previously before the House be deemed to have voted on the motion now before the House. Liberal members will be voting nay on the amendment to Bill C-95.
Bob Ringma Reform Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
Madam Speaker, those Reformers who want to will vote yes and those who want to vote no can vote no.
Bill Blaikie NDP Winnipeg—Transcona, MB
New Democrats present in the House will vote against the amendment, Madam Speaker.
Jag Bhaduria Liberal Markham—Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON
Madam Speaker, I am voting against this amendment.
(The House divided on the amendment, which was negatived on the following division:)
Department Of Health ActGovernment Orders
The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Maheu)
I declare the amendment lost.
A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.
Vic Althouse NDP Mackenzie, SK
Madam Speaker, on October 19 I questioned the minister of public works regarding some problems over the summer with harassment of a female engineer on the job site outside the Peace Tower.
The ministry of public works subsequent to that harassment rewarded one of the subcontractors with further work, including the whole of the Centre Block. I was wondering why the minister would allow his officials to do that. He replied that "notwithstanding the fact it is beyond the legal ramifications of the Government of Canada in terms of privity of contract, we will ensure this kind of behaviour is not tolerated".
Since that time it has come to my attention that officials at public works have been closing their eyes to this sort of behaviour for some time. In fact, this same company, Colonial Builders, and Mr. Karmash who is the perpetrator on this site, have been active on other sites in previous summers, including the Kingston military college and the Kingston penitentiary. Harassment of another female engineer took place to the point where her supervisor took over because it was virtually impossible to work with the subcontractor on the site. He would simply have nothing to do with a female on his job site.
Public works should have been aware of this pattern of behaviour, yet it has continued to permit the company and this individual to do work of very great importance since that time, including work on the Parliament Buildings.
Public Works officials have not shown much competence or judgment, not only in this matter but in other matters related to it. The minister is aware that the female engineer's crew walked off in sympathy with her plight and were left being owed $165,000 or thereabouts. Public works officials have not acted there either.
In order to receive pay for work completed, the contractor and subcontractor have to fill out statutory declarations. They swear that all work they are billing the government for has been completed and that all payments have been made. The statutory declarations could not have been very accurate on the Peace Tower project because if the declarations were true, the group of workers who were with Ann Raney and who are still owned some $165,000 would have been paid. Yet the statutory declaration stating that all accounts are paid and up to date have been submitted and paid by Public Works Canada.
That they are owed the money is not in dispute. The court has in fact found in their favour and has permitted a lien to be placed against the Peace Tower project. Surely that should tell officials at the department of public works that something is wrong. The minister should be aware and should be making certain that he finds out why his officials are so lax in their duties. Not only does public works appear to support and justify the harassment of women on the worksite, but it appears to be ignoring the basic management and accounting procedures that are its role as well.
I call on the minister to assure us that his department will act honourably and see to it that justice is done in this case. These workers who had the strength of character to do the right thing in resisting the unfairness of the harassment against their female engineer must not be the only Canadians who resist harassment of females on the worksite.
The public and this House expect nothing less than fair treatment and justice from our government departments and from their officials. The minister must act now.
Réginald Bélair LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Mackenzie for giving the government a chance to respond to this matter because it is a very important subject.
First it is a matter of taking stock. Public Works and Government Services Canada concluded a contract with Fuller Construction, the principal contractor in the Peace Tower restoration project. Therefore, this department must ensure the quality of the work being done on the Peace Tower and that the work done by Fuller Construction, the general contractor, meets very high standards.
The issue raised by the member for Mackenzie concerns a dispute between two subcontractors working on the project, Pro-Tech Building Restoration and Colonial Building Restoration. The dispute, based on the non-payment of wages and harassment, has resulted in Pro-Tech being removed from the job by Colonial. An employee of Pro-Tech, Ms. Ann Raney, has made allegations of gender discrimination.
In this matter, the government has a contractual link with Fuller Construction only, whereas the dispute involves the two subcontractors: Pro-Tech and Colonial. Public Works therefore has no direct involvement with the subcontractors working on the project.
However, the contract with Fuller Construction, like any other major work contract, includes an anti-discrimination clause. As I said before, Public Works Canada's contract specifications do not permit discrimination in hiring in the workplace.
As the general contractor, Fuller is responsible for settling this dispute.
I am pleased to inform the House that progress is being made and that the general contractor has taken steps to ensure that a solution is reached in the very near future. Both parties have agreed in principle to resolve the alleged discrimination issue through a third party independent arbitrator. Until the issue is resolved, the party alleged to have harassed has been removed from the job by Fuller.
The member for Mackenzie also raised the question about ownership of the tools. I would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight. On August 18, 1995, tools worth $5,000 were taken from the site. These tools remain in the hands of the Ottawa-Carleton police.
I would like to assure members of the House that complaints of the nature raised by Ms. Raney are taken very seriously by the minister of public works. His department does not tolerate harassment or discrimination.
Department Of Health ActAdjournment Proceedings
The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Maheu)
Pursuant to Standing Order 38(5), the motion to adjourn the House is now deemed adopted. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).
(The House adjourned at 6.39 p.m.)