Debates of Nov. 6th, 1995

Copyright

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, it is perfectly normal to have several ministers involved. There is of course the Minister of Justice, since the bill must be drafted by his department. There is also the Minister of Industry, since he is responsible for the Copyright Act. And, finally, there is the Minister of Canadian Heritage, who is responsible for proposing amendments to the act.

The three ministers work together, make decisions together, and will get results together. As for the duration of the process, I publicly stated on several occasions that we are going as fast as we can, that the issue is complex, and that the bill will be tabled in the House as soon as it is ready.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a supplementary.

Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage make sure, through the copyright bill, that the rights paid to creators will not be reduced by providing numerous exceptions?

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, we have to find a good balance between the rights of creators-we are establishing new ones-and the rights of users. This is the real issue. This is where we have to find a balance, and the hon. member will see how we do it when the bill is tabled.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, we spent the last few weeks discussing Quebec sovereignty in the House. I think it is high time that we turned to another sovereignty issue and that is Canada's failure to assert sovereignty over the Northwest Passage in the Arctic.

On June 13 the minister told the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs that the United States informs Canada when its nuclear submarines travel under Canada's Arctic ice.

Will the minister confirm the existence of this, as he put it, novel diplomatic arrangement, when it was signed and whether similar agreements exist with other countries?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have a number of bilateral agreements with the United States. One of them provides for the movement of U.S. vessels in Canadian waters upon agreement of such a manoeuvre.

When the U.S. requires such permission, they let us know that they intend to use our waters and we acquiesce.

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

Mr. Speaker, if the minister is speaking about the 1988 agreement he will

know full well that agreement only covered surface vessels such as icebreakers and not submarines.

It is ironic that Canada as a world leader in acoustic technology does not even monitor subsurface use of our Arctic waters.

Will the minister provide us with a timetable today for the installation of the promised Arctic subsurface surveillance system in the Northwest Passage.

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this is one measure that was foreseen in the white paper. It is a matter that officials are working on.

It is a very expensive proposition and any move toward implementing the system for underwater detection in the High Arctic has to be made within the financial constraints of the government and the department's budget.

Trade

[Walt Lastewka, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. I come from a region where small and medium size businesses compete not only directly with one another but also with American businesses right across the border. These American businesses have an advantage because of the so-called free trade zones.

Could the minister tell the House what measures he has taken to allow Canadian businesses to compete more effectively in the international market?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance and Minister responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development-Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-102, designed to amend the Customs Act, has exactly that purpose in mind. It will encourage businesses to locate in Canada. It contains improvements that will streamline the duty deferral program and will make programs more user friendly and accessible. It will remove administrative restrictions and will ease cash flow pressures by providing as much up front duty relief as possible.

Regions, municipalities and businesses will be able to co-operate as a result in promoting their communities because a critical component of the bill encourages partnerships to encourage economic development.

I congratulate the member for St. Catharines because he has been a leading proponent of many of the initiatives in the bill.

Canadian Armed Forces

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Defence. Last week, we learned that, on two separate occasions, members of the former regiment from Petawawa organized dinners to celebrate the massacre of 14 innocent victims at l'École polytechnique. A 14-round salvo was even fired.

Will the minister confirm that the Canadian Forces private who organized these dinners has since been promoted to Master Corporal?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this allegation was raised at the hearings of the Commission on Somalia and we will look into it.

This allegation was raised at the hearings of the commission on Somalia last week. We are looking into the matter, but I can say on behalf of the government that if indeed this were true it was totally unacceptable, totally abhorrent and something we will not tolerate.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, does the minister not agree that every promotion granted to any CFB Petawawa official, for example that of Colonel Peter Kenward, should be cancelled or suspended for the duration of the inquiry?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, what I am prepared to do is that when I receive a report on the allegations and if indeed they are to be verified, I will submit the report to the commission.

It will be made public at that time and may therefore have some relationship with respect to its ultimate deliberations.

Immigration

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

Mr. Speaker, last year when the minister of immigration introduced a document entitled "A Broader Vision", it acknowledged that defaulted sponsorship obligations cost Canadian taxpayers close to $700 million in 1993. The minister announced that initiatives would be introduced in five areas to reduce that amount.

Could the minister advise the House whether these initiatives have been successful and has the taxpayers' burden to default sponsorship been reduced?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member may know, the Peel project has started in earnest. It is working well. We are finding out information that will no doubt prove useful to an eventual position that the government will take.

We have struck a committee that liaises with all provincial governments. They too are very supportive and collaborative.

It is our intention before the House of Commons rises for Christmas to have a final response on the whole question of family sponsorship.

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

Mr. Speaker, in 1989 Mohammed Assaf sponsored his brother and family to settle in Alberta. Since then Alberta taxpayers have shelled out $40,000 in welfare payments to support the family.

Assaf then attempted to sponsor his second wife to Canada and was refused by immigration officials. He decided to go to the IRB that in turn ruled that Assaf did not have to pay his first obligations before sponsoring his second wife.

How will the minister accomplish the task of reducing sponsorship defaults when the IRB is telling sponsors that it does not make any difference whether or not they repay those defaults?

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

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Reform Party that uses a negative, cynical case analogy or example, we prefer to deal with issues on a national basis with some degree of thought, due course and reflection. We will not be deterred by listening to comments on the floor of the House of Commons about individual cases.

We can always learn from cases whether they are in my portfolio or anywhere else, but we would be wrong if we looked at one case, generalized and made it applicable to all immigrants or refugees coming to Canada. We will not engage in a small kind of world that simply tries to create perceptions which may not be true. Let us deal with facts. Let us find solutions that work.

I ask my hon. colleague if she would find the time and place to come on board with that kind of attitude rather than negatively parade individual cases before the House and then extrapolate from them irresponsibly.

Canadian National Railway

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the legislation which privatizes CN guarantees that Montreal will always be the headquarters of CN. The Transcona shops have just as proud a place in the history of CN as Montreal does, yet many are worried that Transcona is slated for extinction given the 485 layoffs on Friday last and the 266 before that in September.

My question is for the Deputy Prime Minister or for the Minister of Human Resources Development answering in his capacity as regional minister. Will the minister now, in the interests of regional fairness and national unity, instruct CN either administratively or legislatively to stop the decimation of the Transcona shops, to keep Transcona as CN's main repair shop and to ensure the Transcona work is not siphoned off to CN's wholly owned subsidiary in Montreal, AMF, or anywhere else for that matter? Will the Liberal government give Winnipeg the kind of guarantees that Montreal has received?

[Joe Fontana, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question but I think he ought to get the facts straight.

The jobs being lost at Transcona in Winnipeg are only of a temporary nature. Therefore to assume that these are permanent layoffs by Canadian National would be inappropriate.

The hon. member would know that CN is on the brink of its commercialization and privatization. It needs to get its house in order so that it can be a competitive and viable railroad, providing service from sea to sea to sea and providing employment to all Canadians across the country.

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, will the government give a guarantee that the recall date will be honoured and that the recall date is not just a way of appeasing employees?

Will the government answer my first question? Why guarantees for Montreal and no guarantees for Transcona and Winnipeg that have just as much a place in CN as anyone else?

[Joe Fontana, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, again I tell the hon. member that the layoff notices are temporary.

I am sure as CN moves toward privatization it will become much more efficient as a national railroad in the country. In fact there will be future job opportunities for everyone in Canada, not only in Quebec but in Winnipeg, B.C. and Atlantic Canada.

Employment

[Ron Fewchuk, Liberal, Selkirk—Red River, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development.

Last Friday new figures were published by Statistics Canada showing continued full time employment growth in the Canadian economy. Given the concern of some Canadians that the government is not doing enough to fulfil its jobs and growth agenda, could the Minister of Human Resources Development explain the latest changes particularly as they affect my province, Manitoba, and young Canadians today?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development and Minister of Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, amidst the tumultuous events of last week a very important milestone was not properly recognized.

The government has now served two years since it was officially elected by the people of Canada. The most appropriate way to celebrate that event is to point out, with the employment statistics released on Friday, that since the election over 500,000 full time permanent jobs have been created in Canada.

In particular it is important to point out that last month alone 46,000 jobs were created for young people, which is the highest increase in one month for young people since June 1986.

I am happy to report that in the province of Manitoba, which I share with the hon. member-

[John Cummins, Reform, Delta, BC]

Time.

[Lee Morrison, Reform, Swift Current—Maple Creek—Assiniboia, SK]

Order.