Debates of Feb. 13th, 1995

Foreign Policy

[André Caron, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is why we are here, to make political points.

How can the Canadian government, which claims to be concerned about human rights, allow the Mexican authorities to deny access to the press in the areas of conflict and does it intend to intervene directly with the Mexican government in order to promote respect for human rights in Chiapas?

[André Ouellet, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his candour. It is very clear why he is in politics, and I find it absolutely reprehensible.

The situation in Mexico is serious. A remarkable job is being done by Canadians, working through non governmental organizations, with the support of the Canadian international development agency and Canadian groups promoting peace and the protection of individual rights and freedoms. I believe the hon. member knows perfectly well that everyone working there has the support of the Canadian government.

Canadian Armed Forces

[Jack Frazer, Reform, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the airborne regiment was tried, convicted and sentenced by the media. The Minister of National Defence carried out the execution.

Unquestionably, the airborne has suffered from command and control problems, but Canadians' sense of fair play does not support the punishment of a whole regiment for the unacceptable actions of a few. They recognize, as does the minister, the continuing need for a quick reaction force.

There is a compromise available. Will the minister consider the following course of action: suspend airborne operations rather than disband the regiment, then suspend all courts martial and proceed immediately with the promised public inquiry and finally, decide the fate of the airborne after a full hearing based on-

[The Speaker]

My colleagues, in the questions if we could have a question and a very short added question, but surely not three. I would ask the hon. minister to answer the first two questions.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Airborne Regiment was disbanded for the reasons given a couple of weeks ago. There will be no reconsideration of that decision. It is firm, it is fixed and it is final.

With respect to the airborne capability to which the hon. member refers, that can be discharged in any number of ways. General Reay, who is in charge of land forces, has been tasked to come up with alternative arrangements to ensure there is the airborne capability in the armed forces.

Last, I have repeated this so many times. A full inquiry which will be public and will be headed by a civilian will look into all the matters concerning the deployment of the airborne to Somalia in 1992 and 1993. That will begin as soon as the last court martial is terminated.

[Jack Frazer, Reform, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is now clear that the hazing rituals are not limited to the airborne. They exist in the parent regiments. They exist in the navy. The so-called systemic troubles for which the minister disbanded the airborne are widespread.

Will the minister accept that leadership from the top and not behaviour at the bottom is the real problem in the Canadian forces, or does he eventually plan to disband his whole department?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think the unfortunate events shown in the videos relating to ceremonies involving the airborne have enlightened Canadians, perhaps somewhat in a negative way, as to some of the traditions in the armed forces.

Another tape was released a few days ago. I am glad the navy was quick to correct the record. It felt that ordinary members of the public would have the reaction I had which was that at first blush it seemed to be quite offensive. It corrected that impression.

Because of all of these questions that have been raised, the chief of defence staff will be bringing all of the commanders to Ottawa this week to talk about these matters: what is permissible, what is not permissible; what is in the military tradition and what is not. Once he has a chance to talk with the commanders and they then inform the troops under their command across the country, this matter will come to rest.

Contaminated Blood

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. Johanne McDuff's book published in French under the title Le sang qui tue presents damning information about the events in the early 1980s which led to the contaminated blood tragedy. Several hundred hemophiliacs contracted the AIDS virus as a result of incomprehensible stalling and irrational acts on the part of federal authorities.

Given the overwhelmingly negative report by the expert working group attached to the Krever Commission and the facts presented in Johannne McDuff's book, does the minister intend to take immediate and concrete measures to avoid repeating the errors of the past?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, you will understand that I cannot comment on past events investigated by Justice Krever. But I can say in this House to the people of Canada that, since I have been minister of health, we have done everything possible to ensure the safety of the blood supply system.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Health explain why the country which, by her own account, allegedly has the best blood supply system in the world is still not authorized to send its blood products to the United States for processing because American authorities still maintain that they do not meet the required quality standards?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to shipping blood products to the United States, we are working very closely with the U.S. authorities in order to harmonize the regulations and that we take the best of both systems. That is what we are doing at this time.

Order In Council Appointments

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

Mr. Speaker, last week in this House we were talking about patronage and the Prime Minister said: "If the hon. member can prove that the person is incompetent, we will not give him or her that job".

Last week we were talking about Bill Callahan's appointment to the CRTC. In just three years Mr. Callahan ran a 100-year old newspaper into the ground-

[Ray Speaker, Reform, Lethbridge, AB]

The preambles to the questions, my dear colleagues, seem to be getting a little bit longer. I would ask all hon. members to please try to make the preamble a short sentence or two and then into the question. The same with the answers.

The hon. member for Fraser Valley West, his question, please.

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

Mr. Speaker, we found that Mr. Callahan in fact is not an objective individual.

Will the Prime Minister keep the promise he made in the House last week and remove Bill Callahan from his post at CRTC, or is this Liberal government still intent on mimicking the Conservatives?

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

Mr. Speaker, every single order in council appointment is subject to the review of the appropriate parliamentary committee.

Mr. Callahan's name was brought before the parliamentary committee. The member had an opportunity at that time to make any statement, however slanderous, he might choose to make. He chose to remain silent through that 30-day period.

I have only to ask him the question: Why did he not bring these alleged facts to light rather than slandering this individual here on the floor of the House of Commons?

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

Mr. Speaker, I guess it is our privilege to ask the questions here. Rather than use the word "slander" I would use the word "hypocrisy".

Now we are hearing about another prominent Liberal who is in line for the plum of the week in my province of British Columbia. Can the Prime Minister explain specifically what May Brown's qualifications are for the position of Lieutenant-Governor, besides being campaign manager for the current Liberal leader and campaign manager for John Turner of all people?

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

Mr. Speaker, another hypothesis by the member which does not deserve an answer.

Tax Loopholes

[Richard Bélisle, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

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

The government is on the verge of paying oil and mining companies the contested $1.2 billion they claimed through tax loopholes in a case that has dragged on for 21 years. The minister says that he does not want to upset anyone. Does he have to wait 21 years to avoid upsetting people?

In addition to this case, which the federal government says it wants to settle soon, it is on the verge of paying out millions of dollars, because the income tax payable by these companies is still in dispute.

[The Speaker]

I would ask the hon. member to ask his question immediately.

[Richard Bélisle, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

On the eve of the budget, Mr. Speaker, how can Canadian taxpayers trust the Minister of Finance, who is taking no concrete measures to settle this dispute and whose inaction will cost them millions of dollars?

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, we cannot comment individually on any specific taxpayers. Many resource companies will be entitled to refunds as a result of the 1992 decision of the Federal Court.

[Richard Bélisle, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, how is it that the minister so ably imposed billion dollar cuts to the unemployment insurance system but is unable to settle tax disputes that cost hundreds of millions and benefit big business?

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, as I just informed the hon. member, there is a procedure we go through in dealing with taxpayers. We cannot comment on individual situations. They are dealt with accordingly and changes are made accordingly.

Hazardous Products

[Rey D. Pagtakhan, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

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

Last year alone, the lives of six Winnipeg children could have been saved from house fires had the previous government fulfilled its promise to require cigarette lighters to be made child resistant.

When will the minister implement tough regulations to prevent further injuries and tragic deaths among Canada's children?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, in order to address this very serious problem, I have asked the officials in my department to draft amendments to the regulations under the Hazardous Products Act concerning safety of disposable lighters.

These amendments will be published in part I of The Canada Gazette within the next few weeks. We expect these regulations to be in effect as of the middle of the summer. Disposable lighters sold in this country will have to be childproof. Meanwhile we have launched a program of awareness to ensure that caregivers are aware of the dangers of these disposable lighters.