House of Commons Hansard #166 of the 35th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was budget.

Topics

Referendum On Quebec SovereigntyOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear.

PensionsOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Reform

Chuck Strahl Reform Fraser Valley East, BC

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board.

During this time of government downsizing we have heard a lot of talk about fairness and equity. However today we read in the papers about an example that does not seem too fair at all. It is a special retirement allowance for deputy ministers. On top of the regular public service pension, deputy ministers get an extra 2 per cent per year without paying a cent of their own. That could be an extra $30,000 a year for life.

Why do the government and the minister hand out golden treasure to the top executives but give a lump of coal to the rest of the public service?

PensionsOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

York Centre Ontario

Liberal

Art Eggleton LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure

Mr. Speaker, there is certainly no lump of coal to the rest of the public service. We treat them fairly and equitably. We will certainly be doing that in the downsizing exercise.

The program was brought in by the previous government in 1988 because at the time it wanted to attract more people from the private sector to become deputy ministers. The private sector said: "You are not competitive in terms of your salaries". It said: "We will take the additional pension allowance as being part of a total compensation package and will help attract people from the private sector into deputy minister positions". That is the reason the government brought in the program.

PensionsOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Reform

Chuck Strahl Reform Fraser Valley East, BC

Mr. Speaker, it does sound strangely like MP pension plans.

The government actually on that one refused to take its nose out of the trough. Now on the deputy minister level we find that there is also a two-tier system depending on which level of the public service one belongs to.

For the sake of morale in the public service and for the sake of the fairness and equity the government claims, it should cancel the program that gives extra benefits to top executives and make it the same for all public servants as it should be.

PensionsOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

York Centre Ontario

Liberal

Art Eggleton LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure

Mr. Speaker, a number of representatives of the private sector advised the government of the day on this matter. They said: "If you really want to attract top people to serve the public of Canada you are going to have to be competitive, and your salaries are not competitive".

We have to look at it from a total compensation package point of view. On that basis that is why it has been offered to senior deputy ministers.

International AssistanceOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Philippe Paré Bloc Louis-Hébert, QC

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In its budget, the government announces a substantial cut in international development assistance, in particular food aid to the poorest countries on earth. In fact, it is reducing by 16 per cent the multilateral and bilateral food aid budget, which will fall from $300 million to $250 million this year.

How does the Minister of Foreign Affairs reconcile Canada's substantial cuts to its international assistance budget with the support it gave to increasing development aid to the poorest countries at the Copenhagen summit on social development?

International AssistanceOral Question Period

March 14th, 1995 / 2:35 p.m.

Papineau—Saint-Michel Québec

Liberal

André Ouellet LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question is about the same as that asked by one of his colleagues yesterday. In response to that question, I said that the Government of Canada had two ways of providing food aid: through its multilateral programs and through its bilateral programs.

The figures quoted by the hon. member refer to only one form of food aid. He does not have the total picture on government spending in this regard. If he combines expenditures in both bilateral and multilateral programs, he will see that our contribution remains the same.

International AssistanceOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Philippe Paré Bloc Louis-Hébert, QC

Mr. Speaker, how does the minister justify such a substantial reduction in its direct assistance to the poorest countries even before completing the reform of CIDA recommended by the Auditor General of Canada?

International AssistanceOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Papineau—Saint-Michel Québec

Liberal

André Ouellet LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I would like the hon. member to come and read carefully two questions that were prepared by his research office. He does not have to listen to my reply, but I must remind him that he should read it; he would then have the answer to his second question.

Irving WhaleOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Denis Paradis Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC

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

After hearing the hon. member for Bonaventure-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, can the minister assure this House today that refloating the Irving Whale, the barge that sank off the coast of the Magdalen Islands in 1970, does not pose an environmental threat to Magdalen Islands fishermen and residents?

Irving WhaleOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Hamilton East Ontario

Liberal

Sheila Copps LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment

Mr. Speaker, I was expecting this question from the official opposition, but since it was not forthcoming-

Irving WhaleOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Irving WhaleOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Sheila Copps Liberal Hamilton East, ON

I just wanted to remind hon. members that the first report proposing salvage measures, proposed in 1989, was rejected by the then Minister of the Environment.

I am very pleased to report that, since we came to power, 24 years after the incident occurred and six years after the first report was presented to the former environment minister-the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Jean-action will finally be taken this spring. We have opted for the alternative that was the least expensive and the safest for the residents of the Magdalen Islands and Prince Edward Island.

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Reform

Jan Brown Reform Calgary Southeast, AB

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Liberals seem to have different rules for Canada's elite. Last night it was reported that children of diplomats and senior military officials were attending expensive private schools all around the world and the taxpayers were footing the bill for this extravagance.

Will the government commit to immediately bringing this benefit in line with similar benefits in the private sector?

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Papineau—Saint-Michel Québec

Liberal

André Ouellet LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

The answer, Mr. Speaker, is that we do exactly that. It is quite clear that the children of those serving abroad have to attend schools that follow a curriculum which will allow them to continue their classes when they come back to Canada.

Canadian diplomats are receiving nothing more than diplomats of other countries. If the children of Canadian business representatives abroad are going to school, they are going to exactly the same schools as the children of our diplomats.

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Reform

Jan Brown Reform Calgary Southeast, AB

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. minister for his response. However the foreign services directive indicates that there is a double standard. Students are given three taxpayer funded flights a year. Students are even going to school on the French Riviera. These perks are more lucrative than in the private sector.

Not only is there a two-tier pension plan but we learn there is now a two-tier education plan: one for ordinary Canadians and one for the Canadian elite.

Does the minister not understand that Canadians will no longer tolerate these Liberal double standards for the Canadian elite?

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Papineau—Saint-Michel Québec

Liberal

André Ouellet LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the suggestion of the hon. member to review the treatment offered to children of our people who are abroad.

I challenge her to verify the allegations she is making here which I think are totally unfounded. It is very nice to take her lead from a very biased report that does not take reality into account.

National DefenceOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Marc Jacob Bloc Charlesbourg, QC

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Defence.

We have learned that the number of francophones applying to become Canadian Forces officers dropped drastically after the closure of the military college in Saint-Jean was announced. Applications are down to 102 this year from 243 last year, a drop of more than 50 per cent.

Does the Minister of National Defence recognize that, as we had predicted, closing the military college in Saint-Jean will have the effect of discouraging francophones from becoming Canadian Forces officers because they can no longer train in their own environment and in French, as they could in Saint-Jean?

National DefenceOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Don Valley East Ontario

Liberal

David Collenette LiberalMinister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the House that recruitment for the armed forces is down right across the country. One of the reasons is that the economy is buoyant.

Historically when times are rough there is obviously less competition for the various places. As a result of improvement

in the economy we find that the normal group of people who would be attracted to the armed forces has found other options.

With respect to Quebec, recruitment is down about 50 per cent overall. It is down 40 per cent in Ontario. It is down about 20 per cent in the west. It is about even in the Atlantic region.

I should say that part of the problem concerning recruitment to the military college was due to the uncertainty as to what would happen with young students coming out of high schools in Quebec. That uncertainty was created because of the opposition tactics by the official opposition and the government in Quebec City that refused to accept the agreement originally signed by the former Government of Quebec.

Now that we have the agreement in place and now that the parents of francophone students in Quebec know what is going to happen, we believe recruitment will pick up in the next few weeks and we will meet our target very shortly.

National DefenceOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Marc Jacob Bloc Charlesbourg, QC

Mr. Speaker, I find the minister's answer extraordinary.

Does the Minister of National Defence recognize that the sharp drop in francophone officer candidate enrolment will inevitably aggravate the already serious problem of francophone under-representation in the senior ranks of the Canadian Armed Forces, thereby compounding the unfair treatment of Quebec?

National DefenceOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Don Valley East Ontario

Liberal

David Collenette LiberalMinister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I find it extraordinary that the hon. member did not listen to my answer.

Because of the uncertainty surrounding the disposition of the site of the former College at St-Jean, the advertising for those students specifically in Quebec was delayed a number of weeks. Now that we have a deal that was signed a few weeks ago we know what exactly is available. Those students coming out of high schools in Quebec can take the prep year at the new civil institution in St-Jean.

In the last few days we have been heartened by what we have seen. Recruitment is picking up. It was merely delayed.

The hon. member talks about the decline in francophones overall in the armed forces. That is not borne out by the facts. About 27 per cent of members of the armed forces are francophone and fully 24 per cent of all senior officers are francophone, and that will continue.

ImmigrationOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Reform

Art Hanger Reform Calgary Northeast, AB

Mr. Speaker, a shocking document has been released to the Vancouver Sun , the concluding document of immigration consultations in B.C. in which the minister's employees say the following: ``We go about congratulating ourselves for our overexuberant acceptance of bogus refugees while the rest of the world snickers at us for the suckers we are. The lawyers are making a circus out of refugee claims''.

The minister ignores Canadians, experts and the Reform Party. Will he also ignore his own employees or will he make change?

ImmigrationOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

York West Ontario

Liberal

Sergio Marchi LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where this member has been for the last little while, but this government has made a number of reforms not only to the immigration procedure but also to legislation like Bill C-44. Reforms to the IRB were announced last week. He was upset that we announced them during the budget process.

However, this government has moved on both IRB and immigration procedures. We support immigration. Immigration is positive for this country regardless of what this member and his party stand for.

ImmigrationOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Reform

Art Hanger Reform Calgary Northeast, AB

Mr. Speaker, if the minister needs more suggestions for change than those we have offered already, here is what his own employees have to say: "End inland refugee claims. Limit family reunification. End official multiculturalism and make personal suitability the key criterion for immigration to Canada".

Why did the minister hide this damning document? Will he admit that last summer's consultations were as bogus as the refugee system he so ardently defends?

ImmigrationOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

York West Ontario

Liberal

Sergio Marchi LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Speaker, I cannot hide a document I have never seen. My department and my government do not stand for the comments he has made.

The answer to his request is no. This party is bogus to the reality of Canada and does not know how this country has been built. If it did it would not have the temerity to suggest what it does day in and day out.