Debates of March 15th, 1995

Immigration And Refugee Board

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Bauer made it clear yesterday that the minister's single member panels are a step backward and will worsen the current mess.

Two former IRB members concluded that Canada accepts terrorists as refugees, that some lawyers are scripting refugee claims, and that in Bauer's opinion up to two-thirds of claimants are accepted under false pretences.

Why does the minister continue to put the interests of bogus claimants, refugee lawyers and advocates ahead of the interests of Canadians who pay $1 billion a year for this disgrace?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member does not know what he is talking about. If competence for membership in the Chamber was any guideline he would not be here.

Now he is talking about a $1 billion budget for the IRB. I ask the member to have the decency to put forward the facts, to put forward things that we can do better, things that we can do to build the institution, rather than reduce everything to rubble.

Fisheries

[Derek Wells, Liberal, South Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

The minister just revealed that DFO was successful in retrieving the net of the Spanish trawler, the Estai . Congratulations to the minister and his department are in order.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[Derek Wells, Liberal, South Shore, NS]

Would the minister inform the House of the significance of the net's mesh size and the accompanying liner in the matter at hand?

[Brian Tobin, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. The matter is important to Atlantic Canadians and obviously important to people right across the country, given the support the Reform Party has given to the government in pursuit of the conservation of the fishery.

It is extraordinary to see the Reform Party, the New Democratic Party-and I should acknowledge the Conservative Party-and the Leader of the Official Opposition endorse unanimously the conservation measure in the House on behalf of Canadians everywhere. It is a great moment for Canada. I acknowledge the support of the parties opposite.

However, let me in answering the question acknowledge the tremendous leadership of the greatest Prime Minister the country has ever had in standing up for the country.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[Brian Tobin, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

Mr. Speaker, you want me to come right to the point and I shall.

[The Speaker]

Yes, I would like the minister to come precisely to the point.

[Brian Tobin, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

The significance of the 80-millimetre mesh is that it is some 15 millimetres smaller than the official NAFO approved mesh size for this species. Therefore the animals being caught in the mesh are far smaller. They are juveniles. They are immature. They are far smaller than what should be caught if we are to have a sustainable fishery.

Canada Labour Code

[Bernard St-Laurent, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Labour. After waiting for several months, the federal government has started distributing a working paper on future anti-scab legislation. The proposals in the working paper are unacceptable to workers, in several respects.

Will the minister agree not to interfere in union matters by requiring, for instance, that 60 per cent of union members must be in favour for anti-scab provisions to apply during a labour dispute?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, we are reviewing Part I of the Canada Labour Code, and the issue of replacement workers is on the table. We are now engaged in consultations with the various parties, both management and labour. I am prepared to listen to what the various parties have to say. Still, I do hope the member for the Bloc Quebecois is not against this kind of legislation.

Trade

[Charlie Penson, Reform, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow two of Canada's trade negotiators will be in Washington to discuss the recent restrictions placed on Canadian sugar exports. The government has taken the position that GATT takes precedence over NAFTA. That is because we have imposed new tariffs as high as 350 per cent on butter and other supply managed products.

Does this not put us in a very difficult position when arguing against new U.S. tariffs on sugar?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr.Speaker, on behalf of the Minister for International Trade let me

say that we are conducting these discussions with a very high regard for Canadian interests which will be defended in all aspects of the continuing discussions.

Health

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. It concerns the budgetary betrayal of federal funding promises to B.C. and other provinces with a community action program for children or CAPC, a program for vulnerable and at risk children.

In view of the profound concerns of the B.C. Coalition for Children and the B.C. government arising from drastic cuts in funding for 1996 and beyond, how can the minister justify the decision to cut the deficit on the backs of poor and vulnerable children?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we are very concerned that children be treated equally and fairly.

The budget did not dramatically cut CAPC. It reduced the actual growth of the program. That program will be distributed equally across the country.

We also have other programs aimed at helping poor children in this country. One of them is the aboriginal head start program. We have the prenatal nutrition program and the brighter futures program. All of these programs come into play as well.

Multiple Sclerosis

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Ontario, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Health.

Fifteen thousand Canadians suffer from multiple sclerosis. In the U.S., the drug Betaseron has been used to treat MS for over a year. Betaseron is currently being reviewed by the health protection branch and can only be obtained under the emergency drug release program at a cost of over $17,000.

Can the minister provide information on when Betaseron will be made available to Canadian MS victims at a price they can afford?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I am well aware of the needs of victims of multiple sclerosis.

Unfortunately, the manufacturers of Betaseron chose not to apply to have the drug approved here in Canada at the same time as they did in the U.S. When they did apply we fast tracked the approval of this drug. The price of this drug is quite high. It is under review at this time by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board.

[The Speaker]

My colleagues, this brings to a conclusion our question period. I have a question of privilege from the hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Privilege

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of the Environment stated in this House, when she answered a question on the refloating of the Irving Whale , and I quote: ``I just wanted to remind the hon. members that the first report proposing salvage measures was tabled in 1989 and rejected by the then Minister of the Environment''.

Later on, she also said about the Irving Whale : ``six years after the first report was presented to the former environment minister-the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Jean''.

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that I resigned as environment minister in May 1990 and that the report mentioned by the minister was tabled in September 1990. Her statement is therefore totally false and inaccurate.

[Douglas Young, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

But in any case, you did nothing.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

I hear other ministers say that she was right to lie to the House.

[Douglas Young, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

You did nothing when you were there.

[The Speaker]

My colleagues, I do not think I heard everything the hon. Leader of the Opposition said, but if the word "lie" was indeed used, I would urge the hon. Leader of the Opposition to reconsider the use of that word.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have reconsidered, and I gladly withdraw.

I would ask that, in that same spirit, the transport minister withdraw his remarks that the environment minister was right yesterday to twist the truth around.