House of Commons Hansard #171 of the 35th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was cbc.
Michel Guimond Bloc Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transport.
Air Canada recently put out an ad to hire staff for its Asian flights. In the French ad, a knowledge of both French and English is required, while in the English ad, only the knowledge of English is necessary.
As an Acadian himself, how can the Minister of Transport accept the fact that French-speaking travellers flying with Air Canada to Asia will not be guaranteed French-language service?
Douglas Young LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, while operating as a private corporation, Air Canada must abide by the Official Languages Act. I want to thank the hon. member for asking this question. I will certainly have the opportunity to examine why Air Canada acted in this manner, but I still hope that we will be able to settle the issue, because Air Canada has gained access, since last year, to the Japanese market, something it has been looking forward to for the past 10 to 15 years, and will be allowed to fly to Hong Kong before the end of this year.
Michel Guimond Bloc Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC
Mr. Speaker, are we to understand from the attitude of the Minister of Transport who is hiding behind the autonomy of Air Canada to explain why the corporation did not respect the Official Languages Act to which it is subject, that this is all the enthusiasm the minister can muster in defence of the use of French in the skies?
Douglas Young LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I can tell from the performance of the hon. member in this House that he has plenty of time to go over all the ads from Air Canada and probably from other companies.
As I told him earlier, Air Canada must abide by the Official Languages Act. I will try to find out why Air Canada acted in this manner and we will ensure that the Official Langues Act is fully applied.
Denis Paradis Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Labour.
Madam Minister, I think it is pretty clear we are all very concerned about the railway strike. Could you tell us what the consequences-
Rail TransportOral Question Period
The Speaker
My colleague, you should always direct your comments though the Chair. The hon. member may ask his question.
Denis Paradis Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question for the minister is as follows: What immediate consequences will this work stoppage have for Canadians?
Lucienne Robillard LiberalMinister of Labour
Mr. Speaker, I think the concerns raised by the hon. member for Brome-Missisquoi are entirely appropriate. In the passenger transportation sector, more than 70,000 people in Montreal and Toronto had no commuter trains and at least 20,000 passengers had to do without the services of VIA Rail.
As for the shutdown of services at CN, we see its impact everywhere on our economy. Ford has already closed its plant in Ontario and wants to close two more. Movements of coal and grain have been reduced by half. Kruger Inc. in Trois-Rivières is closed. Pétromont in Varennes is closed. Alcan has also cut production. We are seeing a tremendous impact on the economy, even in Quebec, and the Bloc Quebecois is preventing us from passing this legislation.
Ken Epp Reform Elk Island, AB
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.
The ethics counsellor has condemned a recent junket of MPs to Cuba which he himself said was outside his jurisdiction. Did the ethics counsellor initiate this investigation himself, or was it at the request of the Prime Minister?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the ethics counsellor said it was not under his responsibility. He looked into that.
That is exactly why I rose in this House last week and said that I hoped a committee would be struck very soon in this House with the senators so that members would have some guidelines to follow. I hope the committee will come through with some fixed guidelines very soon.
It is the responsibility of members of Parliament and senators to make their own decisions. We cannot impose our views on members. We respect the fact that they have been elected and are adult enough to make their own decisions.
Ken Epp Reform Elk Island, AB
Mr. Speaker, this question is one which will just not go away.
The president of Canada Post appeared at a well choreographed committee meeting this morning. Canadians are no nearer to understanding the complexities of the Perez affair.
Will the Prime Minister either instruct or at minimum not prohibit the ethics counsellor from thoroughly investigating and reporting on the Perez affair, a matter which most Canadians believe is within his purview?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, there were members of different parties on the trip, including one from the Reform Party.
It is up to members of Parliament to make their own decisions as to whether to participate. If members see that this type of trip is forbidden, then it is up to members to say so. However, every member involved in this trip went to the registry and indicated in good faith that they had accepted this trip.
If members should not have accepted this trip, fine, but I was not involved in it. The members followed the rules which existed at that time. If some members want to change the rules, then change them. I cannot impose them on the House.
Suzanne Tremblay Bloc Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Yesterday, we noticed that once again, the Minister of Canadian Heritage does not know what is going on in his department. On March 7, the Minister for International Trade promised his U.S. counterpart that no new action would be taken by the CRTC against U.S. television channels, as had happened in the case of the country music channel last year.
Could the Minister of Canadian Heritage explain why the Minister of International Trade made this commitment on his behalf to the Americans?
Michel Dupuy LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, first of all, we should determine whether a commitment exists. It does not. I saw the letter that was sent by my colleague, and I fully agree with its contents. The minister was referring to various reviews and investigations going on at this time, and I have nothing to add to the wisdom of the remarks he made to Mr. Kantor.
Suzanne Tremblay Bloc Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC
Mr. Speaker, I am really surprised at the minister's reply, when we consider what is reported in the media. Once again, could the minister say what is the truth, or should I say politically correct: what he says in this House or what he said yesterday to the journalists?
Michel Dupuy LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has a problem: she has wax in her ears.
Michel Dupuy Liberal Laval West, QC
Yes, her ears are probably plugged. What I said yesterday, and what I said again today in response to a number of questions I was asked, is that the government does not intend to instruct the CRTC on what to do about the channels. I repeat, that is what I said, and there is no contradiction between what I said and what the Minister for International Trade wrote to his counterpart.
Keith Martin Reform Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence confirmed that Canada was negotiating the sale of 39 CF-5 war planes to Turkey.
My question is for the Minister of National Defence. What guarantees has the government received that Turkey will not use the CF-5s against civilians?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Speaker, it is true that some interest has been expressed by the Government of Turkey to purchase the CF-5 planes that are surplus to our needs. It bought some a number of years ago.
I understand that a number of other countries are interested. In any sale our first obligation is to our NATO allies but, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs said publicly yesterday, any sales of arms are subject to certain very strict criteria.
Keith Martin Reform Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC
Mr. Speaker, I would like the defence minister to go a little further in answer to the following question.
Not more than a year ago Turkey bombed Kurdish villages killing many civilian women and children. This morning Turkish war planes and 35,000 troops resumed their offensive against the Kurds in northern Iraq. Given the state of tension it is unlikely that Turkey would refuse to use CF-5s in a future campaign regardless of any written guarantee.
Will the government live up to its red book promise and refuse to sell arms to any country suspected of human rights violations?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I think the question is premature because there is no deal between Canada and any country for the sale of the CF-5s.
Obviously some inquiries have been made and some information discussions have gone on, but should any sale be made of any surplus military equipment it will be according to the strict
guidelines to which our party has subscribed for a number of years and as outlined in our party documents.
Tom Wappel Liberal Scarborough West, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and concerns breast cancer. Credible scientific evidence and numerous studies show a possible link between abortion of a first pregnancy and breast cancer.
Could the minister ensure Canadians that the possible link will be thoroughly investigated? Will the minister tell the House what steps she is taking to ensure the potential risk factor is explained to all Canadian women?
Diane Marleau LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, studies to date have not provided evidence of a link between breast cancer and abortion.
Breast cancer is a very devastating disease for Canadian women. According to Statistics Canada 18,000 women in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 5,500 women will die as a direct result of the disease in 1995.
There are many possible risk factors. Tobacco was raised yesterday as a possible risk leading to breast cancer. There are risks factors with diet, genetics and many others. Not enough work has been done in the area and I intend to do something about it.
