Debates of March 24th, 1995

Rail Strike

[Dale Johnston, Reform, Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the week long rail stoppage has cost Canada dearly. Canada has lost over $5 billion, of which farmers have lost $100 million, exporters have lost $1 billion and $2 billion has been added to the public debt. These are just the short term costs. The total will climb even higher because our clients have lost confidence in our transportation system.

My question is for the Minister for International Trade. What plans does the minister have to address these long term costs?

[Roy MacLaren, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure I understood the question.

The question refers to the long term impact of the current rail strike. Indeed, as the hon. member said, the impact is in a sense cumulative. Each day the situation becomes worse. Rail cars become stranded and unable to provide the necessary services and exports are hindered.

What we are intending to do in the short run is to complete the legislative process to ensure the restoration of full rail services in Canada. Then we will accelerate in every way we can the export of Canadian goods following the restoration of the rail services.

[Dale Johnston, Reform, Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday the Minister of Transport said that the Government of Canada had a responsibility to maintain a rail system that is viable, competitive and affordable. Over the past week I submit that the government has failed to do all three of these things. It has failed farmers, manufacturers, consumers and commuters. Why has it failed? I believe it is because the government does not have a plan.

Why has the government not tabled a long term plan to ensure that rail stoppages are a thing of the past?

[Roy MacLaren, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, it is not the Government of Canada that is preventing the return of the rail services, it is the Bloc Quebecois that is preventing their return.

We are making every effort on this side of the House. We will complete the process in short order to ensure the restoration of the rail services. As for the longer run, we are under the excellent leadership of our Minister of Labour who is reviewing all aspects of the relevant legislation to ensure that this sort of situation does not occur again.

[Dale Johnston, Reform, Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is simply not true that only the Bloc and the NDP are responsible for the damage to the Canadian economy. The government has had nearly a year to deal with this problem and to come up with some long term legislation which would prevent this sort of thing from happening.

Once back to work legislation is finally passed, will this government take legislative steps to resolve the transportation problems once and for all? After all, the team Canada approach depends on a viable rail service.

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, the government still believes in the collective bargaining process. If the hon. member from the Reform Party believes in a much more drastic solution, that is not our policy. We still believe in this process. Indeed, the majority of labour disputes in Canada are settled through collective agreements.

True, the normal collective bargaining process is difficult to apply in the railway industry. However, since we are currently reviewing the Canada Labour Code, we will surely have to propose solutions to this kind of problem in the future.

Health Care Funding

[Maurice Dumas, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. The minister stated last Friday that, in spite of substantial reductions in transfer payments to the provinces, the federal government will

keep a watchful eye on the provinces and penalize those who try to exclude essential care and services from medicare coverage.

Does the minister realize that repeated budget cuts to federal transfer payments to the provinces will force the provinces to make agonizing choices like closing thousands of beds or limiting access to costly chemotherapy treatments, at the risk of cutting back on care and services available under medicare?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, some things have to be made clear. The current fiscal situation must be addressed. By getting our fiscal house in order now, we will be able to preserve social programs such as health care. They will be preserved. We will make sure that every dollar we spend is well spent and that essential services are available to those who need them.

[Maurice Dumas, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, does the minister agree with the Prime Minister who stated in Regina that these budget cuts will eliminate what he called non-essential health services, such as eyeglasses, wheelchairs and ambulances, when we know that the provinces also have to close thousands of hospital beds?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker,there are members here who do not take seriously the very important issue of health.

But I do, and so does the Prime Minister. I can tell you that no jurisdiction in Canada is telling us that more money is what is needed. We must change the way things are done and make sure that the money we have is spent more efficiently. Even the Quebec government is looking at cutting services, including health services.

We know that certain things can be improved, and so does the Government of Quebec.

Fisheries

[John Cummins, Reform, Delta, BC]

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

Notwithstanding any objection to the quotas, NAFO regulations give Canada the authority to carry out inspections on any ship in the NAFO regulatory zone. Why has Canada stopped doing these inspections while fishing is going on?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have carried out many dozens of inspections over many years in the NAFO regulatory zone.

What those inspections tell us-this information has been made public in the past-is that there are repeated examples, in particular by the Spanish fleet, of every rule of conservation being violated by those that participate on the Grand Banks.

The reason we are not doing inspections at this time is that the Canadian patrol vessels out there have already participated in one armed seizure of a Spanish vessel. In that circumstance and given the tension that exists between those officers and the Spanish fleet, sending a couple of unarmed officers aboard at this time may not be in their personal best interest or safety.

We will do nothing that will needlessly or recklessly put our officers at risk when we know with certainty that this fleet is cheating, is not following the rules, is fishing indiscriminately. The action we need is not inspection but enforcement by Spain, enforcement by the EU or failing that, enforcement by Canada.

[John Cummins, Reform, Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this minister's record of protecting Canadian resources is not great.

NAFO regulations give inspectors the right to wait until the net is hauled in and then inspect all areas of a ship. Why, while the minister has held office, did we inspect the Estai at least 11 times and only issue one citation?

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

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to talking about records and positions of members, I assume that on 24 hours' notice, the member's position can change.

This is the member who said, and Canadians should note, on behalf of the Reform Party that he did not support the strong measures being taken by Canada to bring about enforcement with respect to the Spanish fleet.

This is the member who 24 hours later turned himself inside out in verbal gymnastics to change his mind. I will wait another day. Perhaps Monday we will know the real position.

Fight Against Aids

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

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

It costs an average of $100,000 to treat each Canadian suffering from AIDS. Every year, 2,000 new cases are diagnosed and the number of AIDS patients will have doubled by the year 2000.

Meanwhile, the government is penny-pinching by reducing the already inadequate budgets allocated to the National AIDS Strategy, whose objectives precisely include the prevention of this terrible disease.

Considering that an amount of $5 million was not spent and allowed to lapse last year, will the minister pledge to use all the moneys allocated to fight this disease, and will she display a greater sense of responsibility?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the fact that we maintained these budgets in spite of very difficult times confirms that we recognize the serious problem of AIDS in Canada.

Each year, we set aside $40.7 million to fight AIDS and the HIV virus. We will also make sure that each dollar is spent in an appropriate manner.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear: the number of AIDS patients in Canada will have doubled by the year 2000. Last year, the minister had a budget of $40 million. Since she spent only $35 million, the other $5 million was allowed to lapse. This is criminal, considering the number of AIDS victims.

My question is: What will the minister do to spend all the moneys allocated to her?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I will not spend dollars just because they have been allocated. The object is to make every dollar count. I will not change the way I have operated since I became Minister of Health.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, Robert Arthurson, the convicted pedophile who murdered Sarah Kelly in The Pas, Manitoba last year previously admitted to a police officer and psychologist that he fantasized about killing a child.

However, the RCMP detachment in The Pas was prohibited from informing the community about the danger posed by Arthurson's presence. RCMP headquarters in Winnipeg stated it would be against Arthurson's charter rights to reveal this information.

I ask the Solicitor General if he is satisfied with the manner in which the RCMP handled this case and if he would instruct them to act in the same manner in the future?

[Patrick Gagnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know the specifics of the case, but I will take the question as notice. I am convinced the minister will answer the hon. member from Alberta in due course.

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

Mr. Speaker, just a correction. I am from the province of British Columbia, not Alberta.

[An hon. member]

Is there a difference?

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

Quite a difference.

The charter of rights states that everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person. Sarah Kelly was deprived of this constitutional right.

Why does the government continue to give a higher priority to the charter rights of convicted sex offenders than it does to the rights of an innocent 13-year old girl?

[Russell MacLellan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. member that under no circumstances would the government ever minimize the charter rights of any Canadian. The very strength of the country is in the charter. It will continue to be supported to every extent possible by the government.

The Environment

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

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

At the Rio summit, Canada was priding itself on being in the forefront in environmental protection. Today, we realize that it has joined the ranks of the countries threatening the credibility of the convention on climate change.

Next week, in Berlin, the Minister of the Environment will be attending a meeting at which the European Union is expected to propose that levels of emission of greenhouse gases established at the Rio conference in 1992 be extended beyond the year 2000.

Would the Minister of the Environment tell this House what position her government will take with respect to this proposal?