Debates of March 29th, 1995

Pearson International Airport

[Jim Gouk, Reform, Kootenay West—Revelstoke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in response to my question yesterday the minister suggested I talk to the ADM who was not privy to this report.

Not only was the ADM privy to the report, he provided the October report to Mr. Nixon. The facts do not substantiate the remarks made by the Minister.

When will the minister stop hiding the truth in this matter and come out with a full public inquiry? What is he-

[The Speaker]

Order. In question period we refer to the word truth. I would ask the hon. member in this instance to please rephrase his question.

[Jim Gouk, Reform, Kootenay West—Revelstoke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I will withdraw it from the way it was phrased and simply ask the minister when will the full truth be brought out-

[The Speaker]

It is out of order. The hon. member for Verchères.

Turkey

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister.

With Turkey continuing its military offensive against the Kurds in northern Iraq, the Canadian government still has no official policy on the matter. Moreover, as the government embarks on negotiations with Turkey for the sale of CF-5s, Germany is suspending delivery of military materiel destined for Turkey.

My question is very simple: Does the government intend to follow Germany's example and suspend all deliveries or sales of military materiel to Turkey and to break off negotiations on the sale of the CF-5s to Turkey?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have answered in the House a couple of times that there are no formal negotiations going on. The Turkish government has expressed some interest in the disposition of the CF-5s. This is not unusual since a number of years ago it received surplus planes from us.

As a NATO ally we have to entertain at least its interest. There are no formal negotiations going on. There is no deal pending. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has given the House every assurance that should we at any time sell any armaments, those sales will be under the strictest of controls.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, you would agree with me that there is something questionable about the minister's statement that negotiations are being held, but not formally.

In view of the seriousness of the present situation, and rather than continue waffling about how to treat the Turkish offensive against the Kurds, will the government not acknowledge that it should submit this delicate matter to NATO and to the UN Security Council?

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

Mr. Speaker, on the ongoing actions of the Turkish government with respect to the Kurdish minority in northern Iraq, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has addressed that in the House and has well established Canada's position on it.

With respect to the disposition of the CF-5 fighter planes, it is somewhat premature to discuss this because there is no deal pending. There is no sale pending. There has been only an indication of interest on the part of the Turkish government.

The Outaouais

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, and concerns both the statements made by the hon. member for Rimouski-Témiscouata regarding the City of Hull and her apology in the House. Will the minister confirm in this House that the Outaouais region is not a victim of economic discrimination?

[Marcel Massé, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada]

Mr. Speaker, while the Parti Quebecois refuses to invest in western Quebec and only allocates 0.4 per cent of its budget to that region, the National Capital Commission invests 30 per cent of its resources in the Outaouais.

According to a 1993 survey conducted by the magazine L'Actualité , Hull has the second highest standard of living in all of Quebec and ranks first in terms of economic indicators. People who live in Hull or have businesses there will tell you that they are proud of their city, justifiably so. By making such a statement, the hon. member only betrays her own lack of knowledge of the City of Hull and her arrogance towards people

who do not share her political convictions and who believe in Canada.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

Immigration And Refugee Board

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board admitted yesterday that public works had installed one or more surveillance cameras in the ceiling panels at the Montreal office of the IRB.

Yesterday she said, and the minister repeated it, that it was part of an RCMP investigation. However the RCMP denied installing the cameras.

I have a question for the immigration minister. If the RCMP did not authorize the camera installation, did the minister himself or the chair of the IRB? Or, if neither one of them, who did?

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

Mr. Speaker, a formal complaint was registered with the IRB. The chair of the IRB subsequently consulted both public works security that has responsibility for the building and the RCMP for a normal police investigation. The monitoring device was approved.

The criminal investigation is ongoing and I think it would be inadvisable to comment any further.

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the minister said that the cameras were part of an RCMP investigation. The director general of the IRB said that the cameras were installed to investigate improper relationships between staff and somebody interested in IRB's business.

That could mean that someone on the outside was influencing refugee decisions or there was an attempt to restrict information flow from the IRB.

What was the specific nature of the investigation that required the installation of the cameras to watch someone for four months?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. critic used to be a police officer. I thought he would appreciate some of the finer details involved in any criminal investigation. Suffice it to say that a public servant is being investigated. It is not a board member appointed by the government. It is not an RHO official. It is not to spy on any officials in terms of how they do their business.

Proper consultations have taken place. It is a criminal investigation. I do not wish to second guess the professional police authorities and will allow the investigation to continue as it should.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for-

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

Welcome to Hull.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Last week, Bloc members questioned the heritage minister about the CBC's prospects for the next three years. In responding to each question, the minister refused to confirm the budgets disclosed to Mr. Manera by his deputy minister, Mr. Rochon.

Now that the CBC has an acting president and that the minister has had the time to make inquiries, can he confirm the extent of the cuts that his government intends to impose on the CBC over the next three years?

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, all the figures are in the budget and they are for one year. I said so before and I am pleased to repeat it. I hope that our colleague will understand the message.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, does the Minister of Canadian Heritage confirm that the extent of the cuts he intends to impose on the CBC is such that they will again bring about the closure of regional stations?

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot, of course, confirm the impact of figures I did not put forward.

Justice

[Garry Breitkreuz, Reform, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, in response to a question about a court decision regarding the legality of orders in council used to prohibit firearms, the justice minister twice stated that the Alberta court decision was wrong. That was the Simmermon case. Other ministers have repeatedly told the House that they cannot comment on cases before the courts.

Why is he commenting? Is he trying to influence the courts in the matter?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the judgment has been appealed. We are taking the position in the Court of Appeal that the judgment was in error.

With great respect to the hon. member, there is nothing at all inappropriate about the government saying that it disagrees with the court judgment, and it is appealing it.

We will be making our arguments to the appellate court and we are confident that those arguments will prevail.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Reform, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this confirms what I am saying.

The decision is being appealed by the Alberta government, not the federal government. It is my understanding that the federal government has not even applied for intervener status. Yet the minister says and continues to say: "We will pursue the appeal with every confidence that we shall win it".

The Attorney General of Canada has publicly vowed to pursue and win the appeal. How can the defendant ever get a fair trial?