Debates of April 5th, 1995

William Shakespeare

[John Richardson, Liberal, Perth—Wellington—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare, whose birthday we commemorate on April 23.

A weekend of special events including a silent auction, a cake decorating contest and a gala birthday dinner will take place in my riding to mark this occasion. The Lakeside Seniors, and Hamlet School which is putting on a play, and many hundreds of people are involved in this celebration. I congratulate everyone who is involved in this, particularly Ted Blowes and Debra Huggins.

On the heels of this celebration, the Stratford Festival is opening its 43rd season which will take place on May 29. I encourage all members of the House and all Canadians to attend the productions this summer. I am confident it will be a theatrical experience to cherish.

Members of volunteer organizations are the very heart and support of this Shakespearian festival. This year the festival will be missing one of the western world's leading classical actors with the death of Mr. Nicholas Pennell. He will be missed this summer.

I wish the festival every success in the upcoming season as the Stratford adventure continues. I have put a playbill on each member's desk today.

Labour Relations

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

Mr. Speaker, Ogilvie Mills workers have, once again, demanded that the Minister of Labour table an antiscab bill aimed at businesses under federal jurisdiction. The minister responded like her predecessor, saying simply that she was reviewing the matter.

The government has been studying the issue for nearly a year and a half and the only reason for this delay is a total lack of political will. The federal government is quite familiar with the type of provisions already in effect in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.

The Bloc Quebecois, for its part, recently tabled in this House a bill which would provide adequate protection for the workers currently hurt by their employers' disloyal practices. The minister is quick to trample workers' rights, as she did in the rail labour dispute, but she is unacceptably slow in responding to their legitimate demands.

Health Care

[Lee Morrison, Reform, Swift Current—Maple Creek—Assiniboia, SK]

Mr. Speaker, half a century ago North America's first medicare plan, Saskatchewan Health Region Number 1, was established in what is now my riding.

It was an experiment, a prototype and it was a Godsend. It worked well and it cost little. This was partly because people accustomed to doing without medical care did not abuse or over use it and partly because it was run mostly at the local level by country doctors and municipal reeves.

Unfortunately, the lessons of the experiment were quickly forgotten. A great system was eventually suffocated by the cold dead hands of political and federal bureaucracy.

The Liberals say there is nothing wrong with our health care but Canadians know better. They know about the waiting lists and the lack of accessibility.

It is time to be bold, as our Saskatchewan predecessors were, and using common sense rather than grand schemes, revise the Canada Health Act to allow the provinces to bring health care back to health.

Partridge Island

[Elsie Wayne, Progressive Conservative, Saint John, NB]

Mr. Speaker, Transport Canada has declared surplus the land holdings on Partridge Island and Public Works Canada plans to dispose of the island.

Partridge Island, a small island in the middle of Saint John harbour, is a piece of Canadian heritage. It was used as a quarantine station and welcomed over three million immigrants and mariners between 1785 and 1942. Two thousand quarantined immigrants died on the island and their graves are located there. Partridge Island was designated a national historic site in 1974.

The year 1997 marks the official observance of the 150th anniversary of the great Irish famine. Saint John's Irish community will be marking the next three years on the island with special exhibits as well as an Irish homecoming and memorial service in 1997.

I, as well as the people of the most Irish city in Canada, Saint John, and the province of New Brunswick, call on this government to revisit the decision to sell this national historic site of Partridge Island. We ask that it be transferred to the Department of Canadian Heritage for preservation.

Grand River Hospital

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House of the birth in my community of the Grand River Hospital on April 1, 1995. This dynamic new beginning in health care in the Waterloo region came together with the amalgamation of the Kitchener-Waterloo hospital and the Freeport hospital. The Kitchener-Waterloo hospital and the Freeport hospital represent 175 years of caring with their unique strengths and proud history of service.

The new Grand River Hospital will be governed by one board of trustees and managed on two sites by one administration. It will continue to provide the high standard of quality, innovation and accomplishment to the residents of Waterloo region. What is unique about this event is that it was initiated by two former hospitals with the aim of delivering the best possible quality of service and maximizing existing resources.

The people comprising the leadership of the two former hospitals are to be commended for their vision in pioneering this union under the aegis of the Grand River Hospital. Their efforts are to be applauded by all Canadians.

Government Ministers

[Brenda Chamberlain, Liberal, Guelph—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the people of Guelph-Wellington know that leadership requires risk taking and real leaders do not back down from doing what is right. That is why they are proud of our Prime Minister, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Minister of Labour.

These leaders have acted and succeeded where many others would have failed. One has worked hard to make the world aware of the impact of overfishing. The other, knowing how the country was suffering, put an end to the rail strike.

These ministers could have listened to the usual negative remarks of the Reform Party and the destructive policies of the Bloc. Instead, they took risks and did what was best for Canada, because what they did was right.

We are fortunate they are our leaders who are not afraid to act. We thank them for standing strong.

International Haemophilia Day

[Nick Discepola, Liberal, Vaudreuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, April 17 is International Haemophilia Day, and I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Canadian Haemophilia Society for its excellent work.

The Canadian Hemophilia Society was founded in 1953 by people with hemophilia as a self-help group. Today the range of people it helps and the ways in which the help is offered have broadened considerably.

In the 1980s about 40 per cent of hemophiliacs and 1,200 other Canadians became infected with HIV through contaminated blood. The primary goal of the Canadian Hemophilia Society is to ensure safe access to the Canadian blood supply.

Much progress has been made. Today, thanks to greater awareness and technical developments, the risks of contamination through blood transfusions are almost nonexistent.

We can all help too by donating blood, time, or money. After all, we are all related by blood.

Burundi

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, referring to the current tensions in Burundi, I asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs whether he recognized that concrete action was urgently needed, by supporting the deployment of a monitoring force in that country among other things, as the Burundian ambassador to Canada requested on March 23 before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.

In response, all the minister said was that no request had been received from the Government of Burundi along the lines of the moving plea made by the Burundian ambassador. The minister should know that the Government of Burundi has no leeway.

This response from the minister confirmed our worst fears. This government is turning a blind eye to the tragedy waiting to happen in Burundi. The optimist front put up by the minister, who talks about an illusive will to reconcile, brings back sad memories of the tragedy in Rwanda, where the international community was confronted with a crisis it was unable to prevent.

Canadian Cancer Society

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, April marks the beginning of spring, a time for new growth and a time of hope. It is particularly fitting that April is Canadian Cancer Society month.

The society works diligently to find a cure for cancer, to open the pathways of discovery and to change the lives of Canadians. Thousands upon thousands of Canadians benefit every year from the research the Canadian Cancer Society performs.

Since 1948 the society's fundraising month of April has brought Canadians together to contribute to the fight against cancer. Last year more than $44.2 million was raised during the campaign. This year's goal is $47.6 million.

I ask that my colleagues in the House join with me in supporting this society for even one of our own members in this House, the hon. member for Nepean, is now recovering from this scourge.

With the work of the Canadian Cancer Society and the will of the Canadian people, cancer will be beaten.

Interest Rates

[John Solomon, NDP, Regina—Lumsden, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal interest rate policy is killing the hopes and dreams of Canadians to own their own homes. As well it is severely hurting our Canadian economic recovery.

Since the Liberal government jammed the interest rates upward last fall, the result has been that the last half of 1994 was the most brutal on record for house sales. The high unpredictable interest rate policy is also forcing residential construction into a nosedive which is costing thousands of jobs.

This Liberal government has not learned its lesson from the last time it was in office when its high interest rate policy caused the 1980 recession.

I am telling the Liberal government to listen. High interest rates mean fewer home sales, less consumer spending, smaller economic growth and fewer jobs. The Liberal high interest rates are wiping out any chance Canada has of seeing an economic recovery and it is hurting families desperately.

Canadians are worried about their future, but this government is not interested in home buyers or Canadian consumers. It is only interested in keeping the banks and the moneychangers happy and wealthy.

Canadian Citizenship

[Pierrette Ringuette-Maltais, Liberal, Madawaska—Victoria, NB]

Mr. Speaker, a ceremony was held today in the Hall of Honour to reaffirm our Canadian citizenship. That ceremony gives us an opportunity to show the importance which we attach to our rights, our privileges and our responsibilities as citizens of this great country.

I want to thank the Liberal member for Don Valley North for organizing a ceremony which allows all of us, in spite of our cultural diversity, to get together and to show how proud we are to be Canadians.

This reaffirmation marks not only the importance of staying united in order to be prosperous, but proves once again to the world that Canada and its citizens are number one in this Parliament. We should be proud of our accomplishments as a young nation providing world leadership and an enviable quality of life.

Vive le Canada. Long live Canada.

Young Quebecers

[Paul Devillers, Liberal, Simcoe North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we recently learned that 92 per cent of young Quebecers between the ages of 18 and 35 feel happy and are primarily concerned with the work world.

It must be pointed out that separation is not one of their priorities. In fact, the separatist movement is in rough shape these days. A study conducted by McGill University confirms that support for separation among young Quebecers has drastically diminished since the 1980 referendum.

The Liberal government is doing something about the concerns of that generation by creating jobs, while the Bloc Quebecois and the Parti Quebecois are stuck with their outdated option.

Young Quebecers are happy in Canada and they want to remain part of it because they know that it is the best country to live in. Again, we can clearly see that the separatists are totally disconnected from the real concerns of young people.

Bloc Quebecois

[Raymond Lavigne, Liberal, Verdun—Saint-Paul, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what is it about Ottawa-its air, its bilingual culture, its architecture, its tulip festival or the Rideau Canal-that makes more and more members of the Bloc Quebecois want to settle here permanently?

Two days before their convention, we learn that a few Bloc Quebecois riding associations want to change the status of the party to make it permanent.

This sudden interest in Canadian politics is surprising, to say the least, particularly in the light of the remarks made by the leader of the Bloc Quebecois on November 27 to the effect that the members of the Bloc were not sent to Ottawa to make a career out of it, that the situation could never become permanent.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Michèle Fortin, Vice-President for Television, at Radio-Canada, spoke to the metropolitan Montreal Board of Trade. Some of her remarks echoed concerns of the Bloc Quebecois about broad, varied and accessible television programming. In addition, she reiterated her warning about the cuts to Radio-Canada announced in the budget. She noted that the SRC is of vital importance to francophones in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada, having a much greater impact on its audiences than the CBC does on anglophone audiences.

Now that Mr. Beatty is ready to implement the budget cuts, it is essential that he not lose sight, in making his decisions, of the performance of French television and of the success it enjoys with its audiences. Draconian cuts to the French network will jeopardize the growth and development of our culture.

Post Polio Syndrome

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, new midlife medical nightmares are surfacing, but childhood cruelty still revisits polio victims.

Post polio syndrome undermines an adult future so many of us take for granted with healthy active lives and being in charge of our futures. It is not so for these adults who are stricken with PPS. Muscular weakness, fatigue, joint pain and respiratory problems result in necessary and dramatic lifestyle changes.

Today I acknowledge the courage of Dodie Spittal, Charly O'Brien, Reny Chamberlain and Vern Hamm. They are with us today and bring their stories of post polio survival to Ottawa.

I also salute Paul Martin, Sr., responsible for ensuring that hundreds of thousands of Canadian children received the Salk vaccine. His tenacity in securing the vaccine was evident in his remarks taken from the Calgary Herald : ``On the basis of this extensive experience and the safeguards provided, it is the unanimous feeling of the provincial health authorities that the vaccine is safe and no changes in the immunization program are contemplated''.

Polio is not-

Bloc Quebecois

[Robert Bertrand, Liberal, Pontiac—Gatineau—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc quebecois has always maintained that the Bloc quebecois was in Ottawa on a temporary basis. Last fall, he said, and I quote: "And to make the options quite clear, I think Quebecers should realize, if they have not done so already, that the Bloc quebecois is not an accessory that comes with federalism as well as sovereignty; you cannot be a federalist and expect to keep the Bloc quebecois in Ottawa indefinitely".

Today, a number of BQ riding associations want to make their party permanent. The leader of the Bloc quebecois will have a difficult choice to make: maintain his vision of a temporary party or respond to the wishes of the grassroots and stay in Ottawa indefinitely.

Ford World Curling Championships

[Glen McKinnon, Liberal, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, from April 8 to April 16, the 1995 Ford World Curling Championships will be held at the Keystone Centre in Brandon, Manitoba.

Leading the event will be the Canadian men's and women's champions, all behind the broom and delivering from the province of Manitoba.

Skipping across the world we will see over 30 countries in the hack, sliding, sweeping and spieling for the world title.

Second to none, this international event will be attended by over 12,000 fans per day, drawing weight from over 1,000 international visitors at each end.

Third in the history of Brandon's hosting of national and international curling events, countless exhibits will be featured at the curling world with the first ever Olympic flag flying overhead.

Off the ice and out of the rink, during the day and well into the night, I invite and encourage everyone to get involved in the nine fun-filled days in Brandon, the button of world curling.

Liberal Party

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it was quite a sight yesterday to see the Liberal cheerleaders celebrating the Prime Minister's 32nd anniversary as a member of Parliament. Imagine our surprise when we learned that the Prime Minister was elected on April 8, 1963, not April 4, and that he has been an MP for 28 years, not 32.

I guess the health minister was too busy trying to protect her own job to check the facts. Actually, it comes as no shock to Reformers that the Liberals have such trouble with numbers. After all, this is the same party that gave us a massive deficit, a huge public debt and out of control government spending.

The Prime Minister shrugged off the mistake, saying what is four days among friends and that there is not much difference between 28 and 32 years. Numbers are important and I have a few that this government should take note of.

The national debt is $548 billion. The federal government spends nine times as much on debt payments as it does on education and five times as much as on health. The national unemployment rate is 9.6 per cent and 1.5 million people in this country are unemployed.

Fisheries

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the government continues to claim that the agreement in principle reached by Canada and the European Union will soon lead to a genuine agreement. However, Spain and Portugal have rejected the very terms of the agreement in principle.

My question is directed to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. Could the minister report on the status of negotiations between Canada and the European Union and tell us whether the problem is still the introduction of enforcement and conservation mechanisms?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has spoken to the president of the EU commission. Negotiators are meeting again today, and conservation of the resource is a priority. Our main objective is to obtain an agreement with teeth on conservation and enforcement.

Canada remains committed to an effective conservation regime. I can say to the Leader of the Opposition that we have negotiated in detail what we consider to be an effective enforcement and conservation regime. What we are waiting on now, as the opposition leader will know, is for the rather complex and difficult and may I say time-consuming workings and mechanics of the European Union to conclude the process at that end.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I think we all support the efforts of the government and the minister, who by the way has done a very good job, to provide partners in the fisheries, the various countries that are part of this operation, with a vigourous enforcement mechanism to preserve the resource.

However, that being said, what reason does the minister have to be optimistic that he will manage to get this kind of result, when two member countries of the European Union, Spain and Portugal, who happen to be the main parties concerned, have rejected the very terms of the draft agreement?

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

Mr. Speaker, the government has noted before and notes again today the clear support of the Bloc Quebecois and the Leader of the Opposition for the position the government has taken.

The Leader of the Opposition gave advice to the government some time ago. He said it would take a mixture of firm resolve, firm action and diplomacy to bring about a successful conclusion to this dispute. That is precisely the manner in which the government is approaching this problem.

I would say to the Leader of the Opposition that Canada is negotiating bilaterally with the European Union. The bilateral negotiation with the European Union has shown great progress. It is not yet complete but progress is made every day. A detailed text is now on the table. Frankly it is a matter for the European Union to ensure that each of the member states complies with all the clauses contained in the draft agreement.

For the moment we still do not have the formal acceptance of the European Union of the draft agreement.

I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that the negotiators by and large have finished their work and have put forward a joint draft text. It is a text that meets the objectives of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We expect the European Union to do as we shall do, embrace it with both arms.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is of course right when he says that we are negotiating bilaterally with the European Union as a comprehensive unit, but how does he expect to overcome the problem arising from the fact that yesterday, the representative of the European Union made it quite clear that he could not conclude an agreement without the support of member countries Spain and Portugal?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada has negotiated in good faith.

Canada has never approached the negotiation from any perspective other than that of achieving a conservation regime, a means of preventing further destruction of fish stocks and the rebuilding of the six species now under moratorium.

The response from around the world has been tremendous, including that of the vast majority of EU member states. Populations are generally saying this is right, this is good, this is a question that affects the common heritage of mankind.

Even where the political will may be somewhat lacking, the public expression of a commitment to preserving a resource that belongs to the planet will win out and we will have an effective regime agreed by both sides.

Canada Social Transfer

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

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

By setting up the Canada social transfer as a block payment for health care, post-secondary education and social assistance, the federal government has given itself more power to impose national standards while continuing to reduce transfer payments for these programs.

Will the Minister of Finance admit that the Canada social transfer will allow him both to continue reducing transfer payments to the provinces and to tighten his grip on social programs under cover of the new standards being planned now for health care and eventually for social assistance and post-secondary education?