Debates of May 2nd, 1995

Supply

[Brent St. Denis, Liberal, Algoma, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of referring to this document is to bring to the attention of my hon. colleagues that the NDP has attempted to hang its success on the federal budget. I dare suggest to the Ontario NDP that this attempt will fail. Canadians have too much respect and regard for their federal finance minister to be taken in by a plan such as this.

In fact, the Canadian Federation of Students made a presentation to the finance committee earlier today. They expressed concerns about the budget but they put forward positive ideas. I suggest that the Ontario NDP should be looking for positive ways to make this country work.

Our Bloc colleagues are attempting to use the budget as an opportunity to make gains on their own agenda. The agenda of the Bloc is quite obvious. There is no need to remind the House and Canadians what the Bloc agenda is. As the motion says in part, the Bloc is questioning what it alleges to be an imposition of standards on the provinces. Nowhere in the federal budget is

the finance minister or this government imposing standards on the provinces which in the first place are not there, or in the second place are standards which Canadians do not want.

I know that during my election campaign in the fall of 1993-

[The Speaker]

My colleague, of course, will have the floor after question period.

It being 2 p.m., we will now proceed to statements by members.

Firefighters

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Canada's firefighters.

This week firefighters from across the country are meeting in Ottawa for the International Association of Firefighters fourth annual legislative conference.

These brave men and women are an integral part of every Canadian community. With little regard for their own personal safety they battle in the most dangerous of conditions, providing Canadians with peace of mind.

Their exposure to infectious diseases is a major reason firefighting is one of the world's most dangerous professions. Firefighters routinely provide emergency medical treatment in unsanitary field conditions on patients they know nothing about. This results in firefighters being occupationally exposed to a variety of dangerous contagious diseases.

Firefighters who have been exposed to infectious diseases need to be further informed of this fact so they can seek medical monitoring and modify their behaviour to avoid further transmission. It is my hope that the federal government will soon provide this information.

I salute Canada's firefighters.

Policy On Bilingualism

[Maurice Godin, Bloc, Châteauguay, QC]

Mr. Speaker, because of a difference in the French and English versions of the federal income tax return, French-speaking Canadian taxpayers living temporarily outside Canada will pay more income tax than their English-speaking counterparts.

Line 419 of the French version refers to a 4.56 per cent surtax, while the surtax in the English version is only 3 per cent.

The Commissioner of Official Languages, Victor Goldbloom, was totally justified in saying in his 1994 report that the bilingualism policy was still poorly implemented more than a quarter century after its adoption.

How can the government justify such a lack of rigour where the equitable treatment of francophones in Canada is concerned?

Firefighters

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, firefighters and paramedics respond when we call 911 for their help. They rush to our aid with little regard for their own personal safety. Sometimes they are injured. Sometimes they are infected. They approach Parliament this week with a simple request: "Inform us if we have a risk of infection". This proposal will not produce new testing, will guarantee patient confidentiality and would never result in someone going without the help they desperately need.

In a sense the firefighters are calling 911 to the Minister of Health but she has put them on hold. They deserve better. I call on the health minister to act now.

Low Level Flights

[Len Taylor, NDP, The Battlefords—Meadow Lake, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence announced the Liberal government's acceptance of the proposal to double, perhaps triple, the number of low level military flights that take place over Innu territory in Labrador and Quebec.

The military aircraft fly at 30 metres above the ground, disrupt wildlife and imperil hunting and fishing grounds. Caribou are often found starved, too frightened to eat. The Innu, who live off the land and its animals, worry about the future of their traditional way of life.

The government is aware that its environmental assessment panel admitted the impact on the environment and aboriginal rights is unknown and refused to listen to issues raised by aboriginal people relating to their land.

The Innu have never signed a treaty with the Canadian government for the use of their land and the government has never asked permission to conduct these military flights over that territory. All the Innu people want is a life of peace.

All people deserve respect. As the minister of Indian affairs said recently: "It's their territory. They have a concern. It's a legitimate concern".

Harold Beaupré

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on the morning of April 17, 1943 a Lancaster bomber with a seven-man crew, part of the 83rd Squadron, crashed in German occupied France after a raid on Manheim, Germany. The pilot, Pilot Officer Glen McNichol, was killed in the crash and the six survivors were taken prisoner.

Pilot Officer Harold Beaupré, one of the survivors, was liberated from a prisoner of war camp in Lubeck, Germany on May 2, 1945. Today marks the 50th anniversary of Mr. Beaupré's liberation.

Two months later, on July 2 Mr. Beaupré became a prisoner of love and married his wife Margaret. Mr. and Mrs. Beaupré raised four children and continue to run their business, Beaupré Stamps, in uptown Waterloo. They continue to contribute to the social and economic life of their community.

To Mr. Beaupré and to all Canadians who served in the two world wars, the Korean war and the ones involved in past and present peacekeeping, we give our thanks and admiration.

We will always remember the sacrifices they made and continue to make for Canada.

Reform Party

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

Mr. Speaker, during the last federal election a political party in Canada promised to lower spending on federal administration and reduce subsidies to businesses. This party also promised cuts to national defence and argued for improved social spending by refocusing benefits on those most in need. These promises were made by the Reform Party in the blue sheet.

However when the Liberal budget delivers and improves on these promises the Reform leader calls them dishonest and cowardly.

Canadians have made it clear that they do not want politics as usual. They reject doom and gloom and Reform Party sophistry. Canadians want leadership and compassion. That is why in poll after poll they continue to support their Liberal government.

Firefighters

[Mac Harb, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week the International Association of Firefighters is holding its fourth annual conference in Ottawa.

Professional firefighters risk their lives daily in an effort to save the lives and property of their fellow citizens. They are the largest providers of field emergency medical care. In the course of saving lives firefighters and emergency medical personnel are exposed to danger, disease and hazardous materials.

The International Association of Firefighters is committed to ensuring that all firefighters are provided with the most accurate, updated information regarding the emergency situation to which they must respond.

Along with my colleagues in the House, I congratulate and thank all firefighters across Canada and around the world on a job very well done.

2002 Olympic Games

[Antoine Dubé, Bloc, Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs could not resist pulling another dirty trick on Quebec at the convention of the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party of Canada last weekend.

Showing incredible contempt, Quebec's political godfather in the federal cabinet said that the referendum report was hurting Quebec City's chances of hosting the Olympic Games in 2002, even though both the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister told us that all Canadian diplomats were actively supporting Quebec City's bid to the International Olympic Committee.

We hope that the Canadian embassies and consulates responsible for promoting Quebec City's bid will do their job without paying attention to their boss's comments.

After the Prime Minister said that Quebec City was prevented from hosting the G-7 summit because the Canadian flag does not fly in front of its city hall, the federal government is once again resorting to threats in the matter of the 2002 Olympic Games.

Liberal Party

[Elwin Hermanson, Reform, Kindersley—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the governing Liberals are proving once again that they are no friend of Saskatchewan. The last federal budget hit Saskatchewan with cutbacks in agriculture, the Crow rate and an increase in fuel tax.

In the face of this sacrifice in Saskatchewan the minister of public works has the nerve to announce that the government is giving $4 million to the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto.

The government cannot find money for farm support, but it can fund cultural centres. It says it no longer has money for grain transportation but it will continue to fund fat, gold plated MP pension plans.

The Liberals have no cash to stop booze and gun running into my province from the United States but it can find millions of dollars for gun control registration that will have no effect on crime.

The Liberal government can borrow billions of dollars to fund its own pet projects at the expense of hard working, taxpaying farmers.

It is clear that this government is no friend of Saskatchewan and her future generations.

Firefighters

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

Mr. Speaker, exposure to infectious disease is a major reason why firefighting is one of the world's most dangerous professions.

Firefighters routinely provide emergency medical treatment in unsanitary field conditions and are exposed to infectious disease.

I would like to know why the Minister of Health has failed to commit to a national protocol regarding infectious disease notification. Will the minister commit to a national system for the safety of our firefighters, their families and the rest of society?

The Environment

[Charles Caccia, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the world community is looking to Canada and other industrialized nations to set a good example on the pressing issue of climate change.

Certain gases, most notably carbon dioxide, collect in the earth's atmosphere and trap heat. Most carbon dioxide is produced in industrial nations from burning coal, oil and gas. Thus we must find ways of reducing the consumption of these fossil fuels.

Climate change is not only an environmental issue, but also an ethical issue. If Arctic ice caps melt and oceans rise, the lives of millions of coastal and island people around the globe will be in danger. It is important that Canadians understand the cause and effect of climate change.

Therefore I urge the government to do everything in its power to launch a public education and awareness program to explain the complexity of this issue.

Quebec Sovereignty

[Denis Paradis, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in Le Journal de Montréal this morning, the Bloc leader is quoted by Martin Leclerc as saying that the solution to poverty issues lies in a sovereignty plan. The things you hear.

The Quebec separation plan creates pervasive uncertainty and aggravates the problems confronting us, including poverty. With its plans to separate, the Bloc Quebecois will do anything to win its ideological war, even sacrifice an entire generation of young Quebecers.

Let us try to convince the Leader of the Opposition that we should work together to win the real war, the war against poverty.

National Composting Awareness Week

[Gurbax Malhi, Liberal, Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week, National Composting Awareness Week, we celebrate the benefits of composting, both to reduce waste and to create nutrient rich earth.

Composting facilities across Canada process almost 700,000 tonnes or about 11 per cent of the organic waste produced each year, but it is believed that about half of the total waste stream could be composted.

About a million Canadian households also divert 200,000 tonnes of their kitchen and yard wastes through back yard composting. I commend those that realize the importance of composting and I urge all Canadians to get involved in this valuable program for life.

We must reduce the amount of garbage in our landfills if we no longer want to be counted among the most wasteful people on the planet.

Low Level Flights

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence announced yesterday that he fully endorsed the report of the panel reviewing the issue of low level flights in Labrador and Quebec. Interestingly enough, the Minister of the Environment, to whom the report was also directed, did not speak up. Her silence can only mean that her colleague's decision defies even the most elementary rule of prudence, which says that the impact of such a drastic increase in the

number of flights should be assessed before a decision is made, not after, as the defence minister is suggesting.

The Minister of the Environment, who boasts about making Canada a world leader in environmental matters, will have to bear the political burden of this decision, which is contrary to the principles of sustainable development, caution and prevention she talks about day in and day out.

Lightstations

[John Duncan, Reform, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the coast guard lightstation services project went to 28 B.C. locations and cost $202,000. Its report is now more than one month old and will be released today.

I hope the current minister responsible has read it and will conclude what the B.C. public has concluded. Public consultations with 1,397 residents, mariners and aviators, representing hundreds of thousands of users, indicate that opposition to destaffing B.C.'s lightstations is widespread, often vehement and overwhelming.

The rationale is solid. Public safety, drug interdiction, science and sovereignty are paramount. The only minister from B.C. stated he would support keeping staffed lightstations if coast guard consultations said the public wants them.

The people have now spoken.

Quebec Sovereignty

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

Mr. Speaker, the main problem of the P.Q. government is its obsession with Quebec's separation, regardless of the real problems affecting its citizens.

In his book entitled Moi, je m'en souviens , Pierre Bourgault clearly outlines the problem and I quote him: ``There is something more important than the fight for independence and that is the fight against poverty. Why put aside these social concerns, which have always been part of separatist thinking? Ultimately, would it be the separatists, much more than the people, who are inconsistent?''

It is high time that the P.Q. and the Bloc Quebecois realize that Quebecers expect from their elected people that they deal with the real problems and put an end to their obsession with separation.

Vietnamese Community

[Mary Clancy, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to reflect on the courage, strength and determination of the Vietnamese community in Canada. This past week marked the 20th year since the end of the war in Vietnam.

The war was not just a convulsive era in world history. It was a horrific nightmare for its victims. A Vietnamese proverb teaches that if a parent is cruel, the children will choose another.

When the war ended it did not bring peace to the people of Vietnam. Refugees fled a cruel parent in rickety boats, risking their lives to escape. Many of them made it to Canada. In fact, Canada has resettled more than 145,000 Indo-Chinese asylum seekers since 1979.

The boat people, 23,000 of them, came to Canada where they faced new challenges, but as part of a welcoming Canadian family. These brave people have brought success born of their industrious nature. They have also enriched Canada's diverse social fabric.

On behalf of this Parliament I would like to pay tribute to the Vietnamese community in Canada. Vietnam's loss has been our reward. I would like to pay tribute to Vietnamese Canadians and to applaud the spirit of generosity and hope that brought them to us and to give thanks that today Vietnam is a place of peace, not war.

The Holocaust

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Fredericton—York—Sunbury, NB]

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday I spoke at the Holocaust Memorial Service held in Fredericton. This year's service marked the 50th anniversary of the liberation by allied forces of the Nazi death camps.

These camps are the graveyards for millions of individuals, the vast majority of whom are Jews. They committed no crime. They broke no laws. They did nothing to deserve the medical experimentation, tattooing, forced labour and gassing they endured. It is a blight against humanity that anything so unspeakable could occur in what we think of as a civilized society and that it could go on for so long.

If anything can be gained by the inhuman crime that was the Holocaust, I hope it is awareness on the part of every individual to be on guard against attitudes that could lead to anything resembling this atrocity from ever happening again.

Seagram

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, early in April, the Minister of Canadian Heritage made a discreet trip to Los Angeles, on the very day Seagram's took over MCA. He went to Los Angeles accompanied only by his executive assistant, without any senior officials and without any advance briefing by his department, which is customary prior to a minister's trip abroad.

My question is directed to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. How can he say he did not talk to the people at MCA and Seagram's in Los Angeles on April 10, when according to the Hollywood Reporter, he was MCA's guest of honour at a dinner the day after MCA was acquired by Seagram's?

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, it is true I had lunch in the cafeteria or just outside the cafeteria at MCA.

[Some hon. members]

Ah?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Laval West, QC]

If any details are required, here they are. We had chicken and ice tea.

I met representatives of major U.S. studios located in the Los Angeles area. I was never even remotely involved in any aspect of a transaction between Seagram's and MCA. I said it before and I say it again, I was there to defend Canadian interests, the interests of an industry that is important to Canada-the film industry-and I would expect the opposition to support these efforts to defend and promote the interests of an industry that is Canadian and located in Quebec as well.