Debates of May 3rd, 1995

Professor Michael Smith

[Anna Terrana, Liberal, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today I want to pay homage to a great Canadian who became a Nobel Laureate in 1993 and who will be awarded the Order of Canada today.

Professor Michael Smith resides in Vancouver East and teaches biochemistry at the University of British Columbia. Professor Smith has an outstanding career of academic and humanitarian achievements. He received his Nobel prize for work dating back to 1976 centring on a program he developed for reprogramming genes.

Professor Smith gave the half a million dollars in prize money to many causes. He gave $126,000 to the Société des femmes canadiennes en sciences et technologie; he has pledged the rest of it to schizophrenia research and to assisting people who teach in remote regions of British Columbia.

Professor Michael Smith's generosity and competence know no bounds.

It is people like Professor Michael Smith who make us all proud of being Canadian. It is on behalf of Canadians everywhere that I want to thank and congratulate Professor Smith for his achievements and generosity.

Canada Remembers

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I was proud when the Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs visited Peterborough riding. He visited the RCAF Association, the Navy Club, Empress Gardens and a number of other locations. He met with ex-servicemen and women from legions throughout the city and county of Peterborough and with members of the Dutch Canadian community.

This visit was part of ongoing activities in connection with the Canada Remembers year during which we take time to remember the sacrifices and achievements of the last year of World War II 50 years ago.

It is fortunate that this important anniversary is being recognized this year. We need to remember Canada now as never before. We should all take time to think about this great country, about our history and our future, about our land and about our people.

I thank the Peterborough Canada Remembers committee and I urge the secretary of state to continue his vigorous efforts to encourage us all to be proud of Canada.

Government Spending

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again, taxpayers' money is going up in smoke. The federal government has chosen the Italian Alps as the site of an international conference on tobacco farming in third world countries. Yes, you heard me right, the Italian Alps.

Canadian taxpayers will pay the expenses of not only six federal representatives, but also 20 experts from various countries. How can the Government of Canada justify such an expenditure in the present context of austerity?

Once again, the federal government's total lack of common sense in the way it manages the public purse has surfaced. While the federal government's reforms are wreaking havoc on the most needy, it is spending taxpayers' money like there is no tomorrow.

Firearms Legislation

[Cliff Breitkreuz, Reform, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, hundreds of law-abiding citizens in Yellowhead are attending firearms legislation meetings across the riding.

The message they are trying to get through to this ivory tower, out of touch government is this: They do not see how gun control will prevent criminals from committing crimes; they do not like the fact that this legislation will give the federal cabinet

unprecedented search and seizure powers; and they do not like the fact that their right to bequeath or inherit property is being trampled on by Bill C-68.

Already over 800 people have attended four gun control meetings in my riding with more meetings to come. Not one person has spoken in favour of Bill C-68. The majority of the people of Yellowhead want the standing committee on justice to make changes to the gun control bill so it seeks to punish the criminal instead of making criminals out of law-abiding gun owners.

My constituents want the justice system to work for them, not against them. Common sense must prevail.

Gun Control

[Gilles Bernier, Independent, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the people of Beauce are living a nightmarish week in the wake of a horrible and incomprehensible tragedy. A disturbed father killed his daughter and Sainte-Marie de Beauce's chief of police before killing himself. The people of Beauce, who always stand by each other, have extended their support and compassion to the families directly affected.

In this ever-changing world, which causes some people to become despondent and perturbed, we all hold great power, the power to choose: choosing to love instead of hating; choosing to heal others instead of hurting them; choosing to create instead of destroying.

In Sainte-Marie de Beauce, after the initial shock and consternation, the time for consoling and forgiveness has come. One of the things we can learn from this tragedy and the many others preceding it is that we must review the way we control guns and bring in measures to manage them wisely.

Réseau National D'Action Éducation Femmes

[Ronald J. Duhamel, Liberal, St. Boniface, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to have this opportunity to stress the importance of a national organization that is actively involved in providing opportunities for education for women in minority language communities.

The Réseau national d'action éducation femmes has for many years been involved in promoting and improving the education of francophone women.

Its role also includes making the public aware of the specific needs of francophone women in minority language communities, seeking out teaching tools, providing literacy training, promoting recognition of vested rights and doing research on employment equity.

I would also like to draw your attention to activities that are being prepared for next fall. The Réseau national d'action éducation femmes is gearing up for a national francophone women's education week.

I would urge hon. members to show their support for this outstanding initiative and to help make it a success. We all have a stake in education.

Motorcycle Awareness Month

[Dianne Brushett, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, last Saturday on behalf of the Government of Canada, I proclaimed the month of May in Nova Scotia as Motorcycle Awareness Month. It is a time to raise the awareness of all motorists to the presence of the two wheeled vehicles that share the road. It is a time to promote education and safety among bike enthusiasts.

Since the end of World War II, motorcycles have increased in popularity, especially among the Canadian and American veterans who used them overseas. They were the ones who formed the first bike club as a means of recreation and fellowship in community service.

A motorcycle ride can be one of the most exhilarating experiences as I found out last Saturday when I was a passenger on a ride through Truro following the blessing of the bikes.

I congratulate the members of the organization, the Responsible Bikers of Nova Scotia, who have not had an accident or a death since their founding.

I urge all members of this House to participate in similar education programs.

Commissioner Of Official Languages

[Pierre De Savoye, Bloc, Portneuf, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner of Official Languages made a surprising statement last week when he maintained that Quebec violated the Official Languages Act by failing to offer courses in English to immigrants through its Centres d'orientation et de formation des immigrants.

Yesterday, when he appeared before the joint committee on official languages, the commissioner admitted his mistake. He had no jurisdiction in this case and agreed that Quebec's immigration policies did not in any way violate the Official Languages Act.

The commissioner should concentrate on telling federally regulated corporations to get their act together, including regional carriers affiliated with Air Canada and the Canada Post Corporation.

The commissioner should also put more pressure on provincial governments that continue to deprive their francophone residents of the educational facilities to which they are entitled.

Gun Control

[Jack Ramsay, Reform, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, immediately following the disaster of the Oklahoma bombing, the U.S. attorney general pledged she would seek the death penalty for those responsible. This demonstrates that country's intolerance for violent crime, something that is greatly lacking in our own country. Here a bleeding heart mentality has reigned for years.

In Canada last week, one of our police chiefs was shot to death. Did the Minister of Justice display the same outrage as his American counterpart to this senseless act of violence? Did the minister express the growing outrage of Canadians, including our police officers, who have repeatedly called for a return of capital punishment in this country? No.

Our justice minister's only response to this latest act of violence is to offer Canadians costly and useless gun registration. That is what this minister calls getting behind our police forces.

Criminals will not be deterred by the registration of firearms. They will not be stopped until we have a justice minister with sufficient backbone to take a strong stand against this senseless kind of violence.

Agriculture

[Vic Althouse, NDP, Mackenzie, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this government and the previous government offered deregulation and competitiveness as the only answers to globalization. Yet the very price of deregulation is making competitiveness almost impossible for global traders like western Canadian farmers.

This government has removed the cost guarantees that went with the Crow benefit and is promising to remove the price ceilings on freight rates by 1999.

Control over farm costs has virtually disappeared. Fertilizer and fuel prices have taken huge unwarranted price jumps lately. Fertilizer costs are up 20 per cent or more over last year. Big fuel price increases are well documented all across the country. Combined with freight cost increases of 100 per cent, how can the grains industry, which has been struggling already, continue to be competitive?

Deregulation theory promised to cut costs, not raise them. Was it all a big lie?

Job Creation

[Nick Discepola, Liberal, Vaudreuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again, total confusion prevails in the separatist camp. The Quebec Premier has made more contradictory statements.

Last March, he told us that, since September, 58,000 jobs, or 78 per cent of all new jobs in Canada, had been created in Quebec. However, on May Day, he boasted about the 43,000 new jobs created in Quebec since September, a number equal to half of all jobs created in Canada.

Either Mr. Parizeau does not know how to count or else he is very proud to tell us that Quebec has lost 15,000 jobs in less than two months. What good news for the 800,000 welfare recipients in Montreal and elsewhere.

No wonder the Bloc Quebecois and the PQ are once again looking for a scapegoat in Ottawa.

Fairy Lake Environmental Tour

[Karen Kraft Sloan, Liberal, York—Simcoe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Earth Day 1995 has passed. However the Sacred Heart graduating students of the environment and economic class have left a lasting legacy to the community of Newmarket, Ontario. I was pleased to attend the opening of the environmental tour of Fairy Lake.

The students enthusiastically worked on this class project to inventory and identify the natural and historical elements of the parkland surrounding Fairy Lake. They have also prepared a pamphlet and tour kit as well as a colouring book for children. In order to complete this project the students had to solicit support from the town of Newmarket and local businesses.

These enterprising students have now made it possible for individuals and families to enjoy and learn more about the natural and historical environment surrounding Fairy Lake.

Community involvement has always been a priority for the students of Sacred Heart. I would like to congratulate them on their efforts and wish them luck in their future endeavours.

National Nursing Week

[Rose-Marie Ur, Liberal, Lambton—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, May 8 to 14 is National Nursing Week in Canada. As a former registered nursing assistant, I am delighted to have this

opportunity to salute my former colleagues in Lambton-Middlesex and throughout Canada.

For this year's National Nursing Week, Canada's 253,000 registered nurses will be planning activities to increase knowledge and understanding of nursing contributions to the health of Canadians under the theme: "Your Family's Health: Nurses make a Difference".

No matter where nurses work, be it in the hospital or in the community itself, their focus has always been the family. Nurses provide families with information to prevent them from becoming ill, to help families through challenging times and to make meaningful choices.

Nurses are also interpreters. They take the vast amount of health care knowledge flooding clients and interpret what it means for their health and that of their families.

Because they have the right combination of knowledge and skills for promoting, maintaining and supporting health, nurses are ideally positioned to make a real difference to the health of Canadians and to ensure the healthy future of Canada's medicare system.

House Of Commons Security Services

[Gaston Leroux, Bloc, Richmond—Wolfe, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on the 75th anniversary of the House of Commons Security Services, I wish to pay tribute to all members of the staff.

Created in 1920, a few years after the old Parliament building was destroyed by fire, the Security Services are responsible for the protection of members, employees and buildings on Parliament Hill. They also welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors from Canada and Quebec every year.

I wish to remind everyone that security staff must not only ensure the safety of the public and the employees of the House of Commons but also process many visitors, at a time when vigilance is a must. They do their job effectively and professionally.

On the 75th anniversary of the House of Commons Security Services, I invite all my colleagues to join me in commending the security staff for their much appreciated services.

Justice

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in the Sunday Sun I read of the horrible death of a 20-year old woman who was shot by her estranged husband. In the same article, I read of five other women who recently died at the hands of their estranged husbands, all in the Ottawa area. Of these five, one was bludgeoned to death, two were strangled and two were knifed.

When will the Minister of Justice open his eyes and realize we have a serious problem on our hands in this country and recognize the instrument of death is not the problem?

When will the minister recognize that the cause for fear in this nation is from a very weak justice system which has lost its focus on protection of the innocent and law-abiding persons and concentrates too heavily on the criminal and his rights?

When will the minister realize Bills C-37, C-41, C-42, C-44, C-45 and C-68 are only tinkering with the seriousness of this problem and essentially solve nothing?

When will the justice minister take the bull by the horns, say enough is enough and send a clear message to the would be killers of this land. Come on, Mr. Minister, do your job and do it now.

Poland

[Carolyn Parrish, Liberal, Mississauga West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all Canadians of Polish descent, I rise in the House today to commemorate the 204th anniversary of the Democratic Constitution of Poland and to join in the celebration of the re-emergence of democracy and liberty in that nation.

Poland has historically been blessed with citizens of extraordinary conviction; some even call us stubborn. They believe in an independent Poland as well as in the value of a truly democratic government. The enduring faith of those who recently witnessed the rebirth of democracy is an inspiration to many.

Too often, we who have the good fortune of living in a democratic society become complacent about our freedoms and opportunities. This anniversary is a reminder of the courage, commitment and vigilance which democracy requires.

Gratuluia calowa polska rodzina.

Newfoundland Dockyard

[Jean Payne, Liberal, St. John's West, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak today about the Newfoundland dockyard which has been a major employer in St. John's West for 110 years. Now Marine Atlantic is negotiating to sell the assets of the dockyard.

Last year the dockyard generated over $28 million in revenue and employed 840 people, the highest level in well over a decade. Today only 42 people are working at the dockyard and tomorrow the number may well be less.

I call on the Minister of Transport to explore all possible options to ensure the survival of the Newfoundland dockyard. With increased offshore development now and in the future, the potential for more work at the dockyard is strong. Discussions with all stakeholders in this matter, particularly the employees, must begin immediately to ensure the continued employment of the workers.

I believe that a company with $28 million in revenue can be maintained as a viable economic entity. I ask the minister to work with me to try to find a solution to keep the dockyard operating.

Canada Social Transfer

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, in announcing yesterday the amendments to Bill-C-76, the Minister of Finance tried to play down the motion tabled by the official opposition denouncing the federal government's intention to impose new standards on the provinces for social programs. I would point out that, with this bill, Ottawa is limiting the provinces to assuming a mere advisory role in the process of defining the national standards.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Would he acknowledge that the most concrete way to show his government does not intend to impose new national standards on the provinces is by amending Bill C-76 so that these new standards are submitted to all the provinces for their approval?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I think that the Minister of Finance provided a very satisfactory explanation yesterday. This bill will come before the House of Commons, and we will be able to discuss it. Here in Canada, we must maintain national standards. They already exist in all these programs.

Some need changing, and so the Minister of Human Resources Development and the Minister of Finance will hold the necessary discussions. Since we want to maintain an appropriate level of support for all Canadians, we must ensure that the standards will continue to ensure proper services for people from one end of the country to the other.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the head of the government is even more ambiguous than his Minister of Finance-no small feat.

[Some hon. members]

Ha, ha.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

A fine competition. Yesterday, the Minister of Finance told us that an upcoming amendment, not yet tabled, would provide for mutual agreement in establishing the criterion for the imposition of the standards. The expression is very vague. I would ask the Prime Minister to tell us what he means by mutual agreement. Does the government mean the necessary approval of all the provinces or, as with the patriation of the constitution in 1982, will a majority of the provinces suffice?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have just said that standards already exist, which must be changed. The opposition has called for their change. We want to make changes. We want to discuss the nature of these changes in the House and then we will talk with the provinces. However, the standards that are in place will stay in place, and we are prepared to change them.

If the opposition does not want us to change them, on the other hand, we will not change them. If they do have to be changed, I am sure the proposals of the Minister of Human Resources Development and the Minister of Finance will be very reasonable, as usual, and the provinces will be pleased to accept them.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, in other words: "Trust my ministers; everything will be fine".

[Some hon. members]

Ha, ha.