Debates of May 8th, 1995

Working Language In The Public Service

[Pierre De Savoye, Bloc, Portneuf, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board.

Last Friday, in response to a question we had put to him, the Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs said that, upon returning to the House, the President of the Treasury Board would be able to provide us with an answer regarding the damning statistics on the working language of public service employees in the national capital region. Indeed, the latest report released by the Commissioner of Official Languages shows that only 44 per cent of francophone federal employees in the Ottawa-Hull area are able to work in French when not dealing with public inquiries.

How can the President of the Treasury Board not see in the fact that only 44 per cent of francophone federal employees in the national capital region are able to work in French an utter failure of institutional bilingualism?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, as the official languages commissioner also pointed out, there has been improvement and yes, more improvement is needed.

The official languages commissioner and Treasury Board have co-authored a brochure that deals with the question of language of work and the rights and responsibilities of public service employees. That is being distributed now.

Second, the commissioner made a number of recommendations on how we can strengthen language of work. We agree with all of those recommendations and will implement them.

Third, we will conduct audits to ensure that they are implemented and that the rights and responsibilities of public service employees in the official language of their choice is in fact respected.

[Pierre De Savoye, Bloc, Portneuf, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the good will demonstrated by the President of the Treasury Board but there are other problems. I will point out to him that the Commissioner of Official Languages also confirmed that French was hardly ever used in written communications between public service employees in the national capital region.

How can the President of the Treasury Board tolerate that, in the federal capital, only one out of ten French speaking employees can use French in written communications?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, a great deal of communication goes on in the French language and there should be more. There should be a comfort level for employees who have that as their mother tongue to be able to use it in correspondence.

We encourage deputy ministers and other officials at the beginning of a meeting, as I have done most recently at the beginning of a couple of meetings, to welcome everyone to use the official language of their choice so that we can give real meaning to the language of work policy.

Indian Affairs

[Bob Ringma, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, since I did not get an answer last week, I would like to ask the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development about the allegations of widespread sexual abuse at the Lac Barrière reserve.

The minister has apparently known about this for months. Why has he done nothing?

[Ron Irwin, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, this is a criminal matter. The police are investigating.

Our position in any of these investigations is to co-operate with the police, provide assistance and any information we have. However, we have to stay at arm's length from any criminal prosecution.

[Bob Ringma, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, let us try another one. At the same reserve we now have allegations of financial misappropriation through paying $255,000 in legal fees to a co-president of the aboriginal committee of the Liberal Party. How does the minister justify this?

[Ron Irwin, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, again this is an allegation of criminal events. It is up to the Sûreté to do the investigation. We will co-operate fully with the police.

Green Plan

[Laurent Lavigne, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of the Environment.

The latest federal budget marked the end of the Green Plan introduced in 1990 by the previous government. The Minister of the Environment has, to all intents and purposes, confirmed that this program, which before its funding was gradually cut back represented a unique environmental initiative, has been phased out for good.

In November 1993 the Minister of the Environment said that many positive things had come out of the Green Plan and she did not want to make sweeping changes just to be able to say she was the new minister.

That being said, why did the minister drop the Green Plan?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, we did not drop the Green Plan. In fact, we built on what the previous government left behind. Unfortunately, under the previous government, 60 per cent of the environment budget was sunsetting funding, to expire after five years in the case of the Green Plan and the St. Lawrence action plan.

Thanks to the Minister of Finance, instead of having 60 per cent of its project funding at risk, Environment Canada's budget consists totally of long term and secured projects.

In the case of the St. Lawrence action plan, for instance, we no longer have to go back to cabinet for additional funding, since the project is 100 per cent funded through the annual budget. And the Green Plan, which was about to expire and was cut three or four times by the previous government, will no longer be subject to the political whims of the day.

[Laurent Lavigne, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my supplementary is also directed to the Minister of the Environment.

We on this side of the House understood, despite what the minister just said, that the Green Plan had been cut by the government opposite.

That being said, does the Minister of the Environment realize that without the Green Plan, her environment commissioner will be similar, in a way, to the commissioner of official languages, and will observe and criticize, year in year out, and will not have the tools to take any kind of action?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I want to repeat the answer to the hon. member so there is no misunderstanding.

Until the last budget, 60 per cent of the funding of Environment Canada was sunset funding. It meant that at any time, if one wanted to pursue the Great Lakes action plan, if one wanted to pursue the St. Lawrence action plan, if one wanted to pursue the North American waterfowl management plan, one had to continually go back to cabinet. Only 40 per cent of funding was long term and secured.

As a result of the work of the Minister of Finance, we now have 100 per cent long term funding. The green plan money that was scheduled by the previous government to run out after the election will be rolled into the permanent budget of the Department of the Environment so that we may have long term, 100 per cent funding which is not be subject to cuts by individual ministers for photo ops.

World Bank And International Monetary Fund

[Charles Caccia, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have another question for the Minister of the Environment.

The World Bank and especially the International Monetary Fund are slow in making environmentally sustainable development a priority. In light of Canada's financial support of these institutions and the recent discussions at the Hamilton meeting of the G-7 environment ministers, can the minister tell us whether the G-7 leaders in Halifax will discuss measures that would turn the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund into environmentally sustainable institutions?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate not only the question of the hon. member but the work he put into the preparation phase for the G-7 environment ministers meeting.

I want to underscore the consensus at the G-7 environment ministers meeting that in the review of international institutions, in particular the IMF and the World Bank as the ministers of finance are calling for more transparency so we are very specifically calling for more environmental transparency and more recognition of the fact that sustainability and sustainable development must be a very key part of any decision making on lending practices of the IMF and any practices of the World Bank.

Underlining the need for transparency, an open public process and sustainable development are the keys to any real reform of these international institutions.

Gun Control

[Jack Ramsay, Reform, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, can the Deputy Prime Minister confidently stand in the House today and state publicly for the record and for the benefit of the provinces, which will be burdened with the administrative nightmare of Bill C-68, that the Liberals' gun legislation is constitutional in all its aspects?

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

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

[Jack Ramsay, Reform, Crowfoot, AB]

I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for that answer.

Questions remain unanswered regarding whether sections of Bill C-68 may be contrary to the charter of rights and freedoms. The constitutionality of Bill C-68 is in question, and courts in Alberta and B.C. have declared the orders in council under Bill C-17, which have been used again by the Minister of Justice, to be invalid.

Would it not be prudent for the government to resolve these matters before proceeding to ram Bill C-68 through before the summer recess?

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

Mr. Speaker, there is no intention on the part of the federal government to ram the bill through Parliament, nor is it the intention of the federal government to delay the bill unduly. It is taking a natural course through the House of Commons.

It is presently before the standing committee. We have witnesses and the witnesses are making excellent presentations. It is going as it was meant to go, and hopefully we will receive further good testimony from the witnesses, which we can review and perhaps make substantive amendments to the bill before it leaves committee.

Genetically Altered Foods

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

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

Health Canada recently approved a variety of genetically altered tomatoes for import into Canada, without any studies being done on the long term effect of this product on consumers.

How does the minister explain the government's rapid capitulation to the forceful lobby of the American company Calgene and its approval of this product solely on the information provided government officials by the company?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, Health Canada approved this product for import, because scientists at the Department of Health are satisfied that it presents no danger to Canadians and must be safe.

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let me say that the response the minister has given us is very reassuring.

I have a supplementary. Given that a number of genetically engineered products will be submitted to Health Canada for approval in the coming months, would the minister assure us that she will require Health Canada to undertake more serious studies before approving such products?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the people at Health Canada are there to protect the health of Canadians. They take their work very seriously and will continue to do so.

Conference On Tobacco Use

[Keith Martin, Reform, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is sponsoring an anti-tobacco conference in none other than the beautiful Italian resort of Bellagio. Last week the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health said the government is not donating a single penny to this conference. Yet information shows that Health Canada is giving $900,000 and the International Development Research Centre, a crown corporation, is giving another $2 million of the taxpayers' money to fund this conference.

Who is correct, the IDRC and Health Canada or the parliamentary secretary to the minister of Health?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, let me remind the hon. member that three million people die worldwide now as a result of tobacco. In our tobacco demand reduction strategy, a small percentage of the moneys allocated

were put aside for international tobacco control. Some of those moneys were given to IDRC.

I believe, as do the members of the government, we cannot conquer the tobacco problems simply by working within our own boundaries. We must extend our help outside to developed and developing countries.

[Keith Martin, Reform, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the Minister of Health that she cannot suck and blow on her tobacco reduction strategy at the same time.