Debates of June 20th, 1995

Canada Post

[Philip Mayfield, Reform, Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the small community of Chilanko Forks in my riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin recently lost its general store and post office in a terrible fire. For most small towns, this would mean the end of mail service for weeks and even months, but not in Chilanko Forks, thanks to the bravery and ingenuity of postmistress Penny Chipman.

Mrs. Chipman entered the burning building four times to retrieve essential items at the post office desk. Then after the fire she went home and set up a new post office in her own travel trailer. The next day the mail went out from the makeshift post office without missing a beat, a letter, or a parcel.

For Mrs. Chipman's bravery and ingenuity, today here in Ottawa she is being awarded the prestigious Golden Postmark Award given to postal employees who make outstanding contributions to Canada Post or their communities.

Congratulations, Penny. All of Cariboo-Chilcotin is proud of you. As you receive this award, we salute your courageous spirit. Thank you for your dedicated service.

Health Care

[Gilles Bernier, Independent, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the provinces are increasingly asking for greater latitude in the financing of health care. For example, they would like to be allowed to impose user fees. Yet, studies show that such fees would not help control health expenditures and could result in underuse of services by those who are really sick.

However, costs can be reduced by improving the efficiency of health care services. We all know that, all over the country, there are drug consumers, as well as some health care professionals, who abuse the system.

I hope that the government will launch an awareness campaign to ensure that Canadians are responsible consumers of the health services provided to them. Our health care system is the most generous in the world, but some profiteers make it extremely costly to the state. Moderation is the solution.

Infrastructure

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame officially opens this week as a major addition to the Memorial Centre, home of

the Peterborough Petes. The new hall is the result of 16 years of effort by many volunteers.

We already have over a hundred distinguished inductees and a wall of fame, which has generated a great deal of interest and pride, but until now we have lacked a real hall.

Since its earliest years Peterborough has been a major centre for sports at all levels. It is a community known for a high level of participation in sports, the quality of its athletes, and the extraordinary variety of sports practised by its citizens.

Our hall of fame will be a showcase for sports and will house the archives of sports history in the community. Since the history of Peterborough and the history of sports are inseparable, visitors to the new hall of fame, especially young people, will leave with a stronger sense of community identity and pride.

My thanks to all those who have given of their energy, talents, and money to bring this project to fruition. I am delighted that the Canada infrastructure program could help.

Seniors Month

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to inform the House that June is seniors month.

Seniors month offers an opportunity for Canadians to acknowledge the contributions seniors make to their families, their communities, and to society at large. It is also a time to reflect on the diversity of Canada's seniors.

The majority of seniors are healthy, physically and mentally active, involved in their communities, and are very satisfied with their lives. There are, however, seniors who are frail, who need support for daily living, or live in situations that put them at risk for depression, loneliness, and dependence. These seniors, who are most vulnerable for social, health, or economic reasons, need to know that our society will support them in their efforts to remain independent and contributing members of society.

As Canada is experiencing a dramatic growth in elders, the oldest seniors who require the most care and support are the fastest growing. It is in this context that I invite all Canadians and those seniors of tomorrow and today to take up the challenge-

Party Discipline

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Beaver River has written to me and my Liberal colleagues on the issue of party discipline, but there are some important Reform promises missing from her letter.

The member for Beaver River has forgotten to invite Liberals to support the 130 per cent raise suggested by their party whip. She does not ask for support for the former justice critic removed by the Reform leader because of comments he made. She fails to ask for our support of a Reform suggestion that gun owners should break the law and not register their guns.

The Calgary Herald recently said of Reformers: ``These aren't, as a whole, real cheery, happy people''. Reformers enjoy bad news. They celebrate doom and gloom. However, there was something good to the letter: Liberal colleagues will not have to pay a 1-900 service to respond.

Reproductive Technologies

[Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral, Bloc, Laval Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health is once again looking for excuses to avoid assuming her responsibilities regarding new reproductive technologies.

Indeed, in spite of the promises made by the health minister and the justice minister, the government has still not deemed appropriate to follow up on the recommendations contained in the Baird report. Yet, last May, the health minister stated her intention to table in this House, before the summer recess, temporary measures to prohibit the sale of human embryos and ova, and to also prohibit genetic manipulations for commercial purposes.

However, the now legendary laxness and unconcern of the minister leave Canadian and Quebec women puzzled as regards the government's will to act as quickly as possible. The Minister of Health is once again missing an opportunity to act in a timely manner.

Access To Information

[John Williams, Reform, St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on April 26 my office submitted access to information requests to 21 federal departments. The law requires the response to an access to information request within 30 days. Fifty-five days later, my office has only received five responses to our requests. This is barely a 20 per cent success rate.

In the red book the Liberals promised to do much better than the Conservatives on issues such as openness. The President of the Treasury Board himself has promised to initiate changes in the public service culture in order that items such as access to

information requests are not stonewalled. However, the annual report of the information commissioner has proven that the Liberals use words such as "openness" and "transparency" but they do not abide by the meaning of these words.

The result: Canadians are left with another in the long list of Liberal broken promises.

Integrity

[Vic Althouse, NDP, Mackenzie, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in spite of red book promises to move our political leaders away from questionable behaviour and arrogance, arrogant political leaders are not a thing of the past, unhappily.

Case in point number one: Minister of Transport decides MPs are not qualified to review a restructured deal to automate the air traffic control system. Apparently the bureaucrats, who more than doubled the original cost of the program, are qualified.

Case in point number two: Minister of Agriculture tells the health committee that it does not know what it is doing when it recommends continuing the moratorium on the use of recombinant BST in milking herds due to consumer resistance and concerns about legal liabilities and so on.

Case in point number three: The Prime Minister says integrity and trust are needed in Canada. He tells western Canadians prior to the election that he will protect the Crow benefit better than the Conservatives. Instead of a Conservative cut of 10 per cent, he cuts it 100 per cent.

That is integrity, that is honesty. That is ridiculous.

Access To Information

[Réginald Bélair, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the key element of transparency and openness in government is the public release of information. I rise today to recognize steps taken by this administration to make the government more open and accessible.

One of our key moves toward openness was to set new guidelines on advertising and public opinion research introduced by the Minister of Public Works last May. These ensure that results of public opinion research studies commissioned by the federal government are now accessible to all Canadians through the Library of Parliament and the National Library of Canada.

Under this government Canadians no longer need to go through access to information to get this information. On June 1, 1994 the Minister of Public Works released approximately 200 reports covering past opinion research studies dating back to 1987.

Indeed, this government is delivering on its promises.

Sunshine Foundation Of Canada

[Joe Comuzzi, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Nipigon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Sunshine Foundation of Canada makes dreams come true for special children who are challenged in Canada by severe physical disabilities or life threatening illnesses.

The Sunshine Foundation is privately funded, it is run by dedicated volunteers, its staff is the happiest I have ever seen, and it does marvellous work.

Tomorrow, on June 21, the sunshiners embark on a three-month caravan across Canada, starting in St. John's, Newfoundland, and ending in Vancouver, British Columbia, on September 21. Each community visited will have crowned a special child who will be selected as that Sunshine Foundation ambassador in that community.

It is symbolic that the Sunshine highway of dreams starts in the east where the sun rises and finishes in the west where the sun sets. In this long day of sunshine, the only goal of the foundation is to fulfil the dreams of Canada's very special children.

I invite you, Mr. Speaker, when they are in Ottawa and in St. Catharines, to attend when the caravan comes to those localities. And I invite all my colleagues and members of the House of Commons to attend when it comes to their communities.

Algoma

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

Mr. Speaker, the summer recess is just days away. Along with the students, teachers, and parents from Massey Public School in the gallery today, I want to take this opportunity to invite all members of the House to visit the beautiful riding of Algoma during the next few months.

Located in northern Ontario, in the northern area of Lake Huron, Algoma riding offers a wide variety of recreational and tourism opportunities, which will interest all kinds of visitors. Whether you enjoy fishing, boating, canoeing, biking, sightseeing, camping, or hiking, there is something for everyone in Algoma.

Cruise the North Channel waterway along the north shore of Lake Huron from Sault Ste. Marie and St. Joseph Island in the west to Manitoulin Island and Killarney in the east. Stop along the way in the many communities with docking facilities and services for pleasure boaters. There are festivals and fairs, pow-wows and people for all to appreciate.

On behalf of the over 50 municipalities and 15 First Nation communities of Algoma riding, I invite all hon. members to

spend some time in our beautiful area during the summer months and experience Algoma's warm hospitality firsthand.

Pcb Exports

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, questioned by the Bloc Quebecois, the Minister of the Environment stated that officials of her department had defended Canada's position on PCB exports before an American panel, but on checking, this could not be ascertained.

Cornered, the Deputy Prime Minister went on to state yesterday that she had written to the chief administrative officer of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Carol Browner. However, according to the chief of operations in charge of relations between the agency and the Canadian government, no letter was ever received for Mrs. Browner. Either the EPA does not pay much attention to letters from the minister and misplaces them or, contrary to what she said, the minister never sent the letter in question.

The Bloc Quebecois defies the minister to produce within the hour the letter she claims to have sent before June 9.

Income Tax

[Jim Silye, Reform, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has shown its true colours, confirming its position that stay at home parents are second class citizens in Canada.

In response to an Alberta government proposal for tax relief for stay at home families, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance answered no, stating that the aim of the tax system is to help people work, not stay at home. What an insult. This member obviously fails to recognize the contributions made by stay at home parents, who make both personal and professional sacrifices to raise their children.

The government is continuing with the policy that parents who choose to stay at home are second class citizens and contribute nothing to society. What hypocrisy. What a total lack of understanding. What a total lack of vision.

Reformers offered the Liberals a tax deduction for stay at home parents and they turned us down. The Alberta government has just offered the Liberals a tax credit for stay at home parents and they turned it down too.

The question that begs to be asked is what, if anything, have the Liberals turned up to recognize the plight of stay at home parents?

Studies On Sovereignty Of Quebec

[Nick Discepola, Liberal, Vaudreuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec minister responsible for restructuring has not kept his word. On March 19, 1995, on the RDI show "Point de presse", he announced his plans concerning the release of his 40 studies on separation.

He said basically the following: "We were quite clear on the scheduling. The time frame was between March 15 and mid-June, approximately. The studies were released on March 13, so we met our deadline. I have no reason to believe at this time that we will not remain on schedule."

This is June 20, yet only eight of the propaganda minister's 40 costly studies have been released to date. Are we to understand that this costly partisan exercise is not producing the desired results and that this is why the minister is taking so long to publish the rest of the studies?

Nunatsiaq

[Jack Iyerak Anawak, Liberal, Nunatsiaq, NT]

This past weekend the Prime Minister and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl were in my riding of Nunatsiaq to visit three beautiful communities: Iqaluit, Cape Dorset and Pangnirtung.

A warm and gracious welcome was extended to the Prime Minister and Chancellor Kohl by both young and old. The chancellor purchased local carvings and he saw firsthand that fur and hunting were integral parts of the Inuit traditional lifestyle and culture. He has returned home with a better understanding of how closely we are tied to the land.

I thank Chancellor Kohl for his interest in the north and its people. I thank as well the Prime Minister for defending the fur economy and supporting our northern way of life. I also thank my constituents for extending true northern hospitality to our distinguished guests.

Referendum On Quebec Sovereignty

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs announced a new strategy for Ottawa as the referendum approaches. He said, and I quote: "There is no doubt that the

Parti Quebecois constitutes a threat to the country. And when there is a threat to the country's unity, you have to spend money to understand and respond to that threat".

My question is directed to the Deputy Prime Minister. Does this sudden change in her government's strategy mean that the federal government is about to do what it did in 1980: spend millions of dollars and thus ignore the limits set by the Quebec referendum act?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we said before, we intend to respect the spirit of the referendum act. There is certainly no doubt about that.

The referendum campaign has yet to begin, and I must say there are some very clear signs, because I have here a list of referendum-related expenditures by the Parti Quebecois, including, for instance, what they sent in the way of propaganda to every household in Quebec, which cost $1.5 million; the advertising campaign targeted to cultural communities, which cost $1.2 million; and the commissions on the future of Quebec, which cost $7.5 million.

Since the Government of Quebec used taxpayers money to make these pre-referendum expenditures, it should look at the beam in its own eye instead of the mote in ours.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the minister told us that he was unable to estimate the cost of the referendum operation, an indication that the federal government has exceeded its spending limit. We have some concerns about the implications of the terms used yesterday by the minister, when he stigmatized the Parti Quebecois as a threat to Canada.

Since when can a country that calls itself a democracy be threatened by a party that was founded according to democratic rules and which intends to achieve its goal by purely democratic means?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I said the Parti Quebecois was a threat to the unity of the country, and I repeat that the Parti Quebecois and the Bloc Quebecois are a threat to the unity of the country.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[Marcel Massé, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

It is clear that when a party is elected by democratic means and its purpose is to separate, that party is a clear threat to the unity of the country. As the people responsible for the unity of the country, it is our duty to explain what our country is about, to defend it and to take all necessary steps to show people the advantages of federalism, since both in Quebec and here in Ottawa, we have a party that is trying to show only the disadvantages.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I may refer the minister to what he said yesterday: "The Parti Quebecois constitutes a threat to the country". Second, what he just said is not at all reassuring, since he tells us this government has a duty to take all necessary steps, which says it all.

Since the minister considers the Parti Quebecois to be a threat to Canada, I wonder whether he could tell us whether his intelligence service, CSIS, shares that opinion and, since CSIS is the department's intelligence branch, whether CSIS intends to treat the Government of Quebec as a threat and put the Quebec government's ministers under special surveillance?

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

Mr. Speaker, I see the Leader of the Opposition is again trying to twist the meaning of what I said, although I made it quite clear that the Parti Quebecois and the Bloc Quebecois were a threat to the unity of the country. In this country, the vast majority of Canadians want to keep the country together, and in Quebec, more than 60 per cent of the population wants to keep Quebec as it is. In a democratic system, we have every right to defend the will of the vast majority of voters who do not want separation and want to stay in Canada.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has a short memory. The latest federal poll gave 54 per cent to the sovereignists in Quebec.