Debates of June 20th, 1995

Crtc

[John Manley, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member made extreme allegations concerning the respect for process. I refer her to sections 7 and 8 of the Broadcasting Act. If she can identify in those provisions anywhere the government has failed to follow the provisions of the act, I would like to hear from her about that. In the meantime I would also like to hear from her as to the position of her party on the report the expert panel made to us with respect to satellite broadcasting in Canada.

We know the senior political adviser to the leader of the Reform Party has already admitted he has been retained by the Expressvu consortium. We would like to know what role he has played in deciding Reform Party policy on this issue?

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we are focusing on this draft of final cabinet orders. That is the focus of the question.

Keith Spicer's office at the CRTC today confirmed the orders it received were the final orders.

The minister cannot hide behind the Broadcasting Act on this one. What we have here is yet another example of how the government and this minister are wishing to push aside Parliament, ethical standards and the ethics counsellor in order to further their own political agenda and benefit their own political friends.

Why is the minister fast tracking this directive and ignoring the parliamentary and Senate committees which he initially asked to review the directives?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Frankly, Mr. Speaker, the ethical question here is why the member persists on standing in the House and making false accusations. That is an ethical question.

The real question is where that party stands. We set in place the process. The process has been transparent and is provided for in the Broadcasting Act. We have followed it entirely, completely, openly and honestly.

This is not a draft final order if such a hybrid thing could exist. This is simply a process of consultation with the CRTC. We will follow it to its conclusion. There is no final order until cabinet makes a final order.

I can assure the hon. member that will only occur after the 40 days have been completed. If she has one, single, solitary, substantive suggestion I would be delighted to hear it.

Amateur Sport

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to try and ask the Minister of Cultural Heritage a question and I hope I will get an answer from him.

The Canadian Sport and Fitness Administration Centre has indicated in its report that it was unable to publish a French version of the summer edition of its guide to Canadian sports because of a cut in funding.

This was the justification given by the paragovernmental organization for publishing its guide in English only. I would point out too that Biathlon Canada did the same thing recently when it invited athletes to a training camp by letter in English only.

How can the Minister allow an organization subsidized by his department to so openly defy the provisions of the Official Languages Act?

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the opportunity to express my viewpoint on the very important issue he raised.

We have guidelines on awarding funds to sports and other types of organizations. They require the recipients to provide

documents on activities, projects and programs intended to inform the public in both official languages.

These are important guidelines and I intend to apply them. My office has already been in contact with the organization in question to tell it about my concern and the possible consequences of its action.

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, is the minister sincerely aware that this incident is symptomatic of a much deeper malaise: Canadian amateur sports organizations have only one official language, and it is English. This situation penalizes athletes from Quebec.

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, we definitely intend to have Canada's official languages respected. I therefore consider this an important matter and one we will act on.

Justice

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the failure of the justice minister to face serious problems within the justice system is readily known by all Canadians. The fact that the justice minister is not capable of quickly solving problems that could cause violent law breakers to go free is legend.

The issue of the legitimacy of a court ordered DNA test that identified a positive match to DNA found when Tara Manning was raped, smothered and stabbed 47 times is still at question.

Will the justice minister do something immediately to legitimize court ordered DNA tests so Tara Manning's family can see justice being done?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the case to which the hon. member refers is before the courts. I think it is inappropriate for him and certainly for me to comment on it and I will not.

Let me address that part of the hon. member's question which is related to the policy issue of DNA testing. As the hon. member knows, we have said for some months that we have the intention of introducing amendments to the Criminal Code to provide for just such testing. Last September we produced an options paper and examined the question very closely.

It is our intention to introduce legislation to provide for DNA testing in the Criminal Code.

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Tara Manning has been dead since May 1994. We are prepared to pass legislation submitted by the minister for DNA testing immediately.

If the minister does nothing and the DNA evidence identifying the positive match is not admissible in court, will the justice minister accept personal responsibility for allowing a murderer to go free?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, a search warrant was obtained in that case. I do not think the hon. member should discuss that particular case. No one is suggesting that procedures already invoked in the code are not capable of producing admissible evidence.

On the question which the hon. member asks, I can tell him that the government is quite prepared to introduce legislation before the end of the session at the end of this week. If the hon. member is prepared to co-operate and the other parties are as well, I would be happy to discuss with hon. members opposite later this afternoon circumstances under which such legislation could be introduced before the end of the week for the purpose of adding DNA testing to the Criminal Code.

Canadian Film Distributors

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister for International Trade. On February 14, the President of the Motion Picture Association of America, Jack Valenti, wrote a letter to the Minister for International Trade in which he called into question the policy of Canadian programs and agencies favouring Canadian film distributors.

How can the Minister for International Trade guarantee that his discussions with the American majors will not, even to a small extent, lead to a loss of control over Canada's distribution system?

[Roy MacLaren, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I do not have in mind the correspondence to which the hon. member refers. I will be glad to look into it and respond to her, but I do not know to what she refers.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage this time. How can the Minister of Canadian Heritage explain that his colleague from international trade is the government's spokesperson regarding film distribution in Canada, even though culture is the cornerstone of his department?

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that the question hardly merits a reply, because the preamble would suggest that responsibility for the Minister of Canadian Heritage was in the Minister for

International Trade's hands. The Minister of Canadian Heritage is responsible for all aspects of our cultural industries.

Employment

[Colleen Beaumier, Liberal, Brampton, ON]

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

Last week Nortel announced the elimination of 580 positions at its Brampton plant, bringing the total number of jobs lost since 1994 to 1,300. Meanwhile Nortel has continued to expand its global operations, most notably in China, where it will add 3,000 manufacturing jobs over the next three years.

How can the minister justify to Canadians that while he is trying to support job creation in Canada, the government is helping Nortel directly through export programs and indirectly through export credits to China to finance job creation abroad at the expense of Canadian jobs?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure members share the hon. member's concern for the individuals in her constituency who have been impacted by this decision by Nortel and have lost their jobs. It is always an unfortunate consequence when corporations take decisions with respect to restructuring.

I would like to point out that there is some good news both for Bramalea in this decision where the Nortel is consolidating its head office functions. It will operate as the international head office for the corporation as well as for Brockville, Ontario where 400 new manufacturing jobs have been created.

On the broader question, I would like to point out this important fact so we understand exactly where our future lies in building international trade. Nortel's sales to Canadian customers have declined by 45 per cent since 1990. At the same time, its export sales are up from $784 million to $2.6 billion and Canadian manufacturing jobs have increased by over 1,000 in that time.

Export sales are the way we are going to succeed in the future.

Immigration

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration why he is ignoring the Immigration Act by issuing minister's permits to people who were refused entry to Canada.

This is no drop in the bucket. There were 7,000 last year. Among them were 11 who had been previously deported from Canada. First they are out and then the minister lets them back in.

What is the point of deporting people if the minister is just going to sneak them in again through the back door? Why has he kept this all a secret until now?

[Sergio Marchi, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, when the report of ministerial permits is tabled in the House of Commons, I am not sure that is keeping anything a secret. Obviously he was asleep at the switch.

Second, the member failed to mention that out of the 7,000 ministerial permits only 141 were directed by this minister. He failed to mentioned that he and members of his party regularly approach me to ask for the issuance of ministerial permits for individuals who they think merit them.

The member failed to mention that ministerial permits have been used more judiciously. In 1990, 19,000 ministerial permits were issued. Last year at my direction that number fell to 7,000. The member has to be honest with the Canadian public and talk about the reasons why ministerial permits are used.

The majority of the exceptions are made for individuals who come to Canadian hospitals, pay for their medical treatment and leave. Some are for individuals on behalf of whom members have lobbied for family reunification. Some are for individuals who are not criminals but who may have a criminal record for a minor theft when they were 18. They have had a probation period of 10 years and need a ministerial permit to get into the country for the purposes of family reunification.

They are trying to paint an ugly picture that does not exist.

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this minister refuses to use his authority to deport criminals but is not afraid to use his power to let them in. That is incredible.

Yesterday CTV reported that Canada is home to several confessed former members of death squads and the immigration department has been fully aware of their presence for almost 10 years.

Did the minister have personal knowledge of the presence of these death squad members? Is he going to give them minister's permits so that they can stay forever too?

[Sergio Marchi, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, he talks about the 11 cases of individuals who were deported. We deported over 6,000 people last year.

The 11 cases happen to be, for example, individuals who failed refugee claims, left the country, subsequently married a Canadian and the Canadian has the right to sponsor the person in.

In other cases, people have overstayed their visits, then given a departure notice that turned into a deportation, left the country and then subsequently asked to come in on either a temporary basis or permanently.

There were 11 cases of that type versus 6,000 individuals we have deported and this member wants to base the record of deportation on those 11 exceptions.

With respect to the four cases from Honduras, the difficulty is those individuals came to Canada during the mid-1980s. It was not until the late eighties and early nineties that information about potential war criminal activity came to light. All four are being investigated by the RCMP. All four are being pursued by my department. One will come to an inquiry with respect to deportation so there will not be any minister's permit.

Singer Company

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development.

From 1946 to 1964, the federal government was a trustee of the pension fund set up for ex-employees of Singer. As trustee, the government paid into the account of the employer, the Singer Company, a total of $714,900 in 1964, which is the equivalent of $5 million in today's dollars.

Does the minister admit that the federal government, which was looking after the pension fund established for ex-employees of Singer, was a party to the terrible injustice done to them by unduly paying pension fund returns to the employer rather than the workers?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development and Minister of Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, I share the hon. member's concern about the ex-employees of Singer.

However, I remind him that the Quebec Superior Court has already ruled the federal government is not a party to this particular transaction. The matter is presently being seized by the court. We expect to have a further ruling some time this summer and early fall. Therefore it is not appropriate for me to make a comment on the specific case until the courts have had an opportunity to dispense with it in their normal good judgment.

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the case now before the courts has to do with Quebec pensions. The question I am asking the minister relates to government annuities, for which he is responsible.

Can the minister confirm to us that his government has in its hands the legal opinions requested by his own department, which clearly recognize his responsibility and his mistake in the matter concerning the ex-employees of Singer?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development and Minister of Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised at the hon. member's question. On May 2 I wrote to the hon. member and indicated to him very clearly that if he or the ex-employees had any information concerning federal involvement they would like to present, I would be very pleased to receive it and review the case. I have yet to hear from the hon. member.