Debates of Oct. 22nd, 1996

Tobacco Addiction

[Jim Silye, Reform, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a national neighbourhood tobacco recovery network has taken root and is growing in communities across this country.

This network is dedicated to helping smokers recover from tobacco addiction with a proven track record of providing low cost effective products and services to smokers who wish to break free.

The network is driven by smokers helping smokers and has the support of health professionals all across Canada. But, however, nevertheless, this non-institutional, non-bureaucratic, community anchored response to the number one threat to the health of Canadians requires and could use the assistance of Health Canada.

In the next federal budget, why not invest or commit a few pennies or two per pack and support this non-profit national organization to help the five million Canadians who want to quit or recover from tobacco addiction and break the chain of infection

from one generation to the next? By funding a recovery group in every province, the government would help reduce the number one drain or cost on our shrinking health budget and perhaps save taxpayers money in the long run.

Unemployment

[Jag Bhaduria, Liberal, Markham—Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister continues to play games about the number of jobs his government has created, the true number of Canadians without jobs is startling. The jobless rate in Canada is presently at an unacceptable 10 per cent level. This means that more than 1.5 million Canadians do not have jobs. It does not include the thousands and thousands of Canadians who have given up looking for work.

Many of these individuals are well educated but face a bleak future with no employment opportunities on the horizon. When we include over 300,000 young people who have given up looking for work, the statistics are even more astonishing.

These Canadians will not forget the many promises made by this Prime Minister three short years ago. They were promised jobs. The hard fact is that they are still waiting. How long will 1.6 million unemployed Canadians have to wait to support their families?

Emissions Trading

[Charles Caccia, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the idea of emissions trading is old hat which, if adopted, would allow a company to pollute by purchasing a tradable permit. In other words, emissions trading is a licence to pollute, allowing dirty industries to buy pollution permits from cleaner industries and continue to pollute unabated.

Emissions trading runs counter to the government's commitment to pollution prevention announced in "A Guide to Green Government" signed by each and every cabinet minister in 1995.

Pollution prevention means energy efficiency and minimal waste in the use of materials rather than costly clean-ups after the fact. This is the goal we should be striving for instead of surrendering to the old idea of emissions trading which accepts pollution as an inevitable cost of doing business.

Canada Community Investment Plan

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, earlier today the Minister of Industry announced that Canada's technology triangle, comprised of the municipalities of Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener and Waterloo, is one of 11 successful communities that will participate in the new Canada community investment plan.

The CCIP is an innovative program to facilitate access to equity capital for smaller firms with potential for growth. Under the CCIP the federal government partners with eligible communities to help their businesses grow so that they can create jobs and economic growth. Industry Canada will contribute two-thirds of the cost, up to a maximum of $600,000 per community over five years. The remaining third will come from the community.

The project will add economic vitality to Canada's technology triangle. That is part of the new economy, an economy where traditional industries modernize and new information and environmentally based industries are growing. It means more jobs and more research and development for the people in Canada's technology triangle.

Starlab

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in Halifax West our government is fulfilling its commitment to youth and technology by funding an innovative project.

Recently I had the pleasure of attending the launching of Starlab, a cutting edge teaching tool. For school children, this mobile planetarium generates interest in the sciences by changing the focus from lecturing to experiencing. This was made possible by funding from ACOA and InNOVAcorp.

Two priorities of the industry portfolio are: developing youth and enhancing technology. Starlab does both.

The $20,000 in federal funding for Starlab is an investment in Canada's future and evidence of our government's commitment to youth and technology.

East Timor

[Maud Debien, Bloc, Laval East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for over 20 years, the international opinion has ignored the East Timor tragedy.

Since this former Portuguese colony was violently annexed by Indonesia, over a quarter of the 600,000 Timorese may have died. No one can ignore this genocide, or the Indonesian authorities' policy of reducing native populations, notably by forcibly sterilizing young Timorese women.

Last week, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to Jose Ramos-Horta and Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo for their sustained efforts to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict in East Timor.

By giving them the Nobel Prize, the international community is paying tribute to and greatly encouraging these resistance workers.

The Bloc Quebecois condemns the invasion of East Timor by Indonesia and calls for the withdrawal of Indonesian forces. We urge the Liberal government to do the same.

The Senate

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this past week the Reform Party presented its fresh start platform. Our proposal includes reforming federal institutions to make them more accountable, including the creation of a triple E Senate. All future appointments to the Senate would be made by means of elections based on the model of the 1989 Alberta Senate selection process.

On October 16, 1989 Stan Waters made Canadian history twice. He was the first elected senator in Canada and he was the first Reform Party member to sit in the Senate. In fact, Senator Waters was elected by more than 148,000 Albertans. Senator Waters had a most distinguished career in the Canadian military and went on to become a prominent Calgary businessman and was a founding member of the Reform Party.

On the anniversary of the election of the first and only elected member of the other place, Reform Senator Stan Waters, I would like to pay special tribute to the senator. His short senatorial career was a tremendous achievement for democracy in this country and one which the Reform Party is determined to see continued in a triple E Senate.

Child Poverty

[Réjean Lefebvre, Bloc, Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on November 24, 1989, the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion to eliminate poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000.

During that debate, the foreign affairs minister of the day stated, and I quote: "A day does not go by in this House of Commons when we do not hear ministers of the Conservative regime talk about the deficit. [-]I never heard the Minister of Finance talk about the real deficit in this country, which is those one million kids in poverty. [-]When you have a million children living in poverty, that is the greatest lack of investment. That is the greatest deficit we face".

In 1989, when this speech was made, there were one million poor children in Canada. Today, there are 1,362,000.

When will the government act on this motion passed in 1989?

Computers For Schools

[Guy Arseneault, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in this House today to mark the first national computers for schools day.

This initiative, which brings together volunteers, companies and governments, will provide surplus computer equipment and software to public schools and libraries across Canada. Through this unique program, Canadian schoolchildren will be able to develop the skills necessary to meet job market requirements.

There is a fly in the ointment, however, regarding this program to equip schools with computers: Quebec schoolchildren will not be able to take advantage of the program, as the PQ government has refused to take part in it. Faced with the prospect of $700 million in cuts in the area of education, how can the Government of Quebec afford not to join in this partnership, thereby depriving young Quebecers of a privileged access to computer resources?

Referendum Prise Deux/Take 2

[Nick Discepola, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, in La Presse this morning, Mario Fontaine wrote that 23 filmmakers were involved in the making of the movie ``Référendum Prise deux/Take 2''.

The text contains a major inaccuracy, which we feel the need to correct. Referring to the non-partisan nature of the movie, the journalist made the following comment:

Everyone is given equal speaking time, except perhaps for francophones favouring a no vote, a choice advocated almost exclusively by anglophones and new Canadians.

This interpretation is mistaken and gives the impression, wrongly, that all francophones in Quebec were on the yes side. To represent the referendum in such a way is to distort reality, given that the no vote of 50.6 per cent largely exceeds the proportion of anglophones and new Canadians living in Quebec.

Construction Technology For Women

[Jean Augustine, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, during Women's History Month we reflect on our history to determine our progress and our future. Earlier this month I was pleased to be part of the launch of a Youth Internship Canada

initiative that will give young women from across Canada an opportunity to stake a claim to Canada's high tech future.

The three year construction technology for women demonstration project will provide 260 Canadian female high school students with the chance to explore the rapidly expanding field of construction technology. It will bring together industry, labour, educators and government and is designed to provide young women with the knowledge, skills and confidence to pursue careers in largely male dominated fields.

With women currently making up less than 1 per cent of the workforce in trades, technology and blue collar operations, this excellent project will help steer young women to further studies in engineering, architecture, urban and land use planning, surveying, energy conservation retrofit, building trades, communications networks and computer design.

Advertising Contracts

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, before this government took office, advertising agencies had to be 51 per cent Canadian-owned in order to get contracts from the federal government.

However, the government changed this rule and now requires these firms to be 100 per cent Canadian-owned to get federal contracts. This change clearly benefits BCP, which, incidentally, was in charge of the publicity for the Prime Minister's leadership campaign, for the Liberals' 1993 election campaign, and for the No committee at the last referendum.

Will the Minister of Public Works confirm that BCP gets almost all federal advertising contracts in Quebec, for a total of $35 million?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, we deal with all kinds of companies. We have very strict rules and we follow them.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, indeed it would have been surprising to hear the minister say that the government does not follow the rules. I am pleased to see that she is following the rules, but these rules have been changed by the government.

Will the minister admit that the government's decision to change the rules governing the award of advertising contracts has made it almost impossible for other advertising companies to get contracts from the federal government?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, when we set rules, it is for a reason. It goes without saying that if conditions change, we are prepared to review the situation and change our way of doing things. We are prepared to do so.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we learn more bit by bit. First, the minister tells us the government follows the rules and then she points out that these rules exist for a reason. We are making progress.

From these two highly intellectual statements, will the minister admit that, even though BCP has been bought out by the French agency Publicis and is no longer a 100 per cent Canadian-owned company, as the rule supposedly requires, it still gets $35 million in advertising contracts from the federal government?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, we have a competitive process and contracts for publicity are given out following this very open process. There are certain rules. The rules are established and we follow them. That being said, nothing prevents us from looking at the way the rules are set up to ensure that there continues to be as much competition as possible for Canadian companies.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is also to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

As we all know, advertising contracts are not awarded to the lowest bidder, but to the firm that is the most creative, which is a good idea. After being sold to foreign interests, BCP Canada is a mere shadow of what it was when it obtained the government contracts. The company that received the contracts had more than 200 employees, whereas this company has barely 20.

How can the public works minister justify maintaining the contracts awarded to BCP Canada before this company was sold to Publicis since, today, BCP Canada is just a small foreign subsidiary disguised as a Canadian company?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, so long as companies qualify as Canadian companies, they can continue to work for the government until the end of their contract. We see no reason to change what has been done before.

As you know, when new contracts have to be awarded, there will certainly be an open process, and we will study that process to make sure it is equitable.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister said she was ready to change the process if necessary.

What is she waiting for to put an end to the 100 per cent Canadian ownership rule and to go back to a public tender process involving all companies that have majority Canadian ownership, the real ones this time, as the other advertising firms in Quebec are asking her to do? What is she waiting for to put an end to patronage?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, as I explained earlier, it is obvious that we want to encourage competition in the advertising industry and we will certainly continue to study the rules to achieve that goal.

Employment

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister never tires of telling the House that the government has deficit targets, but the finance minister fails to provide targets when it comes to the government's number one promise of jobs, jobs, jobs.

Under the Liberals we have 1.4 million unemployed, we have one-half million to one million people who have dropped through the cracks, we have youth unemployment in excess of 18 per cent, two million to three million underemployed and one out of four Canadians fearful for their jobs.

The government says it believes in measurable targets. What are the government's targets for reducing the numbers of unemployed and underemployed?

[Doug Peters, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have said time and time again, job creation is the government's number one priority.

We do not have a set target for jobs. Does the Reform Party have a target for jobs? No it does not. It has just found out that there is a need for jobs in this country. It is the first time we have heard about jobs from the Reform Party.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the secretary says that the government has no targets for jobs. The reason that it does not have targets is because it cannot meet them in the first place. Big government, big spending and high taxes kill jobs. The best way to create jobs is to lower taxes by making government smaller.

When will the government give the House some firm targets for reducing the numbers of unemployed and underemployed in this country?

[Doug Peters, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, to quote a statement of the Reform Party, it is the private sector that creates jobs.

Do Reform Party members not believe that? Why are they asking us for targets when it is the private sector that should be targeting job creation?