Debates of Nov. 18th, 1996

Committees Of The House

[Andy Mitchell, Liberal, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources entitled "Streamlining Environmental Regulation for Mining: Final Report", an interim report having been tabled in December 1995.

The report reiterates the government's commitment to protection of the environment and suggests a number of initiatives to encourage mining investment through greater regulatory clarity, certainty and efficiency.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response thereto within 150 days.

User Fee Act

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-349, an act to provide for parliamentary scrutiny and approval of user fees set by federal authority and to require public disclosure of the amount collected as user fees.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to introduce my private member's bill, the user fee act. In the last 10 years user fees have doubled in the amount the government collects.

Many people are concerned that in the last several years as the public service has come under increased scrutiny, many government agencies are using their abilities to increase user fees to become profit centres for the government. In doing that they avoid being chopped. This is a big concern of many people and myself.

In the 1993 auditor general's report it is stated: "We are concerned that Parliament cannot readily scrutinize the user fees established by contracts and other non-regulatory means. There does not exist a government-wide summary of the fees being charged, the revenues raised and the authorities under which they are established".

Probably the best example of how user pay without user say has gone awry is the case of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency. Its budget has gone from $14.2 million in 1994 to $34 million in 1996, chiefly because there has not been parliamentary scrutiny of what is going on in bodies like this.

I would urge my fellow colleagues to read the legislation and if they have questions to contact me and hopefully they will ultimately support it.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

Petitions

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today.

The first is from Saint John, New Brunswick. The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that police and firefighters place their lives at risk on a daily basis as they serve the emergency needs of all Canadians.

They also state that in many cases the families are left without sufficient financial means to meet their obligations.

The petitioners therefore pray and call on Parliament to establish a public safety officers compensation fund to receive gifts and bequests for the benefit of families of police officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition comes from Oshawa, Ontario.

The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that managing the family home and caring for preschool children is an honourable profession which has not been recognized for its value to our society.

The petitioners therefore pray and call on Parliament to pursue initiatives to assist families that choose to provide care in the home for preschool children, the chronically ill, the aged of the disabled.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the final petition comes from Mount Albert, Ontario.

The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that the consumption of alcoholic beverages may cause health problems or impair one's ability, and specifically, that fetal alcohol syndrome or other alcohol related birth defects are 100 per cent preventable by avoiding alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

The petitioners therefore pray and call on Parliament to enact legislation to require health warning labels to be placed on the containers of all alcoholic beverages to caution expectant mothers and others of the risks associated with alcohol consumption.

[Bill Gilmour, Reform, Comox—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to present the following petition from my constituents of Comox-Alberni.

There are 4,028 signatures here for a total of 5,528 signatures of petitioners from my riding. That represents 10 per cent of the voters in my riding, a significant number.

The petitioners request that Parliament allow Canadian citizens to vote directly in a national binding referendum on the restoration of the death penalty for first degree murder.

[Gary Pillitteri, Liberal, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise pursuant to Standing Order 36 to present a petition that has been certified correct in form and content.

The petitioners, residents of Niagara Falls and the Niagara peninsula, are calling on Parliament to urge the federal government to join with the provincial government to make the operation of a national highway system possible.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by more than 1,700 citizens of Peterborough county, mainly residents of the townships of Belmont-Methuen and Asphodel and the villages of Havelock and Norwood.

These are quite isolated communities which tend to fall between the cracks in terms of police and telephone services. A pedophile was recently released into one of these communities.

The petitions ask that the legislation be changed so that repeat sex offenders are never released from any correctional facility. Changing the legislation would prevent a repeat offender from moving into any neighbourhood.

I urge the government to move forward with Bill C-55.

[Daphne Jennings, Reform, Mission—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two petitions.

The first one is that the petitioners are concerned about the 7 per cent GST, that it is an unjust taxation of reading materials. They urge all levels of government to demonstrate their support of education and literacy by eliminating the sales tax from reading materials. That is from petitioners in British Columbia.

[Daphne Jennings, Reform, Mission—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is pursuant to Standing Order 36. It asks Parliament to proceed immediately with amendments to the Criminal Code that will ensure that the sentence given to anyone convicted of causing death by driving while impaired carries a minimum sentence of seven years and a maximum of 14 years as outlined in the private member's Bill C-201 sponsored by the Reform member from Prince George-Bulkley Valley.

[Gordon Kirkby, Liberal, Prince Albert—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, the petition has been certified correct as to form and content.

The petitioners ask and call on Parliament to refrain from implementing a tax on health and dental benefits and to put a hold on any future consideration of such a tax until a complete review of the tax system and how it impacts on the health of Canadians has been undertaken.

[Andy Mitchell, Liberal, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present two petitions today. The first petition deals with a request to Parliament to increase the penalty for drinking and driving.

[Andy Mitchell, Liberal, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition asks Parliament to pass legislation to ensure that no criminal can profit from their criminal activity.

[Paul Zed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from Thunder Bay, Ontario. The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that managing the family home and caring for preschool children is an honourable profession which has not been recognized for its value to our society.

The petitioners therefore pray and call on Parliament to pursue initiatives to assist those who choose to provide care in the home for preschool children, the chronically ill, the aged or the disabled.

Questions On The Order Paper

[Paul Zed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 72 will be answered today.

Question No. 72-

[Lee Morrison, Reform, Swift Current—Maple Creek—Assiniboia, SK]

Regarding the results based reporting using CIDA's program priorities: ( a ) what methodology is used in reporting the results by program priority of CIDA's bilateral disbursements in the 1996-97 main estimates part III, ( b ) how does CIDA decide how much to allocate to each priority, ( c ) how will the results from last year's expenditures affect next year's disbursements, ( d ) how can the 21.4 per cent of bilateral disbursements that went to meeting basic human needs, according to the estimates, be traced back to the actual contributions, service contracts, et cetera in order to utilize lessons learned over the years, and ( e ) why are CIDA's program priorities not applied in the countries in transition program?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for Francophonie]

a) CIDA has set up a system to track disbursements for the six program priorities identified in the government's 1995 policy statement, "Canada in the World." CIDA officers code projects according to these priorities; if a project addresses more than one, percentages of the project according disbursements are allocated to each of the priorities it addresses. At the end of each year, this weighting is used to measure disbursements for each priority. In sum, CIDA is collecting data on the disbursement of aid by priority, at both the branch and agency levels.

A bilateral project performance review system is also being established to assist managers and staff with managing for results, learning from experience and reporting on achievements. Two

components of this new system are a framework of results and key success factors, which will be used to assess project performance, and a set of assessment tools. This new system will also allow CIDA to report on the results of its bilateral activities by program priority.

b) The government has set a target of 25 per cent of official development assistance, ODA, to be channelled to basic human needs. CIDA programming is being monitored to ensure that we continue to make progress toward meeting this target. Allocation targets have not been set for the remaining priorities. Rather, funds are allocated on a geographic basis, with increasing emphasis on selected low income countries. Country and regional programs are being designed or modified in view of CIDA's six program priorities, with consideration to the development needs and priorities of the country or countries involved.

c) Most projects are implemented over a three to five year period. In the shorter term, however, project audits, evaluations, and ongoing monitoring provide feedback which is used to adjust projects where necessary.

d) CIDA codes its projects according to its six program priorities. Monitoring, audits and evaluations are carried out on projects to identify lessons which are related to these priorities. CIDA has also begun a performance review of its programming in basic human needs which will bring together lessons from a wide range of projects and programs.

e) The six program priorities set out in "Canada in the World" apply to the ODA program. ODA is defined by the development assistance committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, as funding transferred "to developing countries and multilateral institutions provided by official (government) agencies-which meets the following tests: (i) it is administered with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as its main objective; and (ii) it is concessional in character and conveys a grant element of at least 25 per cent.

Most of the assistance provided to the countries of central and eastern Europe-countries in transition-is not ODA. Only a few countries in the former Soviet bloc are classified as "developing". It is therefore not subject to the six ODA priorities established by "Canada in the World." Nevertheless, the program integrates many of CIDA's priorities, including governance, human rights and democratic development, the environment and women in development.

It should be noted, that, although responsibility for delivering the program for central and eastern Europe was transferred to CIDA by "Canada in the World", the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade continues to be responsible for its overall policy direction.

[Paul Zed, Liberal, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I would ask that the remaining questions be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Questions Passed As Orders For Returns

[Paul Zed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, if Question No. 39 could be made an order for return, that return would be tabled immediately.

[The Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 39-

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Have there been any government implementations with regard to the recommendations numbered 104 to 110 inclusive, Chapter 13, "The North", from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development's Report "It's About Our Health. Towards Pollution Protection. CEPA Revisited", June 1995?

Return tabled.

Request For Emergency Debate

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 52, I request leave for an emergency debate on the future of Canadian Airlines International.

As you probably know, this company is facing a major crisis. Last Friday, November 15, the board of directors announced that they were all resigning, because they feared they might be held financially responsible in case of a bankruptcy.

These last few years, significant efforts have been made by employees, governments and investors to try and save the company. In 1992, a major $1.6 billion restructuring plan was implemented, which included the conversion of $800 million in debt into capital stock, a $246 million investment from American Airlines, a $200 million contribution by the employees, $120 million in government loans, the buy-back of three Airbus planes by the federal government for some $150 million when their market value was less than half that amount, a $40 million service contract for these three planes, the federal government's commitment to protect Canadian Airlines' monopoly over the most profitable routes in Asia, et cetera.

However, we have to acknowledge that the company still continues to be buried under huge debts, and financial assistance from the federal government will not help the airlines out of this fix. Despite all the favours granted and efforts made by the government, profits still seem out of Canadian Airlines' reach.

The federal government cannot witness this disaster and do nothing. Bankruptcy would mean the loss of more than 16,400 jobs throughout Canada and the transfer of thousands of jobs from Canada to the United States, for instance.

So, consideration of the future of Canadian Airlines International is urgently required. Such an emergency debate would emphasize the opportunities provided to both Canadian and Quebec parliamentarians and make public the government guidelines in order to avoid a major upheaval in the Canadian air transport industry.

I therefore ask, Mr. Speaker, that you consider favourably my request for an emergency debate.