House of Commons Hansard #119 of the 35th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was agriculture.

Topics

Aboriginal AffairsStatements By Members

December 12th, 1996 / 2:05 p.m.

NDP

Audrey McLaughlin NDP Yukon, YT

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have heard a lot this week about the Prime Minister's broken promises. The Prime Minister broke his promise to Canadians on the GST, on jobs, on the CBC and on many other issues. Some Canadians even say he lied, but today he went well beyond broken promises-

Aboriginal AffairsStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

The Speaker

My colleague, we had a similar situation yesterday. We cannot say through someone else's words what we ourselves cannot say in this House. I judge that word to be unparliamentary and I would ask the hon. member to withdraw it forthwith.

Aboriginal AffairsStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

NDP

Audrey McLaughlin NDP Yukon, YT

Yes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

Aboriginal AffairsStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Some hon. members

Withdraw.

Aboriginal AffairsStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

The Speaker

I would ask the hon. member to withdraw the word.

Aboriginal AffairsStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

NDP

Audrey McLaughlin NDP Yukon, YT

I am sorry, Mr. Speaker. Of course I withdraw the word.

Today the Prime Minister is breaking not just a promise but a fundamental trust with aboriginal people in this country.

In 1969 he tried to assimilate aboriginal people with the recommendations of the white paper report. Now, 27 years later, changes are being introduced to the Indian Act which are not accepted by the First Nations of this country. Five hundred and eighty out of six hundred and thirty-three chiefs and councils say they were not consulted about this process.

Following the report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples which came out just days ago, it is time for the government to finally listen to aboriginal people, to consult aboriginal people, and not to make unilateral changes to the Indian Act.

Aboriginal people are asking for a new relationship with Canada. Let us see the Prime Minister keep his promise this time.

Cable TvStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON

Mr. Speaker, following a CRTC decision, it seems that two French television stations in the national capital, CHOT and CFGS, will be moved

from their present location, channels 5 and 10, to less advantageous positions on the cable grid.

Two English channels, one from Pembroke and the other from Hamilton, will take their place, to the great displeasure of some 10,000 francophones of the region.

Moreover, two American networks, NBC and CBS, channels 9 and 13 respectively, will not be affected at all by this change and will stay in the channel 2 to 13 range. In my opinion, this is intolerable. Consequently, the CRTC rules should be changed to give priority to Canadian francophone and anglophone stations.

In conclusion, I invite Rogers, the cable company, known to be sensitive to the French presence in the region, to do everything in its power to prevent this from happening.

Donovan BaileyStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Bonnie Brown Liberal Oakville—Milton, ON

Mr. Speaker, more congratulations are due to Donovan Bailey, the world's fastest man. He has been awarded the Lou Marsh trophy as Canada's outstanding athlete of 1996.

He edged out a who's who of candidates vying for this prestigious honour, all of whom had their own outstanding achievements in their respective sports. It certainly says a great deal about the athletic talent we possess in Canada when one has to win two Olympic gold medals and set a world record to edge out the competition for the athlete of the year award.

Without a doubt his physical performance was tremendous, but his athletic skill was truly complemented by the grace he displayed in victory.

Donovan Bailey not only excels in sprinting, he sets an outstanding example to the youth of Canada. Congratulations, Donovan.

Bolo AwardStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Bloc

Antoine Dubé Bloc Lévis, QC

Mr. Speaker, La Bande à Gilet , a radio program first aired on CJRP then on CJMP, in Quebec City, have been giving out the BOLO award for five years now. This award goes to an event or a person chosen by popular vote as having been or made the blunder of the week.

I am glad to announce in this House that the winner for this week, whose name will be officially announced only tomorrow at 8.35 a.m., is the federal Minister of Health who earned the title for his anti-tobacco bill. BOLO to the Minister of Health.

Prime MinisterStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Reform

Bob Ringma Reform Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC

Mr. Speaker:

This statement is about the word The word that may not be heard It's a word really common Except with the brahmin

The word L-I-E is not free It is bound by the House SOP For in this house of repute The rules make us mute

The Prime Minister may prevaricate In front of Canadians so variate But it's all self-deception If he misjudges their reception

When he tells campaign stories That could be writ by the Tories He can later deny, And say twas not I

He said we'll kill the GST An abomination from Mulroney But if we find that we can't We'll just let people rant

If I do what isn't a word I'll deny till all is absurd The public won't die If this guy who is shy Is found to be telling a shmy.

Computer SoftwareStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Nick Discepola Liberal Vaudreuil, QC

Mr. Speaker, we learned this morning that IBM, CGI and the Informission Group, have just formed a consortium dedicated to solving the computer conversion problem before the beginning of year 2000.

Informission Group's RECYC 2000 software was chosen to adapt the computer systems to enter the third millennium. The consortium intends to create a software conversion centre which could be established in Informission's engineering centre, in Quebec City.

The activities of the consortium should create at least 1,000 jobs in Quebec over the next three years.

Skilled workers, an efficient R & D assistance strategy and an aggressive approach on international markets are the factors which allow Canada to attract projects like this consortium. Congratulations and good luck.

Port Of MontrealStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Bernard Patry Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform you that the Port of Montreal will finish up the year 1996 in very good shape.

By the end of the year, there will be a 3 per cent increase in cargo handled. There was a spectacular 10 per cent jump in the volume of container traffic during the first 11 months of the year.

This increase is attributable to shipowners' confidence in Montreal's port facilities and in the quality of services available there. It is important to remember that a good part of this increase came about at the expense of the ports of New York and Baltimore.

The port authority is expected to post a net profit for the seventeenth year in a row. This profit should be in the neighbourhood of $11 million.

We pay tribute to the work of the port's administrators and we urge them to keep up the good work they are doing as the engine of Montreal's economy.

Port Of MontrealStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

The Speaker

Colleagues, at certain times of the year, for example St. Patrick's Day and Robbie Burns Day, we bend the rules a little. Today is one of those days. So in your name I will recognize the hon. member for Thunder Bay-Atikokan.

Peace On EarthStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Santa Claus (The North Pole)

Mr. Speaker, through you and this democratic House I wish to convey on behalf of all the peace loving peoples of the world the very, very best.

May you all continue to strive for and encourage all those efforts that you have been involved in toward the encouragement and the development of peace operations throughout the world.

Best wishes for good health and happiness to you all.

PovertyOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Roberval Québec

Bloc

Michel Gauthier BlocLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Statistics Canada published figures showing that there were five million Canadians living under the poverty line, a 38 per cent increase since 1989. There are 1.4 million children living in poverty in Canada, 45 per cent more than in 1989.

Not only are families not getting any richer, but their average income has gone down by $2,800 since 1989, and this is before the new EI system comes into the picture and further reduces their standard of living.

Is the Prime Minister aware that it is incumbent on him as Prime Minister to do a little more for the poor than wish them "Good luck", which was all he had to say the other evening on television to those seeking work?

PovertyOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, what we said when we formed the government was that we had a terrible situation on our hands.

The government found itself facing an annual deficit of $42 billion. If we had not taken steps to correct this situation, there was a danger that the social programs that exist for the protection of the poorest members of Canadian society might disappear.

We took the bull by the horns-

PovertyOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Ha, ha.

PovertyOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Liberal

Jean Chrétien Liberal Saint-Maurice, QC

Yes we did, and we sorted out the problem of the deficit better than people thought we would.

What we are seeing today is that, in order to be able to create jobs so that people in difficulty can provide their families with the necessities of life, we must contend with the lowest interest rates in 40 years. We have an economy with the lowest rate of inflation in many years. The conditions are there for the economy to create the jobs that will make it possible for the most disadvantaged members of society to provide for their families, in particular their children, as they would like, in so far as possible.

PovertyOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Roberval Québec

Bloc

Michel Gauthier BlocLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, it is somewhat unfortunate that the Prime Minister sees it as a choice between reducing the deficit and helping people find work.

We have explained to him how taxation reform alone would free up $3 billion for active job creation. We are not criticizing the Prime Minister for trying to reduce the deficit. We are, however, criticizing his lack of imagination when it comes to creating jobs and helping people find work.

The Prime Minister was outraged when former Prime Minister Kim Campbell said during an election campaign that the rate of unemployment in Canada would not drop below 10 per cent. The Prime Minister had a lot to say about that on the campaign trail. Is the Prime Minister more comfortable with an unemployment rate of 10 per cent now that he is holding the reins?

PovertyOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, in January 1994, the rate of unemployment was 11.5 per cent and it was brought down to 9.4 per cent last year. Unfortunately, it has now gone back up to 10 per cent, but if OECD and IMF forecasts are any indication, we will have the best economic growth of all G-7 countries in 1997.

We believe that the unemployment rate is going to drop. But we have set up programs. For example, despite the financial difficul-

ties faced by the government, we introduced an infrastructure program in our first few months in office. You will recall that Mrs. Campbell said at the time that it was a ridiculous program, and members of this House used the opportunity to-

PovertyOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

The Speaker

Colleagues, I would remind you always to address your comments to the Chair.

PovertyOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Roberval Québec

Bloc

Michel Gauthier BlocLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, through you, I voice my indignation at the government's actions.

Let us jog the Prime Minister's memory. Since the beginning of the year, and I hope the Prime Minister understands what I am getting at, through you, the number of unemployed in Canada has increased faster than the number of new full time jobs: 121,000 more people unemployed, but only 106,000 new jobs. The government is unable to meet the public's needs.

Is the Prime Minister able to understand that, if the situation continues to deteriorate in this way, it is because his government is not guiding the economic recovery, is not stepping in, is creating only a paltry number of jobs, and dead end ones at that, and because, to top it all off, UI cutbacks will take effect in January? This will be a terrible blow to the poorest members of our society, and it is the government's fault.

PovertyOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

LaSalle—Émard Québec

Liberal

Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition has got the numbers wrong. Since the beginning of the year, even thouh there has been a loss of around 45,000 jobs in the public sector, over 200,000 new jobs were created in the private sector in Canada.

Furthermore, in the preamble to his first question, the Leader of the Opposition spoke about family income. I would like to tell him that the truth of the matter is that family income has gone up since we came to office in 1993. Before then, family income had dropped dramatically during the recession between 1989 and 1991. But since we have come to office, not only have we halted this decline, but we have seen family income start to climb.

PovertyOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, if family income is the topic, family income is $2,800 lower than in 1989. These are Statistics Canada figures.

There are, however, limits to the statistical juggling that can be done, like the Minister of Finance's statement he has just made, telling us we are one of the top countries in the world where job creation is concerned and promising that the situation will improve. There are limits to everything.

My question is for the Prime Minister. What is his answer, he who is so fond of international bodies, to the OECD's statement that Canada ranks 17th out of 26 industrialized countries with its 1996 unemployment rate? What is the Prime Minister's answer to Statistics Canada, which is telling us that there were more newly unemployed people that new full time jobs in 1996? That is what Statistics Canada said.

PovertyOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

LaSalle—Émard Québec

Liberal

Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance

I have before me the figures for average family incomes in Canada. In 1989, the average annual family income was $58,000. In 1993, when we came to office after three years of Conservative government, the annual income had dropped from $58,000 to $54,000. Today, it is going back up, at $55,000.