Debates of March 1st, 1996

Employment

[Jim Silye, Reform, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister finally admitted what Reformers have been saying all along. The government's role in job creation is to create the atmosphere or environment for the private sector to invest.

This government has failed to deliver. Despite a $6 billion infrastructure program, 1.4 million Canadians are out of work, 800,000 are part time employees. Despite reducing deficits, interests costs on the debt are rising faster than the spending cuts made by the government.

Will the Deputy Prime Minister tell Canadians why her government continues to support deficit spending, make work schemes, direct business subsidies and higher taxes?

[Douglas Young, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member makes the point that the government is still struggling to try to create a climate to foster employment. There is no doubt about that. It is not a problem that is peculiar to Canada.

However, the hon. gentleman should admit that the government has come a long way in establishing the fundamentals that are required for the private sector to get into the business of job creation.

Interest rates are at very low levels and comparable to those in the United States. We have inflation at 2 per cent or less. Unemployment is below 10 per cent.

I agree with the hon. gentleman. One way to correct one of the problems for which I am responsible, which is to take care of the unemployed, is to create jobs. Surely all of us can agree that the fundamentals are in place and that the private sector-I believe that the challenge the Prime Minister put to it is an appropriate one-are now in a position to get on with the business that business does best, creating jobs.

[Jim Silye, Reform, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this is getting scary. This is the second person who agrees with Reformers. I kind of like this.

The government promised to create jobs, not the business community. The government talks about security and chances for youth.

My question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. If her government wants business to perform and create jobs, will she commit to have the finance minister promise no new taxes, or tax increases of any kind in the next budget which would be the best inducement for job creation, as all members know.

[Douglas Young, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure in these last few days before the budget we are all trying to communicate our respective messages to the Minister of Finance. Being the kind of person who listens well, I am sure he will take it all into account.

The hon. gentleman knows that the budget process requires that whatever is going to be announced in the budget be withheld until Wednesday afternoon, and we are all looking forward to that.

As a point of clarification, I would like to point out to the hon. member that during the last election campaign when Liberals talked about jobs, we recognized then as we recognize now that what governments at all levels should be doing is creating the environment and the climate to allow the private sector to create jobs. We are wrestling with that. It is not an easy task. We understand the impact of payroll taxes. We understand the impact of debt financing and the rest of it. But governments at all levels across the country are trying. Some, I think, are succeeding more than others. But a sincere attempt is being made to create an environment that will allow the private sector to create jobs.

Surely the hon. member would recognize that since I stood to answer the question, it would not be very appropriate for me to suggest that the government is creating jobs after what took place at Transport.

Haitian National Police Force

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Haitian Canadians who have been trained by the RCMP could not be integrated into the national police force in Haiti, despite the commitments made by the Haitian government. Canada has spent nearly $2 million to train these police officers.

At a time when Canada is striving to help the people of Haiti, will the minister tell us what he intends to do to ensure that these police officers can be integrated as planned into the Haitian national police force?

[English]

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, first I would like to thank the hon. member for acknowledging the very important contribution we have made in the training of Haitian nationals as well as Canadians of Haitian descent in the peacekeeping operation.

At the present time the majority of those who have been trained have been incorporated into the new Haitian national police. There are still about 20 or 30 to be integrated. As I understand it, there was a problem because of the transfer of power between the two different administrations. Now that we have confirmed the extension of the international UN activity in Haiti, we will be able to continue to work with the Haitian government to ensure the integration of all those who received proper training to help stabilize the situation in that country.

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, will the minister assure us that Canada's contribution will not be overlooked by the Haitian government, and could he tell us what benefit he plans to derive from the money invested in the training of these police officers pending their integration into the Haitian police force?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, one of the major initiatives of the continuing UN mandate is to continue the training, both in institutions and on the ground of the new Haitian police force.

I want to pay tribute to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who have provided over 100 officers to Haiti. Chief Superintendent Pouliot has been the head of that operation since the beginning and has provided along with the French a continued involvement and participation.

I will certainly take the member's representation to ensure that those who have been trained here in Canada will have full access and opportunity in the Haitian police force.

Immigration

[Val Meredith, Reform, Surrey—White Rock—South Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on May 25, 1992 Canada admitted Lee Chau-Ping and her family into Canada as investor immigrants. Unfortunately Lee was not the hardworking businesswoman the department of immigration thought she was; rather, she is the most notorious female drug trafficker in the world.

Can the parliamentary secretary of immigration explain how this woman was able to immigrate to Canada despite the fact she had been under investigation by the royal Hong Kong police since 1986?

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, this person arrived in Canada under the administration of the former government, which is important because we have changed.

At issue here is the effectiveness of the security checks conducted when this person made her application for permanent residence. The Immigration Act gives us the authority to take removal action against a person if they falsified, lied or misinterpreted any material fact on their application for permanent residence.

Bill C-44 also takes away the right of appeal of permanent residents who have been convicted of serious offences. The business immigration program is undergoing an extensive review. These changes will make the program less open to abuse. Bill C-44 will also deal with that issue.

[Val Meredith, Reform, Surrey—White Rock—South Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, recently this issue has come up. It is not an isolated instance; it is still happening. A Hong Kong crown prosecutor stated: "Canadian immigration is very much a laughing stock of criminals, and Canada is being used by criminals such as drug traffickers as a soft spot for entry of drugs into North America and as an exit point for the laundering of funds".

Is this the type of open for business reputation the government is trying to promote worldwide?

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the member opposite voted against Bill C-44, a bill which helps.

The government recognizes the safety of the Canadian public is of paramount importance. However, studies have shown that

foreign born individuals represent a significantly lower number in our prison system compared with Canadian born individuals.

We have in place effective mechanisms, one of which the hon. member voted against, to identify the small percentage of those who try to abuse the system. The joint RCMP-immigration task force will become a permanent partnership. Bill C-44 strengthens the Immigration Act, not weakens it.

Social Housing

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Anjou—Rivière-Des-Prairies, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. In his speech from the throne, the Governor General described as a conciliatory measure the federal government's withdrawal from the social housing sector. This is just nonsense of course, since, in its last budget, the government had already put a stop to any new initiative regarding social housing.

Are we to understand that the government is about to propose to Quebec a partnership in an area that does not come under its jurisdiction, in which it does not invest any money, but regarding which it intends to maintain national standards that are ill-suited to Quebec's needs?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are about to start working with the provinces to ensure better management in these areas.

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Anjou—Rivière-Des-Prairies, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a supplementary. Will the minister admit that this apparent will to decentralize is only a budgetary scheme designed to offload onto the provinces, with no financial compensation, the responsibility for 1.2 million Canadian households desperately in need of social housing units?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we said on many occasions, the idea is to make good use of the money available. If we can do that in co-operation with the provinces, we will do so. I am surprised that the hon. member, who is from Quebec, would be opposed to what we are doing and will continue to do.

Fisheries

[Harry Verran, Liberal, South West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the fishermen of South West Nova Scotia are frustrated. They feel they have not been consulted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and there are many concerns. They are deeply worried about their future, the future of their families and the future of their coastal communities.

I ask the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans what he is doing to resolve the concerns of these fishermen and ensure they will have an opportunity to be listened to and have a strong voice in the management of the fishery in the future.

[Fred Mifflin, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question and for the manner in which he and his colleagues have represented fishermen and their concerns.

I am aware of these concerns. The emphasis up to now has been on the occupation of DFO offices. I want to de-emphasize that because I am aware there are many fishermen who are not occupying offices, who are interested in speaking, talking and discussing the issues of concern. They have indicated their eagerness to do this to me.

To that end and as a result of meeting with members of Parliament last night I have instructed my officials over this weekend to contact those people who are occupying the offices to give them the opportunity to join the discussions that will take place early next week with those fishermen who share the same concerns but who are not occupying the offices.

Justice

[Bob Ringma, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week my constituents held victims' rights rallies in Nanaimo and Duncan, B.C. Last night a rally was held in Abbotsford, B.C. with over 2,000 people.

The reason for these rallies is that Canadians do not feel safe in their homes or on the streets. They feel the system has been stacked in favour of the criminals and they are demanding their rights be respected for a change.

When will the Minister of Justice start defending the rights of victims of crime?

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

Mr. Speaker, the throne speech in its reference to our continued commitment to ensure the criminal justice system safeguards the rights of victims is simply additional evidence of the government's continuing commitment in that regard.

Over the last two years the House of Commons has seen, has debated and has enacted more constructive changes to the criminal justice system than in any period in the last 20 years. The government has shown that commitment.

[Bob Ringma, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the answer, like the throne speech, is more rhetoric without real commitment. The people of Abbotsford, like the people across

Canada, are looking for a specific, a victims' bill of rights. Would the minister support such a bill?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is only the most recent occasion on which representatives of the party opposite have sought to cloak themselves in the cause of victims.

The record discloses that when the Canadian people come to assess which party spoke for victims in the House they will decide it was the government.

For the first time in the history of the justice system the government through Bill C-37 introduced victim impact statements in the Young Offenders Act. What happened? The Reform Party voted against that bill.

This party with Bill C-41 strengthened enormously the rights of victims to restitution. What happened? The Reform Party voted against it. This party for the first time changed section 745 to provide for the rights of victims to participate in the hearings. What happened? The Reform Party voted against it.

When victims groups, mothers and fathers of victims, came to Ottawa, brothers and sisters of those shot to death in crime, arguing for gun control, what happened? The Reform Party voted against that bill.

We are the party that stands for victims' rights in this country.

Indian Affairs

[Maurice Dumas, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Indian Affairs.

Two years ago, the Liberal government pledged to take immediate action, and I emphasize the word "immediate", to improve the lot of the Innu living in Davis Inlet, notably by relocating the community in a healthier location.

Can the Minister of Indian Affairs tell us when his government will make a decision on the relocation of that community, which continues to live in conditions comparable to that of third world countries, as witnessed last week by the hon. member for Saint-Jean?

[Ron Irwin, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member. I thought the Bloc had forgotten about me.

I consider Davis Inlet one of the success stories of the government. I went in there, unlike the Bloc. I went to Atlantic Canada five time. I went to the community once. I met with the leadership in Ottawa several times. I met with it in Halifax several times. We provided a package of almost $80 million of federal funds for that community.

We have done 35 consultative reports with those people. We are working on their education facilities and we are building houses. We are not building houses for them; we are working with them. They are building their own houses and they are getting trained. We are working in the health facilities.

Unlike what happened under the former government, this was not only a local story or a provincial story, it was an international story, which it no longer is, and we did it.

[Maurice Dumas, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, will the Deputy Prime Minister ensure the House that, from now on, the Minister of Indian affairs will give proper attention to the urgent issues for which he is responsible, rather than generate violence with his irresponsible remarks on Quebec?