Debates of March 19th, 1996

Government Aircraft

[John Williams, Reform, St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that is some message. Taxpayers pay and they waste. That is the message that is getting out.

The Minister of Finance said in the budget: "If there is one area where we must never let up, it is the effort to root out waste and inefficiency". Will the Minister of Finance put his money where his mouth is, tell his colleagues that actions speak louder than words, that corporate jet travel has to go down and not up?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, there are very strict guidelines for the use of the executive fleet. We changed the regulations after some discussions and quite frankly after some criticism by the auditor general a couple of years ago.

We have reduced the fleet from six to four planes. We are very assiduous in determining when ministers make bona fide requests that there are no commercial arrangements that could get them where they are going.

The point made by the Prime Minister about the 40 per cent reduction is something that can be examined at committee when the estimates of the Department of National Defence come forward.

Air Transportation

[Paul Mercier, Bloc, Blainville—Deux-Montagnes, QC]

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

The federal government supports Canadian Airlines' efforts to be exempted from the scope of the U.S. antitrust legislation, so as to integrate more completely with its U.S. partner, American Airlines. However, such a decision would have a disastrous effect on Canada's air transportation industry.

Will the minister recognize that allowing Canadian to do that will result in that company being fully integrated with American Airlines, thus increasing U.S. control over Canada's air transportation industry?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is wrong. The government's decision to support Canadian's request to be exempted from the application of the U.S. antitrust legislation fully complies with the open skies agreement on air transportation. That agreement has enabled air carriers to maximize their benefits, according to their own corporate strategy.

[Paul Mercier, Bloc, Blainville—Deux-Montagnes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in any case, does the minister realize that, by supporting Canadian-because his support is necessary-he is jeopardizing the future of civil aviation in Canada and of the whole aviation industry? Does the minister realize that Air Canada could also end up under American control?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is wrong once again. A three year protection is afforded to Canadian air carriers, that is Air Canada and Canadian. During those three years, there is absolutely no chance of any such thing happening.

What we are doing is giving Canadian and Air Canada a chance to maximize their business on the American market. Thanks to the changes that we made, both companies are registering a remarkable and very profitable increase in their activities.

Goods And Services Tax

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister seems to be a fairly recent convert to the idea of harmonizing the GST. Going back to the time he pursued the Liberal leadership, he sang a very different song. I will quote from the Calgary Herald : Describing the GST as a tax that discriminates against the regions''-the current finance minister-said he would get rid of it, if possible. However, he said, it would be difficult to do that if the federal tax becomes integrated with provincial taxes''. In other words, harmonization means never having to say you are sorry for failing to scrap the GST.

If the finance minister feels that harmonization will make it impossible to get rid of the GST, why is he continuing to pursue harmonization?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Monte Solberg's flying circus rides again.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

The most recent statement, prior to questions in this House, that I had anything to do with in terms of the GST said, and I quote from the red book: "A Liberal government will replace the GST with a system that promotes federal-provincial co-operation and harmonization". That is the most recent thing I have had to say on the GST.

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I guess it depends on which day we catch him. At any rate the question is: Does the finance minister believe that once the GST is harmonized it will then be virtually impossible to get rid of it?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the decision any individual government chooses to take on any individual tax is obviously up to that government at that time. It is very clear that consumers and small and medium size businesses want us to harmonize it.

It seems to be clear that the Reform Party thought it wanted us to harmonize it but obviously, given the tremendous unity which exists within the Reform Party, it is quite hard to determine what in fact its real position is on anything.

Budget For Culture

[Gaston Leroux, Bloc, Richmond—Wolfe, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the cultural community is dismayed over the recent budget. Despite the promises made by the Liberals in the red book and the last throne speech, the heritage department's budget for programs and institutions will be cut by 30 per cent over four years.

My question is for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Canadian Heritage. How can the minister explain to the cultural community that she was unable to protect the budget for culture, which will be cut by 8 per cent more than the national defence budget?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, when I became heritage minister, I said from the outset that the budget decisions regarding culture had already been taken.

I must add that, if we take, for example, the case of the NFB in Montreal, the Juneau report points out the most effective way to modernize the NFB. This is precisely what is now being done by the executive committee. That said, I was also assured by the Minister of Finance that the government will go ahead with a culture fund that will make possible the creation of a new system of funding for the production of Canadian cultural initiatives under circumstances that will be announced very shortly.

[Gaston Leroux, Bloc, Richmond—Wolfe, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if I understand the beginning of the minister's reply correctly, she is not in agreement with the cuts that have been made.

I therefore ask her a supplementary question. At a time when the Minister of Canadian Heritage is cutting millions of dollars and thousands of jobs throughout cultural institutions and programs, how can she justify the fact that the only budget that has increased in her department is the administrative one, which rose 8 per cent between 1994 and 1997?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, we know, for example, that the CBC is a very important institution in our country. The proposals contained in the Juneau report, which were rejected outright by the Bloc Quebecois, offer the possibility of obtaining long term funding.

Having pointed this out, I am proud to say that at least the budget cuts imposed by this government have been much gentler than those carried out by the PQ government in Quebec with respect to Radio-Québec.

Tobacco Advertising

[Sarkis Assadourian, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

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

Over 40,000 Canadians die each year as a direct result of tobacco related diseases. The recent advertising campaign by tobacco manufacturers was obviously targeted at teenagers and school children.

Can the Minister of Health inform the House of the government's strategy to eliminate the threat to Canadian youth that tobacco advertising poses?

[David Dingwall, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his question. The government is very concerned about the increasing number of young people who are smoking.

The Supreme Court of Canada has made a decision, some of which is very positive for the government in that it confirms some of the government's statistical background data. However, the government has some concerns with that decision.

We do have a blueprint which is being circulated across the country. Consultations are taking place as we now speak. We hope they will be completed by the end of the month.

I hope to come back to Parliament with a package which will address not only the concerns of teenagers and young people, in terms of their smoking habits, but the country as a whole, to put a comprehensive package before parliamentarians.

Clifford Olson

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Solicitor General of Canada.

The solicitor general's parliamentary secretary told the House yesterday that he is not aware of any student loan funding granted to child killer Clifford Olson. On the other hand, Clifford Olson brags about the law courses he is taking.

Either Clifford Olson is receiving student loan funding or he is not. Which is it, yes or no?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I have been advised that Clifford Olson is not receiving a student loan. If that information is incorrect, I would like to have information to the contrary.

The latest information I have is that what the hon. member is asserting is not correct.

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, how then is Clifford Olson paying for his law courses? That is the question. It is still on the backs of the taxpayers.

When Olson is not studying law he is making videotapes about his crimes and his victims' families are outraged about it. How much did the Correctional Service Canada pay to produce the 12 tapes? Who gave Olson permission to copyright the tapes? Who decided to make the tapes in the first place?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, it has already been stated by the correctional service that the decision to have the tapes made was taken by the then warden of the penitentiary in question back in June 1993. I am advised the tapes were made by correctional service officials rather than by Mr. Olson himself.

With respect to the other points which he is raising, I will inquire further and get back to the hon. member.

Human Rights

[Maurice Bernier, Bloc, Mégantic—Compton—Stanstead, QC]

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

When he presented his annual report, Max Yalden, chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, severely blamed the government for going back on its promise to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to include non-discrimination based on sexual orientation. The commissioner even added that this action on the part of the government was a setback for moral logic.

Does the Minister of Justice recognize the government's blatant lack of courage on the issue of discrimination against gays and lesbians, when even the chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission blames the government for acquiescing to intolerance by not respecting its election promises?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know that for some years it has been the policy of this party and the government that the human rights act be amended to add sexual orientation as a ground on which discrimination is prohibited. That is a commitment we made and a commitment we will respect.

I would also draw to the attention of the House and the hon. member to those many passages in the annual report of the chief commissioner where he praised the government for initiatives taken, specifically by the way, in relation to sexual orientation matters in Bill C-41 dealing with hate motivated crime, with those matters of criminal procedure involving the testimony before courts of persons with disabilities as well as initiatives in relation to employment equity.

The government has acted on a broad range of fronts to further human rights in this country and will continue to do so.

[Maurice Bernier, Bloc, Mégantic—Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there none so deaf as those who will not hear. The commissioner was very harsh with the Minister of Justice and the Liberal government.

The minister said he had to put back implementing his election promises. After such a harsh reprimand, will the minister commit himself to immediately act on the government's promise and put an end to discrimination against gays and lesbians by amending the Canadian Human Rights Act?