House of Commons Hansard #23 of the 35th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was labour.
Herb Gray LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, it is not customary to deal with internal personnel matters in the House, especially since the Privacy Act applies with respect to information of that sort.
In any event, no matter how the hon. member tries to squirm out of it, she raised an allegation that a mole was employed in CSIS at the time she raised the allegation. She was wrong and she is still wrong.
Val Meredith Reform Surrey—White Rock—South Langley, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is the minister's responsibility to look after the national security of this country.
SIRC has admitted that after hearing eight witnesses over a five-day period that it shared my concerns about the activities of the individual concerned, but since it was unable to find a smoking gun it could not confirm the allegation. When Pierre Roy was getting close to finding a smoking gun, suddenly he was ordered by CSIS management in headquarters to stop his investigation.
Can the minister possibly explain why this investigation was terminated?
Herb Gray LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, I thought the hon. member would read to the House a paragraph from the letter I sent to her just before question period, which states:
I am informed by the Director that the subject of these allegations resigned in early January. I am further advised by the Director that this individual's departure from the Service was not related to questions of loyalty. The Director has also assured me that this individual was neither a KGB nor a Russian ``mole''.
Why did the hon. member not put that on the record instead of leaving me to do it?
Nic Leblanc Bloc Longueuil, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Heritage.
Yesterday, acting in good faith, the Minister of Industry stated that the order on foreign ownership in telecommunications and broadcasting companies had been passed. This is not the case.
Four months ago now, the government announced in an official communiqué that it would be harmonizing the rules on foreign ownership. How can the minister justify the fact that the cabinet has not yet adopted that order in council?
Sheila Copps LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, it is on the cabinet agenda for April 23.
Nic Leblanc Bloc Longueuil, QC
Mr. Speaker, is the minister aware that her longstanding inaction has created injustices within the telecommunications industry, placing it at an advantage over the broadcasters?
Sheila Copps LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, first, I have been in this portfolio only a few weeks now. Second, what frankly amazes me is that, if we were to follow the policy described by the hon. member across the floor, we would be totally at odds with the cultural policy as proposed by such bodies as the Union des artistes.
I trust that the hon. member does not wish to endanger Canadian culture with a policy which could indeed place the telecommunications and broadcasting industries in a situation which would place Canadian content at risk. I hope that does not reflect the Bloc's policy.
Harold Culbert Liberal Carleton—Charlotte, NB
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister for International Trade.
Exports are extremely important to the growing Canadian economy. Producers, processors and manufacturers are very concerned with the recent U.S. actions taken regarding exports to Cuba.
Can the minister explain today to the House and to all Canadians the status of our exports to Cuba and the implications of the recent U.S. legislation?
Art Eggleton LiberalMinister for International Trade
Mr. Speaker, with respect to our exports to Cuba, the member will be interested to know that they have actually doubled in 1995 over 1994.
We also have in excess of $200 million of investment in Cuba. We are looking after the interests of Canadians with respect to this matter on the Helms-Burton bill by making representations to the Government of the United States. My colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is in Washington today making those representations to his counterpart.
I have previously made representations to my counterpart in the United States and will continue to do so. We have also filed a letter with respect to a complaint under the North American Free Trade Agreement and will be pursuing that matter so that we can look
after the interests of Canadians and can clearly tell the United States that when it comes to the establishment of foreign policy and trade policy for Canada, we will establish it here and Canadians can lawfully engage in trade and exports and investment in Cuba.
Bob Ringma Reform Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
Mr. Speaker, let us re-examine the situation regarding the Minister of National Defence and this whole incident about destroying documents. Look at the timing.
This cover-up first came to light in October 1995. At that time the minister said to the House: "As soon as we get to know why this happened, we will certainly make it public". We had all that time. The minister has not made it public. We have to learn the details of this whole thing from an outside agency and still do not know what the minister has done to punish the offenders and correct the problem.
Instead he is once again burying his failures under a cloak of closed door administrative action. Documents are destroyed and altered and the minister continues to cover up.
Will he take the responsibility required here and resign in order to restore public confidence?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Speaker, first it is the Leader of the Reform Party talking about routing out those who have created the problem and the infractions as if he knows more than the information commissioner, that he has evidence and knows the facts better than the information commissioner.
Now it is the hon. member saying that in Reform's eyes, because I said in the House that we would get to the bottom of the matter, it has to be done the next day.
What we are seeing here is Reform justice, which is make the charge, do not get the facts and come to the conclusions.
The department, the CDS, the deputy minister and I behaved in the responsible way. When we needed outside help, I said on the floor of the House of Commons that if we were not satisfied with internal review mechanisms we would go to an outside agency.
We took this to Mr. Grace. He initiated the investigation. He has now made it public. Let the course of justice, which has been called for by Mr. Grace and the military police report, take effect.
Bob Ringma Reform Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
Mr. Speaker, it was not the Department of National Defence nor the minister who went outside for this information. It was Mr. McAuliffe of the CBC. This is pretty important stuff. What the information commissioner wrote yesterday about the destruction and alteration of documents in national defence strikes to the heart of our system not just in national defence but in government.
The Somalia commissioners must be able to trust the documents they receive from the Department of National Defence. The media relies on access to information to do its job, as do members of Parliament and Canadians across the country.
The minister's mismanagement of his department has placed this whole trust in jeopardy. He is responsible for his officials. He has had clear warning of the problems. Will he resign?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of National Defence and Minister of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I do not intend to respond to that particular tirade except to say unequivocally, and I can document this and I will put these documents on the table of the House, that it was the deputy minister of defence who alerted the information commissioner to these problems and therefore the investigation ensued as a result of the department's initiative, not as a result of the initiative of that person, the person who required the information under access to information law.
Osvaldo Nunez Bloc Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. The Sharwood report tabled in September 1995 called for the establishment, by July 1996, of a single fund where all immigrant investments would go. The trust fund thus created would invest venture capital in Canada's small and medium size businesses.
Can the minister assure us that the decisions she will make in this matter will not force Quebec to review its investor immigrant program, as would be the case if she implemented all the recommendations in the Sharwood report?
Lucienne Robillard LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, we are currently reviewing the investor immigrant program. It is very clear. There is a moratorium in effect on this program. We are looking for new ways to make the program more effective across Canada, but I can assure the hon. member for Bourassa that the new program will not undermine in any way the positive results of the Quebec program.
Osvaldo Nunez Bloc Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for her answer, but we still have doubts, given our experience with her predecessor. Can the minister make a formal commitment to consult the Quebec government before making changes that would have a negative impact on a most effective Quebec program and to fully respect Quebec's jurisdiction in this matter?
Lucienne Robillard LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, consultations are already being held with the Quebec government.
Monte Solberg Reform Medicine Hat, AB
Mr. Speaker, the GST issue gets stranger every day. Now we are hearing an absurd rumour-at least I hope it is absurd-that the federal government is willing to spend $1.2 billion to harmonize the GST with three of Canada's smallest provinces. It is instructive to note that $1.2 billion is also the amount that it is cutting in transfers to universities across the country.
Is the finance minister so desperate to fudge his GST promise that he willing to spend $1.2 billion to save the Deputy Prime Minister's skin while at the same time cutting funding to universities by the same amount of money?
Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance
It is worth a great deal more than that, Mr. Speaker.
Let me simply quote the Reform Party's most recent position on the GST: "We commend the government on its attempt to harmonize the tax with the provinces". At the same time, it acknowledged that it would be a very difficult political objective to achieve.
There is only one question. Why will you not help us if you think it is a good idea? Why do you stand up here day after day asking inane questions that have been answered 20 times? Is it that you cannot think of anything else to say?
Monte Solberg Reform Medicine Hat, AB
Mr. Speaker, the House would have a lot more respect for the finance minister's opinions on taxation if his company actually paid taxes in this country.
Goods And Services TaxOral Question Period
The Speaker
I ask members to keep it to the administrative responsibility of the minister.
Monte Solberg Reform Medicine Hat, AB
Mr. Speaker, I am a big believer in leadership by example. Leadership is about integrity and it is about making choices. One of the things I find most disconcerting about the government's approach here is it is talking about harmonization that will cost billions of dollars. Ontario and B.C alone would be $3.2 billion. That is how much the government is cutting out of health care.
Is the finance minister saying he is willing to spend $3.2 billion so that he can save the Deputy Prime Minister and at the same time cut the same amount of money out of health care? Is that what he is saying?
Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, there is indeed a very important debate to have in the House as one proceeds on profound structural change. In the case of the GST, the government intends to engage in that structural change as it is engaged in structural change in other areas. There will be adjustment policies that may well be necessary to pay compensation.
I would be quite prepared to get into that debate with the members of the Reform Party, those who have indicated a capability to enter into that kind of thing.
I do not intend, however, to enter into that kind of debate with the hon. member. The allegation he made at the beginning is absolutely untrue. I will raise a question of privilege and ask him to stand and withdraw the comment.
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue.
Revenue Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada recently recovered at Port Lacolle in Quebec a four-year old child abducted by his non-custodial father in Germany on March 19.
Would the parliamentary secretary explain what role Revenue Canada plays in the recovery of missing or abducted children?