Debates of March 6th, 1996

Coast Guard

[Maurice Godin, Bloc, Châteauguay, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. When the Châteauguay River overflowed in late January, it caused approximately $3 million in damage and forced the evacuation of 1,063 residents. All experts agree that the damage would not have been as substantial had air cushion vehicles been available.

Does the minister agree that this situation could have been avoided if more Canadian Coast Guard air cushion vehicles had been available and could he confirm plans to procure two additional crafts for the Coast Guard?

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

Mr. Speaker, we regret very much that this took place. The coast guard has only one air cushion vehicle, a Hovercraft, in the region and it was in refit at the time. It was January and that was the normal time to refit these kinds of crafts. I think the hon. member would agree that it was impossible for any other vessel to get there because of the depth concerned.

I will take into consideration what the hon. member has said. We will try to make that craft available as much as possible, given the contingencies that one would expect under the circumstances.

[Maurice Godin, Bloc, Châteauguay, QC]

As a supplementary, Mr. Speaker, given that the St. Lawrence region has only one air cushion vehicle in operation at present, could the minister promise

in this House that the St. Lawrrence region will have two such craft in operation by next fall?

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

Mr. Speaker, the provision of emergency services in the tributaries of the St. Lawrence River, as in other rivers in Canada, is the responsibility of the province. The Canadian Coast Guard provides ice-breaking services in the tributaries at the request of the Quebec ministry.

I will take into consideration what he has said and we will do what we can with the resources that we have.

United Nations

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

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

Canada has a long tradition of meeting its obligations to the United Nations in full and on time. It was $270 million last year. Thanks to political manoeuvring in the Security Council, Canada is going to be stuck with the full cost of sending additional troops to Haiti for four months, $24 million.

Under those circumstances, will the minister consider withholding $24 million from our other UN assessments in order to compensate us for this unjust cost?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I regret very much the attitude demonstrated by the hon. member.

The initiative taken at the United Nations a week ago to arrange for an agreement with the security council to continue and extend the UN presence is one of the most important contributions Canada has made to the UN for the rebuilding of that country. Haiti is desperately struggling to rebuild a democracy where there has been a dictatorship for the last several decades.

For the hon. member of the Reform Party to cast aspersions and say that we should find some way of denying the value of that contribution really demonstrates his misunderstanding of the value that Canada places in the UN, on the building of democracy in our hemisphere and in ensuring that we have a stable, orderly system in the world.

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

Mr. Speaker, I hope you award prizes for irrelevant answers to serious questions because I sure heard one there.

Since the hon. minister wants to roll over and play dead on my first suggestion, in 1994-95 Canadian foreign aid to China was $162 million. Since it was China that blocked the security council's vote on the funding of the Haiti mission, would the minister at least consider withholding $24 million of aid from that country, which by the way has a vibrant economy and is in no way a legitimate target for our largesse?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, there are two parts to my reply. First, if the hon. member took the time he would recognize that China has become in the last several years one of the most important trading partners for Canada. We have several billions of dollars engaged with it. Much of that has been generated by the fact that the foreign aid development budget has been used to help Canadian business with startup funds which will lead to much broader contracts at a later date. It has been one of the best investments we have made.

Second, the other part of that aid has provided major assistance in the development of institutions to aid women, children and judicial institutions in China and to help in exchanges for education and training.

The attitude displayed by the hon. member is the worst kind of isolationism that I have heard in this House in an awfully long time.

Health Care

[Judy Bethel, Liberal, Edmonton East, AB]

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

The largest petition in the history of the Alberta Legislative Assembly was presented last week. Eighty thousand Albertans representing 458 towns, cities and villages demonstrated overwhelming support for the five basic principles of medicare. They rejected two-tier health care and called for the maintenance of national standards.

What will the minister do to protect Canada's publicly funded health care system and to ensure that the principles of the Canada Health Act are honoured by all provinces, even Alberta?

[David Dingwall, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question. The House should extend congratulations to those 80,000 Albertans who signed petitions in hockey arenas, shopping malls and homes across that province to give support to what we know as medicare.

The members of Parliament from that great province realize fully that 75 per cent of its population support the five basic principles of the Canada Health Act. They do not support the two-tier system which is being advocated by the Reform Party of Canada. They support unquestionably the principles of universality, access, affordability and free access to all Canadians. It is high time that the Reform Party got on side with the general population of the province of Alberta.

Official Languages

[Jean-Paul Marchand, Bloc, Québec-Est, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the International Development Research Centre, which comes under the responsibility of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, apparently decided, recently, to stop publishing the French edition of its magazine Explore , which, for reasons of economy, would only be available in English, from now on.

How does the Minister of Foreign Affairs explain the fact that an agency for which he is responsible is contravening the Official Languages Act, and does he intend to reverse that decision as soon as possible? If he does not, it is clear that francophones will once again be the ones affected by federal cuts.

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for drawing that particular issue to my attention. I do not accept that an official publication issued by any agency of this government should not be distributed in both languages. I will look into it immediately and report back to the hon. member.

Interprovincial Trade

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the lousy deal on Churchill Falls probably will cost Labrador $50 billion over the life of the contract.

The ministry yesterday said that the internal trade document was going to settle the problem but that document is two years old. Last September it was supposed to have a draft agreement on the energy sector and that did not happen. Meanwhile $2 billion a day is going down the tubes and Labrador is being shafted.

When will the minister be prepared to move to help Labrador get what it deserves, which is reliance on its own natural resources?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.

Let me assure him that as recently as March 5 the federal government, provincial governments and utilities involved have met to continue discussions in relation to this issue.

The federal government does not wish to usurp that which is the rightful authority of the provinces but it will continue to work with the provinces in a constructive fashion to reduce trade barriers wherever they exist.

Forestry

[Audrey McLaughlin, NDP, Yukon, YT]

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

The minister has said that forestry will be transferred to the Yukon government on April 1, 1996. I would like to ask the minister if this is still the department's intention and if so, what kind of negotiations have been finalized with the Council for Yukon First Nations and the Yukon government?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows we had a lot of difficulty with the forestry because the price was 20 or 30 cents per entity which would normally have cost $20 or $30 in B.C. or Alberta. Over a period of time we increased the stumpage rates and put some of it into what is called the Elijah Smith Sustainable Fund which was named for an elder in the Yukon, as she knows.

The problem is that the First Nations in the Yukon do not feel that they had been adequately consulted in the process of devolution, so I have slowed down the process. If I am going to err, I am going to err on the side of the First Nations in the Yukon.

Sports Fishery

[Roger Gallaway, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

Last year the federal government received $60 million in GST revenues as a result of the spending of sports anglers on the Great Lakes. At the same time the exploding population of sea lamprey in the lakes has the potential to eliminate sports fishing.

Can the minister advise the House whether his department is proceeding to decrease, maintain or increase Canada's contribution to the binational Great Lakes Fisheries Commission which controls sea lamprey programs?

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

Mr. Speaker, I wish to assure the hon. member that the government is very interested and concerned about the control of sea lampreys in the Great Lakes.

In this fiscal year we will be contributing $3.8 million which basically restores the level to that of earlier years. There was an increase last year but we are going back to earlier levels.

It is the view of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans that in all fisheries the use of public resources, particularly those managed by public expense, should really command a licence fee. To that end, we are dealing with the province of Ontario to look for ways to further assist in the control of predators like the sea lamprey, for

more effective control in sports fishing and other kinds of fishing that are affected by these predators.

[The Speaker]

This brings question period to a close.

Government Response To Petitions

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

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 12 petitions presented during the first session.

Committees Of The House

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

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present the third report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs and associate members of various standing committees.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in this third report later this day.

Department Of Public Works And Government Services Act

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

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-7, an act to establish the Department of Public Works and Government Services, and to amend and repeal certain acts.

Madam Speaker, I wish to state that this bill is in the same form as Bill C-52 of the first session of the 35th Parliament at the time of prorogation. I therefore request that it be reinstated as provided in the special order adopted on March 4, 1996.

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

[The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Ringuette-Maltais)]

The Chair is satisfied that this bill is in the same form as Bill C-52 was at the time of prorogation of the first session of the 35th Parliament.

Accordingly, pursuant to order made Monday, March 4, 1996, the bill is deemed to have been read the second time, considered by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, reported with amendments and concurred in at report stage with further amendments.

Controlled Drugs And Substances Act

[David Dingwall, Liberal, Minister of Health]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-8, an act to amend respecting the control of certain drugs, their precursors and other substances, and to amend certain other acts and to repeal the Narcotic Control Act in consequence thereof.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the standing orders and to the traditions of the House I wish to state that this bill is in the same form as Bill C-7 of the first session of the 35th Parliament at the time of prorogation. I therefore request that it be reinstated as provided in the special order adopted by this House on March 4.

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

[The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Ringuette-Maltais)]

The Chair is satisfied that this bill is in the same form as Bill C-7 was at the time of prorogation of the first session of the 35th Parliament.

Accordingly, pursuant to order made Monday, March 4, 1996, the bill is deemed to have been adopted at all stages and to have been passed by the House.