Debates of March 6th, 1996

[The Speaker]

As is our custom, we will now sing O Canada which will be led by the hon. member for Kootenay East.

Business Financing Program

[Janko Peric, Liberal, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with good news for businesses in my riding of Cambridge, and congratulations for the Royal Bank and the Business Development Bank of Canada. These organizations recognized the needs of businesses in the industrial heartland of southern Ontario. They announced on March 1 that they are forming a strategic alliance to provide financing for small and medium size businesses.

The program will provide loans in the range of $50,000 to $500,000, filling a recognized gap that exists in traditional lending patterns. This financing program is targeted to businesses in the expansion phase, especially those in information technology, telecommunications, biotechnology, medical devices, plastics processing, auto parts, advanced manufacturing technology, new materials and the agribusiness and food processing industries.

I applaud the Royal Bank and the Business Development Bank of Canada for providing this tangible support for small and medium size businesses, the backbone of the Canadian economy.

Crtc

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage has suggested the time has come for a review of the CRTC mandate. The fact that the government has intervened so many times in the last 18 months, obviously the review is long overdue.

The minister has suggested this review would be internal, a review conducted on the CRTC by the CRTC. Surely, this is a joke.

Last year the cabinet had no difficulty intervening in the CRTC process when satellite licensing became an issue. I suggest that was because Power DirecTv, also known as Desmarais, also known as the Prime Minister's son-in-law, was a licence bidder. In spite of cabinet interference, Power DirecTv still had to walk away from its licence.

Yesterday the cabinet was asked again to intervene with the CRTC on the satellite licensing process. It probably will not intervene this time because the Prime Minister's relatives are not involved.

This statement is an alert to the news media. Watch for the heritage minister to slip this cabinet non-decision passed you during the turmoil generated by today's budget story.

Tran Trieu Quan

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for two years now, the father of tae kwon do in Quebec, Tran Trieu Quan, has been unfairly held in Vietnam, even after the Canadian Prime Minister's visit to that country. The Prime Minister merely inquired about the situation instead of demanding that Mr. Tran be released.

On behalf of the people of Quebec, we urge the Canadian government to realize that the diplomatic representations made to obtain the release of the Sainte-Foy businessman were unsuccessful.

We therefore call for the immediate suspension of any economic, cultural or social assistance to Vietnam until Mr. Tran is reunited with his family.

Mr. Speaker, it is very important that the government be aware of the need to protect Canadian citizens travelling abroad whether as business people or as tourists.

Fisheries

[Elsie Wayne, Progressive Conservative, Saint John, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring to the attention of this House the deep concerns of many fishermen across the Scotia-Fundy area. I have been meeting with the fishermen in this area and on Monday I attended the round table in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia with the fishermen and officials from DFO.

For decades the fishing industry has been the backbone of many local communities in Atlantic Canada. The new fishing policies such as licence fee increases, a new professional core fishery, ITQs, and Bills C-98 and C-115 have threatened the very survival of the hand-line fishery. Serious flaws in the Oceans Act as well as the Fisheries Act must be addressed.

I call on this government before it proceeds any further to allow the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans to travel from coast to coast so that fishermen can be heard and changes implemented before a way of life is destroyed.

China

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the NDP caucus, I would like to say today that we deplore the intimidating tactics being employed by China off the coast of Taiwan. Why is it that superpowers cannot resist the urge to act the bully when it comes to small islands in their so-called sphere of influence.

The People's Republic of China should give up the notion that Taiwan is somehow part of China. Let China be China and let Taiwan be Taiwan. The Taiwanese people, including its aboriginal population, have a history and identity that is independent and distinct from the mainland. Any dispute of this fact must be resolved peacefully and with utmost respect for the democratically expressed wishes of the Taiwanese people.

It is time for China to put the political residue of the civil war behind it and realize that Taiwan, especially now that it is a democracy, is a country of its own and should no longer be seen as a refuge for the losers of a bygone battle.

Child Prostitution

[Nick Discepola, Liberal, Vaudreuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today's major dailies report that child prostitution is on the rise in some parts of the country.

This situation is totally unacceptable and we must vehemently condemn this undermining of Canadian children's basic rights. All those working with children must be made aware of this plague and co-ordinate their efforts to put an end to the activities of these exploitative and depraved individuals.

Current legislation must be vigorously enforced so that those who commit these repugnant crimes will be punished as they should be. If we need to take additional measures or to adopt amendments in order to make the fight against child prostitution and sexual abuse more effective, we should do so without delay.

Job Creation

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out the contribution of some 30 Canadian businesses, which are contemplating setting up an in-house training program for high school, college and university graduates.

According to program officials, this program will create 50,000 entry level jobs for young people and help restore hope to a generation that would be only too pleased to play an active role in our society.

Also noteworthy is the fact that all funding for this program will be provided by the companies, to the tune of $12,000 per trainee per year. Only administrative expenses will have to be covered by the Canadian government.

This is a good move worth mentioning, especially after our Prime Minister recently called for greater co-operation between the private sector and government to promote job creation.

International Women's Week

[Paddy Torsney, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is International Women's Week, a week to mark progress on women's equality here in Canada and around the world.

Canada is respected as a world leader in advancing women's equality. One of our priorities is the recognition of human rights as the foundation of women's equality. Human rights are universal, inalienable and indivisible.

The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development has chosen International Women's Day, March 8, to present the first Florence Bird award. It is an honour that recognizes efforts to promote women's rights as human rights in the media. It is a fitting tribute to the remarkable Canadian journalist and activist who headed the Royal Commission on the Status of Women almost 30 years ago.

Minister Of Intergovernmental Affairs

[Michel Bellehumeur, Bloc, Berthier—Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Stéphane Dion, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, travelled to British Columbia, where he tried to sell the distinct society concept to the people of this region, who are bitterly opposed to it.

In an attempt to reassure them, he stated that recognizing Quebec as a distinct society confers no additional powers on Quebec and, therefore, does not take anything away from other Canadians. What is the use of talking about distinct society if it is a meaningless concept? Will Mr. Dion keep talking about a worthless clause? Some other weekend, will he try to convince Quebecers that a distinct society clause could bring about the changes promised by the no side in the days leading up to the October 30 referendum?

Frankly, Mr. Dion should stop using the phrase "distinct society", which has become trite and has lost any meaning when he uses it. For the moment, he should focus on how the federal government could change how the powers are shared.

Disability Tax Credit

[Philip Mayfield, Reform, Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC]

Mr. Speaker, talk about slash and burn. Some disabled Canadians, through no fault of their own, have found themselves indebted to the federal government.

Revenue Canada changed the forms for claiming the federal disability tax credit. These disabled Canadians, after submitting the new forms, were deemed ineligible for the credit as they were no longer considered to be disabled. Figure that one out. They were also told to refund to the government the credit they had received from previous years, with interest.

One constituent whose husband is severely disabled wrote to me saying:

Revenue Canada wrote us February 2, 1996. They stated that our disability deduction had been disallowed for 1994 and we owed them $1,200 including $100 interest. The amount had to be paid by February 20, 1996 or more interest would be added-$1,200 is an entire month's paycheque for us.

Will the Minister of Revenue show compassion and review this unfair tax policy? So who is slashing and burning? The Liberals are the experts.

Gender Equality

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the concept of gender equality is at the very heart of the values in which Canadians firmly believe.

We recognize that women face particular problems which must be eliminated in order to ensure equality. Since women are confronted to situations that differ from those that men face, the federal government pledged to take these differences into account in the development, review and implementation of federal initiatives.

The guide to policy development, which is based on a comparative analysis between the two sexes and which was released earlier this week, will be a key component in the fulfilment of our commitment.

I ask all members to join me in stressing the vital contribution of women to our society's success. Together, let us make sure that women and men can co-operate as equals in the building of a better world.

International Women's Week

[Gurbax Malhi, Liberal, Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the honour of millions of women and men who are working toward gender equality around the globe. During International Women's Week we are invited to reflect on women's progress in all fields of achievement.

In keeping with our lead role in talks at the Beijing conference on women last year, Canada must continue to fight for women's equality in the face of dramatic social change. It is up to all of us to ensure that the commitments made at the Beijing conference are honoured.

Intervenor Funding

[John Finlay, Liberal, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the next few days I will be reintroducing in the House my private member's bill to create a federal intervenor funding act for Canada.

Intervenor funding as I have proposed it allows all Canadians to have an opportunity to have a direct voice in government decision making. Too often, hearings in front of federal boards and agencies have been dominated by those wealthy enough to hire expert witnesses. What of the other Canadians who are left in the cold by a lack of funds to represent their legitimate concerns? They often go unheard.

Every voice that is left silent is a voice that is being excluded. If we really mean that we want to give our constituents a voice to allow them to be heard in the public interest, then I ask all members on both sides of the House to support a federal intervenor funding program.

Nafta

[Jean-Guy Chrétien, Bloc, Frontenac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada and the United States are currently involved in a dispute, under NAFTA, concerning eggs, milk and poultry. The U.S. is invoking chapter 20 of NAFTA to challenge the tariff equivalents obtained by Canada as a replacement to the supply management system in these sectors.

We recently learned that, should Canada's position be rejected by NAFTA's dispute settlement panel, some 138,000 jobs in Canada and Quebec will have disappeared by the year 2000 in Canadian agricultural sectors. In Quebec alone, there are 45,000 jobs at risk.

Given what is at stake, we cannot afford to lose. The Bloc Quebecois will continue to keep a close eye on the government's handling of this important issue.

Early Release

[Randy White, Reform, Fraser Valley West, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the new minister of fisheries announced that lobster traps will have a new rectangular escape mechanism. This is the Liberal way of providing early release to incarcerated lobsters.

Holy mackerel. Early release for prisoners and now lobsters. There is something fishy here. Murderers who get life can get early release in 15 years and now lobsters getting early release right away. Let us put some mussels behind incarceration and clam up on early release.

The issue of early release for criminals is not a red herring; it is not for the halibut; it is for real. As this government sits on its perch and contemplates the process of early release, I invite the smaller Liberal fish over here to come out from under the rock and stop porpoisely trying to skate around the issue.

Students Against Drunk Driving

[Georgette Sheridan, Liberal, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to the attention of the House the important work being done by a group of young people in my riding of Saskatoon-Humboldt. The Humboldt branch of Students Against Drunk Driving, known as SADD, ably led by Jeremy Elder is planning a march to be held in Humboldt on Friday, March 15, 1996.

The purpose of the march is to draw attention to the social and economic costs of impaired driving. Stated like that, the consequences of drunk driving do not seem that consequential, much less horrific than when expressed in human terms. Consider instead the grief of a parent who loses a child to a drunk driver, or the fear of a small child waiting alone in the dark in a car outside the local beer parlour wondering if Dad will be able to make his way home, this time.

I know my colleagues in the House will join me in saluting the efforts of Jeremy Elder, the other members of SADD Humboldt, parent volunteers, Mayor Doug Still and principal Ron Ford.

International Women's Day

[Anna Terrana, Liberal, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Friday is International Women's Day. I would like to wish a happy day to all Canadian women and to congratulate them on the progress made on promoting women's rights.

But women are vulnerable. For example, 52,000 North American women die of breast cancer each year. In the ten years of the Vietnam war, 48,000 women died on the battlefield. Over the same period, more than 300,000 American women died of breast cancer. This terrible disease is usually hereditary, but no one is safe.

Last year, in Vancouver, more than 3,000 people showed that they care about other people's lives by taking part in the walk against breast cancer. We must remind everyone, and particularly women, to be on the lookout and to learn to recognize the symptoms of this disease, which can be beaten if detected early enough.

A word of warning for all but especially to women that life is often up to us. Congratulations to the BC Breast Cancer Foundation for its work in this area.

Breast Cancer

[Rose-Marie Ur, Liberal, Lambton—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as part of the pink ribbon campaign to support breast cancer research, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage all Canadians to increase their awareness of this insidious disease.

According to statistics provided by the National Cancer Institute of Canada, an estimated 17,700 women in Canada will develop

breast cancer in 1996, while more than 5,000 Canadian women will die from breast cancer this year.

All women are at risk for breast cancer. In fact, one in nine Canadian women will be diagnosed with this disease in their lifetime.

While women cannot do much about certain links to breast cancer, such as a genetic predisposition, research has indicated that there are a number of factors linked to the risk of developing this complex disease.

Let us show our support for breast cancer research.

Cuba

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the conflict between the U.S. and Cuba is heating up. Canada is now caught up in it, as the target of the virulent attack by Senator Jesse Helms. The crisis now developing between Canada and the U.S. is liable to have very serious economic repercussions.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Does he agree that the American reaction affects Canada first and foremost, because Canada is Cuba's principal trade partner, according to recent figures?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to discuss this problem with the President of the United States last week. I informed him that it was unacceptable to Canada that legislation passed by the U.S. Congress could apply outside that country.

On Monday and Tuesday, I had an opportunity to discuss the same problem with 13 Caribbean heads of government. In the joint press release issued at the conference, it was stated unanimously that laws with extraterritorial jurisdiction are unacceptable under international law.

Obviously, Mr. Helms' statement speaks for itself. My conversations with the president indicate that he is aware of Canada's objections, and that the bill is currently before Congress. We hope that people will become aware of the long term consequences if, at the international level, all countries took the same kind of initiative as the U.S. has.

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, given the current protectionist atmosphere in the U.S., does the Prime Minister not feel that, over and above the conflict with Cuba, we are dealing here with a challenge to the very terms of the Free Trade Agreement?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I think that this bill reflects the atmosphere in the aftermath of the Cuba-U.S. incident. As the House is aware, we have clearly expressed our disapproval to the Government of Cuba concerning their attack on civilian aircraft flying outside Cuban territory. At any rate, the International Civil Aviation Organization is addressing the problem today in Montreal.

I have learned from experience that U.S. pre-election fever often leads to statements that are more heated than they would be at other times. After the election, perhaps Senator Helms or others will be more approachable.

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister for International Trade made a statement here in this House in which he expressed a hope that the president will use the discretion available to him to reduce the impact of the bill. Should that hope not be fulfilled, however, what action plan does Canada have in mind to protect the thousands of jobs that would be affected?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, after a law is passed in the United States there is always room for the administration to take some precise action. I discussed that possibility with the president and he will look into it. We do not think this law will be in operation for many months to come, not before the end of the summer.

Therefore we will see how the administration deals with this piece of legislation and we will advise.