Debates of April 26th, 1996

Copyright Act

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, this is really convoluted. Of course there are private royalty arrangements. The very reason one would impose a home copying charge is so that one can ensure producers, performers and composers receive compensation for their work.

Unauthorized home copying is a way to avoid people being paid for what they have created. Does the hon. member think that is unfair?

They do not pay attention to what is written in the red book but if they did they would see a clear, explicit promise to introduce copyright reform in this Parliament, and that promise we are fulfilling.

Human Rights

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

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

On March 20, in response to a question from the Leader of the Opposition and following the tabling of the Yalden report, the Prime Minister pledged to introduce, before the next election, a bill to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act, so as to include sexual orientation among the prohibited grounds for discrimination.

Can the minister tell us if he intends to introduce his own bill to finally fulfil the promise made by the Prime Minister during the last federal election campaign, or does he intend to support Bill S-2 introduced by the Senate?

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

Mr. Speaker, we intend to introduce our own bill and to do so soon.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, can the minister tell the House when he will introduce his own bill, and can he make a clear commitment that he will not water down the provision on sexual orientation as a prohibited ground for discrimination, as proposed in Bill S-2?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we have always said, we intend to amend the act by simply including the words "sexual orientation". We also intend to introduce the bill in the next few days.

Somalia Inquiry

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

Mr. Speaker, it is little wonder the government appointed General Boyle. He shows all the traits of being part of the Liberal family.

He admitted he did know about plans to tamper with documents but he forgot that his own signature was all over the memos linking him with the cover-up.

These are the sorts of things we expect to hear from the Deputy Prime Minister, but Canadians deserve better from our top military man. When will the minister demand accountability and relieve General Boyle from his post?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have answered this question many times. I have also addressed it in question period in reply to a question from the Bloc Quebecois.

There is a commission of inquiry looking into all these matters. There will be a lot of testimony given, including the testimony of the chief of defence staff. He will be going in a couple of weeks. He will have his opportunity to put all the facts on the table.

I am surprised the hon. member opposite, himself a former general officer in the Canadian forces, does not recognize the system of fairness in our justice system which allows people to give their side of the story.

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

Mr. Speaker, I recognize a lot of unfairness in the whole set-up within national defence these days.

The military police are reopening their investigation of General Boyle, but the military police report to General Boyle, the chief of defence staff, the very person they are supposed to investigate. This is a very patent conflict of interest and is quite unacceptable. Boyle has already admitted he has mislead one investigation.

Will the minister show some leadership, act responsibly and call in the RCMP to get to the bottom of this mess?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the military police investigation is on a series of incidents that happened in the public affairs branch of national defence, not on one individual or another.

For all police, whether municipal, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or the military police, if new evidence surfaces, an investigation has to be reopened. This is what has happened in this case. This has also happened with respect to Mr. Grace, the information commissioner.

I ask the hon. member to allow all individuals concerned in this matter, including the chief of defence staff, the basic Canadian right to express their views to an impartial commission before he draws conclusions and perhaps casts aspersions on their character in the House of Commons.

Humanitarian Aid

[Maud Debien, Bloc, Laval East, QC]

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

On April 2, the Canada-Cuba Friendship Group, whose members include Liberal members of Parliament, sent the Minister of Foreign Affairs a letter which said, and I quote: "We trust that your department will not accept the American version of events and that it will intercede with the American authorities as quickly as possible".

What is the government waiting for to react to this blockade, which is hampering the efforts of humanitarian aid organizations to get medical supplies to the Cuban people.

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question might be a little more specific. Could she give me an exact reference as to what she is talking about. I know about the letter. The hon. member also knows that the government has taken very strong action protesting the application of extraterritorial legislation.

My colleague has introduced actions under NAFTA to protest against the Helms-Burton bill. The first meeting is being held today. We are taking very strong action in those areas that are under our control and maintenance.

Third, the Prime Minister and the minister of trade have been very actively working out alliances and collaborations with a number of other countries to protest against the U.S. action in Helms-Burton. All those efforts are designed to protect Canadian interests as effectively as we can. I can assure the hon. member that we will continue to do so.

[Maud Debien, Bloc, Laval East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs earlier told my hon. colleague from Verchères that he had spoken out against the conflict in Lebanon. As we speak, however, and the minister is perfectly aware of this, Brian Rohatyn, a young student from Regina, is in the 66th day of a hunger strike to protest against the American authorities and against the seizure of humanitarian supplies from Canada destined for Cuba.

We are still at an impasse and I would like to know what, other than protesting, the minister intends to do to get us out of it.

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for defining her question more directly.

In the case of the young man who was protesting in Washington, quite legally, my office is in touch with him every single day to determine the state of his health and condition.

We are working actively with American officials to try to find some resolution of the problem. That issue is under negotiation at this time. We are also ensuring the full weight of our counsellor services to make sure that proper medical attention and legal protection is being applied.

We are very aware of the case. It is a very serious case. We take it seriously. We are in touch with both the young gentleman and his family on a daily basis to make sure that we can provide the best protection possible.

Middle East

[Paddy Torsney, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in an earlier answer, the House greeted with tremendous relief the news from the Minister of Foreign Affairs that there was an interim ceasefire agreement in the Middle East.

My question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. How will Canada play a constructive role to ensure that this ceasefire is more than just an interim agreement so that the people in that area can live in safety once again?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I wish I had an easy answer to that but I do not. It is an issue of enormous complexity and difficulty for generations.

I want it understood this is an interim agreement. It stops the fighting. It gives all countries, including Canada, time to take measures to begin to work on those difficulties. We have to make a very concerted effort for the implementation of resolution 425 at the Security Council. That is an important legal basis that the international community has established.

At the same time, we have to work as part of this new consultative work in the reconstruction areas. Third, we have to support those individuals, those governments and those groups in the Middle East.

There was a sign of it yesterday with the decision by the PLO and by the Labour Party in Israel to pursue the peace process, to give every support to those who are interested in peace and to stand up against those who are interested in terrorism or disruption. That is the major contribution we want to make.

Canada Pension Plan

[Daphne Jennings, Reform, Mission—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the finance minister.

Yesterday, the finance minister rejected tripling CPP contributions from 5 per cent of worker's income to 15 per cent. Does that mean he intends to double them now and take only 10 per cent of worker's income?

[Doug Peters, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, the CPP is a joint federal-provincial arrangement set up with the provinces. It has been that way from the beginning.

The consultation committee is out consulting right now and no decision will be made until the provinces and the federal government have both agreed to those changes.

[Daphne Jennings, Reform, Mission—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the minister that his worker in the field has already mentioned this doubling of CPP contributions so we are concerned about the issue.

You cannot expect the workers to pay an additional 5 per cent or more of their income without reducing benefits to seniors. Will the Minister of Finance tell the House how much the CPP payment to seniors is going to come down? Will it be 50 per cent or more?

[Doug Peters, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister answered that question yesterday.

Unlike the Reform Party that is going to destroy pensions for low income Canadians, we are sure that we can maintain a public pension system for the benefit of Canadians and that is what we intend to do.

Human Rights

[Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral, Bloc, Laval Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of State responsible for the Status of Women.

Ann Raney is an engineer. Until quite recently, she had a job repairing the Peace Tower. The victim of sexual harassment, she is now without a job, as are the colleagues who supported her. Her harasser, however, still has his job.

Can the minister tell us when the Canadian government will decide to terminate its contract with Fuller Construction, which is responsible for hiring the subcontractor, Colonial, by invoking the clause which states that a company committing discriminatory actions breaches that contract?

[John Harvard, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the answer to this question is quite straightforward. There is an agreement already between the general contractor and the subcontractor.

When issues of this kind come to our attention of course we are concerned. At this time there are discussions between our department and Labour Canada to work toward strengthening anti-discrimination clauses in contracts. An agreement has already been reached between the general contractor and the subcontractor.

[Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral, Bloc, Laval Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it seems clear that the government is taking full advantage of an out of court agreement. The problem nevertheless remains unresolved. It also seems clear that the government does not wish to take any action against sexual harassment committed by subcontractors. Would this by any chance be because the government thinks that the Canadian Human Rights Act is worth no more than the paper it is written on?

[John Harvard, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate what I said before. An agreement is already in place between the general contractor and the subcontractor. That settlement does not speak to any sentiments that we have with respect to human rights legislation.

Let me also point out that there are a couple of outstanding issues in this regard having to do with moneys owed. The government is concerned about that. It has appointed a facilitator to try to work out a settlement so that all parties can be satisfied with the outcome.

Goods And Services Tax

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

Mr. Speaker, this web of deception coming from the government now covers Atlantic Canada as well. In addition, it involves provincial Liberal governments.

The cost to this government in terms of its credibility is mounting, not to mention the $1 billion it tacked on in out of control debt.

Would the finance minister please explain to us beleaguered taxpayers listening from coast to coast why he considers it good financial planning to spend another $1 billion of their money to rearrange a tax, simply to bail this government out of an election promise it had not intended to keep in the first place?

[Doug Peters, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, this is simply nonsense. The government has never pitted one region against another.

When the government enacted tax reform in 1972 every single province received compensation over a five-year period. When Ontario was hard hit by the recession in 1991 and 1992 it received $1 billion in stabilization payments. When grain marketing dived in the late eighties the federal government provided $7 billion in assistance to western farmers.

I could go on, but all of these things are compensation. This is a further example of the federation working properly.