Debates of May 7th, 1996

International Trade

[Maud Debien, Bloc, Laval East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister for International Trade.

The organization Development and Peace recently collected 163,500 names on a petition condemning the terrible working conditions that prevail in the factories of certain foreign subcontractors of clothing giants Nike and Levi's. The main victims are women, adolescents and even children.

Can the minister tell us what Canada is doing to keep products such as those sold by Nike and Levi's, which are manufactured under deplorable working conditions, from coming into the country?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, we are concerned about issues of labour. It has been a key part of our discussions with Chile about the free trade agreement. A concern with respect to child labour has been raised by the Prime Minister and my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, on a number of occasions.

We continue to work with our trading partners, particularly through the International Labour Organization and the World Trade Organization, to try to bring about a greater involvement, a greater respect for human rights and for good labour standards.

[Maud Debien, Bloc, Laval East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, despite the concerns and preoccupations of the minister, and fine sentiments such as those expressed by the Prime Minister in China, the situation has not changed in the slightest. I would like to know: Can the minister tell us if he intends, in the near future, to require that foreign operations of Canadian companies observe humane standards of work, in particular by prohibiting child labour?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly found in the case of Chile and our discussions there, because it has been a matter of some controversy for the Canadian labour movement, that Canadian companies were acting most responsibly. They are leading the way in terms of working conditions, wages and benefits.

I expect that Canadian companies would act responsibly abroad. We have had many occasions to encourage that and will continue to do so.

Raw Milk Cheese

[Mark Assad, Liberal, Gatineau—La Lièvre, QC]

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

On March 30 of this year, the Canada Gazette printed draft regulations on raw milk cheese. Numerous Quebec manufacturers and some Italian delis in Vancouver have expressed their concerns about these proposed regulations.

Can the Minister of Health bring this House up to date on the situation concerning raw milk cheese?

[David Dingwall, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, other members of my caucus and members opposite for raising this issue in the House.

On a previous occasion I had an opportunity to consume products from raw milk cheese and found them to be very good products.

It is not the intention of the Government of Canada to abandon the industry, the producers, the consumers or the scientific community in any way. There is a process in place, an expert advisory committee, to review all options that will come forward including technological enhancements and labelling.

We look forward to the deliberations, some of which will take place in Quebec City tomorrow.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, the auditor general disclosed today that Revenue Canada has approved a very questionable tax loophole for the rich. The loophole has allowed $2 billion of assets from family trusts to leave the country tax free.

My question is for the Minister of Finance. Why did the government take two and a half years to close a secret loophole that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenues while refusing to back off one inch on the GST?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, as the new Minister of National Revenue I can say that I welcome my first advice from the auditor general.

The case in point refers to two tax rulings in 1985 and 1991 reviewed by the auditor general which predate our government. He raised some very important issues. I sat down with the auditor general. I went through his report line by line to be sure that I was clear what his concerns were and to ask him for his views on appropriate action.

I am glad to say he was clear and identified three areas of concern. His ideas for action were consistent with my own and along with the Minister of Finance we have been able to implement that action as we speak.

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

Mr. Speaker, we really need to know whether the minister or the auditor general is running the department. That is the type of answer we want.

When we take a look at the facts we find that every bureaucrat involved in decision making said that in a way it was a tax loophole. That is well documented in every meeting they had, but when it got to the final meeting with senior bureaucrats and perhaps even politicians-we do not know-there were no minutes, no record, and the decision was reversed.

Will the minister explain to the taxpayers of Canada why they have to pay their income taxes while the rich and powerful can get a backroom, under the table deal to save hundreds of millions of dollars?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, this occurred in 1991. I want the hon. member to understand that we have taken the matter extremely seriously.

Let us be clear. The auditor general has said that he has some concerns about potential ambiguities in the Income Tax Act. He wants them to be clarified. So do we.

We have asked that the finance committee review these particular aspects of the Income Tax Act and report back to us. We will look forward to its recommendations.

Auditor General's Report

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Defence.

According to information obtained today from the Auditor General's report, the Department of National Defence has sustained a total of $80 million in equipment losses in the various peacekeeping missions in which Canada has played a support role.

How can the Minister of National Defence explain that his department has written off its equipment losses at $80 million, when it has been unable to provide the auditor general with the supporting documents to explain those losses?

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

Mr. Speaker, in answer to the hon. member's question I should point out that some of the documentation has been forthcoming. There is an ongoing discussion with the auditor general on this matter.

It is true that some equipment does get lost during missions. We are trying to verify whether the figure that was actually tabled today is accurate. We will know once all the facts are known.

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

Mr. Speaker, since the auditor general considers that this $80 million hole is in large part unexplained, will the Minister of National Defence be starting up another search operation to locate the missing documents, as he did for the Somalia inquiry?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will take that question in the spirit in which it was asked.

Correctional Services Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, this morning the auditor general added his voice to the growing number of critics of Correctional Services Canada. In a scathing confirmation that quantifies what we have been claiming all along, his overall impression of the government and its bureaucracy was that of a rudderless ship with no one at the helm.

My question is for the acting solicitor general. If the most important aspect of the two-part mandate of CSC is rehabilitation, why is it spending a mere 7 per cent of its $1 billion budget on rehabilitation while the bureaucrats squander another 93 per cent on operating costs?

[Nick Discepola, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the auditor general's report came out this morning. The solicitor general has looked at the report and welcomes its recommendations.

We also recognize, as the report states, that Correctional Services Canada has made tremendous positive gains in its rehabilitation programs. Some of the programs that have been implemented have received international recognition.

International Trade

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Essex—Windsor, ON]

Mr. Speaker, businesses in border communities like my riding of Essex-Windsor are increasingly aware of the growing protectionist sentiment in the United States.

Could the Minister for International Trade outline what the problems are and what he is doing to stand up for the interests of all Canadians?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, over the last 50 years under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade we have made substantial progress in terms of the world trading system.

We have a system that is much more open, liberalized, clearer and with fairer rules than ever before. We have had substantial leadership from the United States and we continue to need that leadership.

We do not need the Americans to pull back into a protectionist mode. That will not serve their interests or anybody's interests. We do not need bills like the Helms-Burton bill wherein they start to take action against their friends, their neighbours and their major trading partners because they are trying to get at another country such as Cuba in this case.

We continue to protest that action. That is not leadership, but we still need their leadership in terms of having liberalized and clear rules based trading system.

Report Of Auditor General

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

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

According to the auditor general's report tabled today, senior officials met several times so they could issue an advance ruling on the taxation of capital gains from family trusts. The auditor general questions the validity of this ruling by finance officials.

What does the Minister of Finance intend to do to correct the situation and prevent the government from losing the hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes it will forgo if nothing is done in the next few weeks?

[Christine Stewart, Liberal, Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa)]

Mr. Speaker, in response to the concern of the auditor general that perhaps our documentation was not as complete as it might be, my deputy minister met with the deputy minister of finance and we have implemented improvements to our documentation for important rulings.

National Defence

[Jim Hart, Reform, Okanagan—Similkameen—Merritt, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government says that it believes in integrity and accountability to Canadians.

At the same time it allowed a senior military official to spend an outrageous $250,000 on a change of command party. That is a quarter of a million taxpayer dollars spent by Major General McInnis on a party for himself.

Obviously the chain of command at the defence department has completely broken down. Why did the minister fail to prevent this outrageous waste of taxpayers' money?

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

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that this is an example of a flagrant waste of money. It is extravagant. It is unacceptable.

I disagree with the conclusion of the hon. member. We have a new commander of the army. We have a new chief of defence staff who has laid down the rules in no uncertain terms to senior military officers that they have to behave in a way with the public's money as the public would have them behave.

The Constitution

[Jean Charest, Progressive Conservative, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister and concerns the first ministers conference he mentioned a few moments ago.

I would like to know, on the one hand, whether the Prime Minister can tell us today the agenda of the proposed conference, which is to take place very soon, in June, and, on the other, whether he intends to move on respecting his referendum promises, including the promise to enshrine in the Constitution the recognition of Quebec as a distinct society?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the agenda is not ready at this time. The Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs met with representatives of most governments and consulted them regarding the agenda, which will be made known when we have finalized it. I will meet next week with the premier of Quebec. The minister will be in Quebec City on Thursday of this week, and we must also speak with representatives of other governments.

The agenda is not ready yet, but when it is, we will be happy to table it in the House.

As for the promise I made, I submitted a resolution in this very House to that effect. In order to enshrine it in the Canadian Constitution, the consent of the Government of Quebec is necessary. I would be only too glad if Bloc Quebecois members across the way could arrange to have the premier of Quebec tell us that he wants distinct society enshrined in the Constitution.

I am certain that the House of Commons will be delighted to pass the bill, with the approval of the required number of Canadian provinces. But the Government of Quebec must tell us that that is what it wants. We cannot do this unilaterally, because the Constitution does not allow us to.

Health

[Charles Caccia, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Can the minister assure the House that he has sufficient regulatory and enforcement powers and means to prevent the use of the remains of infected livestock in feed for other livestock so as to protect the health and safety of Canadians?