Debates of Oct. 6th, 1997

Revenue Canada

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the member is more interested in theatrics than in facts. We have to deal with the facts.

The fact of the matter—and he even said it himself—is that because it is before a quasi-judicial board we should not be commenting on it. He should know better. He should be responsible and understand that there is a process.

We respect that process and will continue to respect it.

Rcmp Investigations

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Human Resources Development told us about the action he took to ensure that the allegations we have been discussing for several days regarding Liberal Party fundraising would not lead to the spread of fraudulent activities. So he took action in his own department.

However, I want to ask the Prime Minister, who did not answer these questions, what he did in the government as a whole, since there is more than one department that awards contracts, when the Prime Minister, as was his duty, intervened in cabinet to ensure that such activities did not take place during and before the election campaign?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, all ministers were instructed that if charges of this nature are brought to their attention, it is their duty to inform the police immediately. That is exactly what the minister did. He did his duty, he handed the case over to the police, who are investigating the matter, and when the police finish their investigation, they will draw the appropriate conclusions.

These instructions apply to all ministers at this time. It is the best way to handle this, because when charges of this nature are made, it is the duty of the police to intervene.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, considering that such allegations were made, did the Prime Minister himself or any of his ministers intervene to ensure that the individual or individuals in question were not involved with them in the process of awarding grants?

Since he was aware of these allegations, did he inform cabinet that this kind of influence peddling was taking place during that period, as of March 6, 1997?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, they are investigating a very specific case. The minister did exactly what he was supposed to do by informing the police of the charges, and the police will conduct their investigation.

At the time the minister had no better course of action, and those were exactly the instructions he received, like the other ministers. That is the way to handle this, in other words, inform the police and let them do their job.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Mike Scott, Reform, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have another question on accountability. Nearly 30 years ago the prime minister promised aboriginals “full social, economic and political participation in Canadian life”.

Three decades later the heartbreaking reality is that aboriginal youth commit suicide at six times the national rate, aboriginal infant mortality is twice as high, and more aboriginal youth go to jail than to university.

Given that the federal government has spent over $80 billion on this matter since 1969, could the prime minister give us an accounting of what went wrong?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad my critic opposite understands the circumstances that face aboriginal people.

Our government is committed to working in partnership with aboriginal people, with the first nations, with the Inuit.

I would hope in the course of this that he understands the role he can play as a member of Parliament as we build together a strategy that will ensure all aboriginal people participate fully in the wealth and prosperity of this great country.

[Mike Scott, Reform, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's answer in no way addresses the issue of what happened over the last 30 years. If we talk to ordinary people in bands like the Stoney, the Siksika, the Kwanlin Dun, the Samson Cree, the Shushwap and on and on, they will tell us where the money is gone. It has been wasted, pocketed, misappropriated, gone missing, blown on fancy trips and plundered in 100 different ways.

What tools will the prime minister give to ordinary aboriginals to hold their band councils and the department of Indian affairs accountable?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to be able to respond to this question.

The Reform Party has done an incredible job at trying to smear and broad brush all aboriginal frustrations on the basis of a very few.

If we look at the facts the vast majority of first nations are accountable. They provide transparent governance to their people. They have processes of accountability. They have systems that are some of the best. We need to work with them to build capacity and good governance for aboriginal people.

Money Laundering

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

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

Here is a little quiz for the minister: What do Joseph Lagana, Vincent Vecchio, Richard Judd, Santiago Sanchez, Jean Lamarche, René Rodrigue and Giuseppe Tanaglia have in common? They were all found guilty of money laundering and they were all released just a few months after their sentence was handed down, that is after serving only one-third or one-sixth of the sentence.

What is the minister waiting for to introduce legislation on money laundering, as the Bloc Quebecois has been asking for a long time, so as to, among other things, prevent anyone from being released before serving a full sentence?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I must confess I am not exactly sure what the hon. member is referring to.

If he is referring to conditional sentencing provisions that were put in place by my predecessor, that legislation deals with an array of crimes in which it is possible to have those who are sentenced to do time of less than two years but in fact are—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Hamilton Mountain.

Health

[Beth Phinney, Liberal, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

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

Many of my constituents have expressed concern regarding the usage of herbal remedies and the regulation of these natural products.

What action is the government taking to ensure the accessibility and regulation of natural health remedies to protect both consumers and practitioners?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, millions of Canadians now make use of natural products and herbal homoeopathic remedies for their personal health needs. The government believes that Canadians should have the broadest range of choice available to them when they decide what is good for them individually.

As a result we have made a fundamental change in the way herbal remedies and natural products will be regulated. We have decided to exempt those products from the regulation that will come into effect next January 1. Instead we will refer the whole matter of regulating these products to the health committee. The key thing is—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Calgary Northeast.

National Defence

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the public has a right to know what is happening in defence headquarters.

The Somalia inquiry pointed its finger at the department of defence bureaucrats who deliberately prevented the release of pertinent information.

What specific steps will the minister take to address the accountability recommendations outlined in the Somalia report so the public can see what is going on in that department?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I do not agree with the preamble to the question.

We are looking at the 160 recommendations of the Somalia inquiry. As indicated, I think we will find agreement with most of them. Very soon we will issue our response. We will not only respond to the Somalia inquiry but we will comment on the many things that we have done since then to bring about institutional changes and reforms in the Department of National Defence and the Canadian forces.

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the recommendations, it has taken this minister a long time to get down to the basics.

The minister knows full well there is a culture of cover-up in that department that still exists and he still has not dealt with that. The new chief of defence staff stated that he wants more openness and he immediately put the boot to the military top ranks. Now it is time to purge the bureaucrats from the ranks. Why will the minister not turf the senior bureaucrats who are responsible for trying to hide the truth before another bad report comes in?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we do not have people who are trying to hide the truth.

There is no doubt that during the time of the Somalia incidents poor judgment was exercised in the case of some people, but there has been no government wide or forces wide conspiracy and none was found in the Somalia inquiry report.

We are not waiting for the response to the Somalia inquiry report. We have already instituted many changes in terms of leadership, management, training and many other factors which affect the Canadian forces, so that we can all continue to be proud of the good work that they do.

Environment

[Rick Laliberte, NDP, Churchill River, SK]

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

It has been reported that the Chrétien government wants more cuts to the environment, another—

[The Speaker]

I would ask the hon. member to go directly to his question.

[Rick Laliberte, NDP, Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, will the minister defend her department staff and mandate from the finance minister's destructive financial policies?

[Christine Stewart, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I believe my colleague refers to a news item that talked about additional cuts to staffing in Environment Canada. This is not a new agenda. This results from the 1996 program review cuts. We had hoped that we would be able to prevent additional layoffs in the department through cost recovery programs, but our analysis indicated we had to take action now.

[Rick Laliberte, NDP, Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is reported that the environmental protection branch, a key department that helps regulate polluting industries, is targeted for cuts consistent with the ongoing direction of federal-provincial harmonization.

Will the minister explain to this House the contents and the extent of the discussions on harmonization with provincial governments and the impact they will have on federal environmental responsibilities and jurisdictions?

[Christine Stewart, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the talks that are occurring right now have nothing to do with a harmonization agenda. In fact our department is very concerned about protecting our environment and the health and safety of all Canadians. Our processes of reviewing our priorities are going to ensure that those objectives are met.

Harmonization is a totally different topic. It is one whereby the federal government works collaboratively with its provincial partners on a specific agenda to make sure that the environment is protected to the highest of standards.