Debates of Oct. 6th, 1997

Rcmp Investigations

[André Bachand, Progressive Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week we learned that after writing to the RCMP, the Minister of Human Resources Development informed two of his cabinet colleagues, namely the Minister of Public Works, who was responsible for the election campaign in Quebec, and the President of the Treasury Board. This is strange.

My question is for the President of the Treasury Board. Will the minister confirm to this House that one or several employees in his Montreal office conveyed to or shared with Pierre Gobeil, who is currently under investigation, or other members, confidential government information for financing purposes?

[Marcel Massé, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, since the information on the companies was not of a confidential nature, as the Minister of Human Resources Development indicated, and since the information was widely disseminated, including to opposition parties and to the provincial government, the answer to the hon. member is no.

Political Contributions

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

Mr. Speaker, if the human resources development minister was doing what the prime minister suggests by simply fulfilling his duty, why was it that the Minister of Human Resources Development felt it was incumbent upon him to report this to the minister of public works and the President of the Treasury Board immediately after bringing this to the attention of the RCMP? Why did this happen and why did he feel it was necessary to bring it to the attention of those two particular ministers?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, to me it is absolutely elementary that when allegations have been brought to your attention that you have actually written to the police and reported them to the police, that after you have made your decision and taken action upon them, you do inform your colleagues who are responsible for the organizations touched by the allegations.

Acid Rain

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment, Ms. Christine Stewart—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Dear colleague, you are not to use the name of the minister but rather her title.

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment. Acid rain is of great concern to all foresters, especially those in my riding of Beauce.

I would like to know what measures the government plans to take to alleviate this problem.

[Christine Stewart, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government through its various programs in collaboration with partners has been able to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions by half since the 1980s. A joint report has recently indicated that we have a lot further to go, that we must continue to reduce those emissions by as much as up to 75 percent.

The federal government when meeting with energy and environment ministers from the provinces in the coming weeks will discuss the recent report and find out how we can indeed reduce the emissions in order to protect our industries and health in Canada.

Canada Pension Plan

[Diane Ablonczy, Reform, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today we are debating the Canada pension plan. The contributions for this plan under the government's proposal would be nearly doubled over five years, yet the return for people just entering the plan would be less than 2.5 percent and that is according to the government's own actuaries.

I ask the minister how this can possibly be fair to younger Canadians.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as a result of the change in the plan whereby it will be invested in the markets by a private sector investment board at arm's length from government, it is fully expected that the plan will in fact have a return commensurate with any private sector plan. Certainly that is a better return than that suggested by the Reform Party under the super RRSP given the fact that its administration costs are going to be the lowest of any pension plan in the country.

Satellite Dishes

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

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

In its July 1995 statement, the government wrote that the CRTC should not deny operating licences to companies providing direct satellite broadcasting services for reasons of economic viability.

Is the minister aware that this is why he is directly responsible for the bankruptcy of Alphastar and its impact—

[The Speaker]

The parliamentary secretary has the floor.

[Walt Lastewka, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, members of the House will know that the CRTC is a separate body at arm's length from the government. It has reviewed these items and made its decision. If there is any additional information which needs to be brought forward, it may be forwarded to the CRTC.

Health

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, almost two weeks ago the Minister of Health announced a moratorium on cuts to the drug and food research lab and specifically promised to undo the food research reductions that he had ordered in July. Twelve days later the affected research labs are still sitting idle, knowledgeable scientists are leaving the country and Canadians are unprotected in the event of a bacteria attack in Canada's food system.

Will the minister commit today to giving back to the scientists the equipment he took away in July so that they can get on with the job of protecting Canada's food supply?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the member and the House knows my commitment. My commitment is to the safety of Canadians.

I put a moratorium on further cuts in the health protection branch. I am about to appoint an arm's length board of scientists who will give independent advice on these issues. We are going to consult with Canadians and with those who know on the future of the health protection branch. We are going to make sure that the bottom line for this government is also the bottom line for Canadians. Safety comes first.

Environment

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

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

The $31 billion Canadian oil and gas industry has not been invited to the environment conference as part of the official delegation in Kyoto, Japan.

The government's fondness for spending taxpayers' money has incited fear that it may impose a carbon tax. The oil and gas sector will have to try to survive anything decided in Kyoto.

Could the environment minister tell us why the Canadian petroleum producers have not been invited to Kyoto?

[Christine Stewart, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government is currently very engaged in preparing for the Kyoto agenda in December. As part of that ongoing work I have been meeting on a regular basis with provincial counterparts, with business and industry, with environmental NGO groups. Among those partners have indeed been representatives of the fossil fuel industry. I am very open as are my other colleagues here to their comments and concerns around meeting our objectives for Kyoto, Japan.

Multiculturalism

[Sarmite Bulte, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism.

Media reports today indicate that while support for immigration has grown gradually in recent years, some Canadian communities are less tolerant than others. What is the government doing to combat racism and to reinforce respect for diversity in this country?

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism)(Status of Women)]

Mr. Speaker, that is precisely why the multiculturalism program exists. We have just set up the Canadian Race Relations Foundation so that we can deal with the issue of racism across the country.

We also have programs in our health institutions, municipalities, police forces and schools to be able to develop grassroots programs to assist communities in dealing with racism and tolerance.

I want to point out to the hon. member that in spite of the fact that we complain about some societies being less tolerant than others, the overall average score even for the least tolerant in our communities in Canada is still almost close to five, with five being the most tolerant of all.

British Columbia

[Randy White, Reform, Langley—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

Over the years the government has called crime in British Columbia as isolated incidents. Military bases have closed in British Columbia. A fisheries minister from British Columbia fails to support the province in its salmon problems.

B.C. sends its concerns, its hopes and its money to Ottawa. Are the only things Ottawa can send to British Columbia disrespectful cabinet ministers and the bills for this government's outrageous spending habits?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are concerned about the happiness of the people in British Columbia. We have chosen Vancouver as the location for the big APEC meeting that will be held in November.

If there is any place in Canada that has benefited from the open skies policy it is the Vancouver airport. There will be 8,000 more flights coming into Vancouver during the next year due to the opening up of Vancouver and British Columbia to the Pacific. The reason we have made this year the year of the Asia-Pacific is Canadians know that the gate to the Asia-Pacific for our country is Vancouver and British Columbia.

Presence In Gallery

[The Speaker]

I draw the attention of members to the presence in the gallery of members of a delegation of parliamentarians from the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

Points Of Order

[Louise Hardy, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Skeena brought up the name of the Kwanlin Dun band in referring to having misappropriated funds or in terms that were quite derogatory to the band.

The people of Kwanlin Dun are very cautious with their funds and I would like the member for Skeena to withdraw the name of Kwanlin Dun