Debates of Nov. 20th, 1997

Canada Post

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, what this government wants is a collective agreement. It is unfortunate that we continually hear talk of legislation, talk that will do nothing but hurt the negotiations. Both parties are at the table. Let us leave them at the table to see if they can come up with a collective agreement that will be better for the people of Canada. Let us not be making statements that will hurt the negotiations.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, both parties have been at the table for seven months and the strike started yesterday.

This morning the office of the Liberal MP for Leeds—Grenville told a constituent that the government did not want to legislate the workers back because it would hurt the morale of the union members.

Let us look at who is hurting here. The Canadian public is hurting.

I want to ask the labour minister right now does he have legislation in place to put these workers back to work and if he does have legislation in place, what is the hold-up?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that they have to continue talking about something that does nothing but hurt the negotiations. Let us be constructive. We have both sides at the table. They want to come up with a collective agreement. Let us support both sides in order to come up with an agreement that will be better for CUPW, better for the post office and better for the people of Canada.

Quebec's Partition

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

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

Yesterday, the minister said that when it came to the sovereignty of Quebec, they could not exclude the possibility that changing borders is the lesser evil. This is clearly a statement in support of the proposal to partition a sovereign Quebec.

Are we to understand that, by making this statement, the minister is becoming the moral support, the political representative and the chief leader of the partitionist movement in Quebec?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this is typical of the separatist leaders: when they do not know what to say about something, they try to run down their opponent.

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

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

Will the Prime Minister admit that the partitionist movement being led by his minister is rejected by the Quebec people and that his government should dissociate itself for once and for all from this completely irresponsible, not to say outright dangerous, movement?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the people of Quebec have voted twice to remain in Canada.

Second, every time the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs writes a letter, the Parti Quebecois, the Government of Quebec and the Bloc Quebecois, being unable to reply in writing, try to insult him.

Canada Post

[Dale Johnston, Reform, Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have lost access to the postal system. The Minister of Labour says that he supports the collective bargaining process. So do we. But when will he act to do something about this monopoly that 30 million Canadians do not have an alternative to?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, all I can say to my hon. colleague is please let the system work. Both parties are at the table. They are trying to come up with a deal that will be better for Canada, better for the post office and a deal that will be better for CUPW. Let us let them do their negotiating.

[Dale Johnston, Reform, Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, for seven months this process has been going on and the results have been that there has been not bargaining in earnest but actually depending on the government at some point to legislate them back to work, like it has done time and time again.

When will the minister take some action and restore the postal service?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, the only unfortunate thing is that these statements are doing nothing but hurting the process.

My hon. colleague talks about businesses under the federal jurisdiction. I have indicated before that in the last year of the businesses under the federal jurisdiction, 94.5% have settled without a dispute. It is a good system. The collective bargaining system has served us well in this country for years. Let it work.

The Environment

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

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

Yesterday, in Montreal, the Minister of Transport said that his government intended to become involved in public transportation, which is under provincial jurisdiction, as part of the struggle against greenhouse gases.

Before he starts meddling in other people's business, why does the minister not give priority to saving VIA Rail, which is dying a slow death because the federal government lacks the courage to act to enable it to develop? This is something that is in his bailiwick, let him mind his own business.

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

My goodness, Mr. Speaker, I never thought that one speech in Montreal would excite the hon. member so much.

The fact is the reports of the federal government interfering in provincial jurisdictions in this area are totally wrong. We have a collaborative approach with the various transport ministries across the country which work very well. However, there is no denying that there is an urban congestion problem.

What I said in Montreal I will say here again. We want to work with the provinces and others to help relieve that problem.

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont, QC]

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

How does the minister justify the fact that her government is paying out hundreds of millions of dollars directly or indirectly to support the oil industry, when it is throwing only crumbs to support the development of renewable energy?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman's information is factually incorrect. Since the late 1980s the amount of direct spending by the Government of Canada in relation to the energy sector has dropped dramatically. In our last two budgets, 1996 and 1997, we substantially enhanced the amount of resources dedicated to renewable energy, energy efficiency and alternative sources. The hon. gentleman should catch up with the facts.

Canada Post

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it seems that we are the only party in the House that is concerned about this post office strike.

The minister tells us to have confidence in the collective bargaining process at Canada Post. That process has led to a strike or a disruption once every two and a half years for the last 10 years.

So I ask the minister again will he acknowledge that the process is broken and legislate those workers back to work?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, it is most unfortunate that we have to continually talk about something that does nothing but hurt the process.

The member is criticizing a system that has been over 90% successful in the last year. The collective bargaining system has served us well over the last many years.

Let it work. Let Canada Post and CUPW come up with a collective agreement that will serve Canadians well.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, what hurts the process is not statements from this side. It is inaction, an unwillingness to act, on the part of the government. That is what encourages both sides not to co-operate.

Will the minister not acknowledge that the process he is relying upon is broken and do something to fix it and do something today?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, this process is under part 1 of the Canada Labour Code. It has been updated periodically. In fact legislation was just tabled. What it does is that it updates the process.

The process has served us well for years. A process that has over a 94% success rate is not a process that needs to be torn apart and then fixed. The collective bargaining process has worked well. Please let it work.

Indian Affairs

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

Many voices have been raised to decry the sad history of residential schools for native peoples, which were set up to break their ancestral culture. These schools almost wiped out a generation of native people, and the federal government has an enormous responsibility in this sad story.

When and how does the minister plan to publicly apologize to the native communities that were the victims of this tragedy?

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

Mr. Speaker, the stories of residential schools were explained and described very well in the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

It is a commitment of the government to respond to the royal commission as soon as possible, and we will do so.

International Trade

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

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

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in the business women's trade mission to Washington which involved 120 participants from across the nation.

What action is the government taking following this trade mission to ensure that women are meaningful participants in the export industry of Canada?

[Julian Reed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, in thanking the hon. member for her question I should report to the House that she was part of a history making event, the first female entrepreneur trade mission in the history of the country.

I am also pleased to report to the House that the minister announced a women's trade summit would be held in Toronto in 1999. Women are making a great contribution to the economy of the country.

Canada Post

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, low income people, seniors and people who live in rural Canada are the people who depend on Canada Post to stay in touch with their friends and family. We have an instance of a charity in Montreal that uses Canada Post to do its fund-raising so it can do its good work.

Why is the government allowing all these very vulnerable groups and individuals to suffer because of its inaction?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, of course the government is concerned but we must let the process work.

As far as social assistance cheques are concerned they will be delivered by CUPW.