House of Commons Hansard #35 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was devco.
Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, that is not the auditor general's position. In any event, the auditor general's position will be clarified.
Ian Murray Liberal Lanark—Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry.
Canadians have become alarmed at the victimization of vulnerable people by fraudulent telemarketers. Could the parliamentary secretary assure the House that the amendments introduced to the Competition Act will be effective in ending this deplorable practice?
Walt Lastewka LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, telemarketing scams are estimated to be in the $4 billion mark.
Tough new measures have just been introduced in the House in Bill C-20. The bill will attack telemarketing scam artists. The bill will crack down on criminals by amending the misleading advertising provisions of Canada's Competition Act.
I thank the member for his question. I urge everyone in the House to take action to inform their constituents of the phone scam and the seniors busters program.
Gurmant Grewal Reform Surrey Central, BC
Mr. Speaker, the minister in charge of CIDA is mismanaging her department. She is using budget cuts to absolve herself of her responsibility to ensure accountability at CIDA.
Now more than ever CIDA needs the Aid Effectiveness Advisory Committee that it asked for in 1994 to manage CIDA budget cuts. If she is planning to give her senior officials the tools they need to ensure accountability at CIDA, why did she refuse to establish this committee?
Diane Marleau LiberalMinister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for Francophonie
Mr. Speaker, since we brought in some very strict and very big cuts to CIDA we have done a lot of work to streamline the administration at CIDA.
The hon. member is asking us to put in another layer of bureaucracy. Somehow it does not seem to sit well with what they usually tell us.
Daniel Turp Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, or rather the Deputy Prime Minister.
Since 1990, it has been standard practice for a detailed report to be tabled before this House on exports of Canadian defence goods. This year, the report has still not been tabled, more than six months after the usual date of publication.
While the government is boasting of being an agent of moderation and a great pacifier in the international community, what is it concealing from us by delaying the publication of this report?
Don Boudria LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, this has to do with the tabling of a report.
If the hon. member informs us that a document has not been tabled in the House, I will commit to finding out what is going on. If it must be tabled in the House, it will be, as soon as possible.
Michelle Dockrill NDP Bras D'Or, NS
Mr. Speaker, my question is addressed to the Minister of Natural Resources. Devco's chairman, Mr. Joe Shannon, pretends to be working hard to modernize Devco.
One of his projects has been to rip up the rail track used to haul coal away from the mines. In the name of efficiency trucks are now used instead. I am sure it is the desire to modernize that has led Mr. Shannon to pursue this project.
I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Mr. Shannon is the owner of one of the largest trucking companies on Cape Breton Island.
While the House has heard many stories about Liberal patronage, it is rare to find an example this blatant—
Gerry Byrne LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has made a very specific allegation but in a very roundabout way.
The chairman and the entire board of directors of Devco are actively pursuing the revitalization of this crown corporation. I am pleased with the work they are doing under difficult circumstances.
Facing an international environment for these types of markets is a difficult process. They are doing a very good job. We support them fully and I encourage the hon. member to do the same instead of making silly accusations.
Gerry Ritz Reform Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK
Mr. Speaker, the finance minister is deaf to his colleague's admission the other day that the Liberals are “very familiar with the fact that our income taxes are very high”.
Will the government do the responsible thing and bring tax relief to millions of working Canadians who have been impoverished by bracket creep, or the one million small business owners whose small business deduction remains unchanged for 15 years?
Where is the tax relief for all Canadians from the government's insatiable tax appetite?
Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member missed the announcement by my colleague, the Minister of Human Resources Development. Let me repeat it.
As a result of his announcement that the employment insurance premiums will drop from $2.90 to $2.70, we have just provided Canadians with a tax cut of $1.4 billion.
TaxationOral Question Period
The Deputy Speaker
Order. That will bring to a close the question period for today.
Presence In GalleryOral Question Period
The Deputy Speaker
I wish to draw to the attention of members the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Xiao Yang, Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China.
Presence In GalleryOral Question Period
The Deputy Speaker
While I am on my feet, I would like to remind members of a very important anniversary. Nine years ago today, the brilliant and very distinguished class of 1988 was elected for the first time to this House. I want to congratulate all my colleagues on this very happy anniversary occasion.
Ken Epp Reform Elk Island, AB
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order.
I was just wondering about your comment. Were you talking about the brilliant class of 1988 including the 211 Conservatives who were elected at that time?
Presence In GalleryOral Question Period
The Deputy Speaker
I was talking about the brilliant members of the class of 1988 who are here in the House celebrating the anniversary. I am sure the hon. member would not to confuse the issue.
Presence In GalleryOral Question Period
The Deputy Speaker
I have notice of a question of privilege.
Bev Desjarlais NDP Churchill, MB
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of privilege concerning a press release issued by the member for Dauphin—Swan River, dated November 19, 1997.
Beauchesne, citations 64 through 70, make it clear that reflections on a member of Parliament that make it impossible for that member to fulfil their duties properly comprise a breach of privilege.
On November 18, at the Standing Committee on Transportation I introduced an amendment that would ensure the employees of the Canadian ports that they would not be subjected to undue hardship as a result of changes to Bill C-9.
Reform did not introduce an amendment that would protect these employees. Yet the member for Dauphin—Swan River did a press release which he inaccurately headlined “Liberals and NDP oppose protection for ports employees.”
Such misrepresentations make it impossible for me to fulfil my duties as a member of Parliament. The actions that I took at a committee of this House, actions which are a matter of record, are deliberately misrepresented to the public by a fellow member of that committee. This is not a matter for debate or question of interpretation or of nuance. It is a case where I am accused of not doing something that the records show I did.
I move that the—
PrivilegeOral Question Period
The Deputy Speaker
I have listened carefully to the hon. member's comments which strike me as being in the nature of a complaint. I understand that sometimes in either debates in the House or press releases or in statements outside the House, members may say things about one another that are considered by the other to be inaccurate or a misrepresentation.
The normal method of dealing with such things is through either making a speech in the House, as the hon. member has done on this occasion, or by sending out another press release or whatever steps the member may think appropriate.
However, I do not believe this constitutes a question of privilege and I certainly do not believe that the statements made, however offensive the hon. member may have found them, are in any way impeding her ability to carry on her duties as a member of this place. That is the test of a question of privilege.
I will consider the matter closed.
Joe Jordan Liberal Leeds—Grenville, ON
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order.
Yesterday, in response to a statement by the member for Edmonton North that I took to be an accusation about my staff who were not here to defend themselves, I still feel very strongly about that. As a result of subsequent discussions with the member, I am convinced that it was not her intention to give that impression and I would like to withdraw my comments from yesterday.
Rob Anders Reform Calgary West, AB
Mr. Speaker, how can we be asked to rise and stand for a man who represents justice in a country like China when he was the butcher of Tiananmen Square? How can we do that?
Points Of OrderOral Question Period
The Deputy Speaker
I think the hon. member has the right to remain at his seat, should he wish to do so. It is entirely appropriate, when a foreign guest is here in our gallery, that the fact of his presence be recognized. That is what the Chair did and I think that is entirely appropriate.
Keith Martin Reform Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC
Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order. I do not know how we can actually stand up in this House—