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.
David Kilgour LiberalSecretary of State (Latin America and Africa)
Mr. Speaker, the member will probably know that in the case of Indonesia, the leader of the east Timorese people, Noble Peace prize winner Mr. José Ramos-Horta, last night on the National said: “Canada should welcome Indonesian President Suharto with dignity but also take a hard line on human rights. They can have a face to face dialogue with him, firm but non-confrontational”.
I would submit that is an indication of what we are trying to do.
Gordon Earle NDP Halifax West, NS
Mr. Speaker, I rise on the anniversary of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples report to say shame on this Liberal government.
The minister of Indian affairs says they need yet more time to respond. There has been enough time to read 50 compelling and damning pages of systematic and ritualized physical, sexual and emotional abuse of aboriginal children in residential schools.
My question is clear. All else aside, will the government say two words to begin the healing, two words, we're sorry?
Bernard Patry LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.
I just want to report to him that there were 440 recommendations in the RCAP. The report is not on the shelf. Rather it is one of the most important tools we have at our disposal. What we are going to do is in the Speech from the Throne and the government will act as soon as possible.
Bev Desjarlais NDP Churchill, MB
Mr. Speaker, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples report recommends that the Metis people of Canada have the right to be acknowledged under section 91(21) of the Constitution Act, 1867.
Will the Liberal government acknowledge support of this recommendation?
Bernard Patry LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the hon. member that the government should not table a response just for the fact of tabling a response. We want to table the right response. We are working with the provincial governments and the aboriginal peoples.
I will quote Mr. Phil Fontaine who said in the Calgary Herald “I am confident at least at this stage that the government is serious about doing something”.
Scott Brison Progressive Conservative Kings—Hants, NS
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade.
U.S. customs compliance checks at Canadian borders are costing Canadians jobs. They are an unfair burden to Canadian Christmas tree farmers in particular. Several tractor trailer loads of Canadian Christmas trees have been unloaded and then forcefully reloaded, with Canadian shippers paying as much as $1,100 for their trees to be unloaded and reloaded even if they are in complete compliance.
What will the government do to address the issue?
Julian Reed LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister for International Trade
Mr. Speaker, the government is very concerned about activities going on across the border because trade has actually doubled over the last 10 years. We are in the process of upgrading all our transporter areas so that the problem will be corrected.
Gerald Keddy Progressive Conservative South Shore, NS
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of International Trade.
Having our exporters' products checked for compliance at the border is a non-tariff trade barrier that has resulted in damaged products and mixed up orders. Some of the 53-foot drop trailers have ten to a dozen drops on them. All the products do not always get reloaded.
Will the minister insist that a U.S. custom official or a USDA officer check for compliance at the point of delivery rather than at the border?
Julian Reed LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister for International Trade
Mr. Speaker, I would dearly love to. I could only tell my hon. friend we are aware that increased trade back and forth with the United States has brought on an additional burden at border crossings, and we are taking measures to correct it.
Joe Jordan Liberal Leeds—Grenville, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday was National Child Day. Upon reflection this may explain some of the actions in the House yesterday.
Research clearly shows that early and aggressive intervention to improve the quality of life of our young people pays huge dividends for the children, their families and society.
Rights Of ChildrenOral Question Period
An hon. member
When are you going to stop taxing them?
Joe Jordan Liberal Leeds—Grenville, ON
This may not be important to the Reform Party but it is important to Liberals.
Could the minister outline to the House and indeed all Canadians, because I think Canadians care, what programs—
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, there is no question that early intervention is critical to children. As chair of the national children's agenda—
Rights Of ChildrenOral Question Period
The Deputy Speaker
Order, please. It is difficult for the Chair to hear the answer.
There may not have been a question but there was a statement. It is normal when a member gets cut off before the end of a statement that the minister gets to answer the statement. I invite the hon. Minister of Health to resume his answer.
Allan Rock Liberal Etobicoke Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, I was saying that it is obvious early intervention is crucial if we are to provide children with a future. As the chair of the national children's agenda I am very much aware of that.
I can tell the hon. member of one initiative that we have in partnership with provinces and communities that is working very well. It is called community action program for children. Every week 30,000 Canadian children in 750 projects in 500 communities across the country are the direct beneficiaries of volunteer hours spent with those kids to improve their lives. That is just one example of what we can do for children.
Mike Scott Reform Skeena, BC
Mr. Speaker, Greg Twoyoungmen, chair of the Committee Against Injustice to Natives, has been scathingly critical of the department of Indian affairs in Alberta. He has publicly highlighted the absolute failure of the minister to protect the interests of grassroots aboriginal people.
Now we find the department of Indian affairs has blatantly tried to buy Mr. Twoyoungmen's silence by offering him a high paying job.
Why is the department of Indian affairs engaged in a seedy underhanded attempt to buy off its critics?
Bernard Patry LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, the answer is that we are not doing such a thing.
Hélène Alarie Bloc Louis-Hébert, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.
The Canadian effort in research and development is limited to a paltry 1.64% of GDP. For a long time, the Bloc Quebecois, in its platform, and other stakeholders have been calling for the government to gradually increase granting council budgets.
Is the minister going to act on the requests made by the Canadian Consortium for Research and increase by 50% his total investment in granting councils over the next four years in order to reduce the gap separating us from our main trading partners?
Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, if the member took a look at the previous budgets, she would see that there were cuts at the very beginning, but that we have since increased the budgets. If there is enough flexibility, if finances allow it, we intend to continue along that line.
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development. It concerns the government's plans for the end to the TAGS program.
How could the minister expect Canadians to take him seriously when he says that the government is working on plans to help out the affected communities after TAGS is finished and we know he is telling the RCMP and his own officials they should get ready for the fact that they will be doing nothing?
The minister now has a copy of the leaked document before him. Will he explain why the government is making plans for a social disaster in fishing communities instead of preventing the end of assistance for fishing communities and the people in those areas?
Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, I have never asked the RCMP to do the sorts of things he said in his question. I understand that some of our officials need some training to be able to cope with confrontational situations and to handle more difficult situations on an individual basis. It has happened not only in relation to TAGS but across Canada. This is the way it works.
Our government is doing the right thing by conducting a review of the post-TAGS situation. We are not particularly worried because we trust Canadians and we know Canadians behave properly all the time.
Scott Brison Progressive Conservative Kings—Hants, NS
Mr. Speaker, during the finance committee hearings on Bill C-2 departmental officials informed members that the auditor general agreed he would not oversee the investment board. The auditor general has now sent a letter to the committee asking that his position be clarified. He wants to and should be auditor for that board.
My question is for the Minister of Finance. Will the auditor general oversee the investment board or not? If not, why did the minister's officials mislead members of the committee?