Debates of Nov. 4th, 1997

Environment

[Bill Gilmour, Reform, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in less than one month the government will commit Canada to legally binding targets regarding greenhouse gas emissions. This will be done despite the following.

First, the scientific community remains divided on whether greenhouse gases do indeed cause global warming.

Second, the government has failed to receive the agreement of the provinces before it goes to Kyoto. The provinces that will enforce the emission standards must be on side before Kyoto, not after.

Third, developing countries such as China, India and Mexico that will be the big contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the future are not part of the Kyoto agreement. Clearly this is a global concern that requires all countries to be involved.

The government has had four years to prepare for Kyoto. Yet here we are less than one month away and our government still has not tabled the Canadian position or provided any documentation on the implications.

Where is the leadership?

Rabbi Gunter Plaut

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow evening I will have the honour of attending the inauguration of the W. Gunter Plaut Humanitarian Award at Holy Blossom Temple.

Rabbi Plaut will be the first recipient of this award which recognizes community leadership and commitment to human rights. He has worked tirelessly to promote social justice in the community.

This occasion will also mark the launch of Rabbi Plaut's new book More Unfinished Business and his 85th birthday.

Rabbi Plaut is a world renowned theologian and the esteemed senior scholar at Holy Blossom Temple in my riding. Holy Blossom Temple is the oldest and the largest Jewish reform congregation in Canada.

Rabbi Plaut has made significant contributions to Holy Blossom and our broader community for the past 36 years.

I thank Rabbi Plaut for his dedication and work in our community, congratulate him on receiving this well deserved award and wish him a happy 85th birthday.

Parish Of Princeville

[Odina Desrochers, Bloc, Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the parish of Princeville is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its foundation this year.

In addition to generating numerous activities, this event is a perfect opportunity to become more familiar with our roots and to rediscover Quebec's traditional values.

As the member for Lobtinière, I wish these people some happy celebrations and I take this opportunity to congratulate the organizing committee chaired by Roger Bilodeau.

One of the highlights of the festivities was the launching of a history book. I also congratulate the author, Claude Raymond, who did not hesitate to show his attachment to Quebec by entitling his book Dis-moi comment on a bâti mon pays .

Pharmacy Awareness Week

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to tell the House and all Canadians that November 3 to 9 is Pharmacy Awareness Week.

Various activities will take place in communities across Canada to promote the fact that pharmacists are experts on the use of medications.

This year's theme is “A healthy partnership—You and your pharmacist. Finding solutions together” stresses the idea that health is a shared responsibility. Pharmacists and the public are key partners in Canadian health care services.

Pharmacists can also be partners with other health care groups in finding solutions to health care problems.

This week is an opportunity for all Canadians to learn how their pharmacist can help them improve their health.

Environment

[Karen Kraft Sloan, Liberal, York North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the temperature has been rising in the Chamber lately and the cause is the hot air emitting from the Reform Party. It is confusing fact with fiction and lobbying for narrow special interest groups instead of the public good.

This is not an east-west issue. Over 90% of Albertans support meeting our greenhouse gas commitments.

Here is what one Albertan had to say in the Edmonton Journal :

I am enraged by the stupidity, self-centredness and shortsightedness of our so-called leaders who are opposed to measures being taken by the federal government to curb the emission of greenhouse gases.

The dinosaurs did not die out four million years ago. They are still huffing, puffing and snorting on the other side of the Chamber.

[Lee Morrison, Reform, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, for several years I have been watching with fascination and disgust the transformation of the theory of human induced global warming from an interesting scientific hypothesis to widely accepted doctrine. This has been accomplished without the addition of significant new data by mere constant repetition of unproven claims.

When science becomes entangled with anti-technological ideology it takes real courage for a researcher to remain loyal to scientific principles and the scientific method of investigation. Mediocrities and charlatans need only parrot appropriate politically correct slogans about rising oceans and parched farm lands to receive grants and to have their egos massaged by gullible mass media.

A medieval culture of hostility to objective scholarship is emerging—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Whitby—Ajax.

Peacekeeping

[Judi Longfield, Liberal, Whitby—Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to serving the cause of fighting for freedom and justice in time of war, Canada has taken a back seat to no nation. This week as we celebrate the contributions made by our servicemen and women during times of conflict we should also remember their heroic efforts throughout the past half century in keeping the peace. I am of course referring to our peacekeepers.

With its origins going back to the late 1940s, the term peacekeeper has become synonymous with the word Canadian. From Suez to Cypress to Yugoslavia and at times and places in between the United Nations has called on Canadians to help out, and help out they have.

Tens of thousands have served in more than 40 separate peacekeeping missions around the world. More than a hundred have lost their lives and hundreds more have been wounded. They continue to serve as we speak.

Canada and the nations around the world remain in their debt for their protection—

Status Of Young People

[Stéphan Tremblay, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, year after year, throne speech after election campaign, we hear the same promise: jobs for the young workers and a better quality of life for the next generation. But what are the facts?

The unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24 is close to 17% and, in Quebec, it is close to 20%. The dropout rate for 18 year old students is 15%. The average student loan has increased by 42% between 1989 and 1996 as a direct result of cuts in transfer payments to provinces.

At the same time, the Liberal government insists on duplicating about a dozen programs for young people initiated by the Quebec government, even if it admits services should be rendered by the most appropriate level of government level, which is certainly not the federal level.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

You are not angry enough. Get real mad.

[Stéphan Tremblay, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Even if the member for Bourassa thinks this is unimportant, this government's action should be entitled “Vicious circle” or “How the Liberals have our young people going around in circles”.

Environment

[Charles Caccia, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the official opposition is prone to creating confusion and even fearmongering on climate change and the reduction of greenhouse gases.

In reality, greenhouse gas reduction means good business. One of the first steps is to stabilize emissions in Canada by cancelling costly and perverse subsidies, by switching to natural gas wherever possible, by capping industrial emissions and putting in place a system of tradable emissions permits, by improving fuel efficiency for new vehicles, and by launching a national program aimed at energy efficiency.

These steps will make Canada a world leader in energy efficiency. These steps will also create jobs, increase revenues and reduce costs.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

[Keith Martin, Reform, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, fetal alcohol syndrome is the leading cause of preventable birth defects in Canada. Among other things it causes devastating neurological damage. With an average IQ of 68 most of these children cannot function in school. Many run afoul of the law and it is estimated that half the people in jail have FAS or FAE.

Yesterday the justice minister glibly suggested that this was Manitoba's problem. This is everybody's problem.

Today I challenge the Minister of Justice to meet with her provincial counterparts to amend the Mental Health Act so that a woman can be placed in a treatment facility if she wilfully consumes substances that will damage her unborn child.

This is not an abortion bill. This is a bill to prevent children from being poisoned so that they too can have a fair chance in life.

Municipal Election In Verdun

[Raymond Lavigne, Liberal, Verdun—Saint-Henri, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last Sunday was municipal election day in Verdun—Saint-Henri. I would like to congratulate those who won and praise their courage in running for jobs that are so very challenging.

I particularly want to congratulate our mayor, Georges Bossé, who was re-elected by a wide margin as mayor of Verdun, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish him a very happy birthday one day early.

Environment

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Reform Party says that he is not convinced of the link between emissions and global warming. I remember when I was a member of the special committee on acid rain in the 1980s. Scientists were trying to educate another captive of the captains of industry, former U.S. president Ronald Reagan, about acid rain.

Perhaps the Reform Party leader also thinks that acid rain comes from ducks or trees, that smoking does not cause cancer, or that global warming is somehow related to not having an elected Senate. Would the Reform Party be happier with the greenhouse issue if it were proposed that we hang or whip people caught polluting? Would that get its attention?

As for the Liberals, they continue to show contempt for Canadians and for parliament by having more to say at a $350 a plate fund-raising dinner about their emission reduction plans than they have been willing to divulge in question period. Do we have to attach donations to our questions to get answers about Liberal policy?

Quebec

[Sheila Finestone, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to explain the difference between real and false humiliation.

False humiliation is that claimed by separatist leaders when Jacques Villeneuve proudly displayed the Canadian flag after his racing victory.

False humiliation is what Quebeckers are told they feel when Canada's ambassador to France, Jacques Roy, is dubbed a political commando because he toured Quebec and spoke of the world's high regard for the way Canadians of all backgrounds work together to continue to build our great country.

False humiliation is what they are supposed to feel when Mr. Roy argues that Quebec has maintained a strong independent voice in this federation, which is quite different from the situation faced by many countries in the European Union.

Now let me talk about real humiliation. That is what Quebeckers are subjected to when their mean spirited leaders make them a laughing stock with small petty words.

Real humiliation is when we forget why we fought as Canadians on many occasions to defend principles of tolerance and peace.

I ask the leaders of the separatist movement how the people of Quebec can be humiliated by showing—

Merchant Navy

[Elsie Wayne, Progressive Conservative, Saint John, NB]

Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago merchant navy veterans received a very special recognition from my riding of Saint John, New Brunswick. During Naval Week, the city invited the merchant navy veteran's association to fly its flag on the official city flagpole.

Saint John is the only city in Canada to permit this. Its actions go a long way to recognizing the efforts and the important role the merchant navy played in the second world war. The merchant navy has been fighting to receive equal status in relation to other veterans. Some merchant navy veterans still cannot qualify for benefits.

Today members of the merchant navy coalition held a press conference on the Hill, urging the government to honour its obligations to these veterans.

As we embark upon Remembrance Week and as we get closer to Remembrance Day, I urge the government to remember the role members of the merchant navy played in bringing peace around the world and finally provide them with equal access to equal benefits.

Spacebridge

[Janko Peric, Liberal, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, time and again we hear from members across the floor how Canadians do not care about Quebec. Let me give an example of a company in my riding that cares.

Recently COM DEV International of Cambridge, a world leader in satellite technology, together with Newbridge Networks of Kanata, announced the opening of a new company in Quebec called Spacebridge.

Located in Hull, Spacebridge will create more than 200 new high tech jobs. COM DEV's success and the bold vision of its CEO, Val O'Donovan, shows that Canadians outside of Quebec not only care about the province but are willing to invest in Quebec, creating good jobs for present and future generations of Quebeckers as well as for all Canadians.

The Environment

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, when Canadians heard about the prime minister's speech last night they were more interested in what he did not say than what he did say. When the prime minister spoke about the Kyoto deal he did not rule out a gasoline tax to pay for it.

My question is very straightforward. Will the prime minister rule out any jump at the pump?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition is always trying to find something to attack that does not exist. It was all excited about a carbon tax. We said a year ago that there was no such plan. The minister of energy of the day, the Minister of Justice, made many statements about it. Having nothing to complain about, the opposition invents an issue and tries to make hay out of it.

I said there would be no carbon tax. Should we have an income tax increase—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, there is a difference between carbon taxes and gasoline taxes. My question was not that difficult. Either the prime minister knows how he is going to pay for this Kyoto deal and he is keeping it as a Christmas present for Canadians or he does not know. And if he does not know, he should say so.

Economists have said the Kyoto deal, only 27 days away, could add up to 10 cents, 20 cents or 30 cents for a litre of gasoline.

Here it is again. Do not run away, do not make excuses and do not change the subject. Will there be a jump at the pump to pay for the Kyoto deal?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, first we have to have a deal. That is the first point. We are going there because Canadians want us to do something about climate changes. The Reform Party is against it. It does not give a damn about the environment but we do on this side of the House.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, what is responsible is going and signing a treaty when you do not what is in it, you do not know what it will cost and you do not know how you will pay for it.

The Liberal political minister for Alberta was very quiet in the House yesterday but outside in the lobby she was quite talkative. She told reporters that the Liberals have not ruled out a gasoline tax. She even reminded Canadians that Liberals increased the gasoline tax 1.5 cents a litre several years ago.

I ask the prime minister—

[An hon. member]

Bingo.