Debates of Dec. 5th, 1997

Fisheries

[Michelle Dockrill, NDP, Bras D'Or, NS]

Mr. Speaker, that is in direct conflict with what the officials in DFO said. They said that there was not enough time.

This shows the real reason why so many people on TAGS have failed to be retrained. It is because the government has run TAGS incompetently.

Once again, when is the government going to accept that TAGS failed because of Liberal mismanagement and when will it create a real retraining program for the fishers of eastern Canada?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, the premise of the hon. member's question is that we should give up on efforts with respect to the fishery and train people for something else. I would be very interested to see if she adopts that position, goes back to her own constituents and says, “There is no hope for the fishery. You will have to look for something else”.

The TAGS program was put in place four years ago because we believed that it was important to have income support for people who, through no fault of their own, found themselves unable to fish. She may not agree but we felt it was important to support those people, help those people, and we will continue to do so.

Human Resources Development

[Norman E. Doyle, Progressive Conservative, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Human Resources Development.

The minister is surely aware of the controversy which he has created among the special care home operators in Newfoundland. The minister has given a grant of half a million dollars to a Liberal supporter to commence a new home even though existing operators have a high vacancy rate in the province of Newfoundland.

Why would the minister's department give a grant of $500,000 in such a highly competitive industry with a vacancy rate when the businesses concerned do not even have—

[The Deputy Speaker]

The Minister of Human Resources Development.

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

Mr. Speaker, the project to which the hon. member is referring was assessed by the provincial government, as well as by Department of Human Resources Development officials. They deemed that it would be very helpful for the population in that area. It was done through a competitive process as well.

[Norman E. Doyle, Progressive Conservative, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, given the high degree of controversy surrounding this piece of patronage, would the minister agree to put this grant on hold until a full investigation is held and until the industry itself is consulted fully on the matter?

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

Mr. Speaker, a full investigation has already been made. It was made by the province and by the Department of Human Resources Development. The process was quite transparent.

Housing

[Derek Lee, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of the areas in which Canadians have world acknowledged expertise is energy efficient housing. With the international community gathered in Kyoto to develop an international agreement on greenhouse gas emissions, mostly caused by wasted energy, what is the government doing to increase the export of Canadian housing technology to world markets?

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to announce that this week CMHC announced the creation of the Canadian Housing Export Centre. The centre will help Canadians to export Canadian housing technology products. Naturally as we know, exports create jobs and that is the priority of this government.

Tobacco Act

[Maurice Vellacott, Reform, Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the supposed Minister of Health, a former lawyer, has become pretty good at dragging his government into the law courts and paying out lots of money to lawyers for the Airbus boondoggle, for the obstruction of Krever, in the future for stonewalling hepatitis C victims.

If the government exempts auto racing in the Tobacco Act, other groups will be sprinting to the courts. He knows that. What possible defence will this government offer at that time in court for exempting one event but not others?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, with the close attention the hon. member pays to the activities of lawyers, I know he will be aware that this government is in court at the moment vigorously defending the Tobacco Act.

The Tobacco Act is under attack by tobacco companies. They claim it is unconstitutional. We say it is entirely valid. The court will decide. One thing is clear. The Tobacco Act puts Canada in a position of leadership throughout the world for vigorous and effective steps to reduce the incidence of tobacco use among its citizens and of that we are very proud.

Arms Sales

[Daniel Turp, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

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

Yesterday, the minister stated in this House that Canada had, and I quote:

“The toughest export controls in arms of any country in the western world”.

If these controls are so tough, how can the minister explain that arms sales to Indonesia totalling approximately $2 billion have been authorized when Amnesty International reports that, in East Timor, a number of people have been killed under dubious circumstances by security forces?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, under the export controls that we exercise, we do a careful evaluation as to any piece of article or artefact, determining whether it could be used for involvement in civil wars, involvement in the suppression of civil society. If it is simply a matter of a piece of equipment that could be a rubber boot or a parachute or some kind of electronic device for a ship, then clearly it is not eligible. It is for defensive purposes, not offensive purposes.

I would be very happy to offer the hon. member a full briefing on the export and import control act so he understands how it works.

National Defence

[Dick Proctor, NDP, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Defence.

The minister will be aware that the failure to achieve financial targets in 1994 and 1995 has resulted in some last minute decisions to cut back. It is the government's version of the last minute club and it is civilians that are getting clubbed.

Why will the minister not confirm today that 3,800 additional positions in clerical, communications, logistics and engineering categories are being chopped at camps Gagetown, Borden, Wainwright, Shilo and Montreal?

[John Richardson, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot account for the numbers, but we are going through a restructure in the Canadian forces as part of our pull down in our numbers. We are concentrating our bases in a manner that will become more efficient and allow us to spend our tax dollars in a more wise fashion.

[Bill Casey, Progressive Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Defence.

As a member of the government in 1993 that did have the moral courage to order helicopters, only to see the Liberal government default on that order, I was really gratified today by the editorial in the Globe and Mail entitled “Here comes a chopper to chop off your head”. It goes on to say that this government does not have the moral courage to order helicopters. It says that the EH-101 is undoubtedly the best helicopter but because it is politically undesirable, the government will not order it.

Will the minister prove the Globe and Mail wrong today, prove that the government does have the moral courage to buy helicopters and announce today to Canadians that it is going to order new helicopters before more Sea Kings crash?

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, there are four companies that proposed helicopters. The government is evaluating the process. We are taking everything into consideration. Our purpose is to make sure that the helicopters we are going to buy are the best value for Canadian taxpayers. As soon as the decision is made, we will announce it.

Maybe the member should start not believing whatever is in the paper.

Child Poverty

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Campaign 2000 reported last week that the number of children living in poverty is increasing. Today Parliament was challenged to end child hunger.

My question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development. Why is it that in a country as wealthy as Canada we have too many children living in poverty and going to school hungry?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question on the very important topic of child poverty.

Ensuring that children have a strong start in life is critical to Canada's future. The national child benefit is and remains a top priority for our government. The 1997 budget targeted and reflected our commitment with an $850 million down payment for poor children in Canada. There is another $850 million to come in this Parliament.

With our provincial partners we are creating more than a program but a comprehensive strategy to improve the well-being of Canadian children, which is supported by Campaign 2000. It is a proven method.

Immigration

[Allan Kerpan, Reform, Blackstrap, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this week the auditor general revealed to Canadians something they already knew. He stated that the Immigration and Refugee Board was a slow, bureaucratic and patronage-ridden board. He said it takes up to two and a half years to get a refugee claim settled.

Does this government really think two and a half years is an acceptable time to settle a claim? A lot of Canadians want to know what the government is going to do about it.

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I welcomed the auditor general's report. In fact, the auditor general's views and recommendations fit very well with what the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is already doing. The minister has appointed a task force to do a complete legislative review to deal with the process and to enhance our system.

The auditor general has also said very clearly that he did not want to see a patchwork situation because it is a complex issue. Some of the recommendations that the auditor general made are already being implemented by the department.

Development Assistance

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for Francophonie.

According to the accepted standard, industrialized countries must allocate a minimum of 0.7% of their gross national product to official development assistance. However, in 1997-98, the federal government will not even allocate 0.3% of its GNP to ODA.

Since additional budget cuts of $159 million are anticipated in 1998, are we to understand that, at the rate things are going, the minister's target for development assistance will be 0.0% by the year 2000?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, as we mentioned on several occasions, our goal is to go back to the standard of 0.7% of the gross national product. Unfortunately, CIDA also had to do its share in the fight against the deficit.

Now that the situation is much improved, I am confident that, before too long, we can aim again for that standard.

National Revenue

[Louise Hardy, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Revenue.

Over the last three years Yukon people have been audited by Revenue Canada in record numbers. The target of this massive audit is the northern residence deduction and the northern travel deduction. These deductions symbolize the federal government's responsibility in recognizing and helping to buffer the higher cost of living in the north.

Could the minister explain why the government is spending millions of dollars auditing low income northern Canadians without making any attempt to control tax abuses and loopholes enjoyed by high income Canadians and profitable corporations?

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue is not in the House because of official business. I will refer the question to the minister. I am sure that when the minister comes back to the House the appropriate answer will be given to the member.