Debates of Dec. 5th, 1997

Violence Against Women

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am anxious to see the secretary of state defending women instead of her government.

A Department of Justice report indicates that the measures adopted in 1993 against stalking have had no impact. Of the 630 cases studied, 474 ended up being dismissed.

Can the secretary of state and her government commit to follow up on the recommendations in this report?

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism)(Status of Women)]

Mr. Speaker, we have strengthened certain legislation over the last two years, anti-stalking legislation being one of them.

We have also initiated and are working on a SIN de-linking project that would give women who are stalked a new identity so that they can start new lives and not be victims of stalking.

Status of Women Canada also assists grassroots organization to deal with the issue of violence against women.

[Jack Ramsay, Reform, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is remembrance and action day on violence against women. One of the most disastrous actions the government has taken was to introduce conditional sentencing for those who commit violent offences against women and children.

Eric Robertson committed a sexual offence against 10 young women between the ages of 18 and 4 years of age and was given a conditional sentence.

When will the justice official present in the House today commit to immediately limiting conditional sentencing to non-violent offences?

[Eleni Bakopanos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question.

Why does the hon. member on a day like today choose not to support gun legislation again? That is one measure that would help.

[Jack Ramsay, Reform, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member was in a standing committee when the RCMP and other expert officials testified that the gun registration system, as proposed, would be unreliable and therefore, if used, would be unsafe not only for the police but for the public as well.

Will the member limit conditional sentencing to non-violent offenders?

[Eleni Bakopanos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I beg to differ with the hon. member. I was in the committee and the RCMP did not say in the context of those discussions exactly what the member has said.

Hon. members should be supporting gun legislation, especially on a day that we are commemorating such violent deaths.

Canadian Centre Against Sexual Abuse

[Michel Bellehumeur, Bloc, Berthier—Montcalm, QC]

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

In a memo he signed June 5, the previous Minister of Justice made a commitment to provide $1 million a year over five years in funding for the Canadian centre against sexual abuse. Today, the centre is saying they will not be getting the promised funding.

Could the Minister of Justice say whether the government still intends to honour its commitment and give the centre the promised funding?

[Eleni Bakopanos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I will answer next week.

[Michel Bellehumeur, Bloc, Berthier—Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us make sure we understand one another clearly. The former Minister of Justice signed a letter saying he would give the centre $1 million over five years. The centre is expecting this money.

My question is very clear: Can the Minister of Justice tell us today if the government will honour the signature of a former Minister of Justice and give the centre the money? That is my question.

[Eleni Bakopanos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I can tell the House that the matter is under consideration and that no decision has yet been taken. If I understand correctly, no one has signed a commitment to this centre on behalf of the government. We have a number of similar requests, and the government will decide shortly.

Seaforth Highlanders

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, during the recent APEC summit in Vancouver the local Seaforth Highlanders were replaced as the guard of honour because some bureaucrat thought they did not look Canadian enough. That bureaucrat came from the prime minister's office, his own staffer, Jean Carl.

The Highlanders are one of Canada's proudest regiments. Will the prime minister explain to the House why the Highlanders are not Canadian enough, and will he apologize for his incredible insult to this fine regiment?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to state clearly that the regiment came with the attire that was requested. However the regiment that did replace them was a Canadian regiment.

I would also like to state clearly that they performed well as they have done on many occasions throughout Canada.

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is obvious the parliamentary secretary is not aware of the situation.

I met Mr. Smokey Smith, one of only two living Victoria Cross recipients. I know the prime minister and many cabinet members have also met him. Smokey Smith is a proud Seaforth Highlander, still proud of his regiment, still proud of representing and fighting for Canada.

Will the prime minister apologize to Smokey and every other Seaforth Highlander who put their lives on the line in defence of freedom in this country?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say clearly that Sergeant Smokey Smith is one of the great heroes of our time.

The fact is that he and all members of the Seaforth Highlanders, a great regiment on the west coast, performed well throughout Italy in the World War II and obtained many battle honours.

However the regiment that replaced the Highlanders was a regiment that was prepared to do this and was easily accessible.

Bilingualism

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Mitis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

The increase in bilingualism in Canada masks the fact that French is losing ground. In fact, the latest census showed a decrease in the number of unilingual francophones. Obviously, bilingualism is growing in Canada at the expense of the French speaking Canadians.

What will it take for the minister to acknowledge the facts and ask the Prime Minister to address this issue in co-operation with his counterparts of the mostly English speaking provinces?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I already told the hon. member that we are making every effort, in co-operation with all our counterparts, to ensure that the language of the minority is taught across Canada. Unfortunately, the only government that did not and will not take part in this process is the Government of Quebec.

That having been said, I find it very interesting that the hon. member would show this kind of interest in francophones outside Quebec when there is not a word about them in the Bloc Quebecois policy documents.

Violence Against Women

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Toronto Centre—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, questions have been asked today about the problems of violence against women. If women had their financial independence we know that often they would not have to endure this suffering.

Would the Secretary of State for the Status of Women tell the House what the federal government is doing to pursue the equality of women in the workplace and what programs the government has put in place to provide them with help in pursuing their careers?

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism)(Status of Women)]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased the hon. member indicated that violence against women was linked with women's economic independence and autonomy.

The government recognized this and moved forward in assisting women to achieve post-doctoral studies in the new millennium in which we will be looking at technology as a source of jobs for women that are sustainable. We have looked at EI benefits and maternity benefits that will allow women to have up to five years in which to take training and return to work.

More than anything, the Canada pension plan's sustainability will have the child rearing option which will recognize that women—

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Peace River.

Trade

[Charlie Penson, Reform, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what we are getting for our billion dollars. We know that Canada is being asked for a billion dollars for the latest IMF bailout of Asian countries, but what are we getting in return?

Will the Japanese lower their 20% tariff on canola oil? How about the Koreans with their 13% tariff? What has the government done to demand tariff reduction against our products in those countries?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, a very substantial restructuring will be taking place in Korea following the IMF negotiations with that country.

Canada is very much a part of the trading world. We are very much a part of Asia. We are also an important member of the G-7. When the G-7 puts its money on the line and at the same time when the countries in that part of the world with which we trade substantially do the same thing, it is incumbent upon Canada to support the world's trading system and countries that are having difficulty.

[Charlie Penson, Reform, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I think Canadians will note that there was no answer in that little presentation. It is important to note that there will be more IMF bailouts for southeast Asia. Canada will be asked to contribute more.

What are we getting out of it? Are we not demanding some tariff reductions on high tariffs against Canadian products? A 30% devaluation in currency in many of those countries makes our exports more expensive and we still have to face 20% tariffs. What is the government doing about it?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada participates with the International Monetary Fund whenever there is a problem. Because we are a trading nation, we feel that we have to do that.

The economies of countries come and go. They wax and wane. When the opportunity presents itself, Canada is there with the International Monetary Fund helping out.

Fisheries

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

We are all aware that TAGS was created to train fishers but recently when DFO had the opportunity to offer employment to conduct a survey, not one TAGS recipient was hired. Why were there no TAGS recipients hired to conduct this survey when the type of work required was what TAGS trained them to do?

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

Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member has failed to point out is that the people conducting the sentinel fisheries are in fact fishermen in the Atlantic fishery.

Obviously we could have shifted it from one group to another. That would be possible. But then of course the other group would complain about the group which we shifted it to.

It is essentially because there are relatively few sentinel fisheries which take place that inevitably there will be some people who feel they should have it instead of the people involved.

I can assure the hon. member that they are conducted by competent fishermen. The information gathered is extremely important to monitor the stocks of fish in the north Atlantic and we intend to continue with the sentinel fisheries.