Debates of Feb. 5th, 1997

[The Speaker]

As is our practice on Wednesdays, we will now sing O Canada, and we will be led by the hon. member for Bruce-Grey.

Hmcs Athabaskan

[Mary Clancy, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today to thank the captain and crew of the HMCS Athabaskan for their warm welcome during my two day stay on board this week.

The HMCS Athabaskan , captained by Commander Denis Rouleau, is a 5,120 tonne Iroquois class destroyer which serves as the Atlantic task group command ship. It has an array of anti-missile defences, including state of the art SM-2 stand missiles. It can carry two Sea King helicopters, is a completely bilingual unit and can carry a crew of up to 280 souls.

The level of excellence, the level of professionalism, the level of general quality which emanates from the captain and crew is worthy of great pride and respect by all Canadians.

It is with great appreciation and pride that, if I were wearing one, I would take off my hat to HMCS Athabaskan today for a job well done.

Access To Information

[Maurice Godin, Bloc, Châteauguay, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government promised to be transparent; now it is hiding even the most insignificant information.

Last week, the Bloc Quebecois tried to find out from Heritage Canada the cost of operation Take It to Heart , an initiative to highlight Canadian citizenship.

At the minister's office, we were told this information could only be obtained under the Access to Information Act. Obtaining information from Heritage Canada has never been easy, and the lengthy response times testify to that.

What does the government have to hide that it will not provide basic information that should be available through a simple telephone call?

If the government sees fit to hide this kind of information, it is no wonder that it does so for more serious and complex issues, such as Somalia, Airbus and Pearson Airport.

Family Violence

[Ian McClelland, Reform, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, most Canadians believe it is not possible to commit murder and get away with it. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Susan Klassen was killed by her estranged husband. She was killed by strangulation. Her killer choked her so hard that he bruised both thumbs and then used a pillow case to finish the job.

Susan Klassen's killer will be eligible for full parole in less than two years. How is it that our society values Susan Klassen's life so little that her killer is released in just two years?

Susan Klassen was betrayed by the very justice system pledged to protect her. Her killer was able to claim provocation and the charge was reduced to manslaughter. How could cold blooded murder by strangulation possibly be considered manslaughter?

Did Susan Klassen deserve to die because her husband's feelings were hurt?

Legislators have a responsibility to Susan Klassen and to her family to ensure such a travesty will never happen again. Parliament must send a signal to the judiciary. Canadians have zero tolerance for family violence.

Criminal Code

[Audrey McLaughlin, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, a year and a half ago the Yukon community was saddened by the death of Susan Klassen who was strangled and killed by her husband. He was found not guilty of murder and was sentenced for the lesser crime of manslaughter and could be eligible for day parole in a year.

In a matter of days, 900 people in the Yukon signed petitions demanding an appeal of the case. Another 300 gathered for a protest march in minus 40 degree weather. I understand there were 1,200 letters sent from Edmonton where Ms. Klassen's family resides and many other requests for action have been received.

The community outrage at the sentence resulted in an unprecedented mobilization for two demands. The first asks the Minister of Justice to obtain a second legal opinion to ascertain whether there are grounds for an appeal. The second calls for changes to the Criminal Code to amend the statutory defence of provocation.

I ask the minister to seriously review these requests and respond to them publicly.

Health Care

[Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal, York North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the people of Canada elected a Liberal government to protect our much valued health care system. It is for this reason our government convened the National Forum on Health to propose solutions to the challenges that our health care system will face in the 21st century.

I would like to report to the House that the residents of York North played an active role in the national forum's work. We held a town hall forum on health and a number of meetings to develop solid suggestions to respond to the strains of rising health care costs and an aging population within our fiscal framework.

Our conclusions were clear and straightforward. In order for Canadians to take greater responsibility for their health, they need better access to accurate information. Furthermore, participants called upon the federal government to preserve and enhance the publicly funded elements of our universal health care network and uphold the principles of the Canada Health Act. I am pleased to tell the House that these suggestions are reflected in the forum's final report "Building on the Legacy".

The residents of York North are firm believers of the public consultation process. They have seen historically their suggestions become government policy.

Canadian Citizenship

[Sarkis Assadourian, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the aftermath of the second world war a Canadian cabinet minister visited the graves of Canadian soldiers who perished at the battle of Dieppe. Paul Martin Sr. decided then and there that Canadians fully deserved their own unique citizenship.

Today we celebrate the foresight of the father of our Minister of Finance for he was the political father of the Canadian Citizenship Act.

Many new Canadians and members of Parliament, such as myself, were born in other countries and have become citizens of this great country. Canadian citizenship is a sought after prize among people born in other countries where civil rights are limited or non-existent. It formally guarantees freedom of religion, expression and lawful assembly, and freedom from discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnic origin or disability.

It is an honour to rise in this House today to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Citizenship Act.

Microcredit

[John Murphy, Liberal, Annapolis Valley—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in Washington, D.C. a three-day world microcredit summit came to a close. Three thousand delegates from around the world took part in this historic event. Through promotion of microcredit policies, organizers hope to reach 100 million of the world's poorest families, especially the women of those families, with credit for self-employment.

I had the opportunity to attend this summit as a member of the Council of Parliamentarians. I firmly believe that microcredit can be used as a powerful tool in the struggle to end poverty and economic dependency both in underdeveloped and industrialized countries.

I want to congratulate the efforts of Results Canada and particularly the members of Results Canada in my riding of Annapolis Valley-Hants for their work in promoting microcredit lending. I want to call upon our government to promote the microcredit concept as an important means of eliminating poverty and creating opportunities for a sustainable future.

U.S. Report On Human Rights

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Anjou—Rivière-Des-Prairies, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in a report on human rights recently released by the U.S. State Department, Quebec received high marks for respecting the rights of its minorities.

According to Washington, since the 1995 referendum, the Quebec government has clearly been striving to curb political tensions while reaffirming the important role played by the anglophone minority in Quebec society. Such statements sound infinitely more realistic and reasonable than the wild imaginings conveyed by federalist spokespersons these past few months.

Let us hope that, for once, our colleagues opposite will be able to set their fear-driven politicking aside and read this major U.S. report carefully. They will probably realize that their hysteria of the past few months has doing nothing to further the debate and has simply clouded their vision. Perhaps if they came to their senses, we could finally have constructive talks and eventually establish a new partnership between our two peoples.

Patronage

[Bob Mills, Reform, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Bob Fowler and his family go way back with the Prime Minister and the Liberal Party. It all started in the seventies when young Fowler was a protégé of the Prime Minister's friends, Mitchell Sharp and Pierre Trudeau. During this time he got to know the little guy from Shawinigan. He has known him ever since.

Moreover, Bob Fowler's sister married another good friend and patronage appointee of the Prime Minister, Roméo LeBlanc, the Governor General of Canada. Let us not forget Mr. Fowler's wife who was a senior bureaucrat in the office of another friend of the PM, André Ouellet, who was the Minister of Foreign Affairs until he also got his Liberal patronage plum as head of the post office.

Then it was Fowler's turn. Just when the Somalia affair threatened to engulf him, whoosh, he was swept off to become ambassador of the UN thanks to the Prime Minister's patronage.

I do not think the Prime Minister is fooling anyone. He protected his friend from the Somalia affair and on that the record it is very clear.

Bell Mediasphere

[Eleni Bakopanos, Liberal, Saint-Denis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to draw the attention of the members of this House to some good news for the Montreal region. On January 21, the Multimédia CESAM consortium, of which the Government of Canada has been a partner since the very beginning, announced the creation of the Bell Mediasphere, in Montreal.

Canada occupies an important place in the multimedia market which is an area of tremendous growth. This project will reaffirm Montreal's position as a leader in this area.

This is one of many examples of successful partnership between our government and the private sector to promote economic growth in Montreal and in Canada.

Small Business

[Nick Discepola, Liberal, Vaudreuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to mention another strategic initiative on the part of our government.

On January 31, the Minister responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development-Quebec announced in Montreal that five partnership agreements had been reached with five different financial institutions.

These agreements will result in the setting up of loan programs to provide better access to financing for small and medium size businesses in the new economy, which are the ones that best reflect the future of our country. A total of $150 million will be made available to Quebec's technology based businesses.

Our government just fulfilled another commitment made to entrepreneurs in this country, namely to provide them with better means to ensure their own growth and to create long term jobs for all Canadians.

Health Care

[Sheila Finestone, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Premier Bouchard has reneged on his solemn promise that language would not become a health issue.

Quebec law directs regional health boards to review access plans to health and social services across the province. Qualified French

and English experts determine health services that are required to adequately serve all Quebecers. There is no legal or moral reason to refer this matter to the Office de la langue française, for language is a diagnostic and therapeutic tool.

This is pure political harassment that has sparked a new wave of protest and deep concern within the English speaking community, justified concern. The level of distrust has rightly reached new heights.

Premier Bouchard, when you ask for trust, your actions belie your words. The paramount issue here is not the language of work but the right to the language of treatment.

Correctional Services

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in his last report, the auditor general pointed out that Correctional Services is not achieving its objective of ensuring the satisfactory reintegration throughout the country of offenders who pose a threat to the long term safety of the public.

In this same document, we learn that there are no caseload standards for case management officers, the people who must give an opinion to parole board commissioners on whether or not to release an offender, leaving the auditor general to conclude that "initial training for case management officers is inadequate".

For three years now, the Bloc Quebecois has been calling for an overhaul of Correctional Services. How can the Liberal government claim to be looking after public safety, when it is giving more attention to punishing offenders than to finding solutions?

Child Maintenance Enforcement

[Diane Ablonczy, Reform, Calgary North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians across the country have been voicing increasing concern about the proposed changes relating to child maintenance enforcement.

The changes make non-custodial parents, usually men, solely responsible for supporting children of divorce. The amounts these parents will be forced to pay will rise steeply and will have to be paid out of after tax dollars regardless of the financial resources of the custodial parent.

The bill is absolutely silent on the equally important issue of the right of non-custodial parents to have access to their children, access that is critical to the emotional stability and well-being of Canadian children of divorce.

This bill has been strongly criticized as rigid, unfair, scapegoating men, increasing stress on families and not in the best interests of children.

On behalf of the tremendous number of people who are speaking out against these proposed maintenance enforcement provisions, I urge this government to listen to their concerns and make important changes to Bill C-41.

Taxation

[Karen Kraft Sloan, Liberal, York—Simcoe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a recent survey conducted in my riding showed that the people of York-Simcoe overwhelmingly reject the Reform and Tory policy of inequitable tax cuts.

The people of York-Simcoe and the people of Canada want fairness and balance in government. Canadians know that we must get our fiscal house in order but they also are committed to reducing the social and ecological deficit in this country.

Team Canada

[Patrick Gagnon, Liberal, Bonaventure—Îles-De-La-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have not heard the last of the positive fallout from Team Canada's most recent tour of Asia.

Today, I am pleased to inform you that a Quebec City institution has returned from the Team Canada tour with an interesting contract signed in Thailand.

The Collège technique Aviron de Québec, which employs 25 teachers, offers college level courses in computer repair, electronics and computer assisted design. The college signed a contract with a company in Bangkok to set up a technical college in Thailand. This contract will generate estimated revenues of $1.5 million in the coming years.

I am certain that Quebec members on both sides of this House will applaud the exceptional work of Team Canada, which has been instrumental in opening up new markets for Quebec businesses emphasizing exports and, of course, Canadian know-how.

Personal Income Tax

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I shall be very brief. Today, the Bloc Quebecois released its analysis of the federal personal income tax system. There has been no real examination of the Canadian tax system for over 30 years. It would, however, be easy for the Minister of Finance to increase the equity of the Canadian tax system and to recover cash

from numerous tax shelters which are costing us dearly at a time when no one is having an easy time of it.

At a time when the government is squeezing the unemployed, cutting transfer payments, hunting for money everywhere, how can the Minister of Finance provide us with any serious explanation for the fact that, in three and a half years, he has not found a way to systematically assess personal tax expenditures in Canada, particularly those of rich taxpayers.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition will understand that I have only just learned of his report and am therefore not in a position to comment on it. The hon. member must be aware that, since coming into power, we have studied the taxation system in depth. Moreover, as he knows, our study will be ongoing, since the taxation system is constantly evolving.

I have before me a list, which I could read out, at least three pages long, of tax shelters we have done away with in order to make the taxation system more equitable.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, is the Minister of Finance for Canada not concerned by the fact that, with the services of a tax specialist with any skill at all, many rich taxpayers in Canada manage to avoid paying a red cent? Is he not troubled by this, as Minister of Finance, if he has any concern for equity whatsoever?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member must realize that the federal taxation system bears a great resemblance to the provincial tax systems, including that of the province of Quebec. I would be greatly interested to learn how my counterpart, Mr. Landry, reacted to the previous Bloc Quebecois report. I saw no public comments.

As for myself, I can state that it was the federal government which abolished the lifetime $100,000 capital gains exemption. It was the federal government which broadened the minimum replacement tax base. It was the federal government which did away with the tax advantages offered by the use of trusts. I could go on and list many more. We have made a good deal of progress in three years.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance is offering me a great opportunity here. He knows very well that, as long as Quebec is not a sovereign country, the Quebec Minister of Finance, like those in the other provinces, is required to harmonize his taxation system with what the federal minister decides on. When Quebec is sovereign, things will no longer be the same. For the moment, we are stuck with him. I profoundly regret bringing partisan politics into this, as I did not intend to, but I have to remind him of an unfortunate reality.

From 1984 to 1993, 1,500 Canadians earning in excess of $100,000 paid not a red cent in tax. In 1993, the Conservatives' last year, there were 2,230 Canadians earning in excess of $100,000 who paid not a red cent in taxes, and in 1994, the last year for which there are statistics-and this is my question for the Minister of Finance-what is his reaction to the fact that 4,260 Canadians paid not a red cent in taxes on earnings of over $100,000?

Does the Minister of Finance not consider that this would be worthy of his attention, and ought to have received it a long time ago?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows full well that the main reason certain rich individuals paid no income tax is the existence of that $100,000 capital gains exemption. That is the loophole we closed when we came into power.

Secondly, the hon. member refers to the situation of Quebec and the federal government. Representatives of the Quebec commission on taxation and the funding of public services have stated the following: "Overall, there is little difference between taxable income for federal income tax purposes and for Quebec income tax purposes". They went on to say: "Since March, we on the commission have learned that there is no hidden tax treasure we can unearth anywhere in Quebec". The same holds true for Canada.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to say to the Minister of Finance that although there may be no hidden treasure, there certainly is a small part of the Canadian population that has its hand in the till.

For three and a half years we have been asking the Minister of Finance to cut down on all these corporate tax loopholes. But the Minister of Finance keeps repeating the same old story: We are engaged in a process in the course of which we have improved the situation. For two years he has waved those three pages containing a list of the loopholes he closed. I would ask the Minister of Finance to table those pages for the benefit of the House. Let him table them. We would like to see them.

Second, as far as the tax system-

[The Speaker]

I know the question is on its way. The member will please get to the question.