Debates of Feb. 7th, 1997

Grain

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, the railways have indicated they are taking steps to add to the locomotive power available in western Canada for grain movement. That is a welcome development. It may not in itself be enough.

I will be consulting with them in the days immediately ahead as well as with other players in the grains industry, including the Canadian Wheat Board, to determine what additional steps can and should be taken to catch up on the backlog and make sure that by the end of this shipping season the backlog has been overcome.

Beyond that, all of the players in the grains industry have to work harder to make sure this does not become a recurring pattern in our grain transportation system. The railways should be aware that it is cold every January, it snows every January and they have to have the machinery in place to cope with it.

Cultural Policy

[Clifford Lincoln, Liberal, Lachine—Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

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

This weekend the minister will be meeting with the leaders of Canada's cultural sector. Could she tell us what she intends to achieve from this meeting?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for the question. I know in his capacity as the chair of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage he will be working very hard toward an overarching cultural policy.

Among the things we want to achieve this weekend are to listen to the leaders of the Canadian cultural community, to be open to change and at the same time to reinforce the fact that for the last 25 years we have built a strong critical mass of Canadian artists and Canadian success stories because of the policies we have introduced as a government.

Penitentiaries

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I toured Millhaven penitentiary. To put it lightly, the place is a bloody mess. Prisoners have smashed water lines. They have strewn debris from range to range. They have demolished concrete walls. They have assaulted guards and prison staff by projecting feces and urine at them. This situation is now into its 17th day with total lock-down, riot squad on full stand-by; all the while these violent thugs are demanding better food and more recreation. They even get to watch cable TV in their lock-up.

When is the Solicitor General of Canada going to restore order and discipline by stripping the cells bare, providing only the basics and auctioning off the prisoners' TV and entertainment units to pay for the damage?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that earlier this week

my hon. colleague, the solicitor general, met with the acting commissioner of corrections to ensure that the matter was fully reported to the solicitor general.

She informed my colleague that she and the director general of security would be at the institution this week to ensure that order is being maintained and that Correctional Service Canada has and is putting in place a plan to ensure the security of the staff as well as the inmates.

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, people in this country are fed up with government inaction and government sponsored prisoners' rights. Now prison officials are talking about negotiating a settlement, if you will, with the prisoners at Millhaven.

The word of the day is compromise, not responsibility. Negotiations with inmates are absolutely foolhardy.

Why does the solicitor general support criminals and their demands for more rights and not victims' rights? Where is the responsibility?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I reported to the House, everything is being done to restore order to the prison and to assure the safety and security of staff and inmates.

As the authorities look at solutions to these difficulties, I doubt very much that they will be attracted by the simple minded, medieval and repressive approaches advocated by the hon. member.

Youth Initiatives

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development.

The unemployment rate among young people has been a disaster throughout 1996 and appears to be heading for a worse showing this year.

Last march in the budget speech the government announced $315 million over three years for youth programs. A year later, nothing has happened, even though the Minister of Human Resources Development said on October 11, and I quote: "This fall we intend to announce a youth initiative". I have the feeling the government is waiting for young people to grow old because one year after it promised new initiatives, we are still waiting.

My question is the same one as six months ago: What is the minister waiting for to release the funds sitting unused in the government's coffers?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Lac-Saint-Jean for his extremely timely question.

Youth unemployment is a great concern for the government. This is the reason why the finance minister allocated an additional $315 million to all other programs we have to help young people enter the job market in a more appealing manner.

I must say that the situation of young people looking for work is something we are extremely concerned with. There are are several in my own riding and I know how important it is for young people not to lose hope.

This coming week, we are planning-

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Papineau—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if I may, I would be pleased to tell the member for Lac-Saint-Jean that the impatience he has been showing will soon be addressed as I made sure that the programs we are going to make public within the next few days will be extremely well designed in partnership with the private sector.

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

Mr. Speaker, I often say that young people are not only our future, they are our present. For once, the minister seems to be telling us that, six months late, he is finally going to announce programs for young people. I am starting to believe that it takes an election for this government to spring into action.

Does the minister not think that he should include all the youth programs, especially their funding, in the ongoing federal-provincial negotiations on active employment measures?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be given the opportunity by the member for Lac-Saint-Jean to stress again our government's commitment to disentangle all the issues relating to training and active employment measures aimed at making it easier to enter the job market.

As for the employment programs we are hoping to announce within the next few days, you will see that they are in partnership with the private sector. These programs come very clearly under the federal government's responsibilities, under our constitutional jurisdiction. They will bring hope and help to young Canadians.

What we need in our society is to give young people the opportunity to get experience. As a society we need their exuberance.

Cultural Policy

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it has been very interesting to watch the front bench of the Liberals as they have brought their cultural policy closer and closer to the position of the Reform Party. For example, I thank the defence minister for taking the position that the Reform Party has with respect to the CBC. Thank you. That is good common sense.

With respect to the international trade minister, he certainly brings some common sense to this.

My question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage. At this meeting she is convening of the cultural elite in Canada, is she going to bring some forward thinking via the trade minister? As a matter of fact, has she issued an invitation to the trade minister to attend this meeting so that we can get some common sense for a change?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay East, BC]

Now we are getting some place.

Employment

[Vic Althouse, NDP, Mackenzie, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the labour force statistics that have been recently issued show that the employment participation rate for all Canadians hovers between 63 per cent and 64 per cent, and yet we have watched as the participation rate for young Canadians has dropped from 62.7 per cent in 1989 to 48.8 per cent in 1996.

Why has the government chosen over the past three and a half years to ignore the needs of young Canadians for work?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is quite the opposite. The problems of young Canadians who are looking for work are something about which we are extremely concerned and want to do our very best.

The government allocated in the 1996 budget $315 million in supplements to all programs that we have to address their particular needs. I hope to be in a position to shortly announce programs that have been designed, in partnership with the private sector, that address the needs of young Canadians who are looking for work. If they need experience, we as a society can give it to them. We need their exuberance and their education.

Zaire

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister.

As more than 400,000 refugees remain caught in the middle in eastern Zaire, the crisis between government forces and rebels keeps intensifying every day. Humanitarian agencies are evacuating high risk areas, while refugees flee their camps without any assistance or food. The situation is catastrophic, as we could see on television yesterday.

Since the government wanted to take a leadership role when the crisis first started in November, could the Deputy Prime Minister tell us today if her government will be as diligent now that the crisis in Zaire is threatening the safety, and even the lives, of the hundreds of thousands of refugees who are still in Zaire?

[Christine Stewart, Liberal, Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa)]

Mr. Speaker, the government has a continuing and deep concern about the crisis in Rwanda. It was our hope that with the new government and the return of the refugees. the situation would improve. However, in the last few days we have been alarmed at the massacre of relief workers. It is of great concern to Canada.

We had been prepared to send a further 10 Canadian human rights' monitors to the situation. We have had to suspend sending these very capable Canadians to the situation given the crisis.

I have just come to the House this morning from a consultation with about 200 non-government organizations, academics and government officials to discuss peace building in situations such as that found in Rwanda and the Great Lakes area.

The week after next there will be a debate in the United Nations, in which Canada will participate fully, to discuss the ongoing crisis in Rwanda. We are very concerned. We called in the Rwandan ambassador yesterday. We are doing so again today to discuss this ongoing issue. We will be happy to keep the House abreast of what we are doing.

Presence In Gallery

[The Deputy Speaker]

I wish to acknowledge the presence in the gallery of the hon. Speaker of the legislature of the province of Ontario, the hon. Chris Stockwell.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

Point Of Order

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the Reform Party is holding a youth conference this weekend. We would like to recognize many of the youth who are here today.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

Taxation

[Doug Peters, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, further to a request made in an exchange between the Minister of Finance and his colleague the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot on Wednesday, February 5, I am pleased to table a list of tax fairness measures introduced by this government over the last three years.