House of Commons Hansard #4 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was trade.

Topics

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

5:45 p.m.

An hon. member

Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

5:45 p.m.

Bloc

Suzanne Tremblay Bloc Rimouski—Mitis, QC

There is “Ajax” in there and, to me, that is stuff used to clean the sink.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

5:45 p.m.

Some hon. members

Ha, ha.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

5:45 p.m.

Bloc

Suzanne Tremblay Bloc Rimouski—Mitis, QC

That is the kind of trick I will use to remember the name of his riding in future.

Naturally, we all have our own personality. I for one am a passionate person. He should watch the program on the French network of the CBC this evening, at 7.30 p.m. He would get to know me better because tonight is about who I am really, behind the image. This is an invitation. However, he will realize that I am a passionate person, and I am not about to set this aspect of my personality aside just because it does not please the Liberals. If there is something I intend to do, it is to show passion in this House.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

5:45 p.m.

Liberal

Eugène Bellemare Liberal Carleton—Gloucester, ON

Mr. Speaker, I would like to comment on the speech by the hon. member for Rimouski—Mitis. First, I must congratulate her for a very passionate and good speech, in which she defends culture.

The hon. member has always been known to defend culture and I congratulate her for doing so. However, in her enthusiasm, she is wearing blinkers and is too focused on herself, on what she calls the people of Quebec. When she talks about the two founding nations, she talks about Quebec. She forgets the francophones from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and even Yukon.

When the hon. member refers to us, francophones from outside Quebec, it is always in a negative way and I deplore that. I do not think she does it out of malice but, rather, out of separatist idealism to try to make a point. She should instead encourage francophones outside Quebec and show what is happening among French Canadians.

The hon. member talked about Quebec's culture. There is a French Canadian culture. There are many cultivated people in Quebec. There is a thriving culture, but francophones living outside Quebec also contribute to that culture.

When she talks about the francophonie, I wish the member for Rimouski—Mitis would include francophones outside Quebec as well as those in Quebec in Canada's French-speaking community. Together, we can make Canada an even better place, with a strong, thriving Quebec in an even greater country and in a world in which we can be proud of our dynamic culture, since the hon. member is always raising the issue of culture. Perhaps I should commend her for her interest in this matter.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

5:50 p.m.

Bloc

Suzanne Tremblay Bloc Rimouski—Mitis, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his kind words, of course. I am flattered.

First of all, in my speech, which I also invite this member to read, I never excluded francophones outside Quebec. I asked whether there would be an information highway for francophones. I did not specify that it would be for Quebec alone and that it would not go outside our province. The information highway covers quite a distance. I would have a lot of trouble stopping it at the Quebec border. I spoke about an information highway for francophones, meaning all francophones in Canada.

I have no objection to there being a French Canadian people. But I am no longer part of that group. When I was growing up, I was taught in school that I was a French Canadian. Later on, I was told that I was a Quebecer and I like that better. But I will not be faulted for preferring to be a Quebecer to being a French Canadian. As a French Canadian, I am a second class citizen. As a Quebecer, I am a first class citizen. That is the difference. I have no objection to their being French Canadians, but why are we given less money to produce television programs?

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

5:50 p.m.

Liberal

Eugène Bellemare Liberal Carleton—Gloucester, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am referring to the Canadian Constitution. French Canadians are not second class citizens, as the member has just said.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

5:50 p.m.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. McClelland)

With the greatest of respect, as the hon. member knows that is most likely a point of debate.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

5:50 p.m.

Liberal

Brent St. Denis Liberal Algoma—Manitoulin, ON

Mr. Speaker, first let me offer my congratulations to you on your new office. We are all confident you will do a great job.

Let me also say that I am sharing my time with the hon. member for St. Catharines.

I am very pleased to participate in this debate. There is no question the Speech from the Throne we heard this past Tuesday speaks for itself. Nonetheless we are here, opposition members from one point of view and government members from another, to debate the merits or demerits of the throne speech.

The fact I am here as the member for Algoma—Manitoulin is due to the voters of my riding who expressed their support in me. I appreciate that. We all had supporters among our volunteers and our loved ones. On behalf of all of us may I thank many people across the country who participated in the political process, in the democratic process. They are helping to make this country the greatest country in the world with a parliament that at times seems to be raucous and noisy but a parliament that works, a parliament in which we can all have confidence.

I never cease to be in awe of this place even though this is my second term. I say to first time members of the House that they can make of this job what their efforts produce. If they serve their constituents and their country well, they will feel the reward of knowing that the country is bit by bit moving positively into the next millennium.

It is appropriate that a Liberal government will lead the country into the next millennium. Our Prime Minister is the right person to lead the government into the next thousand years.

The throne speech has shown in many ways the caring and nurturing side of government. Too often our citizens are cynical about government at all levels and the processes which seem to take place behind closed doors and in faraway places. We demonstrated in the last Parliament—and we will show it again—that this is an open, transparent government, a government that will listen to the people and will make decisions, often tough decisions, that are needed to continue keeping the country the best country in the world.

I will quote one sentence from the Prime Minister's speech of yesterday which sums up for me the theme of my remarks. He said “Canada will remain the best country to live in because it cares about people”.

In my time around here as the member of Parliament for Algoma—Manitoulin I have learned that ultimately voters want to know their governments and representatives care about them and their communities. The less we express and show that, the more distant they feel.

My riding in northern Ontario stretches from Manitouwadge in the northwest to Chapleau in the northeast and south to the north shore of Lake Huron including Manitoulin Island. Whether we represent a downtown city core or urban riding or a large rural riding, we are representing Canadians. They are Canadians who all feel the same way about their country.

The throne speech expresses the caring nature of the government. We can find no greater evidence than in the words of the throne speech.

Let us start with the issue of the economy. In the last Parliament a tremendous challenge was facing us with the deficit at record levels. Let us imagine newspaper headlines screaming aloud that the government has brought our country into the black. Over the next year and a half, if not sooner, we will be in a surplus position. What greater thing can we do for preserving our health care programs, our pension programs, programs for youth and so on, than by ensuring our economy is strong and vibrant based on a set of books we can all be proud of whether a member of the opposition or not.

That essence of caring has given Canadians for the first time in a long time a real sense of hope, optimism and confidence about the future. We are certainly not there yet when it comes to solving all the problems of the country. There will always be challenges and problems to face. It has been a long time since this country has been at such a tremendous juncture in its history. In fact there is so much confidence as we approach the next millennium that the Prime Minister in the throne speech announced that we are going to have a tremendous millennium party in two and a half years, a party which I believe the world will come to because people around the world know that we have a country that cares about people.

Even though we hear complaints from different parts of the country it is only because people know that the government will listen when they speak and cry out for help. They know we will respond.

A caring government must look at the first and most important group in our society, our children. We have recognized that children must get a good start in life, be it through proper nutrition or through proper education. We have made tremendous strides, in co-operation with all the provinces, in developing a national child benefit system. It is not completed yet but I believe it will evolve into a model for the world.

When it comes to the young people of our society, people who we worry a lot about because of their concerns of future employment, this government in the last Parliament, and even more this Parliament, stands ready to make sure that in co-operation with the provinces through an enhanced scholarship program, through initiatives with industry it can make sure that they have a chance at that first job, at starting life on the right foot.

If, for some reason, they get off on the wrong foot we are there to make sure they have a second and a third chance if necessary.

We are also looking out for those in our society who find themselves in the middle ages, sometimes victims of structural change. With changing societies and economies, we will see jobs lost here and jobs created somewhere else. That is the nature of our modern society. We have the sadness which comes with losing a job maybe at the age of 40 or 50 years of age. Many of my constituents have faced that challenge, particularly in Elliot Lake. It is incumbent on us to continue to assist people caught in this way with retraining or appropriate early retirement programs.

For the final age category, that being our elderly, what more can a government do but to make sure that the pension systems are secure and that seniors do not have to worry about the future.

I heard from the seniors. They were worried about the future. When they understood through our campaign that we were committed to securing the Canada pension plan for the future and that we were developing the seniors benefit plan, they knew that the government would be watching out for them.

This does not say that some people don't get lost in the cracks. It is incumbent on the government to close those cracks, to make sure that nobody is left behind. It is an absolute feature of a caring government that no one gets left behind.

Mr. Speaker, again I wish you the very best in your new office over this next Parliament. I wish the best for all my colleagues as we look forward to an exciting and vigorous Parliament over this next few years.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Elsie Wayne Progressive Conservative Saint John, NB

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Algoma referred to the strong voice of the government that is there for the people. That strong voice just was not there. It was a silent voice for the people in Atlantic Canada in the last Parliament.

Atlantic Canada has 8 percent of the population and it was taking 27 percent of all the cuts.

I have a shipyard, the most modern shipyard there is in Canada, in Saint John, New Brunswick. Four thousand men used to work there. None are working there now. I used to have all of my electricians working in the province of New Brunswick. Seventy-six percent of them are now gone. Seventy-six percent of them are not working. They have gone illegally to the U.S.A. to work so they can feed their families.

The government is selling off all the housing of CMHC. Do you know who lives in CMHC housing? All the low and middle income people live in those houses. When you privatize it, the rent doubles and triples and the people are out on the street.

I do not believe that the government understands what it has done. It is time for it to stop and take a look. The member talks about a crack. What is in the throne speech is a crack the size of the Grand Canyon. I appeal to the government to please tell us what it is going to do for the people who are hurting like never before. I do not want to hear about governments in the past who did this or that.

All I know is that when I was mayor our people worked and we had a low unemployment rate. I had 4,000 people working at my shipyard, some as plumbers, some as electricians. It was beautiful. However, right now it is a total disaster.

Please tell me what you are going to do for our people?

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:05 p.m.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. McClelland)

I would remind hon. members to please address each other through the Chair.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:05 p.m.

Liberal

Brent St. Denis Liberal Algoma—Manitoulin, ON

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the remarks of the hon. member for Saint John.

I admire the member for Saint John. She was very effective in the last Parliament and I expect that she will be in this Parliament. However, I believe she is missing the point.

In the last Parliament the government had to make some tough decisions. You can care about the people and still make tough decisions knowing that what you are doing will be better for all the regions of the country.

In my home town of Elliot Lake, starting in 1990 we experienced a job loss of some 5,000 in the uranium mining industry. There was a lot of adjustment, but in the long run the changes which took place have shown that Elliot Lake and that region will survive and do very well.

I know that the spirit of the citizens of the Atlantic provinces is very much the same. They will respond to change and they will deal with the challenges that face them in a very creative way. I have every confidence in the citizens of Saint John and the other ridings of the Atlantic provinces. They will take up the flag and march into the next millennium with all of us. All of our regions will be better off with the changes and improvements that we have made in the governance of this country.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:05 p.m.

Reform

Werner Schmidt Reform Kelowna, BC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate you. You occupy the chair so well. Not only do you look well, you act well, you speak well and you have such a passion for the House.

I would like to refer to the speech we have just heard from the hon. member for Algoma—Manitoulin. He used little phrases in his comment that really caught my attention. He said “and no one shall be left behind”. Now that was very interesting. In fact I think “no one is left behind” were the exact words he used. That is very interesting because the moment he finished his speech, the hon. member for Saint John had to point out to him that there are people who are already being left behind.

I would like to ask the member for Algoma—Manitoulin what he considers to be accountability and what he considers being left behind. I draw his attention to the the allocation or awarding by the Minister of Industry of TPC grants. It is is clearly the spoken intention of the Minister of Industry to say very clearly that these grants are to be in support of and to develop small industry in Canada. What do we discover? Until this point as of August 31, 1997, 75 percent of all of those moneys were not given to small industry but to large industries in aerospace and defence; 75 percent on industries that are wealthy, industries with a profit, yet the small businessman could not get in. Does he call that accountability? Does he call that being left behind? What is he talking about?

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:10 p.m.

Liberal

Brent St. Denis Liberal Algoma—Manitoulin, ON

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate what I think was a question from the member for Kelowna.

If he can check the blues, I believe he will appreciate my clarification on the people in our society who are being left behind. None of us in the House wants anyone to be left behind.

I believe I said that this government in the last Parliament and again in this Parliament will take steps to ensure that as much as possible no one is left behind. It is a sad fact in the real world of life that some people for one reason or another find themselves lagging behind the bulk of society and it is necessary for society at large to reach back and make sure that no one is left behind. But sadly we do not live in a perfect world. I doubt that we will ever live in a perfect world, but we can all work together to make it a better world and a better country.

I know that opposition members of all parties will work with us to make Canada a better and better place in which to live where no one will be left behind. That is not a fantasy nor is it a dream. It is a very high goal that will take a lot of effort and time to achieve.

I believe the programs that we have and will put in place will provide our citizens with the very best possibility to achieve their own individual successes in life. Take for example the scholarship fund that the Prime Minister referred to yesterday in his speech, the details of which will no doubt come out over the days and weeks ahead. It is a scholarship fund designed specifically for post-secondary aspirants who find themselves in low and modest income family situations. That among many initiatives is an indication of the government's commitment to those who might otherwise be left behind. While he might want to say that I said we were there, he knows full well it is an objective that will be best achieved through the efforts of this government no doubt with the co-operation of the opposition parties.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:15 p.m.

The Speaker

It is now 6.15 p.m. and we are out of time. Perhaps we can come back to this next time.

It being 6.15, it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith all questions necessary to dispose of the motion now before the House.

The question is on the subamendment. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the subamendment?

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

No.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:15 p.m.

The Speaker

All those in favour of the subamendment will please say yea.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Yea.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:15 p.m.

The Speaker

All those opposed will please say nay.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Nay.

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:15 p.m.

The Speaker

In my opinion the nays have it.

And more than five members having risen:

Speech From The ThroneGovernment Orders

6:15 p.m.

The Speaker

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the amendment to the amendment, which was negatived on the following division:)

Division No. 1Government Orders

6:45 p.m.

The Speaker

I declare the subamendment defeated.

It being 6.47 p.m. this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 6.47 p.m.)