Debates of Oct. 19th, 1998

Student Week Of Action

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week students from Peterborough joined students across Canada in the Student Week of Action.

Across Ontario students are concerned with the actions of the provincial government which have cut funding to educational institutions and deregulated tuition fees. The result of this has been a dramatic increase in student costs.

Our government caucus on post-secondary education and research supports actions by the federal government designed to help ease the burden placed on students. Through millennium scholarships, Canada study grants, tax free RRSP withdrawals, RESPs, tax relief on student loans and increased funding to the granting councils, the federal government is helping to bridge the gap to a good education. We are doing this because we know that education is the key to future prosperity.

I lend my support to students speaking out against the actions of the Ontario government and urge all provincial governments to follow the example of their federal counterparts.

Apec Summit

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in 1980 when the Prime Minister was Canada's justice minister he said “There are many people in this land protected in normal society but these rights can disappear very rapidly”. How bizarre.

The Prime Minister forecasted his own actions 18 years ago. He has made the rights of Canadians disappear rapidly. There is clear evidence the Prime Minister and his office worked aggressively to suppress Canadians' charter freedoms of speech, expression and association at the APEC meetings in Vancouver last year. At hearings currently in process he is funding over $2,000 an hour of legal protection for himself while he instructs Canada's solicitor general to deny $1 of funding for protesters.

The solicitor general who is supposed to be Canadians' protector shamelessly is the protector of the Prime Minister. Shame on the Prime Minister, shame on his servants and especially shame on the solicitor general who has abandoned Canadians. He allows the Prime Minister to act as a—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Ahuntsic.

The Late Right Hon. Brian Dickson

[Eleni Bakopanos, Liberal, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to speak in memory of one our most distinguished legal minds, the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Right Honourable Brian Dickson, who passed away last Saturday, at the age of 82.

He sat on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1973 to 1990, and became chief justice in 1984, a position he held until 1990.

Before joining this country's highest court he sat on the Manitoba bench. He also served his country heroically in World War II. He made a lasting contribution to the law and played a critical role in developing jurisprudence under the charter of rights and freedoms.

He will be remembered as a jurist of keen intellect, discerning judgment and great integrity. He will be missed by all who had the honour of knowing and working with him. This is a sad loss for all Canadians.

I know all parliamentarians will join me and the government in extending condolences to his family and friends, and our respect for a great jurist and a war hero who served his country well.

National Sports Centre

[John Cannis, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend I had the privilege to represent the Minister of Canadian Heritage at the Athletes Can conference in Vancouver in British Columbia to announce the creation of the National Sports Centre, greater Vancouver.

With this partnership program, the federal government and Sports Canada are contributing $250,000 in 1998-99 and $350,000 for every year thereafter.

The unique feature of the Vancouver Centre will be its delivery of coaching development services and its partnership with Victoria National coaching institutions.

Of interest is that the centre will also become part of the National Sports Centre of British Columbia, which will co-ordinate programming among five existing centres and two national sports centres in Vancouver and Victoria.

By investing in these programs we are not only supporting our athletes today but supporting an investing in our youth today and our athletes of tomorrow.

Governor General's Award

[Jean Augustine, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to five women who received in 1998 the Governor General's Award in commemoration of the persons case.

The Governor General's Award was established in 1979 to mark the 50th anniversary of the persons case. It represents a salute to the famous five who were successful in challenging our political traditions and allowed for the admission of women into the Senate of Canada.

This year's recipients of the Governor General's Award are Jacqueline Sicotte Bétque, Alice Brown, Claire Haggtvelt, Stella-Maria Zola Gule-LeJohn and Phyllis Seymour. These five remarkable women have carried on in the footsteps of the famous five whom we are honouring this month, women's history month.

Today's recipients join the ranks of the famous five by fighting for women's right to vote, for equal treatment of women on family farms, for safe havens for women who experience abuse and providing us with a real picture of women's lives in Canada.

The Senate

[Leon Benoit, Reform, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today is the day that Albertans vote for the people they want to represent them in the Senate of Canada.

The Prime Minister has done everything he could to deny Albertans this democratic right. He strong armed the provincial Liberals into not running candidates. He has called Alberta's Senate election a joke. He appointed his own senator part way through the process, thereby giving Albertans his version of the Trudeau salute.

He twisted reality by saying that a constitutional change would be required to appoint an elected senator. He levelled all his guns at Albertans to try to stop us but he has failed.

Today hundreds of thousands of Albertans will vote to send two senators in waiting and a clear message to this Prime Minister. Each one of those Albertans who gets out and votes today clearly has more respect for democracy than the Prime Minister and all his cronies put together.

Women's History Month

[Sarmite Bulte, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, October was designated women's history month by the federal government in 1992. I rise in celebration of women's contributions to Canadian history and Canadian society.

Women's history month coincides with the annual commemoration of the persons case of 1929. Five Canadian women fought for and won recognition of women as persons under the British North America Act. This gave them the opportunity to be appointed to the Senate.

In the words of Nellie McClung, one of the famous five women who fought and won that historic case almost 70 years ago, people must know the past to understand the present and face the future.

It is for this reason that we celebrate women's history month every year. Each October we recognize women's past achievements to instil a sense of pride in our historical origins and to provide role models for other women across the country.

It is an honour to rise and celebrate with Canadians the difference women have made in the past—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Lanark—Carleton.

The Late Right Hon. Brian Dickson

[Ian Murray, Liberal, Lanark—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I draw to the attention of the House the passing of the Right Hon. Brian Dickson, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mr. Dickson was named to the supreme court in 1973 and was chief justice from 1984 until his retirement in 1990. He led the court during the period when the charter of rights and freedoms was presenting new challenges to our legal system. Mr. Dickson was known as a strong supporter of minority rights. Many regarded him as the greatest chief justice ever to preside over the supreme court.

Brian Dickson was also a war hero and was grievously wounded during World War II while serving with the Royal Canadian Artillery. He continued to contribute to public life in Canada right up until his death.

I am proud to have counted him among my constituents and am grateful for all he gave to Canada during his lifetime and the enduring legacy he left to this country.

The Cabinet

[Gurmant Grewal, Reform, Surrey Central, BC]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the Prime Minister's secret code of conduct for his cabinet.

It calls for the Prime Minister to defend his solicitor general for freely and publicly discussing his department's investigations even though it ruins them.

The secret code authorizes the finance minister to spend the EI surplus, greedily siphoning it away from workers and employers.

The code calls for the finance minister to fire a public servant for exposing the mismanagement of the CPP.

The secret code sanctions the firing of the government's own fishery committee chairman because he gutted too many fish stories.

The code obligated the health minister to deny compensation for all victims of tainted blood. It safeguarded the Liberals when they cancelled the Somalia inquiry, kept the Krever inquiry in court and flip-flopped on the helicopter deal.

The Liberal cabinet's secret code of conduct is no secret to those Canadians who are victims of this cold hearted government—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Pierrefonds—Dollard.

Julie Payette

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last night, in Montreal, astronaut Julie Payette was chosen Person of the Year at the 15th Gala Excellence organized by the newspaper La Presse .

We want to salute the courage shown by this young astronaut determined to succeed in a career that requires a lot of strength, where “you can never fail, never make a mistake”, as she put it herself. She has every reason to be proud of this honour bestowed upon her.

I also want to congratulate all the other recipients who receive similar encouragement in various areas, from the arts to literature, business and sports.

We hope these awards will inspire our young people to follow in the footsteps of the people who were honoured last night.

Canadian Coast Guard

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the merger of the coast guard and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has been absolutely disastrous.

In the past several years tens of millions of dollars have been cut from the Canadian Coast Guard, severely limiting Canada's search and rescue capabilities. By next April a further $55 million will be cut from the coast guard.

After the Swissair disaster the men and women of the coast guard did yeomen's work. Their competence in extremely difficult circumstances made all Canadians extremely proud and demonstrated why the coast guard requires adequate funding.

Now these brave men and women are getting pink slips and tied up ships. With a coastline as long as Canada's, this is scandalous. The coast guard will not be able to do its job without the proper tools and adequate resources.

What does the government plan to do next, contract our search and rescue requirements to the United States?

André O. Dumas

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to pay tribute today to André O. Dumas, who received the McKee Award at the annual meeting of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, held recently in Calgary. Mr. Dumas is the second francophone to receive this award in more than 70 years.

This honour recognizes his remarkable contribution to the aviation and aeronautics industry.

Mr. Dumas started his career as a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Among other responsibilities, he also held for more than 10 years the position of regional administrator for Transport Canada in Quebec.

We are also grateful to him for his contribution to the development of the Air Cadets in Quebec. Always eager to get involved, he sat on the Mirabel Regional Development Commission to come up with an action plan based on the airport infrastructure.

The Bloc Quebecois wishes to extend its most sincere congratulations to André O. Dumas.

Centres Of Excellence

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this past October 15, our government announced a $41 million investment over the next four years in three networks of centres of excellence, the Canadian Arthritis Network, the Geomatics for Informed Decisions Network and the Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems Network.

Such an investment will be of particular benefit to Laval University, which houses a sizeable number of researchers in these fields, but it will also have a significant impact on Canada as a whole, through the presence of our top researchers and their partners in the universities, government and the private sectors

We must not forget that Laval and the Quebec City area have played a role of excellence in geomatics for 10 years, and provide support to the network through research infrastructure and a pool of top-notch human resources.

Department Of National Defence

[David Price, Progressive Conservative, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Interlinx, a company in my riding, received a cheque from the Department of National Defence dated September 11, 1998 for the sum of $1,182.56. Interlinx does not have an invoice for this fee and has in fact done no work for the Department of National Defence.

As the defence committee studied quality of life issues last year it became apparent that the Department of National Defence cannot afford this type of wasteful management. Yet the Prime Minister found $14.5 million to build a new armoury in his riding.

It is important that the Canadian public and members of the Canadian Forces at all levels are confident that resources are managed properly and not being wasted.

How many more cheques have been sent out? What assurance is there that this type of wasteful management will not happen again? To answer these questions to Canadians' satisfaction, I have written to the auditor general to request an internal audit of the Department of National Defence.

I will return the wasted money to the minister this afternoon after question period.

Family Service Canada

[Mac Harb, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to Family Service Canada, a national charitable organization with a mandate to promote the well-being of families in communities.

This organization provided full services in counselling to more than 400,000 Canadians. This year it launched a national initiative called images of families. Canadians of all ages are encouraged to send photos or stories capturing a moment in the life of their family. Details can be obtained through Family Service Canada.

Volunteers, staff and members of Family Service Canada are to be commended for being there for our children, our country's most valuable resource.

1998 Nobel Peace Prize

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

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Quebecois wishes to pay tribute to 1998 Nobel Peace Prize laureates John Hume and David Trimble.

These two workers for peace have earned this distinction through their leadership culminating in the signing of the Good Friday agreement, which lay down the foundations for a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.

For John Hume, the Nobel Peace Prize is a recognition of his peace-minded and democratic battle for peace in Northern Ireland. For David Trimble, it is a tribute to a risk-taker who opted for the route of reconciliation as well. This Nobel Prize is none too soon in coming, and is richly deserved.

Peace in Northern Ireland is richly deserved. Thanks to John Hume and David Trimble, the people of Northern Ireland have a new peace, but through the Good Friday agreement they have also given themselves the right to be masters of their own fate, the right to choose their own political status. They have restored freedom to Northern Ireland.

Progressive Conservative Party Of New Brunswick

[John Herron, Progressive Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to state that today is a great day for democracy in the province of New Brunswick.

The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is on the eve of having three members elected to the legislature in Fredericton. Those candidates are Everett Sanipass, Brad Green and our leader Bernard Lord.

Today will represent the first day of Bernard Lord's entering into the legislature in Fredericton. It will be the first day of a long electoral career.

Congratulations on Bernard Lord's victory today.

Apec Inquiry

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the government has at least six high priced lawyers defending it at the APEC inquiry, but the students who were pepper sprayed currently have none. According to the solicitor general this is fair.

Is the Prime Minister's idea of fair play giving one side of the APEC inquiry a team of high priced lawyers and the other side simply a blast of pepper spray?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there is a commission that has been established under the law of this parliament. It is a commission that looks into the interests of those who have a complaint. It has been done many times.

There is a lawyer working for the commission who is helping the witnesses and the complainants air their complaints. The police and the government being challenged have a lawyer to defend them. But there is no complaint against the students. They are the ones complaining and they can make their case. If they have problems as witnesses, the lawyer in charge—

[The Speaker]

The Leader of the Opposition.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, every crook in this country can usually count on getting legal aid from this government. Even murderers and rapists like Clifford Olson and Paul Bernardo received legal aid. There is no law and there is no convention that stops the government from giving help to the students at the APEC inquiry.

Why is it that criminals can get legal aid from this government but legal protesters cannot?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are not accusing the students of anything. It is the students who are complaining about the work of the police. That is what is happening. We are not, as the Leader of the Opposition is, comparing the students with criminals. They are not criminals. They are making complaints against the police. The commission is willing to help them if they have problems with their testimony before the commission.