Debates of Nov. 2nd, 1998

Hepatitis C

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, hep C victims of tainted blood have not received anything from this government's compensation package and the reason is that the lawyers are haggling.

Why does the health minister not take his responsibilities seriously? He should grab all those lawyers, lock them up in a big room and say do not come out until we have a compensation package. Look after the victims.

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as I said in response to an earlier question, I understand parties are communicating. They are discussing elements of the offer governments have made to resolve the claims.

Progress is being made. In particular, attention is being focused on those in most urgent need so that they can be provided with the help they need as soon as possible.

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that they have not met for three months.

If this minister had presented to the Canadian public a proper compensation program there would be no need for all these lawyers, no haggling, no delays.

Why does this minister not stop acting like the chair of the Canadian Bar Association and act like he was in charge of our health care system?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I suppose we could have dictated unilaterally what people would receive. Former governments have done that. It does not take into account the needs of people.

Instead, what we have under discussion with those who were infected is customized relief to look after their individual circumstances. That is the way this government does business, not decreeing in some arbitrary fashion but talking in detail with those who are affected to find out how we can best serve those needs. That is the way we think we should do business.

Young Offenders Act

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

Mr. Speaker, the meeting between provincial and federal justice ministers made one thing clear. The minister is trying to keep western Canada happy by toughening up the Young Offenders Act, while letting the provinces think they can adopt Quebec's approach.

When will the minister realize that the only possible solution to youth crime in Canada is for the present act to be left alone and all the provinces to follow Quebec's approach?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, my provincial and territorial colleagues and I had a very good discussion last week in relation to the reform of the youth justice system.

Coming out of that discussion are four things the provinces put on the table. First, they want a flexible regime. Second, they want additional resources. Third, they want a balanced regime. Fourth, they want additional consultations.

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

Mr. Speaker, Quebec's youth crime rate is among the lowest in North America, proof that the Young Offenders Act is working very well in Quebec.

How does the minister explain that such is not the case in the rest of Canada, in the English provinces?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, my provincial colleague Mr. Ménard, the attorney general of Quebec, had the opportunity to share with his colleagues from across the country the approach taken in Quebec and its success.

All ministers around the table concluded that what is important and the challenge for me is to ensure there is sufficient flexibility within any reformed youth justice system to accommodate different approaches.

Hepatitis C

[Reed Elley, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what planet the health minister lives on, but the rest of us know what is going to happen.

If these lawyers and lawsuits go to court because of government inaction, lawyers are going to get the money that should be going to the victims of hepatitis C. That is simple.

Why is the health minister determined to put the earnings of lawyers above the health of victims?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it was precisely to avoid people having to go to court and the expense of litigation that governments got together and made the offer we have.

Now the parties have those details under discussion, how can we best accommodate the needs of the people who were infected. Let us let the parties work it out. They have been making progress.

What we can do is let that process continue. It is in the interests of the victims.

[Reed Elley, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is while the minister is dickering around on this people are dying. That is the truth.

The AIDS tainted blood compensation package was administered quickly because it was done without a horde of lawyers who had their noses in the trough.

Will the health minister stop trying to act as the fundraising director of the Canadian Bar Association and—

[The Speaker]

If the hon. minister wishes to address that question he may.

Apec

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the next APEC summit is to be held in mid-November in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

We know that the former deputy prime minister and finance minister of that country has been detained. His imprisonment, which has been strongly condemned by Amnesty International, is a clear breach of human rights in every respect.

My question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Several countries have already expressed reservations about holding the APEC summit in Kuala Lumpur. Will the government show leadership and ask that the next APEC summit be held somewhere else?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, all the countries that are members of APEC have indicated their willingness to go to the meeting and will be at the meeting, in particular because of the serious issues involved dealing with the financial crisis and the impact on people in that region and around the world.

As a member of APEC we will be attending but at the same time we are taking steps to make sure there will be a very effective involvement of civil groups and public groups at that meeting to make sure the full range of opinions is heard.

Foreign Affairs

[David Pratt, Liberal, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will know that Mr. Stanley Faulder, a Canadian citizen, it to be executed in a Texas prison December 10. It would appear there were irregularities in the evidence presented in the case and that Canadian officials were only notified of Mr. Faulder's situation in 1991, a violation of international convention.

What course of action is the minister pursuing to prevent Mr. Faulder's execution?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is quite right. There is a very clear violation of the Vienna convention, which requires states to offer proper counsel support for those who are arrested.

I wrote to the governor of Texas about a year ago drawing that to his attention without any recourse. I followed up this week with letters to the governor, to the head of the pardons convention and also to Secretary of State Albright. I have also asked our officials to meet with Mr. Faulder's lawyers to see if we can join with them in submitting an amicus brief in the petition to the supreme court to ensure that Mr. Faulder's rights are properly recognized by the United States.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[Randy White, Reform, Langley—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP in British Columbia is facing an $8.5 million budget reduction which means the airplanes are not flying, no overtime and no training.

What does the commissioner of the RCMP do about all this? He and his wife and a few guests take a private jet to British Columbia and attend a retirement dinner. That is just after they flipped off to England to attend more social events.

Exactly what does the solicitor general think he is doing with RCMP rank and file members, where the money should be spent on crime enforcement—

[The Speaker]

The hon. solicitor general.

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, this kind of demagoguery is particularly unfortunate in the 125th year of RCMP service to this country.

The hon. member could well serve this country to speak of the accomplishments of the RCMP this year and not that kind of trash.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that answer is totally unacceptable to rank and file police officers in Canada.

RCMP positions are going unfilled because of these funding cuts. Detachments are being called on to stretch their resources to the breaking point. Frontline police officers are being told there is no money for standby or overtime. At the same time the commissioner and his guests jet set across the country or over to England for a photo op with the Queen.

That type of response is totally unacceptable. What kind of message is this sending to rank and file police officers?

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the trip to England was not paid for by the RCMP. What kind of message is that sending to Canada?

Health

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, now that the first round of consultations on the so-called health protection branch renewal is over, the Minister of Health should be acutely aware of the lack of confidence and trust that Canadians have in our health protection system.

The sworn testimony of scientists on the matter of bovine growth hormones only serves to further darken the cloud of suspicion hanging over the health protection branch.

To restore confidence in this discredited branch will the Minister of Health now do the right thing and launch a full independent inquiry into the health protection branch?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the member cannot have it both ways, both to criticize health protection branch for being secretive and looking only inward at itself and then to criticize the health protection branch when it goes across the country to hold public consultations about renewing itself and changing the way it does business to be more open and transparent.

That indeed is our objective, to ensure that the health protection branch does its job in a way that has the confidence of Canadians. We throw open the doors and windows, bring the public in and let them know how decisions about safety and health protection are made.

That is the point of the consultations. That is the point of health protection branch transition. It is a good process.

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health does a great disservice to Canadians by not acknowledging their concerns and by not acting now to clear the air.

With over 70% of the drug approval process paid for by the drug industry itself and with growing allegations of industry lobbyists taking precedence over the public interest, there is a serious concern before the minister today.

Why will the minister not show some leadership, get his own house in order and launch an immediate independent inquiry into the health protection branch?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would have thought the member and her party would support the government in what it is doing.

We are looking at the way the health protection branch is structured. We are looking at the quality of the personnel. We are looking at the way it makes decisions. We are looking for a way in which it can fulfil its important public function in a fashion that will hold the confidence of Canadians in an open and transparent process.

That is what health protection branch transition is all about. It is part of that process to go public, to have public consultation, to hold open meetings where everyone is present and to talk about these issues.

That is the process in which we are involved. We believe it is the right way to restore confidence in the health protection branch.