House of Commons Hansard #148 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was farmers.

Topics

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

An hon. member

That is what happened in the past.

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

That is what happened in the past. We also learned today that a coalition of unions, unemployment support groups and students is calling, along with the Bloc Quebecois, for a better deal for the unemployed. Even the Liberal premier of New Brunswick is calling for improvements to the plan.

In his refusal to improve employment insurance, will the Prime Minister acknowledge that his insistence on proving that he is right is stronger than the compassion he ought to feel for people in difficulty—

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

The Speaker

The Right Hon. Prime Minister.

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, we have already said we will maintain this approach. We have reduced premiums from $3.30 to $2.70. At this point, the government is studying the situation, and we will announce our plan in due course.

The hon. member should listen to what Michel Chartrand had to say this morning about the Parti Quebecois. The PQ gives with the left hand and takes away with the right, while we have always—

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques.

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Bloc

Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, of all the ways the government has come up with to penalize unemployed workers, the ones that hurt most are those that affect seasonal workers. Even the Premier of New Brunswick has been quoted criticizing the federal government in the newspapers.

Is the minister going to tell us that the Premier of New Brunswick, his Liberal ally, is also living in the past because, like us, he is coming to the defence of the unemployed victims of these reforms?

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Papineau—Saint-Denis Québec

Liberal

Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, every time my Bloc Quebecois colleague rises in the House, it is to ask for improvements to the EI system. That is all he can talk about.

He never has anything to say about workers wishing to rejoin the labour force. Our government has made it a priority to help these people. A much greater portion of our funding has gone into active measures and we have signed a new agreement with the Government of Quebec to help manpower training and—

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques.

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Bloc

Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, the point I am making today is the same as the one made by the Premier of New Brunswick, a Liberal premier. The government ignored the first wake-up call from maritimers, who did not re-elect two senior ministers from the Atlantic provinces in the last federal election.

Is the government going to continue to ignore the warning of the Premier of New Brunswick, who is urging the minister to stop targeting seasonal workers in the Lower St. Lawrence and maritime regions?

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Papineau—Saint-Denis Québec

Liberal

Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, my position has always been very clear. Our government undertook an extremely important reform of the EI system.

Our government promised to table annual studies over the next five years to monitor the reform and to determine any corrections needed.

The first report to come out was important. We noted that people in the Atlantic provinces find the additional hours to maintain their level—

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. leader of the New Democratic Party.

Health CareOral Question Period

November 3rd, 1998 / 2:25 p.m.

NDP

Alexa McDonough NDP Halifax, NS

Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome the Prime Minister back into the ballpark and now we will see if he is on his game.

This government has cut health care so deeply that some provinces are contemplating pulling out of medicare altogether. This government is more concerned about who gets credit than who gets the health care they need. An infusion of $2.5 billion is needed, not over the next three years but now.

When will this government recognize the crisis it has created in our health care system?

Health CareOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Etobicoke Centre Ontario

Liberal

Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, we have already started the reinvestment of which the Prime Minister has spoken. The era of cuts is well behind us. Having restored the fiscal solvency of the nation we now turn to restoring its most important programs.

The Prime Minister has said health will be the subject of our next major reinvestment. With our partners in the provinces we shall ensure, and Canadians can count on us to do so, the future of medicare in this country.

Health CareOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Alexa McDonough NDP Halifax, NS

Mr. Speaker, one of Canada's greatest strengths is medicare. It seems that Lucien Bouchard cares more about medicare than this government.

Health CareOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh.

Health CareOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. leader of the New Democratic Party.

Health CareOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Alexa McDonough NDP Halifax, NS

Mr. Speaker, it appears that the truth hurts.

Lucien Bouchard got caught cutting money from medicare and he had to put it back. When will this government put back the money that it cut from medicare?

Health CareOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Etobicoke Centre Ontario

Liberal

Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, it is astonishing, indeed it is appalling how little this member and her party knows about which political figures and which parties in this country stand for Canada and its health care system.

AirbusOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Peter MacKay Progressive Conservative Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS

Mr. Speaker, several weeks ago the government spin doctors circulated passages of the fictitious novel On the Take to refute allegations that the solicitor general had done something wrong.

I would therefore like to cite page 303 of the new book Presumed Guilty by William Kaplan. In it the Prime Minister allegedly discussed Airbus and mused about a royal commission with an Ottawa businessman in the summer of 1995. This was several months before the Prime Minister claimed that he learned of the investigation.

Will the Prime Minister confirm or deny that this particular conversation took place?

AirbusOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I love those very courageous people who never give their names when they talk to the press.

AirbusOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Peter MacKay Progressive Conservative Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS

Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister claims to be a home run hitter but his responses are way off base.

There is an apparent contradiction in what the Prime Minister has said about when he knew about the Airbus investigation. On November 20, 1995 the Prime Minister said he first heard of the Airbus investigation in a Financial Post article dated November 18. William Kaplan's book apparently contradicts this.

The question is simple. Does the Prime Minister stand by his November 1995 statement, or did he in fact discuss Airbus prior to November? What is the truth?

AirbusOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, again this is an allegation based on nothing. If the hon. member has any self-respect, he will name the person and I will deal with the person very neatly and clearly.

Apec InquiryOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Reform

Deborah Grey Reform Edmonton North, AB

Mr. Speaker, he does know how to take them out.

Yesterday the public complaints commission said that instead of asking the federal court to decide if the commission was biased, it would now make that decision itself. In other words, the same commission that is accused of bias will sit in judgment of itself. This is what we call fairness?

When will the Prime Minister replace that farce of a commission with a real independent judicial inquiry?

Apec InquiryOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, there is a law in this land that was passed to establish this commission. This commission is doing its work. We will let the commission do its work. We will not do as the opposition does and try to destroy the commission. Let the commission do its work according to the law that was passed by the previous government.

Apec InquiryOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Reform

Deborah Grey Reform Edmonton North, AB

Mr. Speaker, the public complaints commission has been destroyed by this government, by the solicitor general and by several other things, certainly not by the opposition.

It is obvious that the Prime Minister prefers the public complaints commission to an independent inquiry. The commission cannot investigate the Prime Minister's involvement, but do you know what, Mr. Speaker? A judge could. The commission cannot subpoena government documents that the Prime Minister says it cannot have, but do you know what, Mr. Speaker? A judge could.

I ask the Prime Minister, is that not the real reason the Prime Minister continues to talk about the public complaints commission when he should turn it over to a public independent inquiry to get to the bottom of what his involvement was?