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.
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, there is a law of the land that established exactly that, an independent inquiry that is doing its work.
I repeat that I have nothing to be afraid of because I received the leaders of the United States, China, Japan and other nations. My preoccupation at that time was really on the turbulence that existed in the Pacific and I had no time to talk with the RCMP.
Francine Lalonde Bloc Mercier, QC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House, the Minister of Industry did not answer my question about Technology Partnerships Canada but, outside the House, he told a Globe and Mail reporter that he was trying to get the necessary funding from the Minister of Finance.
Does the minister realize that, while his colleague in the Department of Finance is holding back his announcement for a splashy budget in the spring, high-tech jobs are disappearing by the hundreds in Montreal or are moving south of the border?
John Manley LiberalMinister of Industry
But that is not true, Mr. Speaker. Our program has been a great success, not just at saving jobs in Montreal and in Canada, but at creating jobs in the aerospace industry, a sector that is very important for Canada. It has been a great success for Canada.
Francine Lalonde Bloc Mercier, QC
Mr. Speaker, my supplementary question is for the Minister of Finance.
The minister told the Globe and Mail :
“We don't lose the company but less is being done here—. That's clearly what I'd like to arrest if I can”.
Is the Minister of Finance going to continue to abandon the Montreal region? Can he afford to sit tight until the spring to make an announcement that would save R&D jobs now?
John Manley LiberalMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, which are the successful sectors in the Montreal area? They are the aerospace sector, funded by the federal government, the biotechnology sector, funded by the federal government, and the telecommunications sector, funded by the federal government. All three sectors receive funding from our government.
Jim Abbott Reform Kootenay—Columbia, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister continues to hide behind this now totally dead and useless public complaints commission. He has a reason for that. The public complaints commission was never, ever designed to look into the affairs of the Prime Minister denying Canadians their rights of freedom of speech and expression.
This commission will be calling the commissioner of the RCMP who has acknowledged that because it will be reporting to him, it will have a bias. The RCMP lawyers say that it will have a bias. What are we going to do to get to the bottom of this affair as long as the Prime Minister—
Andy Scott LiberalSolicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member does not understand is that the public complaints commission was initiated by an action of the complainants. They started the process. Now the process is master of its own procedures.
Jim Abbott Reform Kootenay—Columbia, BC
Mr. Speaker, my question is not about the RCMP commission. My question is not about the RCMP's actions or the students' actions. My question is about this Prime Minister's involvement in denying Canadians their rights of freedom of speech and expression.
This commission does not have the authority to get to that and is completely derailed. When are we going to get what Canadians need, an independent inquiry?
Andy Scott LiberalSolicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, is the hon. member suggesting that the government should interfere with a process that was established by parliament in 1988? Is that what the hon. member is suggesting? This government will not do it.
Ghislain Lebel Bloc Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation charges a $235 appraisal fee to all home buyers who make use of its services in securing a loan.
My question is for the Minister of Public Works. How can he explain the CMHC's imposition of this $235 appraisal fee on everyone, when appraisals are done in Quebec only 5% of the time?
Canada Mortgage And Housing CorporationOral Question Period
Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Québec
Liberal
Alfonso Gagliano LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, CMHC has an appraisal system which it uses along with the financial institutions. CMHC also has an insurance component.
Overall, the purpose is to do an appraisal, and the cost is shared among the users.
Ghislain Lebel Bloc Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, nevertheless, there is a property appraisal done in only 5% of cases in Quebec.
Can the Minister of Public Works tell us whether, in the imminent legislative amendments to the National Housing Act, he plans to require CMHC to appraise all properties on which it is securing loans, since it is already charging an appraisal fee to all buyers?
Canada Mortgage And Housing CorporationOral Question Period
Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Québec
Liberal
Alfonso Gagliano LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, if CMHC were to appraise every property individually, the cost would be higher than at present.
The hon. member should be aware that, thanks to new technological developments in doing appraisals, we are able to transfer the resulting savings over to the users. That is why the charge is a minimal one. We are constantly trying to reduce fees, and when we can bring them down, we will.
Grant Hill Reform Macleod, AB
Mr. Speaker, when medicare started, the federal government promised it would pay 50% of the costs. Today due to Liberal neglect it is down to 11%.
The health minister says that he and the Prime Minister are ready to reinvest in medicare. Exactly what is the percentage we can expect the federal government to pay? What is his target?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, it is hard to know what to say about a party that would put a question like that, when the Reform Party would repeal the Canada Health Act.
This very member has been quoted in the House as calling the Canada Health Act an outdated piece of legislation. This very member called for something he terms medicare plus. We know what that is. It is American style health insurance. We will never have it in this country. Never.
Grant Hill Reform Macleod, AB
Mr. Speaker, while this crew promised to protect medicare, what did they deliver? Seven billion dollars in cuts. While this crew promised to protect medicare, what did they deliver? Longer waiting lines. While this crew promised to protect medicare, what did they deliver? People having to go to the Mayo Clinic for treatment.
My question again is since it has dropped from 50% to 11% what is this minister's target? What will we see when he is through with medicare?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, Canadians will not be distracted by this empty rhetoric from the member opposite. Canadians know the Reform Party would sweep away medicare. The Reform Party believes in American style health insurance.
Let me make it very clear for every member of the House. This Prime Minister and this government will never repeal the Canada Health Act because the Reform Party will never have the opportunity to serve in government.
Michel Bellehumeur Bloc Berthier—Montcalm, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health.
Last week, I drew the attention of both the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Health to the trafficking in datura stramonius, the fruit of a hallucinatory plant that is not currently prohibited in Canada and that has devastating effects.
Could the minister tell me whether he will act quickly, as he is being asked to, to ban datura stramonius?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, last week I clarified Health Canada's position. We are now looking into this whole question.
We know the risks associated with this substance and we are currently considering all our options, including that of adding this substance to schedule A, to ensure it is prohibited in Canada.
John Harvard Liberal Charleswood—Assiniboine, MB
Mr. Speaker, earlier this summer the House made what amounts to the single biggest change in Canadian grain marketing in 60 years. For the first time producers will directly elect 10 of the 15 directors to the Canadian Wheat Board.
Can the minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board tell the House how this historic election process is progressing?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Wheat Board electoral process is going very well.
Sixty-four candidates, many of them brand new people, are running for the 10 positions, so there is obviously a healthy contest. For the most part, the debate is positive and constructive.
An editorial in yesterday's Lethbridge Herald —
Canadian Wheat BoardOral Question Period
The Speaker
The hon. Minister of Natural Resources.
