Debates of Nov. 30th, 1998

Canada Post

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister knows full well that the moratorium put in place by him is over tomorrow.

I would like to give the minister the opportunity to speak directly to the people of those thousands of small businesses and tell them he will tell Canada Post to put an end to this devastating policy once and for all.

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, in the past two months Canada Post has met with over 600 franchises to discuss and listen to see what can be done. It is coming up with a package that will ensure all the postal operators who operate franchises within their stores with the commission fee will have no losses.

The member and others are predicting the end of the world. When this package is fully implemented they will see that the franchises will make more money.

Poverty

[André Harvey, Progressive Conservative, Chicoutimi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of Treasury Board.

Poverty is a daily problem in cities throughout the country as new soup kitchens and shelters for the homeless spring up. This is only the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, the federal government has no program to provide financial assistance to these organizations that help the most disadvantaged members of society.

Will the President of Treasury Board promise to do everything possible to create such a program, in order to help these organizations that are dealing with the poverty of their fellow citizens on a daily basis?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, as a government, we are obviously extremely concerned about poverty in Canada and, in recent years, we have identified poverty, particularly child poverty, as one of our highest social priorities.

We have invested $1.7 billion in the national child benefit in order to help families give their children the best possible start in life.

We have implemented the Canadian opportunity strategy, as well as the family income supplement, to help families in need.

[André Harvey, Progressive Conservative, Chicoutimi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I see that the government does not know where to start in the fight against poverty.

Specific measures are required, as well as a major tax reform.

Would the minister not be interested in helping create a special joint committee of the House of Commons and the Senate to identify the real problems of poverty and their solutions?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, for the past two and a half years, we have had a negotiation table with the provinces that is working very well. There is the ministerial council on social union which the Government of Quebec did us the admittedly somewhat belated honour of joining last summer.

Co-operation between the two levels of government is better than it has been for years. The provincial ministers responsible for social services and myself are co-operating very closely and productively to combat poverty throughout the country.

The Environment

[Sarkis Assadourian, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Environment.

We know environmental challenges require the commitment of all Canadians in each community across the country. What is Environment Canada doing to build partnerships with communities and to increase the capacity and the impact of grassroots environmental initiatives? How will these initiatives impact our environment?

[Christine Stewart, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians from coast to coast to coast have a great concern about the environment in which they live. They expect the federal government to take responsibility to protect them, their health and their environment.

It is also the responsibility of every Canadian to take action to protect the environment. Because of this I have initiated millennium eco-communities whereby every member of parliament can instigate within their constituencies the development of a core group of citizens who will set goals and achieve results on clean air, clean water, climate change and nature.

Justice

[Eric C. Lowther, Reform, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last week I asked the newly appointed solicitor general what possible explanation he could have for pardoning 700 sex offenders who went on to have other sexual offences on new victims. His answer was that 700 was a relatively small number. Tragic. What a callous answer to these victims.

He has had a weekend to think about it. When will he stop pardoning known sex offenders and allow Canadian parents to protect their children?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, public safety is my mandate.

Federal and provincial ministers met in Regina and came up with a comprehensive report. This report is supported all across the country. For example, recommendation No. 7 in the report indicates that even if a sex offenders receives a pardon there is a flag. When the police review the file they will know that individual has committed a sex crime.

Research And Development

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry.

David Caplan, the president of Pratt & Whitney Canada, says that the reduction in federal investments in research and development is responsible for the 18% drop, over a three year period, of the added value in Canada's aerospace industry.

When will the Minister of Industry have the courage to say unequivocally that investments in Technology Partnerships Canada must be increased by at least $100 million to maintain productive employment in Quebec and in the Montreal region—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Industry.

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I was quoted in the newspapers as saying that, in my opinion, to increase funding in the TPC is a good investment for the federal government. It is so important for the Montreal region that we will continue to invest in key sectors of that region, including the aerospace industry, but also the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and telecommunications industries. These are the winning sectors in the greater Montreal area.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Bev Desjarlais, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

Transportation infrastructure is vital to economic development on first nations. The Government of Manitoba has told the chief of the Mosakahiken First Nation that road connections from Moose Lake and Cormorant are a federal responsibility because 80% of the population is first nation.

If this government is serious about promoting economic development to end first nations destitution will it commit necessary funds for road building in partnership with provincial and first nations governments?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, without question one of the biggest challenges we all face is moving toward self-sufficient, economically viable first nations communities.

As a result of our work with “Gathering Strength” we have been able to identify that there are increasing numbers of partnerships not only with provinces but with third party interests that will help us deal with the issue of economic development. It is a challenge for all of us. If we marshall all the resources, I am convinced we can support first nations as they move toward self-sufficiency.

Transport

[Bill Casey, Progressive Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transport. Price Waterhouse and the director general of civil aviation have both identified a shortage of aviation inspectors as a serious threat to aviation safety in the future. The director general of civil aviation predicts a negative impact on long term aviation safety. Price Waterhouse confirms transport does indeed face a long term problem. This is not part of union negotiations or anything. These are two very credible independent sources. Both are critical of the number of inspectors available.

What steps is the minister putting in place to correct this potential safety situation?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I assure the hon. member that Transport Canada has never downsized the number of air inspectors. In fact, there has been an increase of 179 over the last 5 years.

It is important to understand that this study was commissioned by the Department of Transport, and is available under access to information, because the department was concerned about the implications for safety with respect to a lot of the changes going on in the last few years.

As a result we put in place a program to reclassify people and to recruit people for air inspection. ICAO has just completed a study of our air inspection and preliminary reports say the system is—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke.

Foreign Affairs

[Hec Clouthier, Liberal, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over the weekend significant progress was made in Paris on a situation regarding the Congo. Could the Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa clearly elucidate to the House and explain to us the general direction of the government with that very important matter?

[David Kilgour, Liberal, Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa)]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is pleased by the commitment made in Paris by the countries concerned to comply with the ceasefire agreement.

We are very concerned about allegations of an alliance between the former FAR and Interahamwe, which are responsible for the 1994 genocide, and the Kabila government.

Canada hopes that all the parties to the conflict will continue the talks and will immediately comply with a ceasefire.

Transport

[Roy H. Bailey, Reform, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Transport. The Canadian airline industry is growing but the number of safety inspectors is decreasing. That is according to the group which the minister has just said they commissioned to do the study. There are now 80 inspection jobs vacant and every month they lose 5 qualified inspectors while hiring only 1 more. This makes a net loss of 4 every month.

The minister has known about this situation for months. Independent reports say the industry is on the verge of a crisis. What steps is the minister taking now—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Transport.

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I just addressed that point. We have been active in recruitment, reclassification and improving our training. It was Canada that said to ICAO we would like it as the international aviation authority to audit our safety procedures. It has been doing this in the last couple of months. The interim report we have received is very positive and will be made public in the new year.

Spexel

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The minister had the opportunity to review the letter dated November 6 in which Spexel, a company based in Beauharnois, demonstrated it was unfairly excluded from bidding on the contract for the supply of security paper for Canadian passports.

Will the minister now give Spexel the assurance it will be allowed to submit a bid and will no longer be subjected to this uncalled for exclusion from government contracting?

[Julian Reed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member would be kind enough to equip me with the details of the problem at hand I would be pleased to answer him.