Debates of Dec. 9th, 1998

Taxation

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I have not seen dancing like that since the last time I saw the movie The Full Monty .

They are going to take $25 billion out of federal government revenues. They have a responsibility to the Canadian people to tell us where they are going to get it from.

Apec Inquiry

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister made his obligatory annual visit to Vancouver. A thousand angry British Columbians met him, demanding answers for his crackdown at APEC and that whole fiasco last year.

I have a question for the solicitor general.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. We will hear the question from the hon. member.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I will start again. When the Prime Minister was on his annual obligatory visit to Vancouver yesterday he was met by a thousand angry British Columbians wanting to ask him questions about his involvement in APEC.

I have a question for the solicitor general. I do not want his handlers or his guardians to answer it. I would like him to answer it.

He can shut down and bury the Public Complaints Commission if he likes, but he cannot bury the public's outrage on this. When is he going to solve this problem that keeps chasing him right across the country?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is referring to the Public Complaints Commission. She is well aware that it acts under an act of this parliament. A complaint was brought forward to it. It must hear that complaint. That is the law of the land.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this whole commission looks more like an act of God than an act of parliament. It is having some serious trouble.

What is going on here represents the unhappiness of Canadians right across the country with the government's disastrous handling of APEC from start to finish. There is only one solution and that is for the Prime Minister to go under oath and tell the whole country exactly what his involvement in APEC was.

The protest will not stop. The opposition will not stop. This will dog this government until Canadians find out the whole truth.

Why does the government not just save the trouble and settle it once and for all? How about now?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, the Public Complaints Commission acts under an act of this parliament.

The Prime Minister has indicated that he will co-operate fully. All departments have indicated that they will co-operate fully. A number of the Prime Minister's staff have indicated that they would appear before the Public Complaints Commission. The truth will come out.

Health Care

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the premier of Saskatchewan, a true federalist of the sort the Prime Minister likes, a staunch political ally, said clearly that he did not want new federal health programs. What he and his provincial counterparts want above all is the return of health transfer payments.

Has the federal government got the message?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the member for Argenteuil—Papineau was kind enough to quote from a statement I made on July 10 and ask me if I stood by it. I told him that he had a good imagination if he thought otherwise.

Today I wish to quote to him from a statement the Prime Minister made yesterday in Vancouver. I will do so in English, because it was delivered in that language.

“The acute care system is the provinces' main preoccupation. In some provinces home care is weaker than in others and pharmacare too, but it is all part of the health care system and all that is run by the provincial government. We don't want to get involved in running a program by the provincial governments”.

I hope that is clear.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a clear question has been asked but once again the minister is trying to be so smart. We are not asking for a dissertation on federalism. The question is perfectly clear.

Money has been taken away from the provinces. It is not surprising that they want it back. I am asking the minister whether or not this government will promise to give the provinces back the money they need for health care before the next budget or in the next budget, and not to implement new federal health care programs.

That is a clear question. We want a yes or a no.

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we heard the premiers yesterday. As the Prime Minister has often said in this place, health will be our next major investment. We intend to target health, an area in which the federal government has an important role to play, while respecting provincial jurisdictions.

In the next budget, we will take action to fulfil our obligations.

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in July, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs said “Regarding the home care program, we will not proceed without the provinces' consent. We cannot proceed without them. It would not make for a good program”.

Is the minister prepared to make the same statement in this House today as he made last summer, or did he change his mind since the Prime Minister announced his intention to unilaterally intrude in provincial jurisdictions with his home care program?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's mind was probably elsewhere a while ago.

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I gather this means that the minister, who was supportive of provincial jurisdictions last summer, recently changed his mind, taking his leader's lead. It is sad to see the learned professor has become the court jester.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. I ask the hon. member to choose his words very carefully.

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

My question is for the Minister of Health, who really looks after health.

Does the Minister of Health admit that the priority, before any new program is launched, is to put back into the health care system, through the Canada health and social transfer, what he and his government have taken out of it, as requested by Roy Romanow and the other—

[The Speaker]

The Minister of Health.

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the priority is to reinforce the public health care system we have in Canada.

The priority is to restore public confidence in Canada's public health care system. The public health care system came about as a result of a partnership between the federal and provincial governments. Both levels of government have a role, an important role to play.

The Prime Minister has already made clear what the government's position is: health is a priority and will be the focus of our next major reinvestment.

Freshwater Exports

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the environment minister promised to introduce legislation banning freshwater exports by this fall.

Surprise, surprise, the minister has produced absolutely nothing and this parliament is about to recess.

The minister's inaction has now opened the door to a California company using the NAFTA to challenge Canadians' right to protect our own water.

Why has the minister backed away from the ban on water exports that she promised?

[Bob Speller, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada does not support the bulk shipment of water. The government will serve notice on December 10 of its intent to submit a claim under the NAFTA.

As the hon. member knows, there is a 90 day waiting period for consultations. After those consultations and after our consultations with the province of British Columbia, I am sure the hon. member will further support the government's position.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to try again to arouse our Minister of the Environment from a deep sleep.

Immediately after the 1993 election the Prime Minister pledged: “I will not allow any large water exports to take place as long as I am Prime Minister”. It is five years later and our water resources are now at risk.

How many more NAFTA challenges will we face before this government introduces the promised water export ban, or has the government no intention of keeping its promise?

[Christine Stewart, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, this government is very concerned about the export of bulk water from this country. We do not want a wholesale export of bulk water.

This government has consulted with the provinces and territories across this country. We, along with the United States, are preparing to ask the international joint commission to deal with this issue. It is not an easy one, but we are confronting the issue. We do plan to be able to take some action.

Child Poverty

[Diane St-Jacques, Progressive Conservative, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, almost 10 years after this House unanimously passed a resolution to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000, we learned from the media last week that the number of Canadian children living in poverty has increased again and now totals 1.5 million.

Will the Minister of Finance pledge today, before this House, to make children the top priority in his next budget?