Debates of March 11th, 1998

[The Speaker]

As is our practice on Wednesday we will now sing O Canada , and we will be led by the hon. member for Halifax.

International Women's Week

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand in the House today to join Canadians and the world in marking March 8 to 14 as International Women's Week.

The theme for this year's celebration is: The Evolution of Women's Rights: A Lifelong Commitment. This theme highlights the importance of women's human rights while emphasizing the long term commitment necessary to further women's equality.

In my riding of Kitchener Centre we celebrated the contributions of women to Canadian society by holding the first annual International Women's Day breakfast featuring two women who have demonstrated vision in their fields.

As we honour International Women's Week, let us reaffirm our dedication to the challenge of promoting fairness, equity and respect for human rights here in Canada and around the world.

Red Deer Constituency

[Bob Mills, Reform, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, like so many MPs, I toured around my riding last week to find out what the people thought. The people of the riding of Red Deer gave me four messages to bring back to this house.

The first one was to demand lower taxes. They do not accept the finance minister's glib comments about tax cuts and how he is helping people.

Second, unlike the Liberals they understand that debt and taxes kill jobs. They expect the national debt to be paid off.

Third, the people of central Alberta demand an elected Senate. It is obvious the days of patronage are quickly coming to an end in the upper chamber.

Finally, the people of the Red Deer constituency are proud Canadians. They are proud of their two Olympic athletes who competed in Japan and they are proud of the Canadian flag. Their message echoes across this country that they want to see the flag honoured in this place.

Canada-France Interparliamentary Association

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Anjou—Rivière-Des-Prairies, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the 28th annual meeting of the Canada-France InterParliamentary Association was held last week in France. Nine of our parliamentarians from both Houses attended this meeting.

Discussions focused on our health services, the Kyoto agreement, women and politics, the proposed multilateral agreement on investment, the building of the European Union and the role played by the Canadian Armed Forces during the second world war.

Our two countries share many concerns and interests: efforts to restore fiscal health through deficit reduction of course, but also through strategic social investments; the realization that some so-called national problems can only be addressed within the context of strengthened international co-operation, particularly as regards the environment; common values and interests to uphold in negotiating the multilateral agreement, with respect to the cultural exemption in particular.

Finally, we noted our French counterparts' conviction that the future of our societies is dependent on the strengthening—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Jonquière.

Quebec Government

[Jocelyne Girard-Bujold, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Liberals saw the light. The hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine recognized that the sovereignists were doing a fine job of managing Quebec's finances, since investments there will grow by 8.4% in 1998, as compared with 6.2% in Canada and 5% in Ontario.

The Bloc Quebecois applauds both these pieces of good news: investments for Quebec and the Bouchard government receiving acclaim from the Liberals. After discovering that there is water on the moon, it is very encouraging to see that members across the floor are waking up.

I have also noticed that the Liberals admitted this week that sovereignists are doing a good job in Quebec, and they also support a Conservative to lead the Quebec Liberal Party.

Can you believe, Mr. Speaker, that the members across the way have finally realized that behind every problem in Quebec there is a Liberal?

Responsible Government

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Toronto Centre—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today marks the 150th anniversary of responsible government in Canada.

In marking it, we must remind ourselves that our role in this House, our ability to represent our constituents in this great democracy, has its roots in the work in 1848 of those who fought for the principles of representative government.

Today, it is our duty to salute the efforts of three men: Joseph Howe, of Nova Scotia, as well as Robert Baldwin and Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine, of the United Canada.

When we reflect on the achievements of these men it reminds us of our role as members of Parliament. And when we reflect on the efforts of Baldwin and Lafontaine, two friends united in their fight for democracy, we realize that this country was built through the joint, hard work of francophones and anglophones.

I respect their memory and I believe the best way to celebrate their democratic victory is to make sure the country they loved so much remains strong and united.

Industrial Research Assistance Program

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the National Research Council's successful industrial research assistance program is one of the most important mechanisms for supporting innovation and helping small business create and adopt new technologies.

Every year IRAP provides technical advice to more than 10,000 companies and provides financial assistance in support of research and development to more than 3,000 companies.

The industrial research assistance program supports a national technology network that involves 150 public and private sector organizations.

It is for this reason that this government will increase this successful program by an additional $34 million to $130 million this year, an increase of 35% from 1997.

IRAP will provide greater support to small businesses in adopting new technologies and developing new products for commercial markets.

This new investment, along with other initiatives such as technology partnerships Canada and the Canadian foundation for innovation, complements this government's continuing commitment.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Kelowna.

The Senate

[Werner Schmidt, Reform, Kelowna, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the recent appointment of Ross Fitzpatrick of Kelowna to the Senate of Canada is an excellent example of why the Senate should be reformed.

Mr. Fitzpatrick is a very successful businessman. He has been a friend of the Prime Minister for many years. They are golfing buddies. They are political buddies. Mr. Fitzpatrick was influential in the Prime Minister's leadership campaign. The Prime Minister comes to Kelowna and stays at his friend's house.

Mr. Fitzpatrick was not elected. He is in the Senate because of his friendship with the Prime Minister. He is not accountable to the people of B.C. He is accountable only to the Prime Minister who appointed him without consultation of the people. This is not a voice of the people of B.C. It is a voice of the Prime Minister in the Senate. Enough of such patronage.

Yes, the time has come to elect senators and establish accountability to the people, not the Prime Minister.

Cambrian Systems Corporation

[Ian Murray, Liberal, Lanark—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday I was pleased to announce a $2.28 million investment by technology partnerships Canada in a Cambrian Systems Corporation project. The project will create up to 220 jobs directly in the Ottawa region and approximately 71 indirect jobs across Canada by 2001.

This repayable TPC investment means that the Government of Canada is partnering with Cambrian Systems Corporation of Kanata in the design, manufacturing and marketing of fibre optic communications transport equipment which will revolutionize information highway connectivity.

As the need grows for networks to carry more information, Cambrian will act as a catalyst in the development of a new system using individual colours of light to transmit information over fibre optics. Known as DWDM based photonics networking, this technology is expected to become an important means of communicating in the next millennium.

This investment by Industry Canada will ensure that this important communications system will reach the marketplace sooner, to the benefit of all Canadians.

Responsible Government

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today, the government wishes to commemorate the inception, in 1848, of the first responsible government in the United Canada.

The government is right in saying that the victory of the Lafontaine-Baldwin coalition is an important step in the evolution of democracy in Canada, and that this coalition is an example of co-operation between francophones and anglophones.

But what this federal government does not tell us is that the very foundation of the alliance between Lafontaine and Baldwin was their willingness to recognize as equals and partners the two peoples living side by side in a united Canada. In other words, when Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin joined forces, what moved them was a recognition of, and respect for, the two founding peoples.

Since the unilateral patriation of the Constitution in 1982, the federal government has denied that reality. Since then, it has ridden roughshod over the principles of 1848. It seeks to deny the very existence of the Quebec people. It prefers arrogance and confrontation to the recognition and respect that prevailed at the time.

For this reason, we shall not be participating today in this commemoration of 1848.

Research And Development

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over the last several years this government has put in place key building blocks for renewing Canada's innovation system.

In 1996 we announced technology partnerships Canada, a program to promote technological development and to make Canadian firms more competitive. In 1997 we announced the Canada foundation for innovation, aimed at investing in infrastructure for research and development in universities, colleges and hospitals. We also stabilized funding for the networks of centres of excellence.

In the budget just a few weeks ago we increased funding to the granting councils. This new funding will increase support to graduate students engaged in research through scholarships, post-doctoral fellowships and project grants. This new funding will also help the granting councils expand partnerships between university researchers and the private sector.

I am proud that this government is committed to making Canada more innovative by supporting science, technology and the creation of knowledge.

Responsible Government

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today marks the 150th anniversary of responsible government in Canada. On March 11, 1848 the great ministry of Baldwin and Lafontaine was sworn in, forming Canada's first elected and accountable cabinet.

Who were Robert Baldwin and Louis Lafontaine? They were not members of the autocratic, top down family compacts who thought it was their God given right to govern Canada forever. No, they were the leaders of the Reform Parties of Upper and Lower Canada.

What united these people, one a francophone and one an anglophone? Not expediency. Not love of patronage. But a deep commitment to reforming the outmoded government system of their day to make it more democratic and accountable.

Long live the memory of Lafontaine. Long live the memory of Baldwin. Long live the spirit of reform.

Canada Economic Development

[Jacques Saada, Liberal, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on March 2, the body known as the Federal Office of Regional Development—Quebec became the Economic Development Agency of Canada for Regions of Quebec, or simply Canada Economic Development.

This new title will better reflect its mission and our government's strategy for ensuring the growth of Quebec's businesses and regions.

Today's economic context offers businesses in the regions of Quebec the possibility of expanding their influence throughout the entire world. Canada Economic Development will therefore devote itself fully to supporting their efforts to develop their potential and gain their fair share of the world economy.

This is one more example of an excellent initiative by our government to create employment, enhance collective wealth and ensure the economic development of the regions of Quebec.

Multilateral Agreement On Investment

[Dick Proctor, NDP, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are increasingly concerned about the multilateral agreement on investment being negotiated by this government.

The MAI was hatched in secrecy. It could deal away our sovereignty. Canadians do not believe they are getting straight answers.

In the face of government evasion, citizens are taking matters into their own hands and educating themselves. For example, a group in Regina is organizing a conference to be held in 10 days time.

A member of that group, Dr. Joseph Kos, has been trying for five months to get some answers from this government or to have somebody from the government participate in the conference. So far Dr. Kos and his fellow citizens have come up empty handed.

The federal government has been unwilling to provide a speaker, despite letters to the Prime Minister, to the Minister for International Trade and to the Minister of Natural Resources in whose constituency this conference will take place. They do not have any answers.

This kind of stonewalling is not an isolated occurrence. It is occurring in other jurisdictions as well.

We urge the government to begin taking its responsibilities seriously and to provide a speaker for this conference.

Highways

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

Mr. Speaker, in September 1995 the federal Minister of Transport signed a contract to pay $16.2 million to build a highway in New Brunswick between Moncton and River Glade on the one condition that the provincial government also contribute $16.2 million to the highway.

Both the province and the federal government paid their $16.2 million, but immediately the provincial government took its share back out. Now tolls will be charged to make up for the missing money. The result will be that one truck making one trip per day for a year from Fredericton to Truro will pay over $27,000 a year in tolls.

I have received almost 1,000 letters from people from the affected area. They request that the Minister of Transport demand the Government of New Brunswick to restore its share of the money and honour the terms of the contract it signed.

I will deliver these letters to the minister today, which reflect the outrage of the people in the area, and demand that the minister provide the same treatment for the people of New Brunswick as for the rest of the country.

The Budget

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, when the government presented the budget a few weeks ago, many Canadians suspected that the finance minister had used creative accounting to avoid showing a surplus. That way the government could say there was no money for major debt reduction or tax relief.

Now the auditor general has confirmed those suspicions. He is threatening not to sign off on the budget because of serious breaches in accounting practices.

Why is the Prime Minister not following proper public sector accounting principles in the preparation of the budget? What is the government trying to hide?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, when we took office in 1993 we discovered to our amazement that there were a number of obligations of the government that had not been accounted for. There were commitments looking ahead which had not been booked into the numbers. In fact a fair amount of clean-up had to be done. I wish the auditor general at that point had insisted on a far greater degree of transparency.

We took the decision at that point that the books of this government would be more transparent than anybody else's books and that Canadians would understand exactly the financial situation of the country, and that we would not hide numbers. That is what we have done in this particular case.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister is unwise to criticize the auditor general. The auditor general says the Prime Minister is breaking the government's own accounting rules. This is the third time he has said it. If the auditor general cannot trust the budget, how can the public or this House trust the budget?

Here are the facts. If the Prime Minister had followed acceptable accounting rules, there would have been a $2.5 billion surplus. But the books were cooked to show no surplus, meaning less tax relief and debt reduction for Canadians.

Is not the real reason the books were cooked so that there would be no surplus left for real tax relief or real debt reduction?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud that because of the good management of this government and the Minister of Finance, we were able to take $2.5 billion and put it aside to make sure that the millennium project will mean scholarships for 100,000 Canadians over 10 years.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, this explanation does not wash with the auditor general. When the number one watchdog for the budget starts to bark, this House had better listen.

The auditor general said he cannot approve the federal budget without a major disclaimer. He says the government is guilty of “serious breaches” of accounting rules. This is a very serious charge and it demands an explanation from the Prime Minister.

Were the books cooked to hide the surplus from tax weary Canadians? Is that not the real reason?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is the first time in my public life that I have been accused of telling everything ahead of time, and telling too much of the truth by telling the people that we are putting $2.5 billion aside in a special account to give to a special group 100,000 scholarships a year.

I will accept the blame that I am too open with the Canadian public, but I think it was the right thing to do under the circumstances.

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's chief accountant, the auditor general, says the finance minister is cooking the books. That is a fact. This is so serious that the auditor general is now saying that he is very reluctant to sign off on these books, an action which he says “waves a red flag that the government is misrepresenting or distorting its financial position”. I ask the finance minister again why he has decided that his own political agenda is more important than the integrity of the public finances.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, why is the Reform Party advocating hiding the government's clearly committed obligations? What does the Reform Party have against transparency?

The fact is that accounting principles evolve. In the private sector if you incur an obligation you book it right away. It may be that the private sector's accounting principles evolved faster than the government's in the fact that we are always ahead.

We are with the private sector. We are with openness. We are with transparency.