Debates of March 25th, 1998

Fisheries

[Randy White, Reform, Langley—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as far as the Liberal government is concerned British Columbia should be seen but not heard.

The most laughable idea brought forth by the Prime Minister was that he expects us to be grateful that Vancouver hosted the APEC conference. B.C. happens to be the only province that touches the Pacific Ocean, and APEC could not be given to Shawinigan, Quebec.

Other than tax B.C., ignore B.C. and insult B.C., I want to know what he has really done for British Columbia.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful the hon. member has given me the opportunity to carry on with my list.

Since 1993, $210 million has been invested in the universities in B.C. by the natural science and engineering program for research projects; $36.6 million from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council; $37 million in loans to 1,900 small businesses through Community Futures, which created 5,800 jobs in B.C; and another $70 million in partnerships with businesses.

[Randy White, Reform, Langley—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, let me tell the government what it has really done.

The Prime Minister forgot to list the billions we put into the federal coffers. What he has really done is shut down our army base in Chilliwack, British Columbia. He is shutting down our lighthouses. He took the Senate seat that belonged to the people of British Columbia and gave it to his buddy. He slashed funding from fish hatcheries and let Americans—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

I encourage my colleagues to listen to the questions and to the answers. I will go back to the hon. House leader of the opposition.

[Randy White, Reform, Langley—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, while he slashed the fish hatcheries he let American fishermen vacuum our oceans, cut the quota for our fishermen and told them to go on welfare.

What does the Prime Minister have to say to British Columbia fishermen: take this job and shove it?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the mud slinging by the Reform Party on the other side looks very desperate and does not create one job.

An example of what we have done which was very good for British Columbia was our Open Sky agreement. It increased the capacity at the Vancouver International Airport from 300,000 passengers a week to 500,000 passengers a week. As a result, there has been an investment of $350 million in expansion, creating 1,500—

Millennium Scholarships

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

Mr. Speaker, the millennium fund project is losing its lustre.

All of Quebec is criticizing this project and feels that the federal government has no business in this sector. Even Quebec Liberals are trying to help the federal government out of the mess.

Since even Quebec federalists are refusing to throw their support behind the millennium fund project, will the Prime Minister admit that, if he sticks to his guns on this one, he is going to start another fight with Quebec?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I think that students in Quebec, as everywhere else, are very anxious to get their hands on these scholarships.

When the finance minister included in the last budget a system by which parents can set money aside to put their children through university, this is not interference in education.

What we are doing is giving young people in Quebec the opportunity to benefit from the education system. I think this is what we have been doing for a very long time and we have been doing it in many sectors, because this is not about disagreement, but about giving the youth of Quebec more opportunities.

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

Mr. Speaker, it seems that there is not even agreement within his Cabinet on this issue. Those working directly with the Minister of Human Resources Development say that nobody wants to meet with the minister.

Is the Prime Minister aware that his Minister of Human Resources Development is not even capable of meeting with Quebec's education sector, including students, because the latter are demanding that the Government of Quebec be present at these meetings, and that the federal government has no other choice now but to rethink its decision?

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

Mr. Speaker, any little snippet can be distorted when taken out of context. It is absolutely ridiculous.

I have already met with the Fédération des étudiants universitaires du Québec. I have spoken with a number of stakeholders in the education sector in recent weeks because we want this project to be a success for Quebec's students.

We are going to see that this project benefits the students, who will decide which institutions they wish to attend, but they will have this access. We are going to implement the project in a manner entirely consistent with the existing systems in Quebec, which we are already funding through the Canada student loans program.

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

Mr. Speaker, part I of Bill C-36, which establishes the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, confirms what we all knew, namely that the foundation will have an administrative structure, whose members will get paid for their services.

The minister has always said that the foundation would never duplicate existing loans and scholarships programs.

How then can he explain how the structures required to manage this scholarship fund do not amount to duplication?

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

Mr. Speaker, the foundation will operate at arm's length from the government and will work with the appropriate provincial authorities to avoid any duplication of existing services. It will complement what is already provided by provincial governments.

The foundation will be in charge of the first selection and awarding of the fellowships and it could even sign contracts with the approriate provincial authorities.

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

Mr. Speaker, should the minister not listen to reason and give the money that he intends to spend, if not waste, on his scholarships and on its administrative structure to the Quebec government, which would use it to restore funding to post-secondary education?

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

Mr. Speaker, this government has a vision. It wants to help young people gain the knowledge they will need in the economy of the future.

The reason we established a millennium scholarship fund instead of building new concrete structures or monuments is that we have a vision.

The foundation does have a structure, but it also has a responsibility to get money from the private sector. Indeed, we hope that the private sector will contribute to the millennium fund, so as to promote knowledge and prepare Canada for tomorrow's economy.

Health Care

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the federal human rights commission delivered a strong wake-up call to the Prime Minister. So did Nova Scotians.

The commission says that poverty and social inequality are being fuelled by federal cuts to health care and other social support programs. The Liberal government has stubbornly ignored this growing crisis.

Will the Nova Scotia election results finally convince the Prime Minister to keep the Liberal promise to reinvest in health care?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, with what we have done already, there is a bill in the House of Commons at this time to re-establish $1.5 billion to the health care system. It is exactly the level of $12.5 billion that was recommended to the government by the national forum on health. The budget has a series of initiatives for investment in medical research, AIDS research and other programs related to health to help people. We have done it. We want to do it in the years to come—

[The Speaker]

The hon. leader of the New Democratic Party.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in the budget there is not one new cent in health care transfers. Yesterday the human rights commission stated: “Poverty is a serious breach of equality rights and has no place in a prosperous country like Canada”. Unlike this government, the commission recognizes the dangers in the widening gap between the rich and everyone else.

My question to the Prime Minister is simple. Will he make the commitment today to include poverty and homelessness as prohibited grounds for discrimination in Canada's human rights legislation? Will he do that, yes or no?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, this government has indicated that it is going to undertake a major review of the Canadian Human Rights Act in the coming months. I suggest that it is quite apparent to everyone that as part of that review, we will be looking at the possibility of including a ground of social disadvantage or poverty. We look forward to hearing from Canadians on that issue before we prejudge the conclusion.

Millennium Scholarship Fund

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the auditor general is the Canadian taxpayer's watchdog in Ottawa. The millennium scholarship fund is to be funded with $2.5 billion worth of Canadian taxpayer money, yet the budget implementation legislation does not give the auditor general any right of access to the books of the foundation. Could the Minister of Finance explain why the auditor general will not have access to the foundation's books?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the auditor general will have access to the millennium fund's books.

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the budget implementation legislation does not guarantee access for the auditor general and it is well known that there has been a public dispute between the Minister of Finance and the auditor general. Is the minister's fight with the auditor general the real reason the auditor general's access to the foundation's books has not been guaranteed?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, there will be an independent board that will have the right to make its decisions and to make its nominations but, as with all things, if the auditor general would like to have access to those books, it will be arranged.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Mike Scott, Reform, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Connie Jacobs and her son Ty died tragically this week when the RCMP tribal police and a band social worker tried to seize six children from Mrs. Jacobs' home on the Tsuu T'ina reserve. This is not a time for political finger pointing. It is time to grieve for Connie and Ty and to pledge to solve the root problems that led to this tragic shooting.

Aboriginal people are calling for a judicial inquiry. Will the Indian affairs minister ensure that the root causes of this tragedy are thoroughly investigated and not just the shooting itself?