Debates of April 24th, 1998

Income Tax Act

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this lacks conviction.

Will the minister agree that the discrimination to which gays and lesbians are subject requires a review of all Canadian legislation containing a definition of spouse? Let us see some conviction, please.

[Marcel Massé, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, in recent years the government has shown what it was prepared to do to decrease and eliminate discrimination, and allow the full exercise of human rights.

Again, in this case, the ruling was handed down only yesterday. We are going to study it and, within the 60 days, make a satisfactory reply.

Anthrax Vaccine

[Jim Hart, Reform, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Health Canada granted permission to use an anthrax vaccine on Canadian troops. The vaccine was produced by a United States lab that was cited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As a matter of fact, it was shut down for quality control violations.

Yesterday the defence minister said the vaccine had been retested and was in fact safe.

Could the government explain today why the defence minister neglected to tell Canadians that the retest was done by the same company that produced the vaccine?

[John Richardson, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the medical staff has assured me that the vaccine administered to Canadian forces was safe.

I understand that the U.S. military has hired an independent contractor to oversee the quality and safety testings of its entire stockpile of anthrax vaccine to ensure its safety.

Several million doses have already been cleared as safe. A batch of anthrax vaccine administered to Canadian forces personnel was among those retested and considered safe.

[Jim Hart, Reform, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the government could tune in again because the company that is doing the retesting is the same company. The United States Food and Drug Administration cited violations for quality control, including cleanliness, faulty testing equipment and the wrong calibration on its testing equipment.

Will the government ensure that a made in Canada test is done on that anthrax vaccine immediately?

[John Richardson, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, our approach is to ensure that Canadian forces personnel are protected. For their own safety and for the safety of the mission, the anthrax vaccine we have given to our troops has been proven to be safe.

[An hon. member]

By whom?

[John Richardson, Liberal, Perth—Middlesex, ON]

Certainly not by the Reform Party.

For this reason they have been vaccinated against anthrax and this approach is adopted by our allies and is supported by many members in this House.

Asbestos Industry

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here is the result of what the federal government has been doing in the matter of asbestos in the past two years. In Asbestos, 250 people were laid off and the BC mine there has been closed. We have just learned that the Council of Europe has decided to prohibit the use of asbestos throughout Europe.

My question for the Minister for International Trade is quite simple. Is the government waiting until there is no more asbestos industry in Quebec before acting and lodging a complaint with the WTO?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the government is in fact continuing to work on this matter in partnership with the Government of Quebec.

We have taken a number of measures to date to help the manufacturers and producers of asbestos and to fight the European tendency to prohibit the import of asbestos. We will continue these efforts.

Hate Crimes

[Sophia Leung, Liberal, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were outraged to hear of the recent hate crimes and the tragedy that occurred in B.C.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice inform this House what initiatives government has taken to prevent hate crimes from happening in the future?

[Eleni Bakopanos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question. Existing laws in this country are already covered in Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Criminal Code and the human rights act.

Criminal Code provisions concerning hate propaganda, obscenity and the possession of child pornography apply to the Internet as they apply to other forms of communication. The enforcement of the Criminal Code is the responsibility of the provincial attorney general.

This government takes its responsibility seriously. I hope that attorney general also takes his responsibility seriously.

Borders

[Val Meredith, Reform, South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, American border authorities are taking an increasingly hostile attitude with Canadians, now barring anyone who has ever smoked marijuana and detaining MPs at airports. Yesterday the Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated that he had extensive discussions with Secretary of State Albright to facilitate movement at the border.

It is obvious that these discussions are not getting anywhere. The situation is worse now than before these discussions. What other steps is this government going to take to stop the harassment of Canadians at the border?

[Ted McWhinney, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we did have some very positive news yesterday as a result of the amendment brought forth by Senator Abraham to section 110 of the U.S. immigration act. It has been adopted by the senate judiciary committee to exempt Canadians from the U.S. border controls, the draconian measures. That is a victory for constant representations by government members and by the minister to the United States government and the United States legislators. On the issue of the 1974 administrative controls and their applications, we would recognize of course that each country is sovereign.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Order. The hon. member for South Surrey—White Rock—Langley.

[Val Meredith, Reform, South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, he is quite correct that the senate judiciary committee did approve it. Yesterday Senator Dianne Feinstein of California vowed to fight Abraham's section 110 on the floor of the senate.

Since the minister is relying so heavily on his feelings that Albright is supporting this and on the support of the American congress, does the government really believe that its attitude on Cuba and the Prime Minister's visit to Cuba are going to assist support from the American senate?

[Ted McWhinney, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our discussions with the United States on the application by the U.S. of border controls on Canadians go back a long time. The results we have had have been pursued in that context and have been successful to date. We are working on the second question the hon. member is referring to. The United States government is sovereign. That is a fact of life but we have succeeded by friendly persuasion so far by encouraging Senator Abraham and a group of allies in the United States senate.

Health

[Michelle Dockrill, NDP, Bras D'Or, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister.

If governments had to carry warning labels the Liberal government would be plastered with the message “Warning: Continued dependence on this product could be hazardous to your health”. Hepatitis C victims learned that the hard way. Now young people and old people are in peril. The Department of Health intends to cut funds to programs that allow kids and seniors to stay active and improve their chances of staying healthy.

Will the government abandon these hazardous policies today and give Canadians the chance we all deserve to work and to stay healthy?

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member has tried to confuse several issues here. I thought she was going to be talking about hepatitis C, but I gather that she abandoned that. She must have abandoned that after she heard what the Saskatchewan health minister, who is a member of her party, indicated about the cheap partisan treatment of this issue.

If the hon. member has another specific program she would like to address, I would be delighted to address it.

[Michelle Dockrill, NDP, Bras D'Or, NS]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the member was not briefed on my question.

If the Department of Health is not responsible in assisting Canadians when they become ill due to no fault of their own and intends to withdraw funding for proven preventive measures for seniors and children, my question is simple. What is the ministry responsible for if not for the health and welfare of all Canadians?

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the member opposite will join all members in this House in applauding the wisdom of this government in some of the measures it indicated already in the budget.

We have indicated several billions of dollars worth of extended benefits through transfers to the provinces. There is a transition fund that is designed to improve research and development in the area of health sciences. There is an additional $800 million that the federal government itself put forward for hepatitis C. The hon. member would probably be delighted to know that the CAPC program has been expanded to $100 million.

I do not know how much longer she would like me to go on, Mr. Speaker, but I—

[The Deputy Speaker]

That may not be clear, but I do not want you to go on any longer. I am sorry about that. The hon. member for Cumberland—Colchester.

Highways

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

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

Recently the New Brunswick minister of transportation said in the New Brunswick Road Builder magazine “The latest federal-provincial highway agreement worth $300 million on a 50:50 basis will be used to upgrade the Trans-Canada Highway from Longs Creek to the Quebec border”. The agreement has been finalized. Will the minister confirm the provincial minister's statement that this $300 million agreement has been finalized, or at least indicate the status of the agreement?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government has agreed to allocate more funds to the Canada-New Brunswick highway agreement. It will take three years. It will cost about $150 million in terms of the federal contribution in that period of time. That is to afford the valuable twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway from the Quebec border into the Fredericton area.

This is good for tourism and it is good for the economy. It shows how this government is committed to putting funds into Canada's highways.

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

Mr. Speaker, on February 3, 1998 the minister said in the House in discussions regarding the toll highway between Moncton and Petitcodiac “we intend to make sure that this kind of situation is planned for in future agreements with regard to preventing toll highways”.

Would the minister absolutely and definitively assure the people of New Brunswick and all Atlantic Canada that this $300 million agreement will include clauses and conditions that preclude and prevent any tolling of this section of highway?