Debates of May 11th, 1998

Hockey

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

Mr. Speaker, when much of the country is wrapped up in the NHL playoffs, hockey fans in British Columbia have had to suffer through another year of the Vancouver Canucks missing the playoffs.

However, not all is bleak for the BC hockey fan. Yesterday the junior A league South Surrey Eagles capped off a wonderful season by winning the national championship in Nanaimo with a four to one victory over the Weyburn Red Wings.

The Eagles capped off an incredible playoff run which saw them win 25 games and lose only three. In the Royal Bank cup tournament they won all six games, outscoring the opposition 32 to 7.

Congratulations to owner Cliff Annable, coach and general manager Mark Holick, the staff, and especially the players who showed hockey need not be about money but about the joy of playing the game.

Leader Of The Bloc Quebecois

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the maritime provinces have replied “No thanks” to the leader of the Bloc Quebecois' attempts to sell them on Quebec's separation from the rest of Canada.

The francophone minority and Acadian groups have replied “No thanks” to the supposed advantages of Quebec independence.

The illusions of the separatists, who are desperately seeking support for their cause, have been met with “No thanks”.

The Acadians have given his inflated promises and lame theories a resounding “No thanks”.

What we prefer by far is a true partnership with the francophone and Acadian minorities of Canada. That is the reason we are saying “No thanks” to the separation of Quebec, because we prefer to live together, rather than to divide up this country.

Millennium Scholarships

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at the signing of the manpower agreement with Quebec, the Prime Minister justified his enthusiasm by saying that through this agreement he would be avoiding interfering in an area considered an extension of education, an area of provincial jurisdiction.

The ink was barely dry on this agreement before the government rushed headlong into this very area of provincial jurisdiction with the millennium scholarships.

Even Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the spiritual father of the current Prime Minister, said “If a government has so much revenue that it starts looking after that part of the common good not under its jurisdiction, we must assume that government has taken more than its share of taxes”.

The Prime Minister's only ally in this area is Jean Charest, who has no respect either for Quebec's jurisdictions or for the legitimate aspirations of the people of Quebec, whom he claims to represent.

Health Care

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, a study at the Université du Québec à Montréal found that a 10% decrease in health spending would reduce life expectancy by six months for men and three months for women as well as increase infant mortality. This government's continued $3.5 billion cut to health is the real threat to medicare and to people's lives, not compensation for hepatitis C victims.

As we also know, Justice Krever found that a lack of resources at the health protection branch was a factor in federal regulatory failure of blood and the infection of tens of thousands of Canadians with HIV and hepatitis C. Instead of learning from that four year multimillion dollar Krever report and applying its lessons to other important health protection issues such as pharmaceutical drug approval, the government is choosing to slide down the path of cutbacks and deregulation, just as the Mulroney government before it.

When will we see a government that makes health care a priority and that faces up to its responsibilities?

Linguistic Minorities

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval West, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Reform Party's new Canada act fizzled with its proposal to give the provinces full responsibility over linguistic matters.

The Reform Party members fail to understand the fact that a united Canada requires a policy on minorities that has been approved and explained by Parliament and a federal government concerned about francophone communities outside Quebec.

Assuring groups of Acadians and francophones outside Quebec that they can always count on the Government of Canada to defend their culture and their identity is a mark of respect for them.

Westray Mine

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in the early morning of May 9, 1992 a violent explosion rocked the tiny community of Plymouth just east of the town of Stellarton in Pictou county, Nova Scotia. The explosion occurred in the depths of the Westray coal mine instantly killing the 26 miners working there at the time.

On Saturday, the sixth anniversary of the disaster, more than 150 people gathered at the Westray Memorial Park to commemorate this tragic loss of life.

We in this House must extend not only our sympathy and compassion to the many victims of Westray but also work to ensure such a tragedy never occurs again. I urge the Minister of Justice to address the recommendations made by Justice Peter Richard in his inquiry report. Furthermore I invite all hon. members of this House to join with me in calling on the province of Nova Scotia to provide fair severance to all of the former employees of Westray mine.

In memory of the victims of Westray, let us take responsible appropriate actions as elected officials of this House.

Francophones Outside Quebec

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

Mr. Speaker, last Thursday when the Reform Party released its so-called new Canada act, its leader said it contained some of Reform's best ideas for strengthening the federation.

If Reform wants to know what Canadians think of its best ideas, the francophone communities outside Quebec, including mine in the riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, have responded with a big no thank you.

These groups have told the Reform Party that there must continue to be a strong role for the federal government in ensuring that the rights of the official language minorities are safeguarded. Canada's francophones recognize this would not be possible if the federal government were to simply abdicate its responsibility to the provinces as Reform would have us do.

Reform's old ideas about abandoning official language minorities do not look any better now that they have been reprinted with a fancy new cover. They are still bad news for francophones outside Quebec. That is why Canadians continue to reject them.

You have another think coming, my friends.

Crtc

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Liberal backbenchers have written the heritage minister “When CRTC appointments come from an industry, make decisions favouring the same industry and then land jobs with companies which were subject to their decision, consumers can easily lose confidence”. What an understatement.

The Minister of Industry has said that he wants appointments to the CRTC to be people who share the Liberal vision. No fear Mr. Minister. The current board of the CRTC are Liberals and are connected either to former CRTC chair André Bureau, or to the person who appointed Mr. Bureau, the former Liberal minister of communications, Francis Fox, or to the heritage minister's former campaign manager's firm, Thornley Fallis, and they all have cable connections.

The Minister of Industry also said to the House “when you are before the CRTC somebody wins and somebody loses”. Right now Canadians are losing. I say to the minister: dismantle the current board before summer hearings, complete a thorough mandate review and if you can, make it politics free.

Hepatitis C

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question for the government.

Can the government confirm that over the weekend it made an offer to compensate the pre-1986 victims of hepatitis C?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, no such offer has been made. We are awaiting the meeting on Thursday when ministers will be together in the same room at the same table.

As the hon. Leader of the Opposition knows, the very purpose of that meeting is to find out where the provinces are since there is some disagreement among them and to determine whether a new consensus has been forged.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we have been told by the Hepatitis C Society of Canada that this offer was made using the member for St. Paul's as a go-between, but the offer had strings attached. The victims were told that the Prime Minister will not compensate them unless they promise not to hold him responsible.

Why is the government still attaching strings to its offers of compensation?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I have to tell the hon. Leader of the Opposition that his information is wrong. There is no offer. There is no agreement. There are no strings.

There is only a federal government which had a consensus among all governments in the country, which has seen some provinces change their position, and which has now agreed to a meeting of all ministers so that we can take stock, find out where the provinces stand and determine whether there can be a new consensus forged to deal with this in the appropriate way.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is very important that we be clear on the government's position, that the government be clear for the sake of the House, that it be clear for the sake of the premiers but, more important, that it be clear for the sake of the victims.

Is the minister denying that an offer was made over the weekend to the victims of hepatitis C for compensation prior to 1986?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Yes, Mr. Speaker, that is not good information. As I have said, our interest is now in meeting with ministers on Thursday. They will be coming to Ottawa for that purpose. We will be sitting at the table to hear where the provinces stand on these issues and to explore whether a new consensus can be reached.

The information conveyed by the hon. Leader of the Opposition is incorrect.

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this information comes directly from the hepatitis C groups themselves. They say they are being hushed up.

This is what the president of the Hepatitis C Society said: “We will not be forced into silence on the issue of fault in exchange for compensation”.

Why is the government trying to silence the victims of hepatitis C?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the premise of the hon. member's question, as usual, is wrong.

We are not trying to force the victims to be quiet. We want to have a further discussion with the provincial ministers to see if there can be a new consensus, but we are certainly not trying to force anybody to be silent.

I repeat, the hon. member is completely wrong in this.

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this information is so fresh that the president of the Hepatitis C Society has actually resigned now. The new president simply says that she will not be bought off.

I will ask the question again. Is the government going to say that there was no representation made with the member for St. Paul's on this issue to offer compensation in exchange for silence?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I can speak for myself and indeed for the government in saying that we have made no offer. We have said nothing about anybody being silent. I have had no communication with the Hepatitis C Society during the weekend.

The hon. member's information is wrong. We are looking forward to meeting with the ministers on Thursday. Frankly I hope from that meeting we will have a better understanding of where the provinces stand and will also determine whether a new consensus can be arrived at.

Calgary Declaration

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister announced on the weekend that, if the Calgary declaration was approved by the provinces, he would use it to amend the House of Commons resolution on distinct society.

My question is for the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. Is this not proof that the Calgary declaration is largely irrelevant, because ultimately it will be used to amend a House of Commons resolution that is completely worthless because it was introduced purely to please the Prime Minister and ease people's consciences?

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

Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, the premier of Quebec said that the Calgary declaration was dangerous for Quebeckers.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Please stop me when you have had enough. I will begin by reading the principles and you can tell me if you notice anything dangerous.

All Canadians are equal and have rights protected by law.

I imagine it would not be dangerous if it read “All Canadians are unequal and do not have rights protected by law”.

All provinces, while diverse in their characteristics, have equality of status.

Canada is graced by a diversity, tolerance—

[The Speaker]

I am sorry, but I must give the floor to the hon. member for Roberval.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister fails to understand that the Calgary declaration is viewed as dangerous because the members opposite wish to create the illusion that there will something in it for Quebec. That is what is dangerous.

If the House of Commons resolution to recognize distinct society has any value, how does the government explain that it did not rely on it when it came time to create the millennium scholarships program, which tries to force Quebec into the same mold as the other provinces and ignore its specificity?

[The Speaker]

Before giving the floor to the minister, I believe we do not have simultaneous interpretation. We are going to try to sort that out.

The hon. Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.