House of Commons Hansard #105 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was foundation.

Topics

2 p.m.

The Speaker

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

National UnityStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Paul Bonwick Liberal Simcoe—Grey, ON

Mr. Speaker, today I am putting two regional political parties on notice. These parties are the Bloc and the Reform. Both parties knowingly or unknowingly are negative forces in our government's attempt to resolve unity problems once and for all.

During this first session I have witnessed escapades like the Reformers screaming, Reformers throwing Canadian flags on the floor and Reformers driving around Parliament Hill in an old wreck of a car with the Canadian flag painted on it for no other reason than to excite emotion and gain a little publicity.

I see the Bloc members screaming. I see them abusing parliamentary privilege to promote the break-up of our great country.

Both of these factions should be ashamed of themselves. Bloc and Reform listen up. The residents of Simcoe—Grey want a united Canada. The vast majority of Canadians want a united Canada. Indeed the vast majority of residents of Quebec want a united Canada.

On behalf of all Canadians, enough is enough. Stop trying to break up our country.

Canadian ContentStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Reform

Jim Abbott Reform Kootenay—Columbia, BC

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the heritage minister's misguided attempt at promotion of Canadiana, the most recent being the CRTC Canadian radio content ruling.

The measurements of music, artist, production and lyrics, known as MAPL, forces some Canadian artists off Canadian radio stations while others simply because they reach the bureaucratic high bar are included.

CanCon censors micromanage what Canadians can listen to. While only 12% of CDs purchased are certifiably Canadian, radio stations are forced to play 35%, soon to be raised to 40%, certifiably MAPL rated music. This decision to increase Canadian content to 35% was simply picked out of thin air.

Why should this government bother to hold expensive hearings and public forums when the result is the CRTC and the minister do not listen to the people anyway? The minister's Canadiana culturecrats do not trust Canadians to be Canadians.

Luigi GiordanoStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Raymonde Folco Liberal Laval West, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to rise in this House today to congratulate Luigi Giordano, a resident of my riding of Laval West who operates a restaurant in Sainte-Dorothée.

Mr. Giordano has just been awarded the title of Olympic official, class 3, world class by the International Amateur Athletic Federation. According to our sources, Mr. Giordano is the first Canadian to be so honoured, and all of us in Laval are proud of it.

Laval is the second largest city in Quebec, and this is not the first time that our community brings honour to Canada. Indeed, Tania Vicent, a bronze medal winner at the Olympic Games in Nagano, is also a resident of my riding and she was the guest of this House a few days ago.

These citizens of Laval West make us proud, and we wish them every success.

Southbrook WineryStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Bryon Wilfert Liberal Oak Ridges, ON

Mr. Speaker, today at the gala reopening of Canada House, Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Chrétien, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and many others will sample one of the finest wines in Canada.

Southbrook Winery and its owner, my friend Bill Redelmeier, have created an international award winning dessert wine, Canadian Framboise. Southbrook started producing wine in 1991 and won the gold medal in 1997 at the London wine challenge. It now produces over 100,000 bottles a year, from table wines to fruit wines. CP Hotels selected the Framboise especially for the Canada House gala dinner.

Mr. Redelmeier is also helping the town of Richmond Hill celebrate its 125th anniversary by including the anniversary crest on the label and donating $1 from every sale to help fund the anniversary events.

Please join me in congratulating Bill Redelmeier and Southbrook Winery for their success and for being selected as Canada's dessert wine of choice.

Canada-Wide Science Fair 1998Statements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Réginald Bélair Liberal Timmins—James Bay, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to inform the House that the Canada-wide Science Fair 1998 is being held this week in Timmins, Ontario, welcoming over 600 participants, judges, parents and visitors to this prestigious and popular event.

This is not only an opportunity for young Canadian scientists to display their projects and compete for awards, it is also an excellent occasion to celebrate individual endeavours through a collective appreciation of a discipline which is becoming one of Canada's richest resources.

The Canada-wide science fair highlights the diversity of these scientific projects and the creativity of our young people, with whom rests our hope for the future. The initiative of putting this fair together under the theme “earth's resources” should be commended.

I would like to publicly thank the organizing committee of the science fair, the many volunteers and especially the young competitors for their hard work and dedication throughout the past year.

These young people will show how they lived up to the challenge through their science projects, and we will be there to applaud their masterpieces—

Canada-Wide Science Fair 1998Statements By Members

2 p.m.

The Speaker

I have to make a comment. I always cut the hon. member off by four or five seconds. We have to get the punchline in there first.

Brain DrainStatements By Members

May 13th, 1998 / 2 p.m.

Reform

Monte Solberg Reform Medicine Hat, AB

Mr. Speaker, when a government drains our best and brightest from our workforce, it drains our future, our promise and our prosperity as a nation. Right now we have an entire generation of economic refugees fleeing our borders, a generation driven away by high taxes.

These are the brain drain facts. Over the last seven years, work visas to the U.S. have increased tenfold. There has been a 20% increase in Canadian doctors and nurses leaving for the states since 1985. Last year the University of Waterloo had 120 U.S. companies recruiting its graduates, four times more than in 1995. One-third of its co-op computer grads are hired away by Microsoft each year.

The fact is we are subsidizing American jobs with Canadian education. What we really need is to create an environment that lets our graduates stay here at home. For us in Canada this means lower taxes.

National Nursing WeekStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON

Mr. Speaker, this week has been designated as National Nursing Week and “Nursing is Key” is the theme of the celebrations.

Nationally the Canadian Nurses Association is addressing strategies to improve the quality of health care including the implementation of the recommendations of the National Forum on Health. This includes the expansion of medicare to address a broader range of needs, such as home care and pharmacare as part of our innovative health system.

There are over 110,000 registered nurses who have played a leadership role in shaping our health system. We as legislators have come to depend on their experience and expertise to guide us in making wise investments in the health of Canadians.

In recognition of their professionalism and leadership in health care, we salute today the registered nurses of Canada. We extend our gratitude for their continued contributions to the delivery of safe, quality and cost effective health care for all Canadians.

YouthStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Nancy Karetak-Lindell Liberal Nunavut, NU

Mr. Speaker, the Baffin Regional Youth Council is visiting the nation's capital this week. It is a great honour for me as a representative of Nunavut to be involved in youth issues.

Youth are the future of this country and of our part of Canada, which will officially be Nunavut on April 1, 1999. Some of the youth who form the Baffin Regional Youth Council today may very well be leaders in Nunavut tomorrow. I wish them good cheer and good luck in their future endeavours.

Next week is Aboriginal Awareness Week in Canada. Although we have made great strides in awareness of aboriginal issues, success stories and even problems in the last 10 years, we still have a lot of work to do in teaching all Canadians about many other issues related to all aspects of native culture, beliefs, lifestyles, hopes, aspirations and dreams.

I hope that next week every Canadian will make a special effort to get to know about aboriginal issues and that the dialogue will continue for better relations for all concerned.

The SenateStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Reform

Bill Gilmour Reform Nanaimo—Alberni, BC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to quote some words of wisdom from the upper house, the Canadian Senate:

“An elected Senate would be an ideal one.” Senator Taylor.

“If it all could be worked out I would be in favour of an elected Senate.” Senator Forest.

“I am not revealing a secret by stating publicly that I am in favour of an elected Senate.” Senator Gauthier.

“I think that would be the first step towards democratizing this place and going to the elected Senate, which I have advocated for years.” Senator Perrault.

“Canadians will not tolerate much longer the status quo. The status quo means our work and our efforts will become meaningless and we're better off staying home.” Senator Ghitter.

Even a number of senators want the Senate reformed. When is the Prime Minister going to realize he is on the wrong side of the issue and live up to his promises to reform the Senate?

National Speech And Hearing Awareness MonthStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Alex Shepherd Liberal Durham, ON

Mr. Speaker, May is National Speech and Hearing Awareness Month.

Our government is committed to building a society where the 10% of Canadians who suffer from hearing impairment can reach their goals both personally and professionally.

I am a person who suffers from hearing loss. I have no hearing in my left ear and only 50% in my right. In spite of this disability I have been able to build a successful accounting practice.

As a member of this House I have been able to use the sound equipment here without much impediment. In fact it has sometimes been a great advantage to me to turn off my hearing aid which I might say often adds to the comprehensibility of this place rather than detracts from it. Of course this is the lighter side of what for many is a major impediment.

I can say that government through programs at HRDC has made funding available to allow for training and computerization of many job functions to allow people with hearing impairments to have full and productive lives.

I salute the 10% of Canadians who suffer from hearing loss.

Member For Notre-Dame-De-Grâce—LachineStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Bloc

Richard Marceau Bloc Charlesbourg, QC

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine said that President Roosevelt was in favour of assimilating French Canadians. On this basis, the hon. member urged our leader to denounce the monument in Quebec, which, in her mind, is unfair to Liberal Prime Minister Mackenzie King.

However, an excerpt of Mackenzie King's personal diary published in the March 1, 1997, issue of L'Actualité , stated that Hitler and Mussolini really tried to make various benefits available to the grassroots and that Hitler could be seen as one of the saviours of the world.

If we follow the logic of the hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, every work perpetuating King's memory in Canada, including the words written on the monument which is the cause of such humiliation for the Liberals, should be denounced.

The Liberals, who are facing embarrassment over the hepatitis C issue, are stirring up trouble to distract the public from their lack of compassion. Their pettiness is a disgrace to Quebeckers, who take pride in their history.

Canadian PortsStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

NDP

Wendy Lill NDP Dartmouth, NS

Mr. Speaker, I and other members of the NDP continue to raise concerns about the disastrous effect of Bill C-9 on Canadian ports.

One of the most damaging sections of Bill C-9 is section 25. Section 25 bans any federal government from giving any money to any ports to improve their infrastructure.

How dare the government make decisions for future governments. By closing the door to federal investment in ports, this government is on a collision course with Canadians who depend on ports for their livelihood.

Yesterday NDP MPs lobbied members of the Senate transport committee before they rubber stamped the minister's bill but some refused to listen to common sense.

Common sense tells us if we want to remain competitive, we must look at our competition. The Americans understand the importance of investing in their ports and that is what they are doing.

New Democrats call on the minister to suspend approval of Bill C-9 until the disastrous provisions prohibiting federal investment in Canadian ports are removed.

PovertyStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Nick Discepola Liberal Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC

Mr. Speaker, to be sure, the content of the report on poverty released yesterday by the National Council on Welfare is cause for concern.

As a government and a political party, we are firmly committed to fight the threat of poverty. Indeed, during our most recent convention, the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party of Canada passed a resolution urging the Canadian government to make every effort to eliminate poverty as quickly as possible.

But let us not forget that this is a collective responsibility. All levels of government are directly involved in the process to improve Canadians' quality of life.

We, as a government and political party and as citizens, must support any measure aimed at eliminating poverty in Canada.

SeniorsStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Scott Brison Progressive Conservative Kings—Hants, NS

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-36, the budget implementation act, nickels and dimes Canada's poor seniors.

No one blinked an eye when the budget promised to “improve the way in which the guaranteed income supplement operates”. This was until people realized that the finance minister's idea of improvement is to cut benefits to seniors.

Take for instance the effects Bill C-36 will have on seniors who are working to earn extra money. These seniors will now be subject to a stiffer clawback on the benefits they receive. If the clawback that already exists was not enough, the government proposes to take up to $250 more from the poorest senior citizens in Canada.

Some of these senior citizens are working in fast food restaurants. They were told by this government that they would get a full meal deal. Instead, this finance minister is giving them the drive through. It is unfortunate and it is wrong.

The finance minister's improvements nickel and dime Canada's poorest seniors. That is why I have sent a letter to all members of the House seeking their support for amendments that I am proposing to Bill C-36 which will provide for equitable treatment in Canada.

SeniorsStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

The Speaker

Colleagues, today we are going to do something for the first time in our House of Commons.

I have been asked by the House leaders, and there is agreement in the House, because this is hearing impaired month we are going to have a statement signed by one of our own members of parliament.

At the end of it I am told that if you want to give an ovation you move your hands like this. If you want to give a standing ovation you do what I am doing and make your hands go like that.

I am going to recognize the hon. member for Longueuil.

Hearing Awareness MonthStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Bloc

Caroline St-Hilaire Bloc Longueuil, QC

Mr. Speaker, May is Hearing Awareness Month. I am taking this opportunity to salute all my friends who are deaf or hard of hearing, in the riding of Longueuil and elsewhere in Quebec and Canada.

Over 10% of the population has a hearing problem. That figure may be even higher, since people are not always prepared to recognize that they have a hearing problem.

I am proud to speak LSQ, the Quebec sign language, and I invite hon. members to do the same.

Let us eliminate the wall of silence.

The Bloc Quebecois salutes its deaf and hard of hearing friends.

Hearing Awareness MonthStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear.

Hepatitis COral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Reform

Preston Manning ReformLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the country's health ministers will meet to solve the problem of compensating hepatitis C victims. But the real problem has become the federal health minister.

The minister did not want this meeting. He has fought full compensation for the victims tooth and nail. He is the one that said this file was closed.

Today I ask, will the health minister make a personal commitment to this House to achieving compensation for all hepatitis C victims at the conference tomorrow?

Hepatitis COral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Etobicoke Centre Ontario

Liberal

Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I know that our objective in attending the meeting tomorrow is to determine from the health ministers across the country what their position is on these issues and to find out whether we can reach a new consensus on how to approach the issue of those who received hepatitis C through the blood system.

My personal commitment to this House, to the member and to all members of the parliament, is to spend my time tomorrow trying to forge with my counterparts a consensus on how to approach this problem.

Hepatitis COral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Reform

Preston Manning ReformLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, the victims and the premiers are asking the minister and the federal government to commit to a position and we get no commitment.

To make things worse, the minister's officials are saying that the health minister will be proposing a two-tier package tomorrow: two tiers of compensation and two tiers of health care for two tiers of victims.

Why is this Liberal health minister pitting one group of victims against another by proposing a two-tier system?

Hepatitis COral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Etobicoke Centre Ontario

Liberal

Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, first, I would caution the Leader of the Opposition against engaging in speculation. That is something I am not going to do.

Rather, I am going to go to the table and sit with ministers of health from across Canada. I am going to find out what their views are. Some have changed their position over the last few weeks. I am going to find out from them what their approach is.

I will then determine whether it is possible to do what is in the interests of all ill people in this country, which is to have an integrated and co-ordinated approach among all levels of government to the health system to serve those who are ill. That is our objective.

Hepatitis COral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Reform

Preston Manning ReformLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, we know that the health minister does not get along too well with the backbenchers. No wonder.

The MP from St. Paul's is now saying that any assistance should be based on pathology rather than chronology. In other words, she does not want—

Hepatitis COral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh.