Debates of May 26th, 1998

Christine Laforge

[Gilles Bernier, Progressive Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to remind ourselves that from time to time as lawmakers what we do here in this House matters, not just for this generation but for generations to come.

In that spirit, I am pleased to welcome from my riding of Tobique—Mactaquac one of the many young Canadians who will be assuming leadership roles in this country in the next few years when old guys like me decide it is time to move on.

Christine Laforge is here visiting our nation's capital with her mother Monique, her aunt Micheline, and her cousin Dominique. Although still young, Christine has already distinguished herself in her community of Grand Falls.

She is an accomplished vocalist, pianist and guitar player who won the regional star at the New Brunswick music festival last month. Christine volunteers at the Grand Falls hospital and the regional manor and last year she beat out eight finalists to become Miss Grand Falls.

Christine will be studying music at the Université de Moncton this fall and would like to pursue a career in politics some day.

To her and all Canada's young leaders, I say good luck and keep up the good work.

Fédération Acadienne Du Québec

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to extend my congratulations to those who received awards at the Fédération acadienne du Québec's Soirée Méritas, which took place this past weekend in Montreal.

The Méritas 1998 award went to naïve painter Nérée Degrâce, aged 78, a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts de Québec. His works are hung throughout Canada, as well as at the Musée de l'Île-de-France in Paris. They depict scenes of daily Acadian life such as a wedding in Shippagan, his native city, and people coming back from midnight mass.

Another award, the Hommage 1998, went to Pierre Maurice Hébart, the author of Les Acadiens du Québec . This work describes how Quebec offered protection to those fleeing the Acadian deportation, tells about the Acadian members of les Patriotes, and shows how Acadians are now represented in all spheres of activity in Quebec. Mr. Hébert's work has contributed to raising Acadian pride in Quebec.

Congratulations to these two award winners.

Justice

[Reed Elley, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Nanaimo—Cowichan there have been many incidents which highlight the fact that the Young Offenders Act is not working and needs to be changed. The most recent involves Tasha Pederson. She is the owner of a small hairstyling shop in Cassidy which has become the target of a group of youth intent on vandalizing her establishment.

To date, this businesswoman has had to pay over $500 in repairs to property that these youths have damaged on several occasions. That might not seem like a lot of money to the Liberal MPs who recently spent that amount of taxpayer money for each night they stayed in a posh Italian hotel, but to this woman it means the difference between paying her suppliers and putting food on the table for her family.

However, the truly sad part in all this is that the local RCMP is powerless to do anything about it because the Young Offenders Act does not apply to youth under the age of 12 and these young vandals know it.

Rather than address situations like these, this do nothing justice minister has stayed the course again and ignored the justice committee recommendation to lower the age at which a youth can be charged.

Hepatitis C

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has another excuse for not looking after those victims of hepatitis C. He says that if we pay those victims, he will have to pay for those who got hepatitis C from drug addiction.

Does the Prime Minister not recognize the difference between hepatitis C caused by self-destructive behaviour and hepatitis C caused by a blood system monitored by this federal government?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I said that a lot of questions need to be looked into. When you talk about compassion you talk about only one type of people. It is the people who are sick who deserve compassion.

I see that Reform is coming back to a notion of responsibility. Its members should make up their mind.

I wrote a letter to the premier of Ontario who suddenly wanted to compensate everybody and I wanted to have a list of the people who he thinks should be compensated.

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the letter here with me that Premier Harris wrote to the Prime Minister. Compensate everyone? He says very plainly “Compensate those who got the hepatitis C virus through the blood system”. No one else.

Why is the Prime Minister looking for excuses for not doing what is simply and frankly correct?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, again the Reform Party does not want to compensate everybody. It is passing judgment. It is changing its position again.

It would be no wonder at the end of the month if Reformers amended their constitution to confirm that they should be disbanded by November 2000. They do not know what they are talking about.

We have, at this moment, a conference with all the ministers of health who are looking at the problem seriously, not just trying to score some political points.

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the victims are questioning what it is about the Prime Minister's character that he cannot admit that he has made a mistake.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[An hon. member]

Next question.

[The Speaker]

We are getting a little close with our language. I encourage members on both sides to stay away from too many personal comments.

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister cannot admit that he has insulted the hepatitis C victims by comparing them with those who have a drug addiction. He cannot admit that he has made a mistake in not compensating those individuals.

Why does he not change his mind?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in Canada we have a system where the provincial governments are responsible for health.

We made a deal with them to offer some compensation to those who have hep C because of a problem that existed between 1986 and 1990. There was an agreement signed by all the governments of Canada.

Two governments decided to quit and offer compensation to others. Since that time eight other provinces have decided to stay with the federal government to find a reasonable solution.

As Prime Minister of Canada—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Edmonton North.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, two governments added to the original deal because they operate on principle and did not mind saying that they were wrong.

My question today is for the Prime Minister. I want to catch him quickly before he leaves the country again. I want to ask him about this hep C deal.

Before he flew to Italy a couple of weeks ago he told the health minister to make sure that he scuttled the deal. That worked. That deal was scuttled.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Edmonton North.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to know this from the Prime Minister.

Is he proud of the fact that his health minister obeyed him and scuttled the meeting?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health has worked very diligently. He worked very hard with the provincial governments to find a solution long before these people tried to score some political points.

These people are claiming compassion. They are the same people who promised to cut welfare by $3.5 billion. They are the same bleeding heart Reformers who said they would slash seniors' pensions by $3 billion. They are the same people who would have a two tier system for the people who are sick in Canada.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this government knows full well about two tier health care. It just instituted it with these victims.

What is happening is that this so-called working group that the health minister put together is the same group that was put together last July and is offering the same options. What is happening is that the Prime Minister and his government are stalling until they can get to the summer break because the heat is too much. More meetings, more memos, more technical talk is not going to solve the problem for victims.

What does the Prime Minister think about this restructured, same old working group that is going to come up with the same solutions which were not good for all hepatitis C victims? Is he proud of that?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the questions today are about two types of hepatitis C victims: those who contracted it through the blood system, according to this gentleman, and the rest according to this lady.

They should make up their minds and help the provincial governments and the federal government find a solution.

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, since yesterday's oral question period, $17 million has accrued in the employment insurance fund.

During this time, all the Minister of Human Resources Development has said in response is that he ordered an investigation by Statistics Canada, because he cannot figure out what is happening with his reform.

With all his investigations and studies, is the minister not simply stalling for time while his colleague, the Minister of Finance, keeps taking $700,000 an hour from the pockets of workers and the unemployed?

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

Mr. Speaker, what I said yesterday was not that we did not understand the effects of the reform, quite the contrary, but we were not in favour of any hasty decisions, as the Bloc Quebecois apparently is.

What astounds me about the Bloc is that none of the bills it has tabled in this House aims to help any of the unemployed to return to the labour force. The measures are passive, old hat. There is no constructive reform relating to the modern market. They are proposing a return to the past, and we are saying no.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister should stop being the pompous technocrat and holder of all truth and get on with answering questions.

What those excluded from his reform want—and it is not studies and investigations—is for him to come out of his bubble and deal with a real problem. Will he, once and for all, deal with their problem, not in six months, but now, today?

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

Mr. Speaker, the opposition still does not understand the courage and boldness displayed by our government to adequately serve Canadians from coast to coast.

Our reform sought to change an unemployment insurance system that was neither fair nor equitable. We wanted to help Canadians break the cycle of dependency that existed in certain regions. We want to help create jobs in the regions that need them most. This is what our reform is all about.