Debates of June 11th, 1998

Health

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the government is very proud of the steps it has already taken to deal with those who were injured through the fault of those who were responsible from 1986 to 1990. The government's efforts continue.

As I have said to the hon. member, officials will continue to meet and governments will work away to find a new consensus. Let us let that process continue. Let us let it complete a new consensus to deal with the interests of all those who contracted hepatitis C through the blood system.

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on the issue of hepatitis C assistance the excuses have failed. The public says that it should look after every victim. Finally the victims are mounting this campaign for the long, hot summer.

Could someone on the government side stand to explain why the Prime Minister on the issue of hepatitis C is as stubborn as a mule?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the member should know that it is not just the federal government that is at the table. There are other governments that have their own positions.

Reform Party members are great champions of constituents. They used to say let us stand and ask a question that was inspired by a constituent.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Health has the floor.

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

I understand that Ralph Klein is a constituent of the Leader of the Opposition. Why will the Leader of the Opposition not do what Ralph Klein says? He is content with the process in place at the moment. Why will he not support his constituent on this?

The Economy

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian dollar is trading at historic lows today. Instead of propping up the dollar with higher interest rates, why will the government not take some steps to strengthen the fundamentals of the economy?

Why is the finance minister refusing to bring in a package that will pay down debt over a period of time and give Canadians the lower taxes they need and deserve? Why will he not do it?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that the Minister of Finance will not comment on the value of currency.

However, if one wants to talk about the fundamentals of the Canadian economy, we have the strongest growth we have had in decades, in fact the strongest growth of any of the G-7 countries. Over the course of the last four years the country has created over 1,200,000 jobs. At the present time our unemployment rate is down to 8.4% from 11.5%. Our inflation is low. Our productivity is up. The country is leading the G-7. Those are our fundamentals.

Atlantic Groundfish Strategy

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

Mr. Speaker, tension is running very high in the maritimes, the Magdalen Islands and the Gaspé.

Again today, people are vocalizing their dissatisfaction as the Atlantic groundfish strategy comes to an end.

Since we have been telling the Minister of Human Resources Development for months now that things are going badly and that a tragedy is in the offing, how is it that we are now one day from the end of the session and are still being told that officials are working hard, that the matter is being looked at closely, when nothing concrete has yet been done for the victims of these federal government decisions?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have said on several occasions in the House, this is an issue that concerns us enormously.

We have met with people from the communities and we know that many of them are finding the situation extremely difficult. Some people are living with terrible uncertainty. That is why the issue must be handled very carefully.

I have spoken, through my officials, with representatives from each of the provinces. We will, I hope, be in a position to make an announcement shortly.

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

Mr. Speaker, rather than speaking through his officials, as the member puts it, he should be going to see the people on the Magdalen Islands. Perhaps they will teach him something.

Will the minister at least give us an undertaking by tomorrow, when the session is expected to end, that he will either put in place a substantial program to replace TAGS, or extend the program for as long as it takes to get a new program up and running?

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

Mr. Speaker, I see that once again the Bloc Quebecois is calling for passive measures, income support, and still wants to keep people in a state of dependency. Two or three years down the road, it will be the same impossible situation all over again.

We are looking to the future, and what we are interested in is a genuine restructuring, if that is what is required.

We may want to pursue the idea of licence buybacks. We want to introduce measures to help people re-enter the labour market. We want economic development. We are interested in active measures, not in keeping people dependent, which is what the members opposite always seem to want.

[Yvan Bernier, Bloc, Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-De-La-Madeleine—Pabok, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the anger and impatience of the victims in the fishery crisis mount daily in Newfoundland, the Magdalen Islands, the Gaspé, all over.

All of this is happening because this government, which is responsible for the mess in the fisheries, has yet to announce substantial and fair measures to follow the TAGS program.

Does the minister, who is trying to cover his inaction with a flood of fine words, realize the explosiveness of the social situation in the maritimes and eastern Quebec, because the people—

[The Speaker]

The hon. the Minister of Human Resources Development.

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said to his leader and to the entire House a few minutes ago, the situation of the people in Atlantic Canada at the moment concerns us enormously. We are very much aware of the fact that these people are facing considerable uncertainty.

Our government acted responsibly in setting up the TAGS program at the time, and we have consulted widely. We have met with people from the fishing industry, with fisher and community representatives, and I hope we will soon be able to announce the programs we will implement.

[Yvan Bernier, Bloc, Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-De-La-Madeleine—Pabok, QC]

Mr. Speaker, ordinary measures and ordinary insensitivity as well.

Does the minister realize that at stake here is not just families' survival, but the preservation of the future of these maritime communities and their way of life? Does he realize that, if he does not help these people, they will have no choice but to leave?

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

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

Mr. Speaker, I can assure you that what we want to do in partnership with the provinces—which I hope will work with us on this—is to create jobs in these communities so that people will have something to do other than wait for the fish to return.

These Atlantic communities must learn to live with a much reduced fishing industry, a situation which unfortunately is unlikely to change any time soon. This is why we have to make structural changes to the economy.

Health

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, as children do, the Minister of Health is going through the no stage.

According to him, there is no problem at health protection, no problems with toxic toys and no problems with blood products and prescription drugs. An independent report, however, points to an organization in crisis.

When will the minister act like an adult, stop playing with the health of Canadians and acknowledge that not everything is rosy at the health protection branch?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps when the New Democratic Party grows up it will learn to read. When it does learn to read it will take into account the things that have been published which demonstrate that the health protection branch is doing its job and doing it well.

The leader of the New Democratic Party should know that the science advisory board which I appointed some months ago, chaired by the distinguished Dr. Roberta Bondar and including 15 or 20 outstanding Canadian scientists, is now doing an audit of the science capacity of Health Canada. We do our job well. We will soon have independent—

[The Speaker]

The hon. leader of the New Democratic Party.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, no wonder there is no strategy or deadline to deal with the crisis. The minister continues to refuse to recognize that there is a crisis. Sleepwalking through the problem is what one Health Canada official called it today.

Scientists in the minister's own department today revealed that drug companies are influencing approvals of questionable safety. What will it take for the minister to admit that there is a crisis in his own department?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP is a little unpredictable. One day the drug approval process takes too long and today it is going too quickly.

The only crisis in this House is the crisis over in that corner. They cannot seem to attract attention to themselves with facts, so they make them up.

One week they tell us that children will die because of phthalates in toys and then they are proven wrong. The next week they tell us that there is a crisis with albumin and they are proven wrong. The next week it is breast implants and they are proven wrong. They ought to do their homework before they come to this House.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

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

Mr. Speaker, today we obtained further proof that the RCMP does not have the resources it needs to fight organized crime. Despite existing problems, the solicitor general plans to cut $74.1 million from the RCMP federal policing services, whose main objective is to fight organized crime.

The U.S. state department has already said it considers Canada to be one of the best places in the world for criminals to launder money.

How can the solicitor general justify cutting the RCMP organized crime budget by 13% when Canada is already a haven for money laundering?

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has his numbers wrong and, as far as money laundering is concerned, we are circulating a discussion paper right now with the intention of bringing in legislation this fall to do just that.