Debates of June 11th, 1998

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

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

Mr. Speaker, here is a number. Three times in the past 20 months solicitors general of this government have promised tough legislation for money laundering but none have been delivered.

The solicitor general knows full well that Bill C-95 in the last parliament did not include mandatory reporting requirements for cross-country currency movement or suspicious financial transactions.

How long do we have to wait before the government puts some teeth into the laws? Will the solicitor general stop the rhetoric and the heel dragging and introduce legislation to give police officers the tools they need to fight organized crime and money laundering?

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, when we took office in 1993 there were a lot of outstanding issues that were being asked of us by the police. We have delivered on most of them. We still have a few left and we are delivering on them now.

Canadian Armed Forces

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday Ann Margaret Dickey told her story for all to hear and said that she wanted her complaint to be investigated.

In January the NIS told Ann Margaret Dickey that the investigation was suspended. Yesterday in the House the Prime Minister said that the investigation was ongoing. In Halifax yesterday the National Investigation Service confirmed that the investigation is finished. However, the NIS in Ottawa said it is ongoing.

Who is telling the truth?

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

Mr. Speaker, the National Investigation Service, which was established in September 1997, has been working on Mrs. Dickey's case since September 17, 1997.

We will not know the facts, nor will we ask questions about the investigation, until the Canadian forces provost marshal says that the investigation is complete.

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I happened to view a videotape of the NIS informing Ms. Dickey that the investigation was suspended. In that particular tape the military investigators told her that the case would be suspended unless she provided or came up with supportive evidence of her allegations. They asked her to do it.

What kind of investigative unit would ask the victim or the complainant to go out and gather her own evidence in order to bring her attacker to trial?

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

Mr. Speaker, the individual in question has made some very serious and complicated allegations. Serious and complicated allegations must be investigated seriously and thoroughly.

All of the facts, which neither the member opposite nor the media nor I have, must be gathered and investigated. The Canadian forces have an excellent impartial mechanism in place to do just that.

Atlantic Groundfish Strategy

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, regarding the issue of fisheries and the Atlantic groundfish strategy, the Minister of Human Resources Development accused us earlier of wanting to keep fishers in a state of dependency because we are asking the government to help them.

Such comments from the minister are worrisome, because the last time he discussed the issue, he decided to exclude 60% of all unemployed people from the program.

Are we to expect that, under the pretext of implementing active measures, the minister will deny 60% of workers in the fishing industry any government assistance, as he did with the unemployed?

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

Absolutely not, Mr. Speaker. As I said repeatedly, I hope to soon be in a position to make an announcement.

Consultations with the five provincial governments were successful. Yesterday, the Bloc Quebecois—which was misinformed about the situation in Quebec City—said that the Quebec government was not even in a position to know what was going on. This is not true.

Perhaps there is a problem in Quebec City between the Department of Intergovernmental Affairs, which centralizes everything, and the Department of Fisheries, but meetings were also held at that level. I hope to soon be in a position to make an announcement.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while we are imploring the minister to help fishers in eastern Canada, who have been adversely affected by the decisions of Liberal governments in Ottawa in the fishery sector, how can the Minister of Human Resources Development provide a meaningless reply when, in fact, the Atlantic region is on the verge of a crisis?

The minister must go there, listen to fishers and find solutions himself, instead of relying on his public servants in Ottawa. That is the reality.

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

Mr. Speaker, the situation is extremely serious. We know these communities, and we are aware of the situation with the fisheries.

The problem is that fish stocks are diminishing in the Atlantic because of overfishing by previous generations.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Papineau—Saint-Denis, QC]

I can tell you one thing: we will set up the necessary programs to help our fellow citizens in these communities make a decent living—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Dear colleagues, I would ask you to please listen to the replies.

Canadian Armed Forces

[Leon Benoit, Reform, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it has been nearly three years since the investigation into Ms. Dickey's complaint started. It has been almost three years since the complaint was filed and her superiors have brushed it off again and again.

After three years, finally a statement was taken. Then they told her “But you have to come up with the evidence to have the investigation carry on”. They told her to get her own evidence.

I would ask the parliamentary secretary, why did it take so long to start the investigation and—

[The Speaker]

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that hon. members opposite want to discuss this case. However, we are doing the responsible thing and respecting the integrity of the investigation. I would urge the member to do likewise.

[Leon Benoit, Reform, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the parliamentary secretary is not going to talk about this case. We do not know whether the investigation actually is going on or not. We have conflicting evidence.

A couple of days ago an ombudsman was appointed, who supposedly would be able to deal with this situation, but the ombudsman himself said that he relies on the minister to gain access to information through the ranks.

If this is the way the ranks deal with information, I wonder how this ombudsman appointment is going to help fix things up in any way.

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

Mr. Speaker, the National Investigation Service is an independent organization. It was established in response to the review done by Chief Justice Dickson of the military justice system. It was recommended by the Somalia inquiry as well.

The head of the NIS, the Canadian forces provost marshal, does not answer to anybody in the chain of command. In addition to a large staff of its own, she has unfettered access to civilian police services if she requires their assistance.

Air Transportation

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, claiming a strategy of two national carriers in Canada and rejecting Air Canada's bid for several new international air routes, the federal government is jeopardizing the development of the Montreal airport.

My question is for the Minister of Transport. Could the minister explain how he reached the conclusion that Montreal's development had to be reined in to promote that of Canadian?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should really take a look at the press release I issued last week. He will clearly see that Air Canada received permission to operate a daily service from Toronto to Hong Kong. It received authority to have five code-sharing arrangements of its choice to anywhere within the Star Alliance. It also got assurance that we would look at the specific question of T'aipei later this year and that we would review the entire file within 12 months.

Now, tell me that Air Canada did not get anything out of it.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what will it take for the Minister of Transport to stop limiting the development of new air routes out of Montreal in order to ensure the development of Canadian?

Does the government have to hear from the entire Montreal business community before the federal ministers from Quebec get moving?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is from the province of Quebec. I would invite him to go to Dorval airport to see the level of increase in traffic; not just domestic traffic, but international traffic. Open Skies, which Air Canada did not want, was brought in by this government and it has benefited Montreal as well as all the other cities.

Candu Reactors

[Charlie Penson, Reform, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday of this week the Minister of International Trade told this House that his government had little to do with the $1.5 billion contract of Candu reactors and the loan guarantee.

Now we learn that there has been a letter released that quotes David Dodge, the former deputy minister of finance, as saying that there were negotiations between finance and EDC for months to put this deal together.

Will the minister now admit that the cabinet knew full well the extent of this deal and ultimately had to sign it before it could be approved?

[Sergio Marchi, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the only contradiction is in the member's mind.

Earlier this week the allegation made by the NDP was that there was no financial due diligence done by the department. I responded by saying that was false because the financial specific due diligence was done on the contract by AECL and on the financing by EDC. At no time did I ever mention that the Government of Canada ultimately did not make the decision.

After that process by those two crown corporations, and based on their recommendations, of course the Government of Canada ultimately made the decision.