House of Commons Hansard #118 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was agreed.
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, what is good for Canada is good for Quebec.
We have taken steps regarding air routes for all Canadians, regardless of the region they live in, even Montreal, even Quebec.
We have a balanced approach that has helped everybody in the country. It is good for every city in the country and it is good for the health of a competitive airline industry.
Paul Mercier Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC
Mr. Speaker, according to the minister, it was necessary to help Canadian restructure.
Using that same argument, will he not admit that it would be only right to also help Montreal, which has paid dearly for past federal government decisions relating to airports?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, as I said last week, the Bloc is always whining. Yesterday I went to Dorval. I had a tour of the airport. I am proud of what ADM is doing to that airport. I am proud of the amount of traffic I saw there, international flights. There is no doubt that is the result of our policies in this government.
Mike Scott Reform Skeena, BC
Mr. Speaker, in the wake of the supreme court's Delgamuukw decision, aboriginal bands across British Columbia have laid claim to the entire province, including Vancouver and Stanley Park.
Can the Indian affairs minister tell us what the government's position is? Can she tell us in the federal government's eyes who owns British Columbia?
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday there is nothing in the comments of the opposition members that suggests anything except that they want to fearmonger and find scapegoats.
Let us be clear on what the First Nations are saying. I will quote Chief Ed John of the B.C. summit who said “First Nations share a common objective with other British Columbians that a strong and productive economy benefits everyone and we are prepared to do what we can to ensure there is economic stability in British Columbia”.
Mike Scott Reform Skeena, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is fascinating to watch this minister pirouetting in her place, ducking and dodging the questions and giving no answers. This issue is far too important to treat in this flippant and self-serving manner.
Is the minister prepared to go to Vancouver, hold a town hall meeting and tell the people who show up there that the city belongs to aboriginals? Will she answer the question of who owns B.C.?
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, the opposition is totally out of touch on this. What it wants to do is legislate away aboriginal rights and blame aboriginal people for the economic woes in British Columbia.
The people of British Columbia understand it. In an Angus Reid poll this weekend nine out of ten British Columbians believe that aboriginal people have legitimate land claims and should be compensated. Seventy-two per cent say that settling these claims will either improve B.C.'s investment climate or have no impact on the business investment.
Michel Guimond Bloc Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC
Mr. Speaker, when we ask the Minister of Transport about the preferential treatment he is systematically giving Canadian Airlines, his only answer is that he is trying to foster healthy competition between the two carriers.
Can the minister tell us how it would hurt Canadian to give Air Canada a Montreal-Milan route, for example, or a Montreal-Amsterdam route, since Canadian Airlines does not even offer these two destinations?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I am surprised at the hon. member. He should know that there is a second carrier policy in place that Air Canada asked this government to put in place and which Air Canada should live by. When a market reaches 300,000 trips, then the government can designate a second carrier. I have said that we expect Taiwan to reach that position later this year and therefore we would designate a second carrier. The same will go for the other countries. Air Canada should live by the rule that it wanted this government to establish.
Michel Guimond Bloc Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC
Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the existing policy.
How can the minister explain that, in most cases where he refuses to allow Air Canada to fly to some destination, it is a route originating in Montreal?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member seems to forget that Canadian Airlines currently employs 1,000 people in Quebec.
In other words this fellow and his friends speak only for one company. He does not speak for the 1,000 people who work for Canadian Airlines in Quebec, unlike those on this side who speak for the interest of the travelling public. We speak for both airlines and the employees of both airlines, no matter where they live.
Val Meredith Reform South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC
Mr. Speaker, the people of British Columbia talk about compensation. They want to know from the minister how much. How much will it cost Canadian people to pay for land claim settlements?
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, as usual opposition members have it all wrong. When we talk about money and talk about investments the people of British Columbia understand that by settling land claims we will improve the economy of British Columbia. Whether it be the Laurier Institute or KPMG, the issue here is the huge cost of doing nothing or at least of following their approach.
Val Meredith Reform South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC
Mr. Speaker, the media talk in terms of $50 billion that these settlement claims will cost Canadians.
Canadians and British Columbians want to know from the minister after seven years of treaty negotiations how much it will cost the governments of Canada and British Columbia to settle these land claims.
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, they ask how much for land claims but they do not ask how much for hepatitis C. Where is their compassion here? Systematically they undermine the aboriginal people. It is an outrage.
Yvan Bernier Bloc Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-De-La-Madeleine—Pabok, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development.
A big demonstration in favour of a new groundfish strategy is under way as we speak in the Magdalen Islands.
We have been requesting such a strategy and the government has been thinking about it for quite some time now. What is the government waiting for to give an answer to these people who are expressing their dismay and crying out for help, especially since the premiers of the five provinces concerned are asking the federal government to take its responsibilities?
Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, as you know, we have worked very hard on this issue recently. I sent my own associate deputy minister to meet with provincial officials in the Atlantic region. We believe that the post-TAGS challenge to communities and individuals should be addressed in partnership with the provinces.
Now I am hearing the Bloc tells us “This is your responsibility, not ours”. It is always like that with the Bloc. It is either Ottawa's responsibility or a provincial jurisdiction, depending on what suits them at the time. We are going to work on this issue in partnership with the provinces.
Sarkis Assadourian Liberal Brampton Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Natural Resources. Yesterday the Ottawa Citizen reported that Canada had promised to approve a $1.5 billion loan to finance the sale of Candu reactors to Turkey.
What specific assurances can the minister give that the nuclear technology we are offering Turkey will not be used to develop nuclear weapons?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, there are a variety of safeguards in place with respect to current or future nuclear trade including the requirement of a bilateral nuclear co-operation agreement between Canada and the recipient country and including the imposition of the terms of multilateral agreements such as the non-proliferation treaty which involves complete inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency and all international safeguards that apply under the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Only countries that are prepared to sign on to these safeguards are allowed to do business with Canada.
Darrel Stinson Reform Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Mr. Speaker, the minister does not seem to get it. The Delgamuukw decision has directly impacted on all economic sectors of British Columbia as well as of Canada. It is chasing investors out of Canada as well as jobs due to lack of land tenure.
How long will the Canadian public have to put up with the minister not making a decision with regard to the Delgamuukw case?
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, look at the progress that has been made under the government. When we took office in 1993 there was one table of negotiations occurring in British Columbia. Now there are over 60. Thirty of those have framework agreements that are moving toward agreements in principle.
Perhaps, if hon. members opposite would go into their ridings and join the celebrations that occur as we make progress in this process, they would see that we have the right approach.
Dick Harris Reform Prince George—Bulkley Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, we have continually asked the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development exactly what the government's position is on land claims and whether she understands how this uncertainty impacts on the people of British Columbia.
For two days the only clear thing is that the minister has no idea what we are talking about. She does not know how to do her job and she is way over her head.
I ask her very simply and slowly so that her friends can help her, what exactly is the federal government's position, what is her position, on the issue of land claims in British Columbia. Does she know the impact on the people of British Columbia?
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, our position is supported by the first nations. Our position is supported by the province of British Columbia. Our position is supported by all the economic sectors in British Columbia.
It is about negotiating in good faith and in a peaceful fashion around the table, not what these guys recommend when they talk about Ipperwash.
As I mentioned yesterday, when the hon. member for Skeena suggested the only solution in that case was to call in the army that must be negotiation Reform style.
John Solomon NDP Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport has said that he was counting on the goodwill of the railways not to close branch lines until Justice Estey's federal review was complete.
CN Rail is closing two more branch lines including the Imperial subdivision in my riding. Why does the government delay acting to save our banking system until that task force reports but lets CN dismantle a rail system that is still under review? Why the double standard?
In the name of consistency why will the minister not order CN and CP to stop ripping up branch lines until Justice Estey's review is complete?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I believe the hon. member was in the House when we debated the amendments to the National Transportation Act which give the railway some latitude in terms of dealing with their excess infrastructure, much of it in western Canada.
We put in place the Estey commission, the statutory grain transportation review, to look at all various aspects of grain transportation including rail line abandonment. What I found in our dealings with the railways is that they are very sensitive to the concerns of the hon. member, especially in his province of Saskatchewan, as we are here.
After all, we on this side of the House agreed to fund facilitators to help small communities that want to take over these branch lines.