Debates of Sept. 28th, 1998

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-53, an act to increase the availability of financing for the establishment, expansion, modernization and improvement of small businesses, be read the second time and referred to a committee; and of the amendment.

Canada Small Business Financing Act

[Walt Lastewka, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, just a few weeks ago, at the end of August, we all witnessed how volatile and unpredictable economic forces can be.

Stock markets and national currencies were whiplashed overnight during a sudden explosive global crisis of confidence. Fortunately it was short-lived panic, but at times like this every sector of the economy feels vulnerable. Particularly vulnerable to cyclical economic shifts are small and medium size businesses.

Many do not have the financial resources to wait out economic swings. Even in periods of stability, largely because of the difficulty of getting adequate credit at reasonable rates, it is a formidable challenge to manage a small business profitably.

However, manage and succeed they do. The vision, the energy, the perseverance and the plain hard work of Canadian entrepreneurs have made small business an absolutely indispensable component of our national economy.

These businesses continue to be the fastest growing segment of the economy. They also continue to be the biggest generator of jobs by far in every region of the country. It is obvious that this community will continue to benefit many Canadians if we take the measures necessary to facilitate its health, expansion and profitability.

An important contribution that we make at this time for this sector is to provide it with stability. The House can go a long way to help establish a climate of stability for small business by giving its approval to Bill C-53, the Canada Small Business Financial Act. This stability is provided through the bill which will continue to provide the small business community with access to financing.

Maintaining the program on a cost-recovery track will enhance the certainty of continuing taxpayer support for this important risk-sharing program.

We are eliminating the aggregate lending ceiling which has created uncertainty about the program in recent years and replacing it with a more realistic mechanism to continue the program.

This will enhance lenders' and borrowers' confidence that the program will be there in the future to facilitate financing. Stability will be enhanced by eliminating the sunset clause and replacing it with a regular review during which lending will continue.

Finally, by maintaining most of the parameters of the current legislation, stability is further ensured. Everyone who deals with the program knows where they stand.

The bill also contains a major benefit for Parliament. This is the provision for a recurring five year parliamentary review of the Canada Small Business Financing Act program.

It also provides for the development of a comprehensive accountability framework which will give Parliament improved and more accurate data and performance measurements against which to evaluate the program's financial standing, its efficiency and its success in meeting cost recovery.

The program evaluation framework and the performance measures that are being developed will also address the concerns raised by the auditor general and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. When he appeared before the committee, the auditor general stated that the program was generally well run, with a minimum of costs.

The program, as hon. members know, has since been subjected to a comprehensive review, analysis and assessment. This review took account of the observations and recommendations of the auditor general. This will eliminate the periodic concern that the program will not be available and will permit Parliament the time it needs to carry out a careful review of its operation. This has not always been possible in the past because of the deadline on lending authority created by the sunset clause.

When the minister launched a review last November he set three goals for any program that would emerge as a result. He wished to ensure that the program would remain relevant to the needs of small business, be financially self-sustaining and have an adequate accountability framework.

The comprehensive review conducted by the department included examining issues with borrowers, potential borrowers, lenders and major industry associations.

This review included a series of studies in the following broad areas: economic impact studies, compliance and default studies, stakeholder consultations, cost benefit analysis, and future evaluation and capital leasing studies.

In launching the comprehensive review the Minister of Industry set the goal of developing an appropriate accountability framework for the program as one of the three conditions for continuing the program. The framework is intended to provide parliamentarians with answers to questions that have frequently been asked about the program, questions such as the relevance of increasing access to financing for small business; the need for continuing federal government involvement; its impact on the creation, maintenance and displacement of jobs; the performance of borrowers; whether the program as designed meets its objectives; whether it overlaps with other programs; whether small businesses have other financing needs not met by the program; and whether program costs can be predicted accurately and recovered.

In addition to this, the framework will also report on progress toward achieving cost recovery and the reliability of forecasting for the program.

The pertinent information that parliamentarians will need to accurately measure the performance of the program will be provided through better methods of collecting data. Administrative changes and new regulatory provisions will ensure that information is collected. For example, the new legislation requires lenders and borrowers to provide certain information needed for program evaluation. An accumulating database will monitor performance and aid in assessing the targeting of the program. More categorized information on program use and on impacts such as job effects will be included in the annual reports.

There is a provision in the bill for recurrent five year reviews of the program. These will be conducted with the evaluation framework and empirically sound performance measurements. They will provide the House with the information it needs to make decisions about the program.

The accountability framework for the program that I have just described is the kind of tool that this House needs to make well-informed judgments and appropriate decisions on complex issues that have a direct bearing on the livelihood of millions of men and women, the small entrepreneurs in this country and the millions more that they employ.

I know that members of the House are well aware of the crucial significance of small business. I also know that each one of them would want to have available the best evaluation tools and the most reliable information possible when making decisions that can affect the health and prosperity of the small and medium size business sector.

It is for this reason that I am glad this bill has been tabled so early in this session so the industry committee can have a thorough review before passing it on to the other House.

[The Speaker]

It being almost 2 p.m., we will now proceed to Statements by Members.

Literacy

[Mac Harb, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada spends close to $50 billion on education and still over 25% of Canadians cannot read, write or use numbers well enough to meet the demand of our society. Obviously our education system is failing.

As we move into the 21st century it is imperative to rethink the way we educate our children. As a start, the provinces have an obligation to work together to implement important initiatives such as establishing national literacy and education standards.

I am pleased to report that yesterday our city, Ottawa, hosted its first “Word on the Street” festival to celebrate the pleasure of books and reading. This event highlighted the work of local writers and was organized in support of literacy programs.

I would like to congratulate and thank everyone dedicated to the promotion of literacy, especially Peter Calamai and Joyce Fairbairn. Their work has not gone unnoticed.

Employment Insurance Fund

[Darrel Stinson, Reform, Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have received many complaints from laid off workers in Okanagan—Shuswap who cannot qualify for employment insurance benefits under this government's new rule. When times were good they paid in but now they cannot get benefits.

Employment insurance is supposed to be part of our Canadian social safety net. Instead of the fund being insurance for workers who get laid off, this government has been using the EI fund as its own personal piggy bank, piling up a surplus of $20 billion.

The finance minister is even trying to keep the premiums high rather than cutting them as the law requires. That this government sees itself as being above the law is the best argument yet that the EI fund must be removed from this government's back pocket and administered instead by a board of private sector employees and employers. It is their money.

This government's EI administration inside general revenues is nothing less than legalized theft. If this was in the private sector—

[The Speaker]

My colleagues, once again I think we are getting a little bit close to the line. Words such as “theft” and “stealing” should not be used in the House of Commons.

Chin Wing Chun Tong Society Of Canada

[Sophia Leung, Liberal, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to announce the 80th anniversary of the Chin Wing Chun Tong Society of Canada.

This organization provides many programs for the Chinese community in Canada. For 80 years it has been making a great contribution to business, culture and education in Canada.

Recently the first North American Chan's Kinship Conference was held which brought together descendants of the Chan clan from all over North America.

Congratulations to the organizers and members of the Vancouver Chans for making their organization a great success.

Trade 98

[Sarmite Bulte, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to inform the House about Trade 98 which took place recently in Magog, Quebec.

Twenty-five leading women exporters were invited to work together with senior government officials to address trade barriers facing women entrepreneurs.

The focus of Trade 98 was to learn why export markets are not being tapped to their full extent by women entrepreneurs and to launch a national research program to address and remedy the situation.

This research is being undertaken by the trade research coalition which was established by the Minister for International Trade following the overwhelming success of last November's Canadian businesswomen's trade mission to Washington, D.C. Their findings will be the basis for trade policy discussions at next May's Canada-U.S. Women's Trade Summit.

As I have said many times in this House, women business owners are a major force in our economy today leading over 700,000 small and medium size businesses and employing in excess of 1.7 million Canadians. While this trend continues to grow, this government continues to work with women business owners.

Amnesty International

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Amnesty International is a membership movement dedicated to protecting human rights. It is also independent of any government, political persuasion, or religious creed.

Its main focus is to work for the release of all prisoners of conscience who have not used or advocated violence. This includes people detained anywhere for their beliefs or as a result of their ethnic origin, sex, colour, language, national origin, social origin, economic status, birth or other status.

Amnesty International also works for the fair and prompt trials of all political prisoners, abolition of the death penalty, torture and other cruel treatment and to end extrajudicial executions and disappearances.

As 1998 marks the 50th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I am sure that all hon. members would like to pay tribute to Amnesty International for its important efforts to promote, defend and protect internationally recognized human rights.

Canadian Blood Services Agency

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today Canada's new blood agency takes over the duties of the Red Cross.

Will this new Canadian blood services agency be better positioned to prevent infected blood in the future? In my judgment the following issues still need to be addressed.

One, ultimate authority for the blood system should rest with the federal health minister. His accountability should be clear and precise.

Two, Canadians should be encouraged to donate their own blood prior to elective surgery. This would reduce donor demand and increase safety.

Three, research into blood substitutes should be a primary focus of any modern blood agency.

Only when these three issues are addressed will we begin again to trust our blood transfusion service.

Commonwealth Games

[Maud Debien, Bloc, Laval East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I welcome the return of two Laval athletes from the games in Kuala Lumpur: Alexandre Despatie, who, at age 13, became one of the youngest athletes in the history of the Commonwealth Games to win a gold medal, and Kasia Kulesza, who won a gold medal in synchronized swimming for her duo with Jacinthe Taillon.

Kasia Kulesza won a bronze medal twice already: first, at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and then at the 1997 world championships in Ganzhou, China.

Kasia is a resident of Laval East, the riding I have the honour of representing in this House. She is one of the finest up and coming young athletes in Quebec.

On behalf of the people of Laval, I congratulate you, Kasia, and wish you the best of luck in the coming Olympics.

Housing

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Toronto Centre—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Toronto Centre—Rosedale is home to many diverse co-operative housing units. In bringing together people from different backgrounds in a secure housing environment, co-ops play an important role in providing stable communities in our fragile inner cities. The people who live there genuinely seek to improve their communities.

As we await the report of the Advisory Council on Social Housing Reform and the Ontario government's response to it, we find that the Ontario government, by downloading the responsibility for social housing to the municipalities, has created serious difficulties in how to deal with both social housing generally and co-ops in a way that ensures the viability of this important Canadian resource.

Co-operative housing is a unique form of housing. It is an important component in any comprehensive social housing policy. All levels of government together with the co-operative housing movement must work together to craft a viable and thoughtful solution to this issue, one that will preserve this important and unique form of housing.

Magazine Advertising

[Réginald Bélair, Liberal, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on July 29 the government announced a new measure which will regulate the supply of advertising services directed at Canadian consumers by foreign publishers of magazines. The legislation will soon be tabled in the house. Without this measure foreign publishers would enjoy significant advantages over Canadian publishers.

Advertising revenues are essential in order to be able to produce stories, commentaries and ideas that reflect our values, heritage and opinions, which constitute a line of communication at the heart of our culture and identity as Canadians.

The new measure does not restrict in any way the access of Canadians to foreign periodicals. Canada is and will remain one of the most open countries in the world in terms of foreign publications. At present, more than 80% of periodicals sold in Canadian newsstands are published abroad.

This new measure—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Saskatoon—Humboldt.

Firearms

[Jim Pankiw, Reform, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Mr. Speaker, last year the Canadian government sponsored four UN workshops on issues of firearms ownership. Canadian bureaucrats chaired those meetings. As an elected member of parliament representing Canadians, I requested observer status at the UN meetings. However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs repeatedly denied my access.

Those UN workshops culminated in a seminar in New York last week. The seminar was sponsored by Canada. Once again Canadian bureaucrats participated. Much to the surprise of the foreign affairs minister, I was present not as a Canadian but as an Australian.

Next on the UN agenda is a small arms convention.

Given that more UN meetings are planned for the future, the minister should reconsider his decision to handcuff Canadian MPs and grant observer status to those of us wanting to attend. Canadian MPs should not have to continue to go as Australians in order to monitor the activities of this government's bureaucrats.

Gemini Awards Gala

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Gemini Awards gala took place yesterday evening. It was the 13th edition of a great event that pays tribute to the very best people in television.

People were nominated in a number of categories, and the winners displayed all kinds of emotions ranging from joy and wonder to amazement, as is often the case in such circumstances.

Whether these people work in the field of information, whether they are producers or authors of the best documentaries, or whether they are the best performers, one thing is certain: the Canadian public is lucky to enjoy so much talent and originality.

I congratulate all those who contribute to this truly dynamic industry that television is.

Ultimately, it is Canadians who benefit from the talent and know-how of our authors and performers. We can never overemphasize their important contribution to the Canadian cultural identity.

Police And Peace Officers

[Peter Mancini, NDP, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the NDP and all Canadians to enthusiastically support the creation of a national memorial day for police and peace officers to occur the last Sunday of September of each year. This has been long overdue.

This will formalize a tradition observed for over two decades. It is clear that the families and colleagues of fallen officers count on all of us to pay tribute to the memories of police officers who are no longer with us. It is a time when we all pause to reflect on the contribution that police and peace officers make to our society and to honour their sacrifice.

A formal national memorial day will serve Canadians well and remind us that our safety often comes at the great sacrifice made by our peace officers. We are all indebted to police and peace officers for their hard work and sacrifice. They have paid with their lives for their dedication to their communities. They and their families deserve our gratitude and recognition.

International Aid

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval West, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for international co-operation announced on Friday that Canada would provide $600,000 in assistance to the victims of the hurricane that devastated the West Indies. The money will be distributed through CIDA.

This confirms once again Canadians' generosity when it comes to helping those in need, or those who are victims of catastrophes around the world.

The Canadian spirit of openness and co-operation is well-known throughout the world, and I feel lucky to live in a country where international assistance and co-operation are truly part of our traditions and values.

Fusiliers De Sherbrooke

[David Price, Progressive Conservative, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for nearly 20 years now, the Fusiliers de Sherbrooke have been connected with an important annual fundraising event for the Fondation du Centre universitaire de santé de l'Estrie. Over the years, this foundation has collected over $15,000 at this event, which is held at the Sherbrooke armoury.

This year, the foundation is being penalized by the totally unacceptable behaviour that took place at a regimental dinner held by the Fusiliers on September 12. Until the investigation into these incidents is completed, the armoury cannot be used for social events.

Let us look at this objectively. The community ought not to be punished because a few individuals acted in an unacceptable manner. I am asking the minister to look into this matter, which merits special attention, and to take the necessary steps to allow the foundation to hold its fundraising event as planned.

Agriculture

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over the years I have travelled around Peterborough riding in good economic times and bad. During this time I have seen firsthand the ongoing contributions of supply managed agriculture to the rural economy and way of life.

Milk, poultry and eggs provide a steady flow of funds which ripple into local economies. This allows rural areas which are a vital part of our country's national fabric to continue to thrive in today's changing marketplace.

Supply managed farms, their workers and families work in a very sophisticated competitive environment. As a result the quality of farms and farm workers in these sectors is extremely high.

Our rural areas have benefited from the presence of supply management. Consumers benefit from high quality products and stable, reasonable prices. It is easy to see why Canada's effective use of supply management in agriculture has been a model around the world.

Member For Sherbrooke

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the people of Sherbrooke have spoken. They have just sent a clear response to the Prime Minister of Canada, whom they recognize as responsible for the huge cuts in health throughout Canada. They have just told the federal government they will no longer put up with his arrogant attitude toward Quebec, whether the issue concerned is the Constitution or the millennium scholarships.

The people of Sherbrooke have figured out that electing a Bloc Quebecois MP was, first and foremost, the way to ensure that their interests would be defended. They have sent a clear message to the rest of Canada: the Liberal government is not an acceptable choice for them. More than ever in Quebec, the centralist and invasive governing style of the Prime Minister is not to our liking.

The people of Sherbrooke have had the opportunity to express aloud what a large majority of Quebeckers really think.

We wish our new colleague, the hon. member for Sherbrooke, a warm welcome among us.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

New Member

[The Speaker]

I have the honour to inform the House that the Clerk of the House has received from the Chief Electoral Officer a certificate of the election and return of the following member:

Mr. Serge Cardin, for the electoral district of Sherbrooke.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

Serge Cardin, member for the electoral district of Sherbrooke, introduced by Mr. Gilles Duceppe and Mr. Stéphane Bergeron.

Employment Insurance

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there is a law that says when the finance minister overtaxes you with employment insurance premiums he has to return that money. That is the law. It is a law that limits the tax grabbing power of the minister.

Now we hear that the minister wants to change that law. Will the finance minister tell Canadians here and now that he will not change that law, that he will not continue to rob Peter to pay Paul?