Debates of Oct. 21st, 1999

Aboriginal Affairs

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, there will also be closure and time allocation, I am sure. After two weeks of work, the minister has quite a track record. He decrees that parliament will not be allowed to fully debate the Nisga'a agreement. He accuses British Columbians of being unable to understand this agreement. He refuses to allow amendments that will protect aboriginal women. He forces one group of Canadians against another. He intrudes into provincial jurisdiction and gives away mineral and timber rights. He destroys the economic prospects on both coasts.

That is not bad for two weeks' work. He now has divisiveness down pat. What does he hope to accomplish in his second and third weeks in office?

[Bob Nault, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to accomplish keeping the Reform alive but it is not doing a very good job of helping me.

Let me make one point that the hon. member is again suggesting. We have now gone as far as to brief all major media, so they will not get away with this in the House any more.

The fact remains that aboriginal women are represented in the legislation through provincial legislation and will have their rights protected. Now the hon. member should stand in his place to apologize for making statements that are not factually correct.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, here is a factually correct statement. Residents and local governments across Ontario, including Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and Nepean, have all understandably voiced objections to the federal government's plan to ship MOx fuel containing weapons grade plutonium through their communities. It is unacceptable that such a potentially hazardous scheme is being undertaken without the support of the public or indeed parliament.

Why will the government not address the legitimate safety and environmental concerns of Canadians and put an end to the project?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, we both have and are addressing those concerns. We have held public consultations with all the local officials. We have held public open houses to provide complete information. We have provided a public comment period to the Department of Transport, which ended a week or so ago.

Now the Department of Transport will take all that information into account before it makes a final decision on whether all the laws are being properly respected to ensure that the public interest is fully protected.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister may want to have a public discussion with Ontario Power because it appears today that Ontario Power and the province of Ontario oppose the federal government's plan to burn MOx in Ontario nuclear reactors.

Ontario Power is not even studying the option. Given that the main purpose and rationale for the federal government's plan was to import it for use in Ontario, something Ontario does not even want, why is the government still considering this action?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, again the hon. member forgets that this is very much a foreign policy initiative in the interest of promoting world peace and reducing the threat of nuclear weapons.

We have said we are prepared to consider the principle and to conduct the tests. We are not committed to anything beyond the testing. The testing is covered under existing regulatory authority. If there is ever to be any further commercial activity, it would be subject to a full environmental health and safety review. The proponents would need to negotiate a commercial contract with the utility in Canada that was prepared to undertake the activity, and that would be a decision to be taken by the utility.

Air Transportation

[André Bachand, Progressive Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the air transportation issue, is it true that the Minister of Transport wants to appropriate more power, at the expense of the Competition Bureau, to ensure that he is the one and the only one to decide whether to accept or reject any proposal?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat that we have section 47 of the Canadian Transportation Act in place. It provides for a certain process that allows the Competition Bureau to give its advice. That advice will be tabled very shortly and will help us in the restructuring of the airline industry.

[André Bachand, Progressive Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister will probably wait until next Tuesday before announcing, probably with great fanfare, something extraordinary.

However, in the meantime, and out of respect for parliament, can the minister assure all parliamentarians that his department and his government will not go against any ruling made by the Canadian Competition Bureau in the air transportation issue, yes or no?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, the bureau's advice will be very helpful in dealing with this very difficult file.

As for disrespecting parliament, what more respect can one have than to go to committee where there can be hours of questioning and debate and looking into all the details rather than deal with things in a cursory way in the House of Commons?

Grain

[John Harvard, Liberal, Charleswood—Assiniboine, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister responsible for the wheat board.

Well over 70% of the grain produced in western Canada is exported out of the country. Therefore the next round of WTO negotiations beginning in Seattle next month raises several critical issues ranging from those damaging export subsidies to support for the Canadian Wheat Board.

What is the minister doing to ensure that farmers will gain maximum benefits from the international marketplace?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada-U.S. grain trade is bedevilled by far too many myths and sterile debates about marketing ideologies.

I have met with the U.S. wheat associates organization and with the representatives of 13 American wheat producing states. This weekend I will be meeting with most of the major U.S. grain milling companies.

The message is always consistent. We are each other's best customers. We have a huge amount in common. Let us not batter away at each other. Instead, let us make common cause against the subsidies, the distortions and the unfair market access rules of the European Union which are the most pernicious source of damage to both Canadian and American farmers and the world's grain trade.

Merchant Navy Veterans

[Peter Goldring, Reform, Edmonton East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, after 54 years of denial of equality of opportunity for our merchant navy veterans, a Liberal committee offers an empty handshake and a promise that the veterans will be studied by college kids.

Who would seriously believe that this would be fair? The minister must do more to resolve the issue. We simply cannot have this bitterness taken to the graves of our veterans.

Will the minister confirm that he will provide these veterans with a more respectful and just settlement?

[George Baker, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)]

Mr. Speaker, I have met with four organizations concerning the question of the merchant navy.

I consulted four groups on this issue, and they all support the Liberal government's actions.

Bill C-6

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterdaty two Quebec ministers wrote the Minister of Industry to ask for a meeting on the legislative duplication the minister is preparing to create with passage of his Bill C-6 on the protection of personal information.

Does the minister intend to agree to meet with the Quebec ministers, and consequently to suspend consideration of the bill in this House until such time as that meeting has taken place?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue and Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, I think that the bill introduced by my colleague the Minister of Industry is necessary in this age of e-commerce and the Internet.

I would like to point out that my colleague has already responded to numerous requests from the Government of Quebec precisely in order to avoid any form of duplication and to ensure that, when the legislation is passed, it will respect the Government of Quebec's legislation.

I believe that the two governments can work together in order to serve the interests of the entire population well, and to protect their privacy.

National Defence

[Gordon Earle, NDP, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the government may be party to a conspiracy to cover up use of toxic and lethal depleted uranium in Kosovo.

The chair of the UN-Balkans environmental task force says NATO is refusing to co-operate with its investigation into DU use which has been linked to stillbirths, children born with defects, childhood leukaemia and other cancers, and the gulf war syndrome.

Is the minister aware of this NATO coverup and will he commit to Canadians that he will do everything in his power to ensure NATO fully complies with the investigation into depleted uranium use in Kosovo?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have not used depleted uranium. Our CF-18s did not use depleted uranium when they were involved in Kosovo.

We have taken steps to ensure the safety of our troops in that area. They are given personal radioactivity dosimeters and other steps are taken to ensure that their safety and health are looked after.

At the same time scientific studies to this point have not indicated that depleted uranium and illnesses including cancer are in fact related.

Fisheries

[Mark Muise, Progressive Conservative, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans says that he is sensitive to interest of those who rely on the fishery for their livelihood and that he has the authority to regulate the fishery.

How long will the minister wait before implementing regulations that would have native and non-native fishers fishing at the same time?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, we are regulating the fishery at this time. Under the aboriginal fishing strategy we do have native fishing at times, when the commercial fisheries are not in place, through their food fisheries. We have those but we have a regular fishery.

There is one thing I want to make clear on the treaty right, that the long term solution in terms of the treaty right will not be at the expense of traditional commercial fishermen or their families. I want to make that clear. This is a long term solution that we all have to work with.

National Defence

[Mac Harb, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, recently there was a report out of the United States suggesting that an antidote given to protect our troops in the gulf war is actually the cause of their ailments.

Is the Minister of National Defence aware of the report and, if he is, what is his department doing about it?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, yes, we are aware of the report. It is being extensively studied at the moment. While the report from the Rand Corporation is inconclusive, it does raise some very important questions with respect to illness during the gulf war. We are having our consultant, Goss Gilroy, also look at the matter and update the report to us with respect to the matter.

What is most important is that we look after the health and welfare of our troops. We have established post-deployment clinics, gulf war clinics, 1-800 numbers, and a centre for the injured and the sick. These are all important matters in looking after our troops.

Fisheries

[Mike Scott, Reform, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, earlier in question period the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans lamented that Reform does not support his aboriginal policies.

We have had 132 years of aboriginal policies from the federal government and it has been a litany of failure. Who has been the governing party for most of the last 132 years? The Liberal of Party of Canada. Why should anybody trust it to get it right now when it has got it wrong so much in the past?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are proud of what they have done to build Canada over the last 132 years. If the Reform Party continues the way it has been, it will help the Liberals to be in power for the next 132 years.

Plutonium Imports

[Jocelyne Girard-Bujold, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at the present time, Transport Canada is studying plans filed with it by Atomic Energy Canada for importing plutonium from American and Russian nuclear weapons into Canada.

My question is for the Minister of the Environment. How can it be that the government is already at the stage of deciding how to ship the plutonium when there has been no public debate on the very principle of importing it?