Debates of Oct. 21st, 1999

Air Transportation

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

Mr. Speaker, on the one hand the Minister of Transport says he wants to introduce a bill to change the legislative framework, while on the other the Prime Minister is saying that there must not be any change because this is solely up to the shareholders of Air Canada. Is there not a contradiction here?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, this has to be done in stages. There is a process involving the shareholders of Air Canada, then one involving the government and the members of this House. Obviously, the Prime Minister and I agree completely with this process. As I said, the process is good for the Canadian public, because it will bring about the restructuring of this industry.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jim Gouk, Reform, West Kootenay—Okanagan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of British Columbia cut off debate on the Nisga'a treaty before many of the provisions were even debated.

Today the federal minister stated that he too plans to cut off debate if he does not feel that he likes the tone. There is democracy is action.

Will the Government of Canada commit to a more democratic process and assure the House and concerned British Columbians that full debate will be allowed and that time allocation and closure will not cut off debate on this critical subject?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the bill will soon be called for second reading debate. It will be followed by committee stage consideration. There will be report stage and third reading. The debate will continue according to the rules. Obviously the rules include a means of coming to an end at one stage of debate and moving to the next. Together, we in the House will decide if those stages are required. A lot depends on how the debate goes.

Let us all take part in the debate in a meaningful way and hopefully we will reach prompt decisions that will be in the interests of the Nisga'a people, the people of British Columbia and all of Canada.

[Jim Gouk, Reform, West Kootenay—Okanagan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in other words, the government intends to cut off fair debate and deny the public the right to hear what is going on in the treaty.

The Liberals spent a fortune of taxpayers' money on polling and then ignored the results. Extensive polling in British Columbia indicated widespread concern over the Nisga'a treaty as it is written.

Will the government commit to holding hearings in British Columbia, as part of this so-called democratic process, to enable all British Columbians to voice their concern, a right that was requested by the B.C. Liberal Party and denied by the NDP government?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that there have been committee hearings in British Columbia. When the bill gets to the standing committee, it will be up to the committee to make the decision on future travel.

If there are decisions on time allocation, the decisions will come into place because there will be a majority vote for them by the House according to our rules.

Employment Insurance

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the reform of EI with respect to parental leave announced in the throne speech will not benefit all parents, far from it. Women have great difficulty qualifying because of the number of hours of work required.

My question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development. Will the minister admit that the problem of qualifying must be addressed first, so as to give parents access to benefits and, to that end, will she agree to lower the number of hours required to qualify for parental leave from 700 to 300?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, Quebecers are very happy with the announcement we made last week. The president of the Fédération des femmes du Québec told us that, when she heard the announcement, she told herself that it was certainly a step in the right direction.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a step in the right direction, but one that will miss its target.

Will the minister finally admit that there are several problems with her parental leave proposal that must be sorted out, including the number of hours needed by women to qualify, which must be lowered to 300 from 700; and the level of benefits which, at 55% of income, is not enough to meet the needs of families.

I ask her in all sincerity whether she is going to solve these two problems.

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, without question, the undertaking of the government is extremely significant. In our view, it will change the whole context of Canadian society. The government is committed to families and we are proving it.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Indian affairs minister has publicly stated that accountability is the top priority for his portfolio.

I have been to hundreds of reserves across the country. I know how grassroots natives define accountability. How does the minister define accountability? You guys don't even know the meaning of it.

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

Mr. Speaker, accountability is a duly elected chief and council on reserve who are elected by their constituents.

[An hon. member]

How many reserves have you been to, Bob?

[Bob Nault, Liberal, Kenora—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have 51 first nations and I know I have been to all of them, contrary to some of these guys.

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it certainly does not tell the grassroots people much with an answer like that.

One thing is for certain, I am sure we could count on one hand, if at all, the number of times the word “accountability” is mentioned in the Nisga'a agreement. The money will not be given to all Nisga'a people. It will be given to a handful who may or may not share the benefits equally.

Could the minister please explain how placing this land and money in the hands of a few will benefit the greater population?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is why the members un-united alternative across the way is just not getting it.

Let me answer the question for them. The fact remains that the assumption—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. We have heard the question and now I would like to hear the answer. The hon. minister of Indian affairs.

[Bob Nault, Liberal, Kenora—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is below this place to try to answer a question that suggests that aboriginal people somehow are not accountable when they are elected by their own peers. That is the most disgusting comment I have heard from that member for almost a week.

Pay Equity

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since the federal court's pay equity ruling was announced, there has been a general call for the government to implement it without delay. Even members of the Liberal caucus are beginning to feel ashamed of the minister's attitude in this affair.

The message seems clear to me. When does the minister intend to take action?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

In a few days, Mr. Speaker.

Foreign Affairs

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Since the conclusion of the conflict in Serbia, we have witnessed attempts by many Serbs to build a democratic society. We have witnessed a pro-democracy rally, a budding opposition movement and many attempts to establish a free press.

What is Canada doing to encourage democratic development in Serbia?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, just this week we announced that we will reopen the embassy in Belgrade at the level of chargé d'affaires, along with the resources of the Canada fund, specifically to promote democracy and reform and to establish links with the pro-democratic movement in Serbia. It will also give us an opportunity to maintain effective links with the Canadian presence in Kosovo that is working on peacekeeping and humanitarian matters.

This is one clear indication of our commitment to try to promote democratic reform in that country.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is bad enough that the Nisga'a agreement entrenches taxation without representation. It is incredible that it gives aboriginal women fewer rights than non-aboriginal women. It is mind-boggling that there are 50 sidebar agreements yet to be negotiated. It is shameful that there are overlapping land claims on this same area. It is pitiful that British Columbians have never been allowed to affirm this agreement in a referendum. It is incomprehensible that the minister would stand at a press conference and say that he looks forward to limiting the debate here in the House.

Why has the government decided that democracy also has to be a victim of the Nisga'a agreement?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, democracy will be reflected by what goes on in the House because we will debate the bill on second reading. There will be hearings on it in committee. There will be debate on report stage and on third reading. This is democracy in action.