House of Commons Hansard #11 of the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was treaty.
Stéphane Bergeron Bloc Verchères, QC
Mr. Speaker, I repeat, department employees admit the existence of questionable practices at Telefilm Canada, while the minister is refusing to give any answers here to questions from the opposition.
Since Laurier Lapierre, chairman of the board of Telefilm Canada, appears to be implicated in this, does the minister not feel that she ought to ask Mr. LaPierre to step aside temporarily, in the name of ethics, until the matter has been clarified?
Sheila Copps LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, for about a week now, I think, the hon. member opposite has been making allegations against CINAR and the members of Telefilm Canada. I believe that he ought to follow the lead of his leader in Quebec City, who said that these questions required reflection and that the RCMP needed to be left alone to do what has to be done.
Dave Chatters Reform Athabasca, AB
Mr. Speaker, natives have now resumed logging on provincial crown land based on the Marshall decision.
Would the minister of Indian affairs please clarify for the House whether, in his opinion, the Marshall decision gives aboriginals the right to log on crown land, yes or no?
Aboriginal AffairsOral Question Period
October 26th, 1999 / 2:35 p.m.
Kenora—Rainy River Ontario
Liberal
Bob Nault LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, we are now in the process of negotiating with the provincial governments and the first nations people. Because of the Marshall decision, we will define during the negotiations exactly what those aboriginal rights are.
Dave Chatters Reform Athabasca, AB
Mr. Speaker, that hardly constituted an answer to my question.
Section 92(a) of the Canadian constitution clearly gives provincial ownership and rights to manage natural resources. In the minister's opinion, which takes precedence: the constitutional right of the provinces, or a 239 year old numbered treaty that was struck before Canada even existed?
Bob Nault LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, if he would read the constitution he would know that provincial governments and federal governments both have a fiduciary responsibility to first nations people.
Pierre Brien Bloc Témiscamingue, QC
Mr. Speaker, if we listen to the Minister of Industry, it is clear that the Canadian government will not be coming to the assistance of professional sports clubs. But yesterday the Secretary of State for Amateur Sport opened the door to indirect assistance.
My question is for the Minister of Industry. How does the minister explain the remarks of the Secretary of State for Amateur Sport, who continues to say that the government will provide indirect assistance for professional sports clubs? Whom are we to believe, the Minister of Industry or the Secretary of State for Amateur Sport?
John Manley LiberalMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, National Hockey League teams are facing a problem. It is a problem on which we have spent a great deal of time. We have held talks with other levels of government. I know that all members are concerned about this problem, but we do not yet have a solution.
Pat O'Brien Liberal London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, during the past months a frustrating stalemate has stalled the peace process in Northern Ireland. Indeed, it threatens to destroy it and the peace process there is at a critical stage right now.
Would the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell the House what actions the Government of Canada has taken to help ensure that the peace process will ultimately be successful?
Lloyd Axworthy LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, the most important initiative was the visit that the Prime Minister took to Northern Ireland this last summer, where he lent his presence and the broad support of Canada behind the process. At the same time, he announced a $1 million contribution to the International Fund for Ireland which is designed to help reconciliation in that country.
In addition, we have General de Chastelain working on the decommissioning environment. We have Professor Shearing working on the Patten Commission and Professor Hoyt working on the inquiry into bloody Sunday. These are three very distinguished Canadians who are actively involved in trying to bring together the two sides in that process.
In this case, Canada is very much showing that we deeply desire peace in Northern Ireland.
Val Meredith Reform South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC
Mr. Speaker, for months the government has said that it would rely on the private sector for a solution to Canada's airline industry problem. Now we understand that the transport minister will decide on what is an acceptable deal.
Will the minister tell Canadians exactly what government policies and current laws he will change to accommodate either of the two offers before him?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, we have always said that it was up to the private sector to decide on business arrangements that were acceptable to them. Once a proposition is decided on by the shareholders of Air Canada and Canadian Airlines, it will have to be submitted to the government for approval to see whether or not it meets the conditions that I have outlined a number of times.
I hope the hon. member can wait, but in a few minutes I will be giving more information to her and will certainly entertain questions in a more detailed fashion.
Val Meredith Reform South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC
Mr. Speaker, Canadians watch question period more than they watch a committee meeting. I would like to know if the minister, who has had both the Onex proposal and the Air Canada proposal before him for a week and has had a chance to look at them, knows whether these deals meet his requirements.
Is the minister prepared to support or reject either one of the two offers that have been placed before him?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member may be right that more Canadians watch question period than committees. I think I should announce the fact that the committee proceedings will be carried live, in both languages, at 3.30 p.m. eastern time.
Dick Proctor NDP Palliser, SK
Mr. Speaker, responding to the member for Halifax last week, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food referred to changes in crop insurance safety nets, NISA, AIDA and undoubtedly other four letter acronyms. What he failed to inform the House was whether or not this new-found federal flexibility would actually result in any new money, particularly for hard-pressed, cash-strapped prairie farmers. The farmers want a straightforward answer.
Could the minister tell the House whether there will be any new money for any of these programs?
Lyle Vanclief LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Speaker, in the debate in the House yesterday I informed the House that we are continually looking for other ways, new ways and continuing ways to support Canadian farmers.
The government has shown that it has done that in the past and will continue to support the farmers in every way we possibly can as resources become available in the future.
Dick Proctor NDP Palliser, SK
Mr. Speaker, if the minister needs a new acronym to justify the expenditure may I suggest the Canadian advancement for Saskatchewan husbandry, otherwise known as the cash program.
The premiers of Manitoba and Saskatchewan will be meeting with cabinet ministers later this week. Farmers on the verge of desperation want to know whether the government is going to extend a helping hand. With a projected federal surplus, farmers know the way is there. What they do not know is if the will is there.
Once again I ask the minister if there is any willingness on his part to assist in this endeavour?
Lyle Vanclief LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Speaker, we have clearly shown our willingness and we have shown the way. We put in place a program, not even a year ago, that is putting over $900 million, along with $600 million from the provincial government, into the hands of farmers.
If we look at the election platform of the hon. member's party, in 1997 it said that the additional money that it would put forward to the ministry of agriculture and to the agricultural industry in Canada was $11 million. That is a long way from $900 million.
Gilles Bernier Progressive Conservative Tobique—Mactaquac, NB
Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for homelessness secretly hired 18 new staff members in May at a cost of over $1 million. Neither the minister nor her million dollar staff have produced anything to help the homeless. A million dollars could have provided shelter for 30,000 homeless Canadians. Is it more important to the minister to spend $1 million on staff or to help provide shelter for 30,000 Canadians?
Claudette Bradshaw LiberalMinister of Labour
Mr. Speaker, I inform the House that the minister responsible for the co-ordination of homelessness has hired one staff person. All other staff members were sent to me on loan because they were experts in this field.
Gilles Bernier Progressive Conservative Tobique—Mactaquac, NB
Mr. Speaker, if it is on loan it is still costing $1 million. The minister's staff includes three correspondence assistants even though she already had six as the Minister of Labour and six program assistants even though she has no programs to administer.
Will the minister put her million dollar staff to work producing a homeless strategy, or will she let thousands of Canadians freeze on the streets again this winter?
Claudette Bradshaw LiberalMinister of Labour
Mr. Speaker, I hired one staff person. All the other staff was given to me on loan.
The staff members that were given to me on loan have all the reports that were written on homelessness. They have also have all the recommendations I have received this summer from communities and are putting those recommendations in place.
I assure the House that they have taken their work very seriously. We are concerned about what is happening with the homelessness situation and we will work on it.
Sarkis Assadourian Liberal Brampton Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.
Money laundering, corruption and other criminal activities pose a serious threat to the stability of the emerging democracy in the Soviet Union and contribute to organized criminal activities in Canada.
In light of the recent G-8 meeting in Russia, would the minister explain to the House what steps the government is taking to control the activities of multinational criminal organizations?
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member raises a very important issue. Let me reassure the House that the government is committed to the fight against transnational organized crime both at home and abroad.
For example, in June 1997 the government amended the criminal code to ensure that we could investigate and prosecute those involved in organized criminal activities. Earlier this year the government reformed the extradition act to expedite the extradition of alleged criminals from this country. In addition, my colleague, the Minister of Finance, will reintroduce in coming weeks Bill C-81 to combat money laundering.
Rahim Jaffer Reform Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Speaker, we are only a week away from the sixth conference on the Kyoto agreement, and Canadians still do not know how the government plans to meet the UN imposed emission targets. The only thing Canadians have heard from the government on global warming is that it does not like sport utility vehicles or flatulent livestock.
Does the minister plan to break the promise made by the Prime Minister that there will be no new taxes to meet his Kyoto targets?