Debates of Oct. 28th, 1999

Agriculture

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, it is just the opposite. The Americans are buying Canadian wheat and the hon. member knows that very well. They are buying it in very large quantities because of the quality of the wheat. They are saying that they are prepared to pay more for Canadian wheat than they are for American wheat.

I remind the hon. member again that this government put $900 million on the table when a year ago his party said only $276 million was needed. That is over three times what he and his party said they would do.

Homelessness

[Gilles Bernier, Progressive Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government sent the city of Toronto a bill for $250,000 to supply emergency shelter for Toronto's homeless.

The minister responsible for homelessness says that she is in charge of co-ordinating the efforts of her government with the municipalities and the provinces. Is it the minister's policy for the Liberal government to make money off the backs of homeless people?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, absolutely not. We make our armouries available, as in the case the hon. member refers to, in emergency cases.

What the city of Toronto asked for was something over and above the normal policy that we provide across the country. There has been an agreement reached with the city of Toronto which it is quite happy with and we are quite happy with. We have provided for extra use of our armoury to help the homeless in Toronto which is what we want to do.

Year 2000 Challenge

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, small business is one of Canada's most important areas of economic activity consisting of more than 2.5 million businesses and accounting for more than 80% of all new jobs created in the past 10 years.

With only 64 days until December 31, can the Minister of Industry inform the House what plans have been made to ensure that small business has the tools required to meet the year 2000 challenge?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report to the House that Canada is among the world leaders in year 2000 readiness. That is thanks in no small measure to the tireless work of members from all parties on the industry committee. They have worked hard not only to understand this problem and raise awareness of it, but also to recommend solutions.

A number of programs and initiatives have been taken to help small business. Can2K is helping small business as well as volunteer organizations and municipalities in rural and remote areas. Special tax relief has been offered by the Minister of Finance to enable small business to be Y2K ready. There is also support from the student connections program.

Justice

[Leon Benoit, Reform, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday a British judge ordered seven jail terms ranging between seven and fourteen years for the crime of people smuggling which has been likened to the new day slave trade.

Since 1995 out of 12 convictions for the crime of people smuggling in Canada, not one jail term was handed out. I repeat that of the 12 convicted of people smuggling, not one of them was sentenced to a single day in jail.

England got tough. The United States got tough. Australia got tough. This government by its lack of action has made Canada a primary target for people smugglers. Why?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to put out to the member and to all Canadians that Canada has among the world's toughest legislation to deal with people smuggling, with up to half a million dollars in fines and up to 10 years in jail. It is up to the judges to determine what sentences are appropriate.

Having said that we have among the toughest legislation, we are also proposing to increase those fines and jail terms to send a message to our courts that we will not tolerate people smuggling. We want those individuals who are found guilty to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and for the courts to do their part as well.

Audiovisual Productions

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Jeannine Basile, of Telefilm Canada, admitted in a letter she wrote me yesterday that existing control systems had enabled Telefilm Canada to uncover “a few cases of overbilling”, and that companies that were “largely bogus (firms) could have existed at the time when programs to deduct depreciation costs were still around”.

My question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Will the minister not admit that it is unacceptable from a public administration standpoint that Telefilm Canada did not react more quickly and more vigorously to cases of overbilling and to the existence of bogus companies?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the member is again making allegations. I urge him once again to pass on all his allegations to the RCMP, as his boss in the Quebec City head office has asked him to do.

Agriculture

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the right hon. Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister has said that he takes every opportunity to tell the Europeans and the Americans that they are wrong, and we welcome that. The problem is that in the meantime, Canadians cannot afford to be dead right about this. Canadian farmers cannot be expected to pay the price for Canada being dead right about this.

Is the Prime Minister prepared to consider going beyond the $900 million? That may be what it takes in order to save the family farm and make sure farmers do not have to sacrifice themselves until such time as we get the EU and the Americans in line on this.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of agriculture has been working with the ministers of agriculture from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The programs are very often shared by the federal and provincial governments on a 60:40 basis. We are working on ways to improve what we can do with the money available at the federal and provincial levels.

Veterans Affairs

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

Mr. Speaker, decades of financial mismanagement of pension benefits of thousands of foreign disabled veterans by veterans affairs has finally been exposed.

Witness the case of Joseph Authorson, a World War II vet unable to manage his pension who trusted the government to properly administer his finances. He and potentially thousands of veterans have been denied millions of dollars in interest owed to them.

The Department of Justice is notorious for lengthy and protracted lawsuits. Is the minister prepared to settle this issue quickly, or will she follow the usual path of denial and delay?

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

Mr. Speaker, this matter is presently before the courts, but I can inform the hon. gentleman of this. In the bill by the Tories that went through this Chamber in 1990, which allowed interest payments to be paid from 1990 on, there was a clause that made it illegal for the government to pay retroactively.

Presence In Gallery

[The Speaker]

I draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of a number of visitors. It is not very often that we get two premiers and other members of their cabinets and houses with us. However, I would like to introduce the Honourable Roy Romanow, Premier of the Province of Saskatchewan, and the Honourable Gary Doer, Premier of the Province of Manitoba.

With them in our gallery are our fellow Canadians from the province of Saskatchewan: the Honourable Jim Melenchuk, Minister of Education; the Honourable Dwain Lingenfelter, Deputy Premier and Minister of Agriculture; the Honourable Maynard Sonntag, Minister of Highways; the Honourable Clay Serby, Minister of Municipal Affairs; the Honourable Jack Hillson, Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs; and we have with us from the province of Manitoba the Honourable Rosann Wowchuk, Minister of Agriculture. We also have with us a former colleague of ours, Elwin Hermanson, who is Leader of the Opposition.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

Armenian Parliament

[The Speaker]

Yesterday in Armenia there was a great tragedy where we now know that the Prime Minister of Armenia, the Speaker, two Deputy Speakers and some members of parliament were assassinated.

The House will now hear statements in tribute from the different parties with regard to this tragedy that has overtaken all of us in the world.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, all parliamentarians in the world could not believe what happened in Armenia yesterday. The Prime Minister, the Speaker of the House, the Deputy Speakers, ministers and members were brutally assassinated while they were exercising their duty on behalf of the people of that troubled land.

We are all very shocked. We want to say very strongly that violence is absolutely unacceptable and is the last way that problems can be solved.

For us to see what happened to the Prime Minister and the others in that country is completely unacceptable. We are very sad and we are praying for their families and for the people of Armenia that the situation will come back to normal.

I also want to pay tribute to the president of that country, which is currently undergoing an incredible crisis, for the calm that he displayed, for negotiating to put an end to the murderers' attack, and for promising them a fair trial.

On behalf of the Parliament of Canada and all Canadians, I wish to offer to Armenia, to its leaders and to the grieving families our most sincere condolences.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs will be there on Saturday to represent Canada. He will be accompanied by a member of this House who is of Armenian origin, the hon. member for Brampton-Centre. They will fly there in a few hours to represent us at the funerals. Let us hope that a tragedy of such magnitude will never happen again in any democracy in the world.

[Keith Martin, Reform, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my colleagues in the Reform Party I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the families of Armenian Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian, Speaker Karen Demirchian, and the five other politicians who were assassinated yesterday in their parliament.

To the families there is nothing we can say or do to bring back their loved ones, but our prayers and deepest sympathies are with them.

To the people who committed these cowardly acts, each one of us here and all Canadians deplore with every bone in their bodies what they have done.

To the people whose concerns these murderers were supposed to be representing, we can only urge them to pursue their needs through peaceful means for murder will not produce peace, killing will not build reconciliation and violence will not secure a common future.

The Caucasus is an area of great concern. It is an area of great instability. Members of the Reform Party would hope that the people there who have deep concerns today would pursue them with peace in their hearts, peace in their actions, and avoid the bullet and violence.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Armenian people were oppressed during centuries. They were the victim of genocide early in this century and it was only recently that they gained freedom and built a country.

Just a few years ago Armenia was hit by a terrible earthquake. Yesterday it was struck by another calamity. The Prime Minister of Armenia and several parliamentarians were killed while carrying out their parliamentary duties.

The Bloc Quebecois offers its most sincere condolences to the families of the Armenian prime minister and his colleagues, and hopes that they will find the courage to overcome this terrible ordeal. We also share the sadness of the Armenian people following this tragedy, which will mark their history.

The Bloc Quebecois also wants to express its dismay at such brutal acts, which have no place in a democracy. We all remember that a similar event occurred in Quebec's national assembly about 15 years ago.

Now that the hostages have been released, we hope that the murderers will be brought to justice and that democracy will prevail as quickly as possible in that country, for the benefit of all Armenians.

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the federal NDP caucus and our leader I join with the Prime Minister in deploring the events that took place in the Armenian parliament yesterday, in expressing our condolences to the families of those who were assassinated and to the people of Armenia, and in saying that I think it particularly reprehensible that this kind of thing should have happened in a parliament.

For me, and I am sure for parliamentarians around the world, parliament is the antithesis of violence. It may be a place where we exchange views in a spirited way, but it is a place where we commit ourselves to working our differences out in a non-violent way by talking to each other and by observing the rule of law. For this kind of thing to happen inside a parliament is particularly deplorable.

I hope it rallies people all around the world to reflect on the value of democracy, on the value of parliament, and just how wrong was what happened in Armenia the other day.

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians were shocked and saddened yesterday when we heard of the terrorism and murder that had taken the lives of the Prime Minister, the Speaker and members of the Armenian assembly. I know that everyone in the House abhors and condemns what has taken place.

On behalf of the Right Hon. Joe Clark and the Conservative Party of Canada, we also offer our sympathy to the families of those whose lives were taken and to the people of Armenia whose history has been scarred with far too much violence and strife over the years.

In circumstances such as these we can only reflect on the fragility and sanctity of human life and pray that the people of Armenia will soon know better days and experience calm in the aftermath of this horror.

We offer our condolences and our solidarity to all Armenians in this difficult time and pray for peace and justice in that country and around the world.

[The Speaker]

As a sign of respect for our fellow parliamentarians who fell before the bullets in Armenia, I ask members to join me in standing for one minute of silence.

Points Of Order

[Gordon Earle, NDP, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I raise a point of order about a very grave matter, indeed. Racism has no place in the House, as I am sure you will agree, Mr. Speaker.

During debate last night I made the comment, and I quote “we see that one has been in chains for years and years”. One MP from the Reform Party benches immediately said “Like him”, referring to me. The official record of the House, Hansard , has recorded those words forever.

Racism is no laughing matter. Certainly the suffering of black slaves in chains is a terrible thing. I raise this point of order not only as a black MP but on behalf of the dignity of the House and all Canadians fighting racism.

Disreputable and unparliamentary language has no place in the House. As we set an example for children and families throughout the country, racism can neither be overlooked or condoned, especially within the House of Commons.

I call on the MP who said those words to set a positive example for our youth and for all of us. I call on the MP to have the conscience and fortitude to admit his words, withdraw his comments and set an example by apologizing to people of colour, to his colleagues in the House, and to all Canadians.

Finally, through this we can move forward and use this as a example of how to fight racism in our workplace. I hope through this point of order to have some good come out of something very bad.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Halifax West has not named another member of parliament so I find I am a bit at a loss to have someone withdraw unless I know who the hon. member is referring to. Does the hon. member have a name that I can address so this person can tell us what happened?

[Gordon Earle, NDP, Halifax West, NS]

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, I was in the midst of a very important speech and did not look at the member who said it. I know it was a Reform member. The fact that it is recorded means that the individual doing the recording must know who this person is. More importantly, I believe the member himself knows who he is and what he said and I would hope that he, in good conscience, would come forward, admit and apologize.