Debates of Oct. 29th, 1999

Agriculture

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

Mr. Speaker, it was a very simple question. Will you put trade barriers at the top of your priority in Seattle in order for our farmers and all of our trade people in Canada to benefit? The answer is either yes or no. It is simple.

[Bob Speller, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister for International Trade Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I know the member was involved in some of those consultations and he would know that the answer certainly is yes. The Government of Canada feels that these export subsidies that are being brought on by both the Americans and the Europeans are bad for the Canadian economy and are hurting Canadian farmers. We have put that at the top of our priority to get rid of.

[The Speaker]

I invite hon. members to please address the Chair in putting questions and giving the answers.

Council For Canadian Unity

[Maurice Dumas, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to the public accounts, the Council for Canadian Unity is still the darling of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

In 1998, it received $6.2 million in funding from the department. But, as everyone knows, the Council for Canadian Unity and its research centre are nothing more than propaganda tools, the purpose of which is to see that the Liberal Party of Canada gets re-elected.

Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage re-assess her priorities, stop diverting public funds to the Liberal party's campaign fund, and use taxpayers' money for something more acceptable than propaganda?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. member that the only criterion for membership in the Council for Canadian Unity is a belief in Canada.

Agriculture

[Ian Murray, Liberal, Lanark—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board.

Yesterday many of us met with a high level delegation from Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It laid the blame for the current farm income crisis on the subsidies and trade distorting export policies of the European Union and the United States of America.

What action has the minister taken to address this ongoing, unfair and devastating situation?

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

Mr. Speaker, for me this is a never ending crusade in concert with the Prime Minister, the Minister for International Trade, the Minister of Foreign and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

I pushed for our Canadian trade arguments in personal meetings with Secretary Glickman of the United States and Commissioner Fischler of the European Union. I have done the same with the Australians, the Argentinians, the Brazilians, the Chinese and at the OECD in Paris. I met with the U.S. wheat associates organization and with the trade representatives of 13 U.S. wheat producing states. Just last weekend I carried the same message when I met with the North American millers association in the United States. On this file we hammer on all fronts all the time.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, the privacy commissioner is giving a strong warning that the confidentiality of patients' records could be compromised by the Minister of Health in the new health information highway. If CSIS and the Pentagon cannot secure their databases, how can the minister secure the database of the health information highway?

How will the Minister of Health ensure that the public or the bureaucracy cannot gain access to a patient's private medical records?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

I am sure, Mr. Speaker, Health Canada has completed studies to ensure this is not happening. However, I will take the question for my colleague.

Genetically Modified Foods

[Reed Elley, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have seen the incredible lack of past government action on issues such as the tainted blood supply. Many Canadians with hepatitis C are now paying the high cost of government inaction with their very lives. Canadians are sceptical when the Liberal government sits back and takes a “Don't Worry, Be Happy” attitude.

Now Canadians want assurances that their food supply is safe. Why will the Minister of Health not bring the important issue of genetically modified foods before the Standing Committee on Health now?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, Health Canada is doing all the required studies on genetically modified products and the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food is holding the necessary consultations.

Homelessness

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the claim of the minister responsible for homelessness that everything is fine with emergency shelters shows that the minister is in complete denial about the housing crisis.

In her own back yard here in Ottawa and in her own home community of Moncton there is ample evidence of how desperate the situation is.

After 18 months, the homelessness minister seems helpless and hopeless. Who in the government is going to face the reality and deliver on the desperate need for emergency shelters and affordable housing now in Canada for Canadians who need it?

[Claudette Bradshaw, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, as I said this week to the hon. member, there are two phases to homelessness. One phase is the emergency phase, which is this winter, and what we are able to do for that. The people in my secretariat have been in touch with all the communities across the country because I am also very concerned about having enough beds for people this winter.

I have also been working on the long term sustainable part of homelessness in Canada and I will continue to work on it.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, concern is not enough. We have had eight months of tours and studies. I have talked to people in different communities across Canada who have told me that even though the minister has said that everything is fine, they say that is absolutely not the case.

I believe Canadians have a right to know what the government is prepared to do to meet the housing needs of Canadians and ensure that people are not freezing to death this winter in Canada. What is the government going to do?

[Claudette Bradshaw, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member had read the throne speech, she would have seen that the government said it would work on the root causes of homelessness, on shelters and on support services.

We are doing a lot of that now. We are putting $1.9 billion into social housing. We have added another $50 million to the RRAP, which does a lot of good work in the hon. member's riding. Health Canada and the Department of Human Resources are also putting money toward homelessness.

Banking

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, during the bank merger process, the Bank of Montreal and the Royal Bank made firm commitments on increasing the number of branches from 2,500 to 3,000 staffed branches. This week, the Bank of Montreal has announced that it will be closing 100 branches directly responding to the merger decision by the finance minister.

Having failed to use his power to defend the interests of Canadians, what will he do now to defend the interests of Canadians who are going to be losing their bank branches because of his bad decision?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, I take it, in referring to the bad decision, the hon. member supported those bank mergers. If that is the case, I want him to stand up and say so because he owes it to the whole House.

Let me tell the member what we have done. We have studied the issue. We have had hearings in our caucus, in the finance committee of the House and the Senate and the minister responded to the MacKay task force last June.

Closures which would impact on communities must be made with due notice so that the people can take steps to find alternative measures. We have also brought in measures, in response to this, which make it possible for the industry, which is a leader in Canada by any type—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Kings—Hants.

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the industry was a leader in Canada. Not only are Canadians losing their bank branches, they are also losing their investments.

Since the minister's bad decision on the bank mergers, Canadian bank shareholders have seen $7.2 billion less in shareholder value because of that decision. During that same period of time, U.S. bank shares have increased by 8%. Americans are getting richer and Canadians are getting poorer.

The fact is that 7.5 million Canadians own bank shares. Why has the Minister of Finance failed his first test of leadership in not defending the interests of 7.5 million Canadians?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, we had in place a very open process for reviewing the whole question of mergers. We responded in the MacKay task force in making those measures open and patent.

If the member does not like them, I expect him to come forward and talk about it. However, let us be clear that this is the first time that party has come out in favour of those bank mergers, ones which were rejected by the Competition Bureau.

Small Business

[Steve Mahoney, Liberal, Mississauga West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry.

People in my riding of Mississauga West, and indeed in all of Canada, are well aware of the importance of small business as an integral part of the Canadian economy.

Can the minister tell us specifically what the government is doing to ensure that Canada's small businesses are supported and indeed recognized for their important contribution to our economy?

[John Cannis, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, it has often been said that small business has been the engine that drives our economy. Over the past 10 years, 80% of the new jobs have been created by small business. Small business is also responsible for 80% of the private GDP.

I will give one specific example of how the government is supportive. Through its small business loans program, it has, since 1993, and most recently in Alberta, given out 3,905 in loans worth $430 million. The small business financing program in Ontario alone since 1993 has given—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Nanaimo—Alberni.

Fisheries

[Bill Gilmour, Reform, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

So much for the Liberal commercial, Mr. Speaker.

As a result of the Marshall decision, aboriginals on Vancouver Island now believe they have the right to fish commercially year round and plan to test the Douglas treaty with an illegal fishery as early as this weekend. Clearly the government has lost control of the situation.

Will the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans tell Canadians who is managing the fishery? Is it the aboriginals, is it the courts, or is it the government?

[Lawrence O'Brien, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, it is very clear who is managing the fisheries of Canada. It is the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and it will continue to be.