Debates of Nov. 16th, 1999

Canadian Security Intelligence Service

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I did not inform them at all.

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

Mr. Speaker, I asked whether he informed the Prime Minister. The solicitor general said he did not. How is it then that the Prime Minister commented that the matter was not all that serious?

There is a real problem here. I am giving the solicitor general a chance to rethink his answer. Did he inform the Office of the Prime Minister, yes or no? If he did not, on what did the Prime Minister base his remarks?

I hope they will get their act together, because there is going to be a need for a new solicitor general very soon.

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I do not believe I will respond for the Prime Minister. I did respond to your first question previously.

[The Speaker]

I remind hon. members to please address the Chair.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

[Carmen Provenzano, Liberal, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Natural Resources.

The fifth conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change was held recently in Bonn, Germany. Would the Minister of Natural Resources outline what steps are being taken within Canada to reduce domestic emissions of greenhouse gases pursuant to Canada's international commitment under the Kyoto protocol.

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

Mr. Speaker, for the long term we are working with 16 different issue tables involving 450 Canadian experts in a very open, inclusive and transparent way with the provinces and other levels of government to develop the long term strategy.

In the meantime, we have the climate change action fund. I am pleased to confirm that the Minister of the Environment and I announced this morning an incremental amount of funding of $9.6 million from the climate change action fund supporting 59 different projects across the country in public education, science impacts and adaptation, and in technology measures to make sure that Canada performs well in respect of its climate change commitments.

Correctional Service Canada

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, according to my sources, there are currently 753 offenders unlawfully at large in Canada. That is about 5% of the prison population.

Would the solicitor general please explain why there are almost 1,000 serious offenders on the lam in the country?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure my hon. colleague that when Correctional Service Canada has an offender escape from an institution it contacts the RCMP, co-operates with the RCMP and tries to apprehend the individual as fast as possible.

Citizenship

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the daily Le Devoir reported that Ottawa had developed and implemented a far-reaching plan of action in preparation for the last referendum in Quebec.

To that end, the number of people who were granted Canadian citizenship increased from 24,000 in 1993 to 44,000 in 1995, the year the referendum was held. Since then, their numbers have been dropping consistently.

How can the minister claim that the increase was not due to the referendum when the numbers show just the opposite?

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the member and all members in the House that voting is a fundamental right of our democracy. Before any vote, in any province across the country, we do everything we can to make sure that those who are eligible to vote have that opportunity and are not denied the right.

I further point out to the member that many of those people who he referred to—and I am concerned that he would deprive them to vote—were actually selected by the Quebec government as immigrants to the province of Quebec.

Genetically Engineered Foods

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

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

Canadians have clearly indicated that they want to know what they are eating. They want the government to fulfill its statutory obligation to require labelling of genetically engineered foods. By predetermining that labelling will be voluntary, the government has pre-empted public input on this issue and has dismissed Canadians' legitimate concerns about food safety and about consumer choice.

Will the government reverse its decision on this matter, do what Canadians want and agree today to immediately implement a process for mandatory labelling of genetically engineered foods?

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

Mr. Speaker, the government has clearly said and will continue to say that before there can be any kind of labelling, it naturally has to be meaningful, credible and enforceable.

I remind the hon. member that the government has put in place a process with the Canadian Standards Council. It will be beginning its meetings with over 80 organizations and interested groups in the country to talk about the labelling of food and how we could do it in an enforceable, credible and meaningful way.

Solicitor General Of Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, it appears the solicitor general's department is now on autopilot. This incident has been described by many as the most serious breach of national security in years.

Canadians have suffered through a solicitor general that talked too much. Now we have a solicitor general who does not talk to the PMO or the heads of his own department. Who is minding the shop in this ministry?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that when the director of CSIS informed me of the situation, he informed me that the inspector general of CSIS was conducting an investigation and CSIS was conducting an investigation. I was well aware that SIRC would conduct a review because it has had the mandate from the House for the last 15 years to conduct such reviews. That is exactly what is happening.

Organ Donations

[Gurbax Malhi, Liberal, Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada ranks very low among nations in organ donations.

What is the Minister of Health doing to increase organ donations and give hope to Canadians needing life-saving transplants?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the rates of organ donation in the country are not high enough. A year ago, I asked the Standing Committee on Health to look into it and make recommendations. It has done so and we have accepted every one of them.

It is through efforts like those of the member for Bramalea—Gore—Malton—Springdale and also the member for Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam who has now tabled a private members' bill, the principles of which I agree with, that we are making progress.

The provinces and the Government of Canada have now agreed upon a strategy. It is going to work. The Kidney Foundation of Canada has praised it and said that it has its full support, that it will significantly improve the situation and that it will save lives.

Correctional Service Canada

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, of the 1,000 convicts that are on the lam in this land, 15 lifers, 19 convicted of manslaughter and 14 serious sex offenders are currently at large.

My question is for the solicitor general, and he should listen carefully. Will he personally accept responsibility when a law-abiding citizen in this land is harmed by one of these people?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, escapes from federal institutions are taken very seriously. I am pleased to report that the rate of escapes from minimum security institutions has been cut in half since 1993 and 1994.

Genetically Modified Foods

[Hélène Alarie, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the large scale production of genetically modified organisms might result in the cross-pollination of surrounding fields, thus contaminating organic farming crops. This means that organic farmers could lose their certification.

What does the minister intend to do to meet the concerns of organic farmers who could lose their certification?

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

Mr. Speaker, the growers of registered seed and grain crops in the country have put in place a set of regulations that they abide by, putting in setbacks and standard distances between different varieties of crops.

The same types of rules and applications can and do apply. They are put in place by the industry on a voluntary basis. They are regulated by the industry itself. In such a way, the reduction of cross-pollination is assured.

Nuclear Waste

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

Mr. Speaker, the people of Ontario and Quebec have made it abundantly clear that they do not want MOx plutonium shipped through their communities.

Ontario Power Generation made it clear that it does not intend to burn it. The Russians will require significant compensation for shipping MOx through Canada and the Americans are going to burn their own.

Why is the Canadian government pursuing a costly and potentially dangerous course of action?

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

Mr. Speaker, all of the evidence and information indicates that this is not a dangerous procedure. In fact, even the Greenpeace organization has conceded publicly that this is a safe procedure.

The transportation routes and the emergency response plans have all been reviewed by the Department of Transport under all of the provisions of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act.

Canadians can be absolutely assured that every applicable Canadian law, rule and regulation to protect public health, safety and the environment will be fully and rigorously enforced, and this matter can be undertaken safely.

Csis

[Greg Thompson, Progressive Conservative, Charlotte, NB]

Mr. Speaker, this is the fourth serious breach of security within CSIS in as many years. In one of these cases, it actually led to the death of an agent. This is serious stuff. I want to be assured by the minister that he has a handle on what is happening.

I will remind the minister that CSIS has yet to find the missing documents. As far as we are concerned, it is still on a search, presumably in the Toronto dump, to find them.

Can we rest assured that the type of inactivity—

[The Speaker]

The hon. solicitor general.

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, the director has assured me that all necessary steps have been taken. He assured me three weeks ago and again today that all necessary steps to ensure security are in place. Measures will be taken and have been taken.