Debates of Nov. 18th, 1999

Cam Gardiner

[Rick Limoges, Liberal, Windsor—St. Clair, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on November 2 in Montreal I had the pleasure of presenting Cam Gardiner, morning show co-host at CKLW Windsor, with the prestigious Canadian Association of Broadcasters Gold Ribbon award for outstanding community service by an individual broadcaster.

Cam Gardiner has made a major contribution to the quality of life in our area. He has spent over 30 years volunteering his time in the community.

I am certain that all members of the House understand the significant contribution local private radio and television broadcasters have made through community participation and charitable efforts. It is for that reason this national recognition of Cam Gardiner and CKLW is indeed so special.

Congratulations to Cam Gardiner on his national recognition and thanks to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters for conferring this honour on one of our finest citizens. It is yet another example of how Windsor and Tecumseh represent the very best of what makes Canada such a great place to live.

Mark McKinnon

[Judi Longfield, Liberal, Whitby—Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a very brave man. On July 16, 1999 Whitby resident Mark McKinnon, a 17 year veteran of the Toronto Fire Department, gave us all a glowing example of the dedication and commitment with which our firefighters carry out their duties.

At 7.30 a.m. there was a serious explosion in the high voltage switching room of a downtown Toronto Bell Canada building. On the fourth floor in a room filled with heavy smoke, six inches of water covering the floor and 13,000 volts of electricity, firefighter McKinnon discovered a male victim suffering from burns, smoke inhalation, blindness and shock. Picking him up, Mark carried him down the stairs to safety.

As a result of these heroic efforts, Mark McKinnon and his crew recently received the highest honour from the Toronto Fire Department. Mark has also been awarded the Ontario Firefighting Medal of Bravery.

Public service is in Mark's blood. Not only is he a decorated firefighter, he is also Whitby's west ward councillor. He finds time to coach hockey teams and to work tirelessly—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Yorkton—Melville.

Agriculture

[Garry Breitkreuz, Reform, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the comments by the Prime Minister of this country are very distressing. As part of his tour in Africa he said that Canada has not done enough to help out third world countries and will in future contribute more money to these nations.

The Prime Minister should look in his own backyard first. Travelling halfway around the world to see people needing help is unnecessary. Come to my home province of Saskatchewan and see the suffering going on in rural communities.

He gives aid to foreign countries, but will not look at supporting the people who put the food on his plate every day. Here is what one of my constituents had to say:

To hear the Prime Minister promise more aid to another country with my money when I could use that money myself seems, well, just plain wrong.

The government has lost touch with the rural segment of our society. The Prime Minister should make a trip out to the prairies to see suffering in his own country. When will he realize that if he does not take any action on the prairies, he will have a third world country to bail out, but this time it will be his own.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Oak Ridges, ON]

Mr. Speaker, November 20 will mark the 158th anniversary of the birth of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

Our seventh prime minister was a true Canadian, a man who believed in the virtue of tolerance and national unity. He provided Canadians with a legacy of bringing English and French speaking Canadians together in harmony in a united Canada.

Laurier's vision of the Canadian reality and his leadership gave our country the push forward and the confidence it needed at a critical moment in history. The opening of the Canadian west and the formation of the Canadian navy all occurred under his watch.

Professor Granatstein in his book Who Killed Canadian History? , comments that the knowledge of our history is disappearing. We need to honour our heroes. I urge the government to proclaim a day of recognition for our seventh prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

Education

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, how many times have we heard the Liberal government say that education is an investment in the future, that youth must have opportunities and that the knowledge based economy is our salvation? Well, consider this. Students are worse off now than they ever were. Tuition fees have risen by 126% since 1990. Students are graduating into debt and poverty.

Let us make no mistake. Our public system of post-secondary education is in crisis because of the retreat of public funds, $7 billion since 1993. The privatization vultures are circling, waiting for their kill.

As on so many issues, Liberal talk is cheap. Indeed the federal government is now poised to place education on the WTO altar of corporation greed.

Our colleges and universities need help. Canadian students need help. Today we call on the government to defend public education, restore funding, lower the boom on tuition fees, establish a national grant system and make accessibility a new national standard.

Employment Insurance

[Stéphan Tremblay, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federalists have long held that Quebec received far more in EI benefits than it paid out in premiums.

But today, the federalists can no longer use this argument to turn a deaf ear to Quebec, which is claiming its fair share of federal structural spending.

Since 1995, Quebec has put more into the EI plan than it has taken out.

In 1995, Quebecers paid $4.477 billion in premiums, but drew only $4.343 billion in benefits.

In 1996, they paid $4.475 billion in premiums and received $4.122 billion in benefits.

In 1997, the shortfall was $1 billion. And finally, in 1998, Quebecers again put almost $1 billion more into the plan than they drew out.

In four years, Quebec has contributed over $2 billion more than it has received, and the federalists have fallen silent. It is high time that government members began demanding that Quebec receive its fair share of structural spending.

35Th World Skills Competition

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval West, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the 35th World Skills Competition, which was held in Montreal, wound up yesterday.

For the first time in Canada, over 600 young people representing 34 countries measured themselves against industry standards in some 40 skilled trades and high technology areas.

We can be proud of our representatives. Karine Desroches and Robert Waite won bronze medals for renovation services and electrical installation respectively. Jessika Lessard won the gold for her skills as an esthetician, a demonstration trade.

The Youth Employment Strategy of the Government of Canada, which was one of the partners in the 35th World Skills Competition, is helping young people to embark on careers in skilled trades and technologies. These areas, we are sure, are wise career choices for young Canadians.

We congratulate the participants in the 35th World Skills Competition. They are all winners.

Tara Singh Hayer

[Gurmant Grewal, Reform, Surrey Central, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in Canada we enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

The media's role is to report the news in a fair manner. Canadians do not believe everything they read. The media is under close public scrutiny. The pen is mightier than the sword, but is the pen mightier than the bullet?

One year ago, Tara Singh Hayer, the editor of Indo-Canadian Times newspaper, was murdered execution style with a bullet. Mr. Hayer was the recipient of the Order of B.C. After serving the Indian army, years ago he migrated to Canada.

His editorials were controversial. No matter how many people disagreed with him at times, every one agrees that he was entitled to his views. He exercised our right to freedom of expression and paid the ultimate price.

I urge all members of the House and Canadians to condemn such cowardly acts of violence.

Children

[Eleni Bakopanos, Liberal, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in recognition of National Child Day, I would like to read two paragraphs of a poem that was written by a child prostitute entitled “A Commitment to Children”.

And we accept responsibility for those whose nightmares come in the daytime who never eat anything who have never seen a dentist who aren't spoiled by anybody who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep who live and move but have no being.

And we accept responsibility for children who want to be carried and for those we never give up on and for those who don't ask for a second chance for those we smother and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

Let us make this commitment not just on November 20, but for the rest of our lives here as parliamentarians.

Young Offenders

[Jocelyne Girard-Bujold, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, some twenty Quebec organizations working with young offenders openly oppose Bill C-3 aimed at repealing the Young Offenders Act.

Unfortunately, the Liberal members from Quebec seem unable to hear the message sent out by those defending Quebec expertise in this area for many decades.

Where are the members for Westmount—Ville-Marie, Lac-Saint-Louis and Ahuntsic? Where are the members for Bourassa, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville and Verdun—Saint-Henri hiding?

What have the members for Beauce and Papineau—Saint-Denis got to say? Have the members for Pierrefonds—Dollard, Outremont and Gatineau got an opinion?

The silence of the members for LaSalle—Émard, Brossard—La Prairie and Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, Vaudreuil—Soulanges and Brome—Missisquoi is incomprehensible. However, most disturbing is the endorsement given this bill by the member for Saint-Maurice.

Are we to understand that the Liberal representatives of Quebec prefer to respond to pressure by the Reform Party than to promote the opinion of experts from Quebec?

Sellout Of The Month Award

[Lorne Nystrom, NDP, Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned about the increasing sellout of our economy to foreign multinationals and the subsequent loss of sovereignty and jobs. I want to highlight this today with our sellout of the month award to illustrate the biggest corporate sellout of the month. There are three nominees for this award, all in American dollars.

The first nominee is Groupe Forex, operating in optics and forestry, sold to Louisiana Pacific for $408 million. The second nominee is Versatile Tractor, originally sold to North America New Holland and now merged with the $4.6 billion American Case Corporation. The third nominee is Loewen Group operating in funeral homes and cemeteries, sold to US Funeral Homes for $429 million.

The envelope, please. And the winner of the sellout of the month award in terms of corporations will be New Holland and American Case for closing Versatile Tractor, Canada's last tractor manufacturing plant, and for throwing 700 people out of work and into the streets.

Ontario's French Television

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Anjou—Rivière-Des-Prairies, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after its attempt to deprive Quebecers of their right to celebrate the Year of the Canadian Francophonie, now the Bloc Quebecois and the PQ government are trying to build a cultural wall to keep Quebecers from watching TFO, Ontario's French television.

Despite numerous letters in support of TFO from Quebecers and despite numerous editorials, the separatists are doing everything possible to isolate the population of Quebec from other French Canadians.

Yet the Bloc and its parent company in Quebec are quick to praise foreign programming, such as RFO, and we have nothing against that.

Walling in communities is an outmoded practice used by regimes that will be judged by history. Quebecers are open-minded people.

The separatists ought to stop trying to obstruct their ability to make choices.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Mark Muise, Progressive Conservative, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Supreme Court of Canada finally provided Atlantic Canadians with some clarification as to what extent native rights are being addressed in its September 17 decision.

It is obvious that the supreme court decision was completely misinterpreted by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development who unilaterally decided that the ruling contained provisions that dealt directly with logging, mineral and offshore gas exploration rights.

The minister contradicted his own minister of fisheries at a crucial time when tensions on the east coast were at their highest. His statements were totally irresponsible and only added further fear and unrest within our communities.

The minister and his government completely ignored calls for clarification of the Donald Marshall decision and instead forced the West Nova Fishermen's Coalition to do their job for them. The minister was totally irresponsible in his actions. He misinterpreted the court's decision and as such has misinformed the Canadian public.

Un Convention On The Rights Of The Child

[Rose-Marie Ur, Liberal, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the UN General Assembly in November 1989 on the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Its drafting began in 1979, the International Year of the Child. Canada is proud to have played an active role in drafting this treaty.

Canada is also proud to have been in the first group of countries to ratify the convention in December 1991, after consultation with provinces, territories and national aboriginal organizations. The convention now has the highest number of states parties, 191, making it the mostly widely accepted human rights treaty in history.

The convention has become the rallying point for children's rights, mobilizing not only governments and UN agencies, but civil society, including NGOs, academics, professionals, and more important, children and youth and their families.

The adoption of the convention has created momentum for strengthening international standards, for instance with new agreements. However much we have accomplished 10 years after the adoption of the convention, we all recognize the tremendous efforts that are still required. Too many of the world's children still face daily hardships and fear.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health is rising up on his hind legs criticizing Premier Klein for trying to save our publicly funded health care system.

This is what has happened on the government's watch. It has cut transfer payments by $21 billion for health care. Waiting lists have grown to 187,000 people. In Montreal, emergency rooms are pleading for people to leave and go somewhere else because they are over full. Canada now occupies the lowest third of the rung in high tech, behind Hungary and the Czech Republic. In 11 years we will need 113,000 nurses and we will not have them. Furthermore, in 1997, 84 medical services were delisted from the health care system.

We have a big problem. The government's health care legacy is to deprive the poor and the middle class from the health care they need and to shepherd the demise of the publicly funded health care system in Canada.

Nisga'A Treaty

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, everyone in Canada knows that the Nisga'a treaty establishes two tier citizenship and it entrenches inequality under the law.

The government does not even think that Canadians should have a say on it. At the Nisga'a hearings in British Columbia the Liberal MP for Haliburton—Victoria—Brock referred to the public consultations going on as the little song and dance.

Only the Nisga'a people have been able to have a say on it. Why does the government not just admit that it will not call a referendum on this deal because it knows it will lose?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member is talking about is not part of our ongoing process of government in this country. What is part of the ongoing process is the parliamentary system. The parliamentary system permits debate and consideration. We have had second reading consideration, committee hearings are going on, we are going to have a report stage and third reading. In each stage there is debate. More important, there will also be the opportunity to vote and take decisions for which we will enter a new course with the favourable support of the people of Canada.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker it was his own Liberal member who criticized it.

The government knows that this deal would come to a crashing halt if the public had its say, just like Charlottetown.

The B.C. Liberal leader said “This is an unacceptable sleight to British Columbia and to all Canadians”.

If this Nisga'a deal is so great, why does the government not just allow British Columbians to have their say?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised the hon. member has brought up Charlottetown. It gives me the chance to point out that if they had not opposed Charlottetown we might well have an elected Senate.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we would love a real elected Senate and not some sham that the government would talk about. It keeps living in the past with Charlottetown.

Today the government is going to get another earful from B.C. Liberal leader Gordon Campbell, this afternoon in Victoria, when he goes ahead and testifies—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The hon. member for Edmonton North.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government is going to get an earful this afternoon from B.C. Liberal leader Gordon Campbell when he testifies before this little song and dance, as the Liberal MP calls it. He wants a B.C. wide referendum.

If it is good enough for that Liberal, why is it not good enough for these?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend is showing that the process works. The hearings enable somebody who is critical of the agreement to state his case in a public forum. The system is working.

Furthermore, I again say, is it not remarkable? First the united alternative is supported by the Reform Party and now it is coming out in support of B.C. provincial Liberals. Is that not remarkable?