House of Commons Hansard #31 of the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was criminal.
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, I find the tone of the question absolutely deplorable. The hon. member should just get her facts straight.
Diane Ablonczy Reform Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, at the minister's invitation let us look at her track record. There were huge jobs fund grants that her riding did not qualify for, half a million dollars from the secret minister's reserve, and jobs moved from Hamilton so she could claim job creation in Brantford.
Now we have $1 million refused to Sarnia but wrongfully spent in her riding next door. It is incredible that a minister in a position of high trust could get away with such serious pork barrelling. Is this just another symptom of widespread Liberal corruption?
EmploymentOral Question Period
The Speaker
Order, please. The language is getting just a little too strong. I will permit the Right Hon. Prime Minister to respond.
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I want to stand to defend my minister because she is a very good minister and a very honest member.
Jean Chrétien Liberal Saint-Maurice, QC
I have a list of ridings in exactly the same position as the riding of the hon. minister that have received money from the same fund. The ridings include Kootenay—Columbia, Nanaimo—Alberni, Nanaimo—Cowichan, Okanagan—Shuswap, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, Lethbridge, St. Albert, et cetera.
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, I think we have a better idea today why the health minister's response to the Alberta privatization initiative has been so pathetically weak and timid.
Today the auditor general reports that the government has no idea whether or not the provinces are complying with the Canada Health Act. The health minister has no idea and no way of knowing if the provinces are playing within the rules governing health care. He does not know how much money is going to the provinces, where it is going and what impact it is having.
Is it not time for the minister to seize control over his department so that he can get on with his full time job of protecting health care for Canadians?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, the auditor general has made some very helpful suggestions, all of which we accept and many of which we are already implementing to ensure that the best information possible is given to parliament annually from the Minister of Health with respect to the status of the Canada Health Act throughout the country.
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, the auditor general also issued a scathing criticism today about how the government handled an outbreak of food borne disease. It is a troubling report and it is not as if the government has really learned anything and changed its ways from the spring of 1998 when it happened.
Yesterday we learned about a potentially dangerous outbreak of botulism in cattle in New Brunswick. Today we see that the government has again risked safety by fast tracking approvals for Monsanto on genetically altered foods.
In light of these events, how could the minister expect Canadians to believe that the minister is capable of protecting their health?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, in terms of approving products, whether they are medical devices, pharmaceutical products or bio-engineered foods, for Health Canada public safety is the bottom line.
I can tell the member that the report which appeared today about the Monsanto product is absolutely false. That product was subjected to the usual careful evaluation.
Angela Vautour NDP Beauséjour—Petitcodiac, NB
Mr. Speaker, in 1997 the EI surplus was $7.5 billion and now it is almost $25 billion. Today the auditor general criticized the handling of that fund.
I think it is time for the government to realize that this surplus is not for its own use. It is an insurance fund that belongs to the employees and employers, and they are entitled to it.
How high will this surplus have to get before the government takes real action and reinvests in our communities to give back hope and dignity to the unemployed of the country?
Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, since we have taken office we have cut the premiums to $2.40. They were at $3.70 when we took office.
At the same time, as was mentioned in the Speech from the Throne, the Minister of Human Resources Development is bringing forth a major initiative in terms of parental leave, an initiative that will do an enormous amount for the capacity of parents to raise their children.
Angela Vautour NDP Beauséjour—Petitcodiac, NB
Mr. Speaker, if the fund is so great and if they are doing so well with it, why do we have such a surplus and so many people who do not qualify or go with no income for so long? I do not understand how the government can justify doing to this fund what it is doing.
Could someone on the government side explain to Canadians why we have such a surplus and why we have so many people going with nothing?
Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, when we took office there was a deficit of some $6 billion. In 11 of the last 17 years there has been a deficit in the fund. The reason for the accounting treatment is that it was recommended by the auditor general in 1986 and we are following that policy.
The hon. member asks why there is a surplus. The reason is, as we have seen today, that we are firing at all cylinders in our economy. There are 1.7 million Canadians back at work, 700,000 in the last year. Young Canadians are back at work. We have one of the strongest economies of any of the G-7 countries.
Nancy Karetak-Lindell Liberal Nunavut, NU
Mr. Speaker, as an avid supporter of amateur sport, I would like to ask the Secretary of State for Amateur Sport the following question.
Has the minister done an analysis of how much amateur sport funding goes to girls and women? What measures is he taking to ensure that female athletes get a fair share of government funding?
Denis Coderre LiberalSecretary of State (Amateur Sport)
Mr. Speaker, this is surely one of the most important questions today.
Support to women in sports is a priority of the federal government. Sports Canada's goal is to attain equality for women in sports, ensuring that females have the same opportunities in sports as males.
In order to qualify for federal funding, national sports organizations and national sports centres must have an official policy showing that they are committed to fairness for all female athletes and must undertake to introduce appropriate initiatives. That is what the Liberals are doing.
Philip Mayfield Reform Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC
Mr. Speaker, according to the auditor general's report tabled today the RCMP fast tracked the sole source contract, broke all bidding rules and claimed it was an emergency to get a $362,000 contract for an ex-RCMP officer.
This was after it sat on the bid for four months. Some emergency. Why does the solicitor general allow the force, which is supposed to uphold the law, to break the law?
Lawrence MacAulay LiberalSolicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, I assure my hon. colleague that the RCMP did not break the law.
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC
Mr. Speaker, a private agreement was apparently reached last March between senior officials of the Department of Health and Monsanto for approval of two new types of genetically modified potato seed.
Would the minister confirm that this agreement provides a way around the usual approval process of the Department of Health, despite the fact that Monsanto refused to provide the scientific information vital to the evaluation of its product?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, the usual approval process was followed in this case. We have received all the necessary information, and the products have been assessed.
Peter Mancini NDP Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, in April a young man was killed on the job in Nova Scotia's offshore petroleum industry. The Nova Scotia department of labour recommended that the case be prosecuted, but jurisdiction fell to the federal-provincial, Canada-Nova Scotia offshore petroleum board, which failed to hold the company responsible. The board has no enforceable health and safety regulations and is charged as both the industry promoter and the safety regulator, which is a clear conflict and which conflicts with the recommendations of the Westray inquiry. The government has been asked by the province of Nova Scotia to deal with this.
When will it deal with the conflict—
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. gentleman that I take this matter of health and safety in the offshore just as seriously as he does. This matter is under active consideration now between the two governments and the relevant regulatory authorities. I will take every step within my power to assure that those regulations are in place at the earliest possible date so that Canadians can have the necessary assurance about health and safety.
Bill Casey Progressive Conservative Cumberland—Colchester, NS
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transport. Just a little while before InterCanadian closed its doors on Saturday it faxed a letter to the Minister of Transport. The letter was from the president to the minister and it said: “The simple fact is that InterCanadian simply cannot continue to withstand the continuously changing position of the government”.
If the minister who created this four months of aviation chaos will not now step in to help InterCanadian, will he step aside and let someone else bring some common sense to this chaos?