Debates of Dec. 15th, 1999

Foreign Investment

[Eric C. Lowther, Reform, Calgary Centre, AB]

—20% ceiling that he imposes on all other Canadian RRSPs. He made 18% in one year but he denied other Canadians the same opportunity.

Why does the Prime Minister impose rules on Canadian families that he does not impose on the finance minister's company?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is just trying to attack the Minister of Finance indirectly.

The Minister of Finance put all his assets in trust. Everything is managed at arm's length. He does not oversee any of the decisions. I am sure the hon. member does not want to drag the Minister of Finance into that situation. The minister has respected all the rules provided for under the conflict of interest code.

Bill C-20

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 1991, the supreme court ruled as follows:

There is a further, equally important aspect of the right, namely that each vote must be relatively equal to every other vote. To water down the importance and significance of an individual's vote is to weaken the democratic process.

My question is for the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. Since supreme court decisions seem to be very important for the government, how can the minister defend a bill that promotes the inequality of votes, in flagrant contradiction of a supreme court ruling?

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

Mr. Speaker, my response is that there is no contradiction at all. The reason the supreme court talks about a clear majority is obviously because the clarity of the majority must be assessed, and for that it is necessary to know the circumstances in which a referendum is held. There is therefore no pre-set threshold either, any more than there is such a threshold in Quebec's Loi des consultations populaires.

If the member is determined that one vote should have the same value as another, she should tell us that it is three out of five and that it will take three victories in a row to wipe out our two—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The hon. member for Laurentides.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in another supreme court decision, we find the following “A system which dilutes one citizen's vote unduly as compared with another citizen's vote runs the risk of providing inadequate representation to the citizen whose vote is diluted. The result will be uneven and unfair representation”.

Does the minister want to reverse his position and defend with democrats the rule that all votes are equal?

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

Mr. Speaker, if I am not mistaken, there was a referendum with a 90% win in Mont-Tremblant, in the member's riding. I suppose she will be writing to Quebec's minister of municipal affairs, Louise Harel, to insist that she respect that decision.

A referendum is not a decision, not in Quebec law and not in Canadian federal law. A referendum is a consultation and its results must be evaluated using different criteria, including the clarity of the question and the clarity of the result.

Correctional Services Canada

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, according to a correctional services task force report on security: “The service's goal is to move toward a concept of security that is elegant and discreet”.

Has the solicitor general contracted Tommy Hilfiger to design these new facilities?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has the report that was done by Correctional Services Canada. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that any of this report would ever be put in place by Correctional Services Canada.

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, all other reports have made it. The mandate for this task force suggests “the members of the task force reflect on the people side of corrections, remembering the stories of offenders”.

This entire report was written with the offender as the victim. This report is an embarrassment to all victims in Canada. My question is for the solicitor general.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The hon. member was coming to his question.

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, they should be ashamed of themselves laughing at victims.

When will we see a task force made up of victims, made up of guards, made up of frontline workers instead of these bleeding heart bookworms from their ivory towers?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, this is nothing but a report at this stage. It has not even been discussed by the senior executives at Correctional Services Canada. I wish my hon. colleague would not jump to conclusions.

Bill C-20

[Pierre De Savoye, Bloc, Portneuf, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the bill introduced by the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, the numerous requirements regarding the number of players to be consulted are not fooling anyone. Behind the alleged search for clarity, the minister is in fact making a shameless attempt at political blackmail.

Will the minister admit that this bill, with its slew of unreasonable requirements, is nothing but a tool that the federal government is giving itself to make sure there will always be someone to suggest that it should not negotiate?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are required to do so by the supreme court opinion that the Bloc Quebecois and the PQ government praised for over a year.

This opinion states that in the event of secession, the partners in the federation ought to assess the situation and negotiate in good faith and in compliance with the principles set out by the court, namely democracy, the rule of law, constitutionalism and respect for minorities. Everyone would be bound by these principles, including the government that is seeking to secede.

Steel Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Revenue.

In October the minister launched an investigation into the illegal dumping of foreign hot rolled carbon steel plate into the Canadian market. This investigation was in response to a complaint filed by Algoma Steel, a company employing 4,000 steelworkers in my riding of Sault Ste. Marie.

What action has he taken to ensure this complaint is being processed without unnecessary delay?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue and Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for this very important question.

I wish to confirm as the Minister of National Revenue that we have decided to proceed with a major investigation based on a complaint filed by Algoma Steel Corporation. We are looking at whether or not there is dumping. A decision will be taken at the beginning of next year. If there is dumping, we will have to proceed with temporary duties.

Correctional Services Canada

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, do you feel lucky? If you have been convicted and sentenced to the new Club Fed, you are darn right you do. The task force on security has recommended that “the majority of institutions be classified as multilevel—consisting of maximum, medium and minimum security inmates”. It is kind of like a con condo by Correctional Services Canada.

Does the solicitor general agree with the task force, yes or no?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated yesterday I have not seen the report. The senior executives from Correctional Services Canada have not seen the report. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that anything in the report would be put in place.

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is gratifying to know there is at least one person in Canada who has not seen this report, the solicitor general. This report goes on to state: “The over-utilization of bulletproof glass may give the illusion of openness, but at the same time reduces human contact and hinders effective intervention”.

I wonder what the solicitor general would like to say to the victims of crime who are looking at these perpetrators and wondering why there is even consideration of no armed guards, no razor wire fences, institutions complete with golf courses and riding stables—

[The Speaker]

The hon. solicitor general.

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that my hon. colleague is indicating that this is government policy. It is not. I can assure my hon. colleague that I will not support any measures that would jeopardize security in our federal institutions—

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.