Debates of Dec. 16th, 1999

Bill C-20

[Maud Debien, Bloc, Laval East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs claims to be piloting through a bill on referendum clarity while telling us in the same breath that the 1995 referendum was unclear.

How can the minister make such an erroneous statement when we know that 93% of registered voters cast their ballot, that thousands of Canadians attended a rally urging us to stay in Canada, and that the Prime Minister himself said that the choice was final, stay or leave?

How can he now say that the stakes were not clear?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member knows perfectly well that, if the question had been about separation or independence, support would never have been as high as 49%, and that, on October 30, 1995—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

On October 30, 1995, 49% of Quebecers were not in favour of separation. Let us be honest—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Essex.

Year 2000

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the year 2000 is fast approaching and some Canadians still fear the possibility of computer problems. Can the President of the Treasury Board assure Canadians today that the government is ready to deal with any potential problems?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Essex for the question. I know that as chair of the industry committee she has been following this issue very carefully.

The health, safety, security and well-being of Canadians remain our priority. I am pleased to report that the government-wide mission critical systems are over 99% ready. Although we do not expect any major disruptions, we have developed contingency plans so Canadians will continue to receive essential services in our country. Indeed we work very closely with provincial governments and the private sector.

Government Grants

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage tries to deflect accusations by saying that the Prime Minister was just being a good MP. In the past, the Prime Minister himself has compared the grants he has doled out in Shawinigan to the recipient who got a grant in my riding.

But here is the difference and let us be very clear about this. I did not sell a money losing business to the recipient in my riding. I did not even know the recipient personally. No person from my riding association received an $11,000 payment for landing the grant.

My question for the Prime Minister is, will he drop the charade and just admit that this had little to do with jobs in his riding but a lot to do with keeping his job in Ottawa?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, is the hon. member saying he recommended a project and he did not do anything about it? What is straightforward about that. He owes more explanation to the House about what he did with respect to that project. Why was he recommending something without checking it out first?

[Werner Schmidt, Reform, Kelowna, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the issue is that René Fugère represented the Prime Minister in his riding when he was out of town. He even spoke on his behalf. For helping the Prime Minister broker a deal with shady hoteliers, René Fugère got $11,500 and the Prime Minister does nothing about it. Why does the Prime Minister turn a blind eye?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is making an unwarranted accusation saying the Prime Minister was linked with every activity of Mr. Fugère. There are investigations under way. We do not have the conclusions of these investigations. I think the hon. member should withdraw his unwarranted slur.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, in a letter dated April 9, 1998 the health minister acknowledged the difficulty of requiring drug companies to verify safety and efficacy if drugs are approved conditionally. He actually wrote “I do not think we should wait for such a situation to occur. Rather we should put into place a new policy and to follow as soon as possible with appropriate regulations”. Twenty months after that we do not have regulations, only the approval of six new drugs of dubious safety status.

Why is the Minister of Health condoning an unlawful policy? Why has he neglected his role as guardian of Canada's much needed health protection system?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, Health Canada gets pharmaceutical products into the hands or the veins of patients as soon as possible, consistent with our being assured that they are safe and effective.

Recently we do that more quickly than in the past because we found ways within the law out of compassion for people who are suffering or in the late stages of disease. We do that because we want treatments in the hands of physicians and patients as soon as possible and consistent with public safety.

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

Mr. Speaker, he did not answer the question why he is not operating within the law. If compassion was his concern, he should have ensured that the policy had the regulatory teeth necessary to enforce it. Instead everything is in limbo and subject to abuse.

The fact of the matter is there is chaos in the minister's department. There is lack of scientific capacity. There is a backlog of submissions and his department is vulnerable to drug company pressures.

Will the Minister of Health stop searching and reaching for quick fixes outside the law and take control of his department to ensure that the staff, the resources and the regulations are in place to protect Canadians?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the health protection branch operates entirely within the law. We operate motivated by compassion and concern for people who need treatments. We always operate so as to safeguard public safety and getting drugs on to the market that are effective.

Government Contracts

[Gilles Bernier, Progressive Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Works and Government Services has now admitted that there are private discussions going on between the government and Canada Post with respect to the secured channel project. By this admission is the minister confirming that this $5 billion contract will not go to public tender?

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, of course we have had discussions with Canada Post. Public works, Treasury Board and other departments have daily discussions. Canada Post is a crown corporation. It belongs to the Government of Canada and to the people of Canada.

Right now we are discussing a very important project that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Before we go to tender we want to make sure that we have the right program and the right measure. This is a very important contract. I am not going to take any direction from the private firms that would like to get the project.

Immigration

[David Price, Progressive Conservative, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration announced on December 3 at an NGO meeting and later in response to a Liberal question in the House that her department is starting a pilot project whereby all refugee claimants will receive photo identification cards for better access to social services. Is this also a pilot project for exit controls? When was this project discussed at the standing committee?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to confirm that as of December 1 a pilot project which would ease through the establishment of identification refugee claimants to the services that they need was put in effect. This was as a result of conversations particularly with the municipality of Toronto to understand the stresses and pressures on shelter and hostel systems. We will be evaluating this and after a period of three months, we will know whether or not this is an effective measure in responding to the needs of municipalities.

I want to thank the member for his question. I think this is very important.

National Defence

[Pat O'Brien, Liberal, London—Fanshawe, ON]

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

The Sharpe board of inquiry is investigating serious health problems with Canadian forces members. Today the board in its provisional findings indicated it believes combat stress is the most likely cause of symptoms in CF members who served in Croatia and are now sick.

Would the minister please tell the House what action the department is taking to help CF members who are suffering from combat stress?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, this report is an important step in helping to ensure that corrective action is taken to ensure that we look after the health care needs of our Canadian forces personnel.

If any of our personnel serve overseas and they go over well but come back sick, we need to look after them and give them the support they and their families need in order to get better again. That is a commitment of the government. It is a commitment I make, to implement the recommendations of this report as quickly as possible.

Government Grants

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government has said that everything is in order with respect to grants given in the Prime Minister's riding.

We have access to information requests which detail that not only did the officials in the HRD department have to inflate job costs, they had to depart from the guidelines. They had no choice in this matter. They had to adhere to the grants announced by the Prime Minister in press conferences and private meetings with the promoters.

After question period I will ask for permission to table these documents. Will the government also table all the documents it has surrounding these shady Shawinigan dealings?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, I have explained to the House today the number of partners that supported these projects in a riding of high unemployment. I can only assume that members of the Reform Party just do not accept that there are areas of high unemployment, that they do not accept that the federal government has a role to play to ensure that Canadians in these areas have opportunities to find work. Reform Party members just do not agree with what Canadians believe to be the duty of the government. They want these areas to fester with levels of unemployment that we just will not accept.