Debates of Dec. 2nd, 1999

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, every day in my office we receive many letters from Canadians who are suffering and on waiting lists. One man wrote about his father, who had cancer and waited six weeks for radiation therapy. For six weeks he waited in agony, lying on the floor, because he could not get the therapy he needed.

What guarantee will the Minister of Health give to cancer patients that they will not have to wait six weeks for the cancer therapy they need?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, part of resolving the issues facing medicare is more money. That is the reason we significantly increased transfers to the provinces some months ago, only after they promised to use it all for health.

Another important part of resolving problems like the one described by the hon. member is better organizing and delivering services. That is why I am working my with provincial partners to make the changes needed in the health care system for the 21st century, and we will continue with that work.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is nothing new. Since this government came to power waiting lists have increased 10% per year. There are over 200,000 people on waiting lists. In the province of Quebec there are cancer patients who have to wait two months for radiation therapy and they are being sent to the United States.

What would the Minister of Health say to the patients in Quebec who have to wait two months and are being sent to the United States to get the cancer therapy they require? Will he guarantee that these people can get their cancer therapy in Quebec and not in the United States?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I have already answered that we need changes in the system, which I am working on with the provinces.

I can tell the House one thing, the answer does not lie in the approach which this member and his party favour. This is the man who said that a two tiered health care system would strengthen health care in Canada. He said that we need a private system. This man would have us take the American style two tiered system of health care and leave people out in the cold. That is not the kind of approach this government will ever take.

Canadian Heritage

[Pierre De Savoye, Bloc, Portneuf, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned that André Juneau, of the National Battlefields Commission, received compensation from that organization for a donation he made to the Liberal Party of Canada at a fundraising cocktail.

In an attempt to defend himself, he said that he was not the only one to have done so, and that he was not worried about the morality of spending taxpayers' dollars this way.

Can the Minister of Canadian Heritage tell us whether she intends to put a stop to this unacceptable practice for once and for all, or must we continue to bring all the cases to light one by one?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, in this specific instance, as soon as I became aware of the allegations, I asked that the matter be referred directly to the ethics counsellor.

As for the general practice, the Treasury Board issued a directive a number of weeks ago.

Housing

[John Finlay, Liberal, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

In light of the social housing agreement which the federal government signed with the province of Ontario and our current problems associated with affordable housing and homelessness, could the minister comment on instructions given by Ontario's minister of municipal housing affairs to the Ontario Housing Corporation to reduce spending?

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

Mr. Speaker, that the Ontario minister of housing gave instructions to the Ontario Housing Corporation has nothing to do with the social housing transfer agreement we made a few weeks ago.

The social housing transfer agreement is very clear. The province of Ontario cannot change any condition unilaterally. All of the existing contracts have to be respected until they expire.

I can give some examples of what the agreement says: all federal moneys received must be used for housing; funding targeted to low income people must remain targeted; the CMHC set income limits; the agreement requires an annual performance report—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Nanaimo—Cowichan.

Food Inspection Agency

[Reed Elley, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, dairy manufacturer, Parmalat, was to be inspected by Canada's food safety watchdog after 800 children got sick with salmonella poisoning last year. But the watchdog was told to sit on it after Parmalat complained to its local MP. Guess who? The agriculture minister.

Ian Ferguson, president of Parmalat, also wrote to the health minister over there.

Why is the Canadian Food Inspection Agency subject to political interference by the agriculture minister?

[Andy Mitchell, Liberal, Secretary of State (Rural Development)(Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario)]

Quite the contrary, Mr. Speaker. The food inspection agency is not being influenced by the minister. It carried out its inspection in the way that it should and the case was handled appropriately.

[Reed Elley, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I believe the hon. member should consult the auditor general on this.

It is not good enough to tell Canadians “Your food is safe as long as it wasn't produced in the agriculture minister's riding”. Canadians should have complete confidence in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's ability to test the food supply. They cannot when ministers are able to block inspections.

Why were 800 sick children not enough to convince this agriculture minister to let the inspectors do their job?

[Andy Mitchell, Liberal, Secretary of State (Rural Development)(Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario)]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that the inspections were carried out and the process did take place. If the member would read the full auditor general's report, the auditor general said clearly that the food inspection agency had a very different recollection of the events that occurred, and the auditor general put that right in the report.

Banks

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

My question is for the Minister of Finance, Mr. Speaker.

The six big Canadian banks have now announced profits of some $9 billion for the last year, up 30% over last year, an all time record. At the same time, they are now planning to eliminate some 20,000 jobs and close hundreds of branches.

Will the Minister of Finance screw up his courage and use the authority that he has to protect these jobs and empower communities to block the closure of branches in their own areas?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, this is exactly what we have proposed and the legislation will be coming forth very soon. We have proposed, as the member very well knows, that for any closure of a branch it will require four months notice. Where that branch is the only one left in a community, it will require six months notice. This is so the community can have time to react and alternative banking relationships can be established.

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

Notice is not exactly power, Mr. Speaker.

These same CEOs, who are eliminating some 20,000, are boosting their own incomes through exorbitant stock options. In fact, the top 24 CEOs, because of these options, will be making in excess of $250 million next year, in excess of the income of 12,000 bank tellers.

Will the minister look at the effect of these obscene stock options on the ability CEOs to balance their own personal interest with the interest of the community from which they have drawn an income in the first place?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, in the minister's response to the task force on the future of Canada's financial services sector, there is a provision that banks will have to account on an annual basis for the services that they provide and the relations that they have had with their various communities.

We have also opened up, in a very big way, the financial services sector to new entrants. We have decreased the amount of money that has to be paid for a bank to set up in Canada. We have allowed the foreign banks to come into Canada through branches to create greater competition.

Human Resources

[Elsie Wayne, Progressive Conservative, Saint John, NB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I gave the Minister of Human Resources Development the opportunity to condemn the practice of those companies receiving funds from the TJF and then making donations to political parties, but he refused to say that the practice was even inappropriate or that a problem even existed.

I will give the minister a second chance to say that this is wrong for companies that have accepted money from the Canada jobs fund and then give money to political parties and government. Will the minister stand in the House today and say that this is wrong?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that this party seems to be following the approach of their kissing cousins, the Reform, in using shoddy research to make inappropriate accusations in the House.

If she has real proof of wrongdoing, she should register it with the appropriate authorities. Otherwise, this party should be very careful about the companies and the names it draws attention to. Yesterday, it mentioned a company named Rougier Inc. Despite its shoddy research, I confirm to the House that no transitional jobs fund money was received by that company.

[Elsie Wayne, Progressive Conservative, Saint John, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the changes to the Employment Insurance Act by the government have created more problems than they have solved.

There is inflexibility in the act that does not take into account the special needs of women. Because of the new system, less women qualify for EI. This has had an negative impact on their families.

Will the minister initiate a full scale review of this legislation and commit to make the changes required to correct the injustices against women and their families?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member has been because part of the 1996 amendments included a monitoring and assessment report that looks at the impact of the legislation every single year.

I am looking forward to receiving the next report to see if the trend of changes and the data supporting evidence about women being excluded in the process are confirmed. As I have said in the House on a number of occasions, we will act on it.

Francophonie

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, the countries of La Francophonie met in Paris for a ministerial conference chaired by the Secretary of State for La Francophonie.

Can the secretary of state share with the House the impact of the decisions taken at that conference?

[Ronald J. Duhamel, Liberal, Secretary of State (Western Economic Diversification)(Francophonie)]

Mr. Speaker, when they were in Moncton, the member countries of La Francophonie set out the main thrusts for such themes as youth, women, cultural diversity and economic development in developing countries.

Later, in Paris, they gave concrete expression to youth programs. For instance, one third of the committed amounts will go to youth. Decisions were also made regarding the women, democracy and cultural diversity programs.

The meeting in Paris gave me an opportunity to see that Canada, its government, its Prime Minister, and his entire party are highly respected by their partners when it comes to democracy and to the other issues discussed.

Csis

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the solicitor general told Canadians that CSIS always investigates any people who enter this country.

When Corporal Read took his Hong Kong visa scam investigation to a CSIS China specialist in early 1997, his allegations were not of any interest to CSIS. Does the House know why? It was because CSIS was already aware that Canada had lost control of its foreign missions around the world. It was old news and it was not prepared to investigate.

Can the solicitor general understand that we need a special investigator on this case?

[Jacques Saada, Liberal, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by reminding my colleague that the RCMP has a mobile three-person investigative team available to investigate Canadian offices abroad.

Second, as far as Hong Kong is concerned, I want to remind my colleague that there are two investigations under way at the present time. The first is a criminal one on which I cannot comment, and the second is an internal one, ordered by the RCMP Commissioner. The high-ranking officers responsible for that investigation are completely excluded from the list of those mentioned in the allegations of problems.

I think it is high time that the Reform Party took more care with the questions it asked so as not to mislead the Canadian public.