Debates of Dec. 3rd, 1999

Health

[John Herron, Progressive Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, we heard just last week that the pest management advisory council has seen draft legislation that has been ready since 1997. Claire Franklin of the PMRA stated that the legislation had been sitting there for essentially three years.

Why do we not have legislation tabled that has been ready for three years? The minister told me last week in question period that he was still consulting individuals, but the pest management advisory council has not met since June. If the minister is still consulting, who is he consulting and why will he not table a bill?

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health is still reviewing the situation and meeting with the appropriate stakeholders. He will bring in amendment proposals in due time.

National Defence

[David Pratt, Liberal, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last year the defence committee produced a report about the significant quality of life problems faced by Canadian forces members, problems with pay, housing and support for families.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence explain what action has been taken to implement these important recommendations from the defence committee report and whether or not the Canadian forces have the resources to proceed with the quality of life improvements?

[Robert Bertrand, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that very important question. Last year when we brought out the report there were 89 recommendations. We have acted on 24 of them so far. There have been improvements in pay, housing and welfare for veterans.

The report was extremely well received. It was almost unanimously voted on. Four parties voted for it but one party voted against it, the Reform Party, and it has the gall to stand up here—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Lethbridge.

Agriculture

[Rick Casson, Reform, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we will get a real question now. Despite the fact that Canada has taken agriculture subsidies away from our farmers, the government has failed to get any commitment from our trading partners to eliminate their trade distorting policies.

Canadian farmers from every region of the country are under constant threat of illegal trade actions by our closest trading partners. Our producers need quick action by the government to resolve these disputes.

Why does the government not use the same ruthless determination it used when slashing support for our farmers when it is dealing with our trading partners?

[Bob Speller, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, that is somewhat funny, coming from the Reform Party which is the only party in the House that did not support the united position of all farm groups across the country on a strong united front for Canada to stand up to the European Union and for Canada to stand up to the United States in terms of export subsidies.

In Seattle today the Minister for International Trade and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food are in very important meetings doing exactly that.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a few days ago in the House of Commons, the members of all political parties, including the party forming the government, unanimously passed a Bloc Quebecois motion giving the Standing Committee on Justice a mandate to study in the coming year all the ways to fight organized crime more effectively.

In view of this, could the solicitor general promise that no positions at the RCMP will be cut until the Standing Committee on Justice has completed its deliberations?

[Jacques Saada, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I understand this question is a very emotional one for my colleague, and we all share this emotion.

As regards his very specific question, I do not think it is appropriate to impute motives to the government. The solicitor general has not received any official document recommending anything relating to such cuts. The government has indicated neither intent nor decision in this regard.

The situation is clearly totally unchanged at the moment, and I want to confirm that officially.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, in June of this year the government was forced to acknowledge that there had been a potentially lethal spill at the virology lab in Winnipeg, a facility designed to handle the world's most deadly viruses.

After understandable public outcry, the government and the health minister promised on August 10 to set up a community liaison committee. Today it is December 3 and there is no committee and no community accountability. Only word is that the government is prepared to open this facility early in the new year.

When will the committee be struck? Will the citizens of Winnipeg be assured by the government that level 4 operations at the lab in Winnipeg will be put on hold until a committee has reviewed safety protocols and made recommendations—

[The Speaker]

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague from the NDP for having raised this issue once again, and I will pass it on to the Minister of Health without fail.

Fisheries

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

Mr. Speaker, paragraph 17 of the supreme court decision clearly indicates that aboriginal treaty rights do not belong to any individual but to the community and can only be exercised by registered persons of the local band.

Could the minister of fisheries tell the fishermen of West Nova what he is doing to prevent aboriginals from distant communities from fishing in LFA 34?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows there was an agreement between commercial fishermen and aboriginals. There were some problems in terms of that agreement. Our officials are out there speaking to the Acadia band and consulting with fishermen.

As I said yesterday we feel that situation will be resolved. We are very confident that it will be. Meanwhile the judgment is pretty clear as to who the beneficiaries are of the Marshall decision. The member should go back and read it again if he has any questions about it.

Census

[Mac Harb, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, many of my constituents have written to my office requesting that Statistics Canada release census information dating back to 1911. What is the Minister of Industry planning to do to respond to these requests?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, this is actually a very difficult question. On the one hand there are very legitimate interests on the part of historians and genealogists in obtaining this information. On the other hand the census data were obtained from Canadians on the basis of a law that did not anticipate it ever being released to the public.

In order to try to deal with these really conflicting, diametrically opposed interests, I have asked a panel of experts, chaired by Dr. Richard Van Loon, president of Carleton University, to review the situation to see whether they can give us a recommendation that might balance these two interests and report back to us by the end of May of the coming year.

Prisons

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, they are going to have to give their questions a day earlier if they are too tough. I now have in my possession a stack of e-mails from prison guards in Edmonton max. They are begging to be armed properly as escorts of dangerous high risk offenders.

At minimum they need guns, bullet proof vests and unmarked vehicles. Because of the high degree of gang related events at this prison, this is the least we could do and the least we could provide to them.

Will the solicitor general and his officials stop predicting human behaviour and truly and fully protect our guards at Edmonton max before someone is seriously hurt or killed?

[Jacques Saada, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, everything to do with the operations of the corrections service, as you know, is governed by the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

If my colleague has recommendations, since this bill is currently under consideration, why does he not contact his own colleague and recommend to him that the problem be brought to the Standing Committee on Justice, instead of trying to make a show out of something that is of as much concern to us as to him?

Pcb Contaminated Soils

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

Mr. Speaker, twice now, Public Works and Government Services Canada has postponed a call for tenders to decontaminate soils containing PCBs at Dorval airport.

By its actions, it is delaying the elimination of PCBs, while Récupère Sol, the only company in the running which is certified by Quebec's Department of the Environment, has the necessary expertise and is ready to proceed.

Does the Minister of the Environment think he will take action in this case, and assume responsibility for setting the deadlines for storage of PCBs, a responsibility that he himself took on when the Canadian Environmental Protection Act was passed?

[Stan Dromisky, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, that is a very valid question to be presented in the House.

I would like to inform the member, as well as everyone else, that the Ministry of Transport and other government agencies are examining the situation and are on top of it because safety is an extremely important factor in the country.

Port Of Belledune

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the port of Belledune is essential for the economic development of northeastern New Brunswick. The federal government has already written off the debts of several ports in Canada, including the port of Saint John.

Will the government now ensure equal treatment for all ports in Canada and write off the $43 million debt of the port of Belledune?

[Stan Dromisky, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, again I inform the member that a great number of variations regarding deals with various ports under the Canadian Ports Authority have been established.

Much negotiation is ongoing. Some of it is just about complete. Much of it has been completed and negotiations will continue.

Search And Rescue

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

Mr. Speaker, the federal government sent a Labrador search and rescue helicopter to Yarmouth to patrol the opening of the lobster fishery.

Unfortunately, like most of our Sea Kings, this helicopter broke down and was unavailable to rescue four victims of a sinking fishing vessel. This simply highlights the need to maintain the emergency coast guard helicopter service in Yarmouth. Will the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans make this commitment today, yes or no?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, search and rescue is extremely important. We take our responsibility very seriously as a government both in coast guard and DND. We work together to ensure that we provide expeditious service to all Canadians whether on the east coast, the west coast or on the Great Lakes to make sure that we provide search and rescue as quickly as possible.

Point Of Order

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when I answered a question during Oral Question Period, instead of a bill on distinct society I should have said a motion on distinct society passed by the House, which the Bloc Quebecois opposed anyway. They did vote against it.