Debates of Dec. 6th, 1999

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jim Gouk, Reform, West Kootenay—Okanagan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Nisga'a treaty is a template for all future settlements in British Columbia. That is a quote from the then premier of British Columbia who signed on behalf of the NDP government.

Recently, at a standing committee on aboriginal affairs meeting, the minister admitted that there are flaws in the agreement but that he will not accept amendments.

Why is the minister allowing this precedent setting treaty to go through unamended when he acknowledges there are problems with it?

[Bob Nault, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I have acknowledged no such thing and it is not a template.

[Jim Gouk, Reform, West Kootenay—Okanagan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, those are the words of the premier of British Columbia.

Let us go to the words of Liberal cabinet ministers. The Secretary of State for the Status of Women acknowledged that there are in fact problems in the Nisga'a treaty regarding the absence of rights for women. On Friday, the minister also agreed with her that the rights of women are left out of the agreement.

Why is he in such a rush to shut down debate on a treaty that does not ensure the rights of Nisga'a women?

[Bob Nault, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, there he goes again. If he had read the agreement he would know that I did not say that.

I said that the Nisga'a agreement is outside the Indian Act and therefore the provincial law as it relates to women applies in the same way as it does to other women in British Columbia.

What I also said was that the Indian Act is silent on women's rights and it is an issue we will be dealing with. I wish the member would get his facts right.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, the thalidomide situation in Canada brought to our attention in tragic terms the inadequacy of our health protection system.

In order that the experience never be repeated again, the health protection branch was set up under the auspices of the Food and Drugs Act to ensure that only drugs that have been proven safe and effective could be sold in Canada.

Now we learn that the government has not only shut down its drug research lab but it is allowing drugs on to the market that do not meet the basic standards of safety and efficacy.

Can the minister assure Canadians that any new drugs allowed on to the market will not be approved at the expense of—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Health.

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, in May 1998 Health Canada approved a new policy for approving drugs for the treatment of serious, life threatening diseases where there is promising evidence that the potential benefits of the drug outweigh its risks, where the risks can be monitored and where the company agrees to continue to study the drug.

This policy was developed to help those who are seriously ill and dying. It is about compassion, and we make no apologies for that. I observe as well that the drug referred to in the report today has already been approved in 30 countries around the world.

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

Mr. Speaker, the issue we are raising today is not compassion. The minister already has the ability to allow drugs for emergency access relief or to speed up his own drug approval process and still operate within the law and according to safety standards. The question is, why does the minister proceed with a policy without any basis in law and without meeting safety standards?

Where are the regulations that he promised in April 1998 when he unilaterally and arbitrarily changed the law or, in the words of his own staff, where is the legal opinion to show that this government is operating according to the spirit and the letter of the Food and Drugs Act?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it sometimes occurs that there are new drugs under consideration that might help those who are dying or are very seriously ill. If the conclusion is reached that the benefits of those drugs outweigh their risks, where the company that is proposing it agrees to continue studying it and we monitor the performance of that drug, then is the member saying that she would deny access to that drug to those who might otherwise die? Would she turn them down when these drugs might improve their condition or indeed even save their lives?

That is at the basis of this policy.

Government Contracts

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

Mr. Speaker, well over a year ago, the Minister of Public Works knew that four out of five untendered government contracts failed to meet the criteria for sole sourcing. This year the auditor general said that over 90% of untendered contracts do not meet the government's own rules and will not even stand up to public scrutiny.

My question is very simple. Why did the minister not fix the problem?

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

Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the hon. member said, if he reads the auditor general's report he will see that the auditor general congratulated us for the way in which we handle publicly tendered contracts. For example, we handled a major publicly tendered contract for maintenance. All federally owned buildings are now being maintained by the private sector. This was done with absolute transparency. The member should read the auditor general's report.

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

Mr. Speaker, the auditor general congratulated the government for one contract out of four. The auditor general said that over $1 billion in contracts are handed out each year without tender and with no justification. In the 1993 red book the Liberals promised to cut sole source contracts, but instead they are skyrocketing.

When will the minister follow his own department's rules and put an end to this abuse of the public purse?

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

Mr. Speaker, since we have been in government the number of contracts given by public tender have increased drastically. Over 80% of the contracts have been given through the public tender system.

Because of decentralization, some of the smaller contracts in a department are direct and some may be given on a sole source basis or call-up source. However, the policy is there and we are definitely implementing it.

Violence

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it was 10 years ago that Canada was stunned by the senseless, violent murder of 14 of our most promising young women.

My question is for the Secretary of State for the Status of Women. What has the government done since then to prevent tragedies such as the Montreal massacre and the ongoing violence in women's daily lives here in Canada?

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism)(Status of Women)]

Mr. Speaker, that was an extremely good question and I want to thank the hon. member.

The government has taken a number of initiatives specifically targeting violence against women. These include many important criminal law reforms.

These include the gun control act, the witness protection program, the SIN de-linking and the laws that strengthen anti-stalking initiatives.

We know that legislation alone will not change society.

We have a $32 million initiative each year for crime prevention that specifically targets women and girls.

Grants

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Christmas season is coming a little early in the Prime Minister's riding this year. Old Saint Nick has dropped another $2.28 million in grants and no interest loans into the riding of Saint-Maurice. It reminds us of the headline in the Montreal Gazette during the 1993 campaign that said “I'm Santa Claus, promises the Prime Minister”.

Does the Prime Minister even check out who is naughty and who is nice or do the grants just go to his riding because it is in his riding?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member for Saint-Maurice, I am very happy that the entrepreneurs in the riding are putting forward programs that qualify and that unemployment is going down. It is an area where unemployment is very high, well above others. As the member of parliament, I am happy when entrepreneurs in my riding take initiatives for which the federal, provincial and municipal governments can help them.

Air Transportation Industry

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is major concern in several areas of Quebec following the suspension of InterCanadian's operations. Stakeholders are worried about the potential negative effects on regional carriers and the economic impact Air Canada's monopoly will have on fares, and on frequency and quality of service.

My question is for the secretary of state responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the region of Quebec. Can he reassure the House that he will do everything in his power to ensure that Air Canada signs agreements with all the regional carriers, including InterCanadian, so that regional air transportation continues to be competitive?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will be very pleased to know that yesterday, Sunday, while many of us were lulling around, our Minister of Transport and the Quebec minister of transportation were seriously discussing the situation regarding regional carriers in Quebec, especially InterCanadian.

I am letting the opposition know that our minister has reiterated his commitment to assist the InterCanadian employees by asking the Canadian—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Kamloops, Thompson and Highland Valleys.

Rcmp

[Nelson Riis, NDP, Kamloops, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the solicitor general who will be aware that two constituents in British Columbia were recently swindled out of $700,000 in a very clear stock market scam.

The spokesperson for the RCMP in E Division, Peter Montague, wrote to my constituents saying “You have a valid complaint but due to the shortage of resources in the RCMP, we regret we are unable to continue with your investigation”. That was followed up by a letter from Phil Murray, the commissioner of the RCMP, who essentially agrees by saying “The current RCMP's position workload makes it difficult to investigate your complaint further”.

My question is—

[The Speaker]

I think the solicitor general has the idea, if he would like to address the preamble.

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague brought this information forward before. He is well aware that the RCMP investigates those situations.

Immigration

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

Mr. Speaker, at the dawn of the third millennium immigrants and refugees still pay a head tax of close to $1,000. In 1997, the now Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, a seemingly more compassionate and understanding man back then, put forth a private member's bill to eliminate this financial burden on destitute refugees.

Has the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, with the support of the fisheries minister, been able to convince cabinet to remove this unnecessary debt on newcomers to Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, there is no head tax in Canada today. What the member is referring to was a dark day in Canadian history when there was a head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants to this country. That has long since been gone.