House of Commons Hansard #173 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was citizenship.
The Speaker
As is our practice on Wednesday we will now sing O Canada, and we will be led by the hon. member for Saint John.
Brenda Chamberlain Liberal Guelph—Wellington, ON
Mr. Speaker, this year the Ontario Agricultural College in my riding of Guelph—Wellington is celebrating its 125th anniversary. Much has changed since the OAC opened its doors in 1874, but the one thing that remains the same is the OAC's well deserved reputation as a world leader in agriculture.
Many distinguished Canadians have graduated from OAC, including astronaut Roberta Bondar and our very own Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
The OAC has also produced a very well respected university. The University of Guelph grew out of this agricultural college to become one of the best universities in Canada.
I would like to congratulate all of the faculty and staff of the Ontario Agricultural College, both past and present. They have built a tradition of excellence of which not only Guelph—Wellington but all of Canada is proud.
Garry Breitkreuz Reform Yorkton—Melville, SK
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, January 29 I hosted a public forum to discuss the Estey report on grain transportation. Over 250 grain producers attended the meeting from across Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Farmers not only had an opportunity to listen to a panel of speakers discuss the merits of the report, but they also had a chance to get up and voice their opinion.
While producers are not unanimous in their support of this report, there was a message that was very evident during the meeting. Farmers are frustrated with the current system. Producers are losing millions of dollars each year due to government regulation and inefficiencies in the grain handling system.
CPAC, the parliamentary television channel, taped the meeting and it will be replayed on February 6 and 7. The Minister of Transport and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food should take time to watch the tape of this meeting.
I urge all MPs and Canadians everywhere to hear directly from food producers. Farmers put high quality food on our tables and are the economic base in many communities. We need to listen to them.
Paul Devillers Liberal Simcoe North, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today in connection with the Bloc Quebecois' position, which is surprising to say the least, concerning child pornography and the role of Parliament in the judiciary process. The position of the Bloc Quebecois on this matter is incongruous and hard to explain.
How can this party and its members support such a motion, given their past positions on various justice issues? I personally see this as an attempt to hijack this debate in order to justify recourse to the notwithstanding clause of the charter.
Let them try to defend future recourse to that clause, fine, but I believe that the public will be able to figure out for itself that Bloc members are using the debate on child pornography and the judiciary process for purely political purposes.
Hec Clouthier Liberal Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Mr. Speaker, Team Canada has scored another major international hockey victory. Our national team came home on New Year's Day 1999 after winning the Spengler Cup in Switzerland for the fourth consecutive year.
It was the first time any country has won four times in a row during the cup's 77 year history. The latest championship by Team Canada was made possible through the defensive efforts of not one, but two outstanding players in the great riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke: Shawn Heins of Eganville and Allan Letang of Renfrew. Not only my constituents are proud of their efforts, but all Canadians are proud of all Team Canada players.
I might add that Team Liberal will be put to the test when Canada's political champions travel up the valley into my riding's hockey hot bed to compete next Wednesday night at the Pembroke winter carnival. We will be facing a much tougher opposition of sharpshooters compared to the puny, punchless, prolix popguns who pass themselves off as the opposition in this House.
Sophia Leung Liberal Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Mr. Speaker, last weekend I was very pleased to attend the Aga Khan Foundation's annual Partnership Walk Volunteer Workshop in Vancouver. The event launched International Development Week, which is January 31 to February 6.
The Aga Khan Foundation's volunteer workshop brought together volunteer leaders from 11 cities across Canada. The guest of honour was the Minister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for Francophonie.
Congratulations to the foundation for its excellent work in supporting over 30 under-developed countries.
Jim Abbott Reform Kootenay—Columbia, BC
Mr. Speaker, APEC is an issue that is not going to go away for this Prime Minister or for this government.
Just as Watergate was not about a break-in, the APEC inquiry is not about pepper spray. It is about freedom of expression. It is about political interference from the Prime Minister giving direction to Canada's national police force to suppress protesters' freedom of expression.
The Prime Minister is muddifying his involvement by using the public complaints commission process.
Canadians will spend millions and millions of dollars, still ending up at a blind wall. With over $1.4 million already blown away and hundreds of witnesses to hear, they have only heard four.
The bill is already so high because the solicitor general and justice minister have agreed to protect the Prime Minister at a rate of $2,000 an hour for lawyers' fees. Commissioner Ted Hughes is trying to sort out the lawyer funding mess.
As the APEC public complaints commission process lurches forward, even under the astute guidance of Ted Hughes, I say again that we have the right driver in the wrong vehicle.
When is this Prime Minister finally going to come clean?
John Cannis Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, this past weekend I had the pleasure to attend the fifth annual Comedy Night at the Hellenic Community Centre organized by the Ottawa chapter of AHEPA.
This year the event raised over $8,000 which will go to the local Alzheimer's Society. In the past this event has raised and donated over $50,000 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Ottawa, the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Youth Centre, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the Kidney Foundation of Ottawa.
I want to congratulate the main organizers, Angelo Tsarouchas, Tom Varvaresos and Bill Rothery on their great success. The comedians were first rate and provided many laughs during the evening.
I highly recommend this event to my colleagues here in Ottawa and to all who are interested in having a great time while contributing to a worthwhile cause.
Congratulations to AHEPA and to all those involved with the AHEPA Comedy Night at the Hellenic Community Centre.
Bernard Bigras Bloc Rosemont, QC
Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to greet the people of Rosemont and Petite Patrie who have come to Ottawa today to deliver a clear message.
Under the pretext of returning the responsibility for social housing to the provinces, the federal government has dissociated itself completely from this program, by cutting its funding. The federal government has made an offer to the Government of Quebec to hand the existing housing stock over to it, an offer that is totally unacceptable.
The federal government has no trouble finding the millions necessary for promoting the maple leaf, and the struggle with the deficit has not prevented it from spending over $40 million in all manner of propaganda.
The federal government needs to come back to the bargaining table with a better offer, because in our affluent society it is unacceptable that the number of families having to spend over half their income just to put a roof over their heads is constantly on the rise.
John Maloney Liberal Erie—Lincoln, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canada is poised to win the ongoing war against illicit drugs arriving in our country. Drug abuse has damaging repercussions not only on the user but on Canadian society as a whole. It is the leading cause of poverty, criminality, urban decay and related social problems.
Recently our Minister of Foreign Affairs met with the Jamaican Prime Minister and his senior officials to begin a hemisphere-wide dialogue and partnership against this rampant problem.
Forty per cent of illicit drugs come from the Caribbean and Latin America. This initiative is part of Canada's human security agenda which we hope to promote during our two year term as a member of the UN Security Council.
We will endeavour to stem the flow of drugs into Canada while improving conditions in drug-producing countries. I commend the minister for this meaningful intervention.
Grant McNally Reform Dewdney—Alouette, BC
Mr. Speaker, here are the top 10 reasons given by Liberal backbenchers as to why they flip-flopped on the child pornography vote last night.
No. 10: Vote against my conscience. What conscience?
No. 9: I like to sign on to things I have no intention of backing up. It makes me feel like a cabinet minister.
No. 8: If I toe the line often enough maybe I will get a canoe museum in my riding.
No. 7: Let the commission do its work.
No. 6: No comment. The minister has not told me what to say yet.
No. 5: This from the member from Coquitlam. I am no yes man and, besides, that is not my signature.
No. 4: The Prime Minister told me I could vote any way I wanted to, as long as I voted no.
No. 3: You get used to it. Remember the hep C vote?
No. 2: That depends on what your definition of the word “is” is.
And the No. 1 reason given by Liberal flip-floppers is: Now I want you to listen to me. My pen did not have relations with that letter, that Liberal petition, and I have never gone back on my word, not once, not ever.
Claude Drouin Liberal Beauce, QC
Mr. Speaker, at the end of the last session, the Liberal government announced that crabbers in the estuary and shrimpers in the Gulf of St. Lawrence had co-management agreements with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
For the crabbers, this five-year agreement, is based on resource conservation and the financial viability of fishers, among other things.
In the case of the shrimpers, the agreement is in effect until 2002 and applies to all fishers in eastern Canada. It is based on the same principles of resource conservation and management.
The Government of Canada has taken a major step. It worked actively with fishers to resolve the complex and essential issue of the renewal of fish stocks, and especially of preserving and improving the quality of life of those whose work is linked to fishing.
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Mr. Speaker, as with free trade and the GST, once again the Liberals are breaking one of their campaign promises.
This time they are breaking the 1993 election promise to eliminate regional rates of pay, a policy that pays 11,000 federal government workers a different salary depending on where they work in the country.
This is not a cost of living issue as the government maintains, it is a discrimination issue. The policy only applies to 5% of the civil service, the government's lowest paid workers. It does not apply to 95% of the civil service, such as judges, civil service managers, the military, the RCMP or members of parliament.
These 11,000 workers are staging rotating strikes across the country over this issue and they are asking the government to come back to the table for meaningful negotiations.
I call upon the Liberals to stop their hypocrisy and end this unfair and inequitable treatment. Federal workers doing the same job should be paid the same salary no matter where they live.
The Public Service Of CanadaStatements By Members
The Speaker
I would ask the hon. member to use a word other than “hypocrisy” the next time.
Maurice Dumas Bloc Argenteuil—Papineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, the UN has designated 1999 as the International Year of Older Persons in order to draw attention to their achievements and their contribution to communities in all countries.
The United Nations believes the proportion of persons aged 60 years and over in the population will change from a ratio of 1/14 to 1/4 in the coming years. Seniors, now representing 12% of Canada's total population, will represent 23% of it by 2041. This major democratic change will alter the economic, social and cultural structures of Quebec and Canada.
Canada's theme for the International Year of Older Persons, “Canada, a society for all ages”, was developed by representatives of the federal, provincial and territorial governments in consultation with seniors. It underscores the importance of the role—
International Year Of Older PersonsStatements By Members
The Speaker
The member for Pontiac—Gatineau—Labelle.
Robert Bertrand Liberal Pontiac—Gatineau—Labelle, QC
Mr. Speaker, the sovereignists want to give the separation option a new look. Big surprise, after the poor showing in the last election.
At least they got a well-known consultant, former premier Jacques Parizeau, the same Parizeau that lost the referendum.
But how else can they put it? There are only so many ways the sovereignists can say they want Quebec to separate from the rest of Canada.
I think what they want is a new bag of tricks. That is a favourite Parizeau strategy. But Quebeckers will not fall for Mr. Parizeau's all-too-familiar sleight-of-hand. They know him well. They know the option he favours, his objectives and his views on Quebec.
This is old hat. The separatists are coming up short in the imagination department these days.
Mark Muise Progressive Conservative West Nova, NS
Mr. Speaker, I am concerned. I am concerned that the Minister of National Defence knew about corruption at the IOC but kept it quiet for 10 years.
I am concerned that the President of the Treasury Board was quoted in the media saying he supported the city of Quebec if it sought compensation, but when asked in the House he maintains he said nothing.
If the President of the Treasury Board was misquoted, he has only to say so. If the reporting was inaccurate, he must explain why he does not want to recover the money squeezed out of Canadian taxpayers.
The Quebec City Olympic Games organizing committee wants to know why it was not informed of corruption at the IOC.
Taxpayers want to know why this government spent money on an Olympic bid when it knew that the bidding process was rigged. This is no time for our ministers to hide behind the narrowness of their portfolios. It is time for them to stand up and renew our confidence in the Olympic Games.
Amateur sport, not corruption, is part of our heritage. The Minister of National Defence and the President of Treasury Board should never forget that.
Gary Pillitteri Liberal Niagara Falls, ON
Mr. Speaker, Crispin Bottomley, a young constituent of Niagara Falls, was one of the students of my riding who attended the Forum for Young Canadians last June.
Later he was honoured by the Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce as Young Citizen for the Year 1998.
Crispin has now been chosen as one of the Canadian representatives at the Presidential Classroom: World Future Leaders Summit to be held in Washington in March. The summit brings outstanding leaders from around the world to Washington to study international relations and to debate important issues facing our planet. This gives brilliant young people like Crispin the opportunity to expand their Forum for Young Canadians experience on an international level.
Crispin feels very honoured to be representing Canada and the Niagara area. Today I would like to salute him and recognize his achievements and wish him Godspeed.
Young people like Crispin Bottomley are the hope and future for Canada.
House Of CommonsStatements By Members
The Speaker
Today is a special anniversary for us in the House of Commons.
It has been 83 years since the fire here in the House of Commons in the Centre Block.
I would like to draw to your attention that on the Table before us the symbol of our authority to make laws and to speak for Canadian people is the Mace. Today we have the wooden Mace which was used immediately after the fire of 1916. I thought you should know the reason why it is there today.
Preston Manning ReformLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, last month a 93-year old grandmother in Montreal took sick. She went to the hospital, was put on a stretcher, left in a hallway and she died two days later. In her obituary her family said “Don't send flowers, send a letter to the health minister asking him why someone who paid taxes for 93 years had to die in a hospital hallway”.
Will the Prime Minister whose government has cut $16 billion out of health and social programs explain why someone who paid taxes for those years had to die in a hospital hallway?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the finances of all the provincial governments and the federal government were in terrible shape and every sector had to take some cuts. This is always ongoing in governments. At that time a letter was sent to Mr. Rochon, the minister of health in Quebec, concerning this case.
Incidents like that happen from time to time. We do not manage the daily operations of the hospitals. It is the provincial governments that do that.
We are in discussions at this time with the provinces and we are looking at the problem of health. We said it was to be our priority.
Preston Manning ReformLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, I am sure that is comforting to the family.
The Prime Minister's government knocked $16 billion out of health care funding and has failed to make other essential health care reforms. One of the consequences of that has been hospital closures and waiting lines now up to 200,000 people.
Canadians want to know, after the so-called health care budget how much shorter are these waiting lines going to be?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is wrong. The cuts were $6 billion for health, education and social programs but at the same time we left the tax points. The tax points have given back $3.2 billion. We have the child tax credit that represents $1.7 billion which is helping the provinces in the area of welfare.
There will be some money for health care in the budget and we hope that we will soon be back to where we were.
Preston Manning ReformLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the social union talks are supposed to provide a solution to the deterioration of health care and other social programs under this administration.
The premiers have put forward some positive suggestions for change but the federal government's reaction has been primarily negative and reactionary.
When the premiers come to town tomorrow with some positive suggestions, is the Prime Minister going to react positively and enthusiastically to them or is he going to be a grumpy old man saying no, no, no?