Debates of Feb. 3rd, 1999

Yvon Duhaime

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know how many bank transactions in Canada the hon. member would like to investigate. In this case these loans from the Business Development Bank of Canada were not grants.

I do not know how much clearer I can put that. Perhaps the member does not like the answer. But it is repayable on the basis of an interest rate that is commercially based and there is no reason for any further investigation.

The debts are there. They are repayable to the Business Development Bank of Canada.

Employment Insurance

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, and again today, the Minister of Human Resources denied that quotas for employment insurance cuts had been imposed on employees in the employment centres.

Our information, however, indicates that there are indeed recovery targets for each employment centre.

Can the minister tell us whether there are quotas in his department, yes or no? If so, who sets them, and according to what criteria?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, on the one hand, we are being accused of being too aggressive in our employment insurance investigations; on the other, we are being accused of being too lax in the way we administer public funds. We have struck a balance.

There are no quotas. We are responsible for public funds. We know that we can recover certain amounts in certain areas, and these are the amounts we are expecting to recover.

I can assure you that our investigators are working diligently to respect the integrity of the public funds with which we are entrusted.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have before me a Human Resources Development document which sets for each Human Resources Development Canada centre in Quebec a target of $100 million, indicates that the $145 million level has been attained, and shows the percentage of success.

If these are not quotas, then what are they?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, these are guidelines.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Papineau—Saint-Denis, QC]

They contain indicators, according to which we can know the exact percentage of improper transactions.

This is the usual practice in any system wishing to respect the integrity of a process, in order to ensure that the system treats Canadian citizens in a fair and equitable manner.

Plutonium

[Dave Chatters, Reform, Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, at the 1996 Moscow summit the Prime Minister made an impromptu offer to accept weapons grade plutonium for destruction in Canada. The United States says it is ready to start exporting this weapons grade plutonium to Canada as early as next month. When was the Prime Minister planning to tell Canadians this plutonium is on its way?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to put this in context. There is a strong Canadian interest in the reduction of nuclear weapons in this world. If we are to reduce the number of nuclear weapons we have to burn the fuel that is part of those weapons. We said that we would consider looking at tests to determine whether using the Candu reactor is a proper way to burn this fuel, but no tests have been done. We said anything that would be done would be subject to the full safety, regulatory and public consultation requirements under the atomic energy act. We hold to that. At this point and in light of the committee report we will examine those recommendations.

[Dave Chatters, Reform, Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the United States has already completed full environmental impact studies and full public consultation. Where are our environmental impact studies? Where are the details of the agreement? Where are our public consultations?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, there is no MOx fuel in Canada at this point in time. Nobody has sent us anything. We are still talking about the possibility of doing the tests. If those tests are considered, as I have already stated in the House, we will follow fully the full regulatory environmental requirements. That is a commitment to count on.

National Defence

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, two reports from the Department of National Defence are recommending a substantial increase in the number of officers in the university training program and focusing on education to improve the image of the Canadian army.

Does the Minister of National Defence plan to act on one of the major recommendations in these studies and set aside the money necessary for university training, money that could certainly be used by the former royal military college in Saint-Jean?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we are determined to upgrade the education and training systems of the Canadian forces.

A year ago I announced that a university education, a degree, would be required for those entering into the officer ranks.

As the hon. member knows, there is use of the former CMR facility in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and there will continue to be use of that facility in helping to prepare our officers for their educational program.

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the studies also recommended upgrading the Saint-Jean preparatory year.

Accordingly, will the minister increase personnel, recruitment and the budget of the former royal military college in Saint-Jean, that was cavalierly closed, I might add, by the Liberal Party?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the school was closed because we simply did not need three educational institutions across the country given the size of our force and given the budget cuts in order to bring about elimination of the deficit.

We have continued to use that property. There is a renewal coming up of the contract with respect to the use of it and we are presently looking over what our future use would be. We expect and intend to continue to use that facility.

Justice

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the justice minister supported her position on child pornography by saying the law in question is still in full force and effect in nine of the provinces.

In other words, the people of British Columbia were told sorry, while the appeal process goes on the children who have to live in that province will not be protected against child pornography. Yesterday we could have offered that protection but the Liberals voted no way.

How long is the minister willing to wait before child pornography is once again made a crime in British Columbia?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the hon. member did not understand what I said.

I said the law is in full force and effect in nine provinces and two territories. The law is indeed in force and effect in the province of British Columbia. The decision of Mr. Justice Shaw merely binds provincial court judges in that province and no other judge.

Let me reassure the member that the attorney general of British Columbia, Ujjal Dosanjh, yesterday indicated that the law continues to be investigated by the police. Charges continue to be laid and charges will be prosecuted.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps it is understandable why the justice minister did not want to answer the timeline question. This is the situation.

It could take weeks for the appeal to be heard. It could take months for the decision to be rendered. If it has to go to the supreme court, this could take years. In the meantime while the lawyers have their fun, what is the protection offered to the people and to children especially in British Columbia?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, let me quote the attorney general of British Columbia who has charge of the administration of the Criminal Code: “We need to let the process work itself out while assuring Canadians across the country that issues around investigations and the crown laying charges will continue as they usually do”.

The attorney general of British Columbia has made it absolutely plain that the police will continue to investigate. Charges will continue to be laid and prosecutions will be pursued.

I would ask that the Reform Party stop spreading fear in the province of British Columbia.

Social Housing

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government's proposal to transfer the social housing stock to the Government of Quebec is totally unacceptable.

Indeed, Ottawa is offering $289 million in compensation, or 19% of federal funding for housing. That is clearly not enough in light of the legitimate needs of Quebeckers.

Will the minister responsible for housing commit to making a better offer, so that the compensation reflects Quebec's financial reality?

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

Mr. Speaker, first of all I would like to tell the hon. members of this House and all Canadians that the Government of Canada invests nearly $2 billion every year in subsidizing more than 645,000 public housing units.

On the Quebec issue, I have already sent a letter to my new counterpart in Quebec, Ms. Louise Harel, asking that we meet as soon as possible. I hope that we will be able to finally put this issue to rest so that, like all those Canadians whose provincial government already signed the agreement, the people of Quebec can benefit from this agreement.

Boating

[Ian Murray, Liberal, Lanark—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. Many of my constituents have expressed concern with the new boating safety regulations. I personally believe that these changes are long overdue.

Could the minister explain why he believes these measures will be effective in reducing the number of tragedies each summer on our waterways?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, there are some 200 Canadians killed in some 6,000 boating accidents annually. The hon. member is quite correct that this carnage should stop.

We have introduced new measures that follow the consistent coroners' reports in every province and territory following individual incidents which call for more training and for more and better safety equipment onboard boats.

These measures will not be intrusive. They will be easily complied with and will cut deaths on the water, which are quite unacceptable to the government.

Justice

[Val Meredith, Reform, South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice is misleading Canadians.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.