Debates of March 24th, 1999

The Economy

[Gerry Ritz, Reform, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the industry minister found himself in hot water recently by admitting that Canada's standard of living is lower than Mississippi's. Since then his own department's economists wrote a paper verifying those facts.

Why did the minister block the distribution of that report?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

There is trouble with the facts over there, Mr. Speaker. I recommend that speech to the hon. member. It is still available on the website.

The member will see that we never did say that the standard of living was lower in Canada than in Mississippi. We were expressing concerns about the level of productivity in Canada compared to the U.S. In recent days we have had more favourable numbers from Statistics Canada than had previously been the case. It would be important for the hon. member to take those numbers into account and perhaps to help us all work together in order to make sure that our standard of living continues to increase.

[Gerry Ritz, Reform, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, those same industry economists said “Basically, we were told not to distribute the paper”. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce said that productivity remains a problem, that Canada is falling behind its major trading partner.

Why is the minister blocking the reports he does not like?

[John Manley, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

That is bizarre, Mr. Speaker. In fact the report is not something we do not like. We want to make sure the facts are consistent. I know the hon. member does not want to let the facts stand in the way of some good political rhetoric, but I suggest to him that he review the daily from two days ago from Statistics Canada and take into account what they are saying about levels of productivity.

Bulk Water Exports

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment.

The House will recall that on February 9 we passed a motion in this House calling for a national moratorium on bulk water exports and for legislation that would prohibit bulk water exports. Yet on an Environment Canada website under the section “A Primer on Fresh Water”, we find the following sentence for consumption by high school students and others who will be using this for educational materials: “Bulk water exports by ocean tanker await the development of foreign markets”.

What is going on? Does the motion that was passed in this House stand, or is Environment Canada—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of the Environment.

[Christine Stewart, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague across the floor draws to my attention a statement that I am not aware of and it certainly does not follow the policy of this government.

We have announced and it is very clear that we are developing an accord at this moment with the provinces and territories to prohibit the bulk export of freshwater from this country. That is the position of this government. We will be introducing legislation to prevent the withdrawal of bulk water from international bodies. We will continue to work to develop a freshwater strategy.

I will clarify what is on the web and make sure that the web reflects the position of this government.

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, if the minister is not aware of what is on the website, she should be. Do we have a commitment from her that when we turn on the website tomorrow, this statement will be out of there for good?

[Christine Stewart, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, there are thousands and thousands of pages of information from my department on the website. I can guarantee that statement will be removed today.

Poverty

[Diane St-Jacques, Progressive Conservative, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at the end of the opposition day when we invited the government to take steps to relieve poverty in Canada, the Liberal members denied us the unanimous consent we needed to establish a joint parliamentary committee to study this matter of national urgency.

Since it appears that the Prime Minister has finally seen the light on this, I would ask him once again whether he intends now to agree to the establishment of a committee that would benefit from the expertise and participation of all opposition parties.

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is now very familiar with parliamentary procedure. She knows that, first, members are not to comment on a vote in the House and, second, under Standing Order 108(2), a parliamentary committee is master of its own proceedings.

[Diane St-Jacques, Progressive Conservative, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is hard to believe the Prime Minister feels compassion toward the poor in this country. Even yesterday he thought it a good idea to make fun of them as he tried to explain his unsuccessful dealings in Shawinigan.

This flagrant lack of respect for the most disadvantaged casts doubt on the reasons behind the appointment of a minister for the homeless.

Will the Prime Minister acknowledge that this appointment, occurring as it does two days before an important conference on the homeless in Toronto is nothing more than a publicity stunt intended to camouflage his inaction to date in this matter?

[Claudette Bradshaw, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for the member opposite, because she has worked very hard for the poor.

Homelessness is a national problem. It is true that I will be going to Toronto tomorrow. We took part in a symposium on Dr. Golden's report. I believe it is important for me to go tomorrow to discuss these issues. I will also be going to Vancouver to have a look at our programs there. I intend to travel throughout Canada, not just to Toronto.

Women Entrepreneurs

[Gurbax Malhi, Liberal, Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister for International Trade.

A new report by the trade research coalition notes that Canadian women are starting new businesses at twice the rate of firms in general. What is the government going to do to help business women take part in Canada's active export market?

[Sergio Marchi, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, in the government's attempt to expand the trade culture to include small and medium size businesses, the women entrepreneur constituency is one of our main priorities. That is why we led a women's mission exclusively to Washington.

That is why we established the women's research coalition so that we can understand not only what is happening with women led, women owned companies in Canada, but what their needs are from an export market perspective. That is why in May the United States and Canada will be holding the first women's trade summit. We very much look forward to these initiatives.

Building Contracts

[Jason Kenney, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we keep hearing all sorts of political evasions to the very simple question about whether or not the government will table all documents relevant to the Grand-Mère Hotel grant from the transitional jobs fund.

Why in the world, given all of the unanswered questions that are there, would the government not release this information in the full public light so that people can see for themselves whether or not this grant was made according to proper procedure? Will the government release those documents without the whiteout. Yes or no.

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

Mr. Speaker, this case is absolutely clear. It has followed the usual procedures absolutely. The opposition knows very well that there is a standard procedure for access to information. There is a very good access to information law and the member knows how to use it. We will absolutely respect it as we always do.

Dairy Producers

[Hélène Alarie, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, dairy producers are concerned about the future of their sector. A recent unfavourable World Trade Organization ruling on export milk pricing has done nothing to allay their concerns.

My question is for the agriculture minister. Can the minister guarantee that he will do everything in his power to support dairy producers in their approaches to the WTO, and that greater diligence and competency will be applied than in the case of the butter oil mixtures?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I have explained to all members and to the House before that the WTO panel ruling last week had nothing to do with the domestic supply management system in Canada. It did address how the industry exports less than 5% of the milk into the export market and that is very clear.

As well, I had the pleasure yesterday at the Consensus 2000 conference here in Ottawa of meeting with all the supply managed sectors in Canada. I assured them that the government and I will work fully on their behalf for the support of supply management in the next WTO—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst.

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, today's Globe and Mail and National Post report that Liberal backbenchers finally want to see changes in employment insurance.

They have come on side with the United Nations, the report of the minister himself, and the thousands of workers whom I have met in my travels in condemning the changes to employment insurance.

My question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development. When is this government going to heed the established consensus and to change employment insurance so as to meet the needs of workers?

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

Mr. Speaker, several years ago our government undertook an in-depth, and extremely necessary, reform of the employment insurance program.

The member speaks of a very considerable consensus, yet every time solutions are found for certain problems, ones which are regularly overrated, they always want us to revert to the old system, which did not serve Canadians well.

We are constantly being called upon to go back to passive assistance. We are aware that we must continue to help this country's unemployed. We believe that the best help is to give them assistance in getting into the workforce.

Building Contracts

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

Mr. Speaker, I learned today that the auditor general plans to act on the request by the member for Markham and investigate the dubious dealings involving Mr. Duhaime and Mr. Thibault.

Section 11 of the Auditor General Act allows cabinet to order an independent inquiry into the granting of government funds to an individual.

If the Prime Minister has no doubts about the honesty of the $2.3 million in subsidies and loans given Mr. Duhaime and Mr. Thibault, why does he not use his own authority and order—

[The Speaker]

The Minister of Human Resources Development.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General of Canada is free to investigate what he likes, when he likes. My department will put all the documents at his disposal, should he so wish.

I can assure this House and the Canadian public that in this, as in other cases, the transitional jobs fund is an excellent program intended to create jobs in regions where unemployment is too high. The strength of this program lies in consultation with the people in the community. It is precisely because it reflects the community's priorities that it has created over 30,000 jobs.