Debates of March 25th, 1999

Transport

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Industry.

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, as acting Minister of Transport today I will simply have to take note of the hon. member's question. I am sure the minister will want to respond to him directly.

Foreign Affairs

[Gordon Earle, NDP, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, our military is actively engaged by way of air strikes in the conflict in Kosovo. Concern has been expressed that this present action may not achieve its goal and the conflict may escalate to require ground troops.

Will the minister assure the House that, should NATO make a formal request of Canada for an expanded commitment, this request will be brought before parliament for a debate and a vote?

We spent all night long debating the government's legislation to send public servants back to work. Surely we can and should debate any expanded commitment of military action in Kosovo.

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, there is no contemplation of sending ground forces into Kosovo under the current conditions where there is no peace agreement. There would have to be a peace agreement before we could send in a peacekeeping mission.

If there was any substantive expansion or change in our role with respect to this NATO led effort, then we would of course want to consult with members of parliament.

Canadian Forces

[Gordon Earle, NDP, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the government has tabled its response to the SCONDVA report on quality of life in the Canadian forces. That report had a number of recommendations concerning the housing crisis.

While recommendations concerning pay and allowances have been accepted and are being implemented, many of the housing recommendations have only been accepted in principle, subject to operational or training imperatives.

Will the minister advise the House as to why the housing recommendations are not being given top priority in the best interest of military families?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

They are, Mr. Speaker. We in fact are putting $40 million more this year into the repair of the married quarters for our personnel.

We recognize that there is a lot of substandard housing. We are going to move immediately to fix that up, but we are also developing long range plans. We are looking to reorganize our Canadian forces housing authority to give it more of the tools it needs to do an effective job and to make sure our people are properly housed.

We have long term plans, but we have plans for $40 million additional dollars to immediately go toward repairs.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, we support our forces and the NATO action, but in the middle of the war the government is rotating home our CF-18s and crews from Italy and is replacing them with Cold Lake based fighters and crews.

Obviously there has been no planning or forethought to this military operation. Canadians are left wondering what military genius came up with this poorly timed plan.

Why are Canadian forces rotating the CF-18s now, or is this a back door chance to increase our CF-18 presence in the theatre?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has it wrong. We originally were going to rotate at the end of March, but that was set months ago, before we knew what action we would be involved in at this point in time. It is hardly the time to do that.

But eventually we will need to replace the people who are there with others. That is an operational question that will be dealt with at the appropriate time and it will be determined by the chief of defence staff.

Kosovo

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

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is off to war, without the slightest thought for the Canadian forces personnel in Bosnia.

One of the serious risks is that the war in Kosovo could spread to Bosnia, and thus the Canadian troops would find themselves in the midst of open warfare.

I wish to ask the minister what steps he has taken to reinforce Canadian troops in Bosnia, should the hostilities spread.

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I prefer to think of this as a humanitarian mission, an effort to stop what is being done to the Kosovars, as opposed to a war.

The troops that we have in Bosnia have taken extra precautionary measures to strengthen their security. We have done everything to reduce the risks so that our troops will be as safe and secure as possible in that kind of environment.

Fisheries And Oceans

[Rey D. Pagtakhan, Liberal, Winnipeg North—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

A Canadian delegation recently attended the United Nations fisheries and agricultural organization meeting in Rome. What was accomplished in terms of protecting the world's oceans from destructive fishing, from overfishing and from pollution?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, there is no question that the world's oceans are under threat from overfishing capacity and pollution. We have to put international pressures on those areas.

In Rome, Canada pressed all nations to enact the UNFA agreement by the year 2000 to protect global high seas and migratory fish stocks. Canada set the tone at the FAO. We have led the debate in terms of conservation of the fisheries.

Our Minister of Fisheries and Oceans will continue to provide leadership not only domestically, but globally and internationally around the world.

Hepatitis C

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this is the first anniversary of the health minister's two tier hepatitis C compensation plan, but there is no celebrating.

Is the health minister proud of this? After one year of legal wrangling no victim has received one single cent.

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, this government is very proud that there is an agreement in principle with respect to a proposal for thousands of Canadians who were infected between 1986 and 1990. We expect that will soon go before the courts for approval.

What is more is that this government has offered over $500 million to people outside that period to ensure they get the care they need. That is what this is about, providing care to people when they are ill.

Dairy Producers

[Odina Desrochers, Bloc, Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week the WTO ruled in favour of the United States and New Zealand in the matter of milk exports, which is contrary to the interests of Quebec dairy producers.

My question is for the Minister for International Trade. Does the federal government intend to appeal the decision by the WTO, or is it going to lower its arms and drop Quebec dairy producers?

[Sergio Marchi, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the member is correct. We only received the report last week, on March 17.

Yesterday the federal government met with the stakeholders from the dairy industry. As well, it has consulted all of the provinces.

I am now in a position on behalf of my colleague the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Government of Canada to say quite clearly that indeed it is our intention to make an appeal and thereby stand four-square behind the dairy industry.

Poverty

[Angela Vautour, NDP, Beauséjour—Petitcodiac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, finally, the Prime Minister has recognized the problem of the homeless and appointed a minister responsible. He has now to provide her with the resources necessary to resolve the problem.

The new minister must also have the freedom to criticize the government policy that gives rise to poverty.

In order to ensure real success, is the government prepared to strike a parliamentary committee where all the parties will be represented to assist the minister in her job and to make sure that the problems of the poor and the homeless are eliminated and not simply hidden under a title?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite has suggested the creation of a new parliamentary committee.

A very legitimate request, but I must remind her there is a procedure for creating a parliamentary committee. The leaders of all the parties meet, discuss such suggestions, which are then submitted to the House. They are not made by the minister responsible for a portfolio. The decision is taken by the House collectively following recommendations by the leaders of the individual parties.

Transport

[Bill Casey, Progressive Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the acting Minister of Transport.

Twelve years ago Department of Transport officials identified what they called a major safety concern at the Kelowna airport. The safety concern was that air traffic controllers cannot see the runways.

In 1989 the Department of Transport issued a temporary waiver to allow the airport to continue operations on the condition that a new tower be built. Ten years later there is no new tower, no plans, no nothing.

Considering that Kelowna is one of the fastest growing airports in Canada, will the minister now do whatever is necessary to stop the delays and address what his own department calls a major safety concern?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, of course the first concern of the Department of Transport, and I might add its minister, is the safety of Canadian air travellers. While of course I am unaware of the particulars of this situation, I am sure that upon investigation, if the minister finds that the situation indeed has not been improved, he will want to instruct that those improvements occur with the appropriate haste.

Wildlife

[Aileen Carroll, Liberal, Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in two weeks it is going to be National Wildlife Week and Canadians are saying that they are very concerned about the state of wildlife and its habitat.

Could the Minister of the Environment tell us what measures she is taking to protect wildlife?

[Paddy Torsney, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, April 4 to 10 marks National Wildlife Week. The 1999 theme is “Home is Where there is Habitat”.

Environment Canada is working in conjunction with its provincial and territorial partners. We are protecting the habitats thanks to a network of programs across Canada. A bill to protect endangered species will soon be introduced.

Together Canadians can work to ensure that future generations inherit a country at least as rich and diverse in wildlife as the one we enjoy today.

Immigration

[Grant McNally, Reform, Dewdney—Alouette, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the immigration system is broken. In 1993 Dr. Sharif Karimzada, a former Afghani diplomat, was granted refugee status here in Canada. Later the government retroactively determined that he was no longer a refugee and was going to be deported.

He was here to plead his case in Ottawa this week. I am wondering if this government's policy is to retroactively change the law to ship people out like Dr. Karimzada who deserve our protection here in Canada.

Is the government going to do that? Is it going to send him back to Afghanistan to face certain death, yes or no?

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the Immigration Act is quite clear on persons who were senior officials of certain governments which engaged in crimes against humanity and are inadmissible to Canada. These provisions have been put into place to protect the safety of Canadians.

If the Reform Party really cares about the integrity of the system, then it should be concerned that all inadmissible individuals to this country be removed.

People With Disabilities

[Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral, Bloc, Laval Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Human Rights Commission just released its annual report.

In that document, the commission's chair, Michelle Falardeau-Ramsey, says: “Unfortunately, the actual situation of people with disabilities has again deteriorated in 1998”.

Could the Deputy Prime Minister tell us how his government intends to remedy the situation of people with disabilities?