Debates of March 8th, 1999

Women Political Prisoners

[Maud Debien, Bloc, Laval East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at the dawn of the year 2000, Amnesty International continues to report too many horror stories of women being imprisoned for political reasons.

Brutality, rape, arbitrary and abusive arrest, this is what awaits women peacefully working to have their rights respected.

My question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Could Canada not use its presence on the security council to exert political and diplomatic pressure in order to free such political prisoners around the world and finally condemn those countries violating their basic rights?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member likely knows, last February when we were present at the council we specifically raised the initiative at the security council to deal with the broad issue of the persecution of civilians during times of conflict. In that case we specifically raised the problems related to humanitarian workers, to children, to innocent victims, including woman, and said that the United Nations Security Council must address these problems through a series of concrete recommendations.

We are now waiting for the secretary general to provide a response to that initiative and we will be very glad to share it with the hon. member because we think it is an important step forward in the promotion of the protection of women's and children's rights in times of conflict.

Employment

[Charles Hubbard, Liberal, Miramichi, NB]

Mr. Speaker, older workers often have difficulty finding employment.

In New Brunswick we have the so-called New Brunswick job corps, where nearly a thousand men and women participate in a program for those over 50. It is funded by our federal and provincial governments.

I would ask the Minister of Human Resources Development to explain the anxiety that we have in New Brunswick over the fact that the program may soon end.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that the New Brunswick job corps program will continue until December 1999. This will allow the last 930 participants to finish the project.

We are pleased with the program's track record. Lessons learned from the New Brunswick job corps will be valuable in addressing the needs of older workers in the country.

I would also like to thank my colleague, the Minister of Labour, for her efforts and her interest in the continuation of this funding.

The Environment

[John Cummins, Reform, Delta—South Richmond, BC]

Mr. Speaker, according to cabinet documents obtained by CTV, Atomic Energy of Canada wants to fast track the burial of tonnes of nuclear waste in the Canadian Shield.

The report says that the work should begin as soon as possible and with as little consultation as is necessary.

Why do the Liberals want to fast track the burial of 30,000 tonnes of nuclear waste and why do they want to restrict public consultation?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman, in making reference to the report by CTV News, is simply and plainly wrong.

The government's policy with respect to this matter was announced on December 3 in our response to the Seaborn report. The Seaborn report was the culmination of 10 years of investigation on this question.

We have laid out our way forward which involves both immediate and long term consultations. The document is there on the Internet and it has been there since December 3.

[John Cummins, Reform, Delta—South Richmond, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are not talking about the documents on the Internet, we are talking about confidential cabinet documents.

Things change over time. The cabinet itself has ordered that public consultation be restricted. If there is nothing to hide, why does the minister want to fast track this project? Why does he not want public consultation?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the allegations in the gentleman's preamble are absolutely and plainly false.

The document that is the government's policy is the December 3 response to the Seaborn report. It lays out an extensive pattern of consultation by me, by my department, by the government and by the waste disposal agency. It is all there in a very public, open and transparent way. That is the government's policy. The gentleman and CTV News are wrong.

The Public Service Of Canada

[Bev Desjarlais, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is International Women's Day and women are the lowest paid workers in the public service and the Liberal government is trying to keep it that way.

It has denied them pay equity. It froze their wages for six years. This wage freeze created a surplus in the pension fund and now the Liberal government is raiding the surplus. These are not gold plated pensions. The average woman with 20 years of service only gets $9,600 a year from her pension. The government should be a model employer.

Does the Treasury Board president think he is setting a good example for the private sector by stomping on pay equity and raiding the public pension plan surplus?

[Marcel Massé, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government was the first government to introduce a law which gave pay equity to women in 1979 and we have kept to it. We have already paid out over a billion dollars to make sure that pay equity was implemented in the federal system.

We have in our law extended pay equity to federally legislated enterprises. The federal government, and in particular the Liberal government, has always been favourable to women and it is trying to continue to create justice in the system.

[Bev Desjarlais, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Treasury Board president and the Liberal government are unrepentant. They have lost all credibility with public service workers, particularly women.

First the government agreed to a joint pension management and investment board. Now it has flip-flopped and is shutting the workers out of any say in managing their own pension.

The flip-flop smacks of 1950s patriarchy. Most of the workers who rely on this pension fund are women. The Liberal government's attitude seems to be that women cannot or should not manage their own money. This attitude has no place in the 1990s.

Can the President of the Treasury Board explain why he thinks public servants need big brother to manage their pensions?

[Marcel Massé, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately my colleague in her preamble stated things that are not in parallel with reality.

In fact it is the government itself that proposed to have joint management of the pension fund and it was ready to introduce a law to do this. However, the unions were not prepared to take the risk, to share the risk with the employer in a future pension fund and I have left on the table the possibility of having joint management of the pension fund with the unions.

Child Tax Benefit

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

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

Last fall we learned in the Department of Finance's economic and financial update that, in four years' time, inflation will have eaten $665 million away from the child tax benefit.

With the budget now presented, is it not fair to say that, through inflation, low income families will in fact have lost $365 million net in four years' time?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in the past two years, we have increased the benefit by $1.8 billion. This year, we have added another $300 million.

That certainly compensates for inflation, and much more.

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

Mr. Speaker, despite what the minister has said, the real value of the national child benefit, vital assistance to many low income families in Canada, which include many single mothers, continues to shrink as the result of inflation.

This is particularly true since, in two years' time, inflation will have totally wiped out the increase in the latest budget.

How does the minister intend to offset the losses thus incurred by Canadian families?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the member's figures are questionable.

In the past two years, we have added over $2.1 billion. That compensates more than amply for inflation.

Canada-Palestine Relations

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Anjou—Rivière-Des-Prairies, QC]

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

The minister is just back from a mission to the Middle East, during which he spent some time in the territories under administration by the Palestinian Authority.

Could the minister share his impressions with us and tell us what Canada intends to do to enhance its relationship with the Palestinians?

[Sergio Marchi, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking the hon. member for his interest. A new page has been turned in the history of Canada-Palestine relations.

The Palestinians are planning their future and Canada intends to help them do so. In particular, we have signed a framework agreement to facilitate trade exchanges, knowing that peace and prosperity are linked.

Natural Disasters

[Jake Hoeppner, Reform, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, prior to the 1997 federal election and during the Manitoba flood Liberals were handing out $5,000 cheques to flood victims. Now, 18 months after the election and after the flood, this government is demanding the return of these funds. Why? Are these victims supposed to wait for another federal election with empty Liberal promises?

[Ronald J. Duhamel, Liberal, Secretary of State (Science]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague misunderstands the situation completely. These were accountable advances. Up to $5,000 in money from the Government of Canada was put into the hands of each person who needed assistance. When they were given the money there was a signed statement saying that it was an accountable advance and that it would be repaid.

Almost 2,000 people were helped in Manitoba. To date 1,700 have come to an agreement with the Government of Canada. Two hundred are in the process of coming to an agreement and we are working with another hundred, hoping to come to an agreement quickly.

Canadian Forces

[Pierrette Venne, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian forces have failed in their attempt to fully integrate women into their ranks, according to the Canadian Human Rights Commission. At the moment, women represent only 10.8% of the army, only 3.1% in the combat units and there is not one woman general.

My question is for the Minister of National Defence. What is he waiting for before taking action? Is he waiting for the commission to cite the officers of the Canadian forces for contempt of court in the light of his failure to rectify the situation?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I recognize that change has been slow, but it is accelerating. This government is solidly committed to the current course that will involve the full integration of women into the Canadian forces.

I might add that the 10.8% is the second highest of the NATO countries, but I believe we can do more in terms of being able to give women every opportunity to join whatever part of the Canadian forces they wish, and considerable progress is being made in that regard.

Canadian Farmers

[Dick Proctor, NDP, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this past Saturday farmers were demanding the resignations of both the agriculture and the wheat board ministers because neither attended a farm rally in Regina. This no-show is in sharp contrast to last Monday's announcement when the minister of agriculture said that it was a great day for Canadian farmers. Saskatchewan and Manitoba farmers attending the rally disagree, saying that AIDA stands for “another insulting deceptive announcement”.

Could the Deputy Prime Minister tell the House why the government could not be bothered to send one representative from its 155 member caucus to explain this program to prairie farmers?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, on this particular weekend the minister of agriculture was leaving for a trade mission to Japan. In my own case, I was in Washington on Saturday talking with Canadian embassy officials about access to U.S. grain markets for Canadian grain supplies and heading off additional trade disputes.

The organizers of the committee made it absolutely clear that the only persons who would be acceptable in terms of representing the government would be the minister of agriculture or myself. Unfortunately, in the circumstances, both of us were fighting for farmers elsewhere.

Employment

[Mark Muise, Progressive Conservative, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, on February 26 Human Resources Development Canada announced $750,000 for Joval International clothing recylcer of Toronto to relocate in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Considering ACOA's recent losses of $2 million in two Bathurst textile companies, can the minister responsible for human resources development explain why his department would fund a company that will compete directly with the long established Nova Scotia clothing outfit, Frenchy's, which presently employs over 125 people across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick?