Debates of April 19th, 1999

Millenium Scholarships

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

Mr. Speaker, I regret the situation in which Quebec City appears to want to refuse to commit to the Gautrin resolution.

This resolution, unanimously approved by the National Assembly, had identified certain criteria to permit agreement between the millennium scholarship fund and the Government of Quebec.

I can assure you that the legislation this parliament passed would readily enable the foundation to meet the objectives of the Gautrin resolution, which the Parti Quebecois itself adopted at the National Assembly.

Kosovo

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Bombings and violence in the region of Yugoslavia have already created many thousands of refugees. Can the minister assure the House that refugee applicants will be treated equally, regardless of their ethnicity?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, Canada offers protection based on persecution, not on ethnicity.

Right now we accept the cases referred to us by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and I must say that the priority is for Kosovo refugees of Albanian origin. However, on the other hand, at our office in Vienna we process on a priority basis sponsored Yugoslav family class applicants.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, RCMP officers are being turned into bureaucrats. Instead of responding to calls and investigating crimes, the minister and RCMP brass think that in order to cut expenses an officer's time is better spent logging mileage and pushing paper.

On Friday in response to my concerns about inadequate funding for the RCMP, the solicitor general referred to an ongoing resource review. The RCMP do not need another study, they need adequate funding.

Is the solicitor general proud of the fact that under his government the RCMP's proud tradition has been reduced to that of the Kmart of policing?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I told my hon. colleague that the budget for the RCMP is $1.2 billion. The increase in the last budget was $37 million. There is a resource review in place. Is my hon. colleague telling me that he is not concerned at all how federal dollars are spent in this country?

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, of course we are concerned. But perhaps the hundreds of millions of dollars that the government is spending on gun registration could be better spent fighting crime. B.C. RCMP are understaffed to the point of 400 positions, underfunded by millions of dollars, and the Liberals need a task force to decide why the west feels alienated.

I would like to inform the solicitor general from P.E.I. that two issues paramount on the minds of British Columbians are organized crime and drugs. Yet according to the RCMP themselves, the crimes that are put on the shelf due to inadequate funding are, surprise, organized crime and drugs.

Will the solicitor general today commit to adequate funding to fight organized crime and drugs?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to answer the question. I want to strongly object to the member describing a member of the cabinet as a minister from one province. Ministers of the government represent all Canadians from all provinces.

Kosovo

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask a question of the Minister of Foreign Affairs which does not presuppose a seeming inevitability to the deploying of ground troops but which rather focuses on the need for a diplomatic solution and for people getting back to the table.

In that respect, I am sure the minister is aware that President Clinton has reiterated that President Milosevic has to meet NATO's five points. Given the minister's support for the German plan which has a different threshold for getting back to the table, is the government prepared to politely disagree with President Clinton with respect to the threshold for getting back to the table and say that NATO's five points are themselves negotiable, with the exception of course, of—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member would look at the declarations by the UN secretary general, by NATO ministers at the last meeting, by the president and by the German plan, they all contain the basic essentials. There has to be a withdrawal of Serbian government troops. There has to be a stop of the exploitation and violence against the refugees. There has to be a peace agreement. There has to be real protection of the integrity and human rights within that area. It is on that basis the negotiations are going ahead.

I would like to mention that as part of that process the Prime Minister spoke this morning to former Prime Minister Chernomyrdin of Russia. It is all part of the dialogue that is going on to see how we can begin to engage the—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Winnipeg—Transcona.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister has talked about the essentials. I want to ask the minister if one of the essentials continues to be the use of a NATO force post-settlement. That was obviously one of the stumbling blocks at Rambouillet. It is in the five point plan. Is the Canadian government prepared to say when it talks about essentials, that element of the five point plan is no longer part of the essentials. That would considerably change the threshold for getting back to the table and we think increase the possibility of a diplomatic solution which I think—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I refer the hon. member back to the debate we had in the House last week. The Prime Minister did indicate that we could have a broad international force applying the verification and monitoring inside Kosovo. That is the basis on which the discussions are now proceeding, to determine what would be the composition but most importantly to get Milosevic to agree to something so we can start serious negotiations.

[André Bachand, Progressive Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of National Defence confirm that Canadian forces personnel are already engaged in operations in Kosovo and in Yugoslavia, more specifically as part of joint task force 2, yes or no?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, all I can confirm is a list that has been provided for all members of parliament. It indicates the various forces personnel that have been involved, such as the verification mission, those involved in the air campaign out of Aviano, those who were involved in the extraction force in Macedonia, the NATO airborne and our early warning force out of Germany. Of course we are preparing under a peace agreement to send peacekeeping troops in connection with the effort. There are quite a number of personnel but it is in those capacities.

[André Bachand, Progressive Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister did not answer my question.

I am asking the minister whether or not it is true that Canada, like other countries, but specifically Canada, has armed forces on a mission inside Kosovo and Yugoslavia? It would therefore appear that we already have ground troops there. True or false?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, no. We do not have ground troops in the area. We have only people there on the basis I enunciated a few moments ago.

Agriculture

[Rose-Marie Ur, Liberal, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Today in Ottawa agri-food leaders are delivering their vision regarding the crucial next round of WTO negotiations. Can the parliamentary secretary assure Canadians the government will fight to protect our farmers and ensure the views of this industry will be part of the negotiations?

[Joe McGuire, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, in 1996 at the fed-prov meeting it was agreed there would be a conference prior to the negotiations beginning this fall for the next round of the WTO.

As the member knows, the House standing committee has held hearings across the country. People have come from across the country for take note hearings at the committee. The minister has held bilaterals for the past number of months with associations and national committees. Today a group 500 strong of processors and farmers is meeting in the congress centre to ascertain what Canada's position will be going into the negotiations. This is not a final position but it is one that will evolve over time. These producers and farmers will be in the loop.

Minister For International Trade

[Rob Anders, Reform, Calgary West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the trade minister is out looking for a new job. Word has it he is out getting endorsements for one of those prize patronage plums in the other place. In the good Liberal tradition, he is not looking to get elected, he is looking to get anointed. Are things getting so bad over there that cabinet ministers are looking for any way out?

[Sergio Marchi, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I thought question period was to be a serious form of engagement. Perhaps the member might have a serious question.

Canadian Productivity

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today there is a front page story in the National Post about a troubling PMO report establishing a direct link between Canada's flagging productivity and worsening social inequality.

My question is for the Minister of Industry. Does the minister dispute the conclusions of this report, and if not, what does he intend to do to break the spiral of flagging productivity that leads to poverty?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

It is clear, Mr. Speaker, that the issue of productivity is an important one. It is vital to the Canadian economy.

We have already invested large amounts in the research and development sector, in innovation, in education, and in the millennium fund, which will help Canada prepare for the 21st century.

This is how we can prepare for the changes which are already beginning.

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, Liberal members are finally realizing that the employment insurance program is not generous enough.

The Liberal caucus just set up a committee to look at the problems caused by the employment insurance reform. This a noble but partisan effort.

Does the Minister of Human Resources Development agree that it would be more productive to have this review conducted by the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development, since members from all parties would then be able to express their views and make this issue a top priority?