Debates of April 20th, 1999

St. Paul University

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

Mr. Speaker, last Sunday, St. Paul University in Ottawa, known for its commitment to Catholic education, granted honorary doctorates to four citizens of the world in Canada, Philippines and Germany: Ms. Marjorie Hodgson, respected aboriginal leader who has worked to support healing within aboriginal communities; Madame Labelle, Chancellor of the University of Ottawa; Father Wilhelm Steckling, Superior General of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate; and, Brother Andrew Gonzalez, President of the International Federation of Catholic Universities and the Secretary of State for Education, Culture and Sports of the Republic of the Philippines.

As a Canadian member of Parliament of Filipino heritage, it gives me a special sense of joy to see that two of the recipients are from Canada and one from the Philippines. These honours are a tribute to the recipients and therefore to the social value of education. This is welcome news since Canada has placed education as one of its national priorities.

When we salute the recipients, we show the abiding faith we have in our students, youth—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik.

Regional Development

[Guy St-Julien, Liberal, Abitibi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on April 13 in this House, a member of the Bloc Quebecois stated the following in response to my question “The member knows well that the CLDs are replacing or complementing, with a broader mandate, the existing economic councils, even those that existed 15 years ago”.

Resolution CE-022-09 at a meeting of the Abitibi—Témiscamingue CRDAT on March 18 in Val d'Or provided “It is moved by Michel Cliché and seconded by André Brunet that the CRDAT's discontent with the Quebec government's handling of the distribution of the additional funds to the CLDs be expressed to the Minister, Jean-Pierre Jolivet, and that he be told the fact the regions were not consulted is unacceptable”.

The Bloc Quebecois member should read the minutes of this meeting, where it was said “the Government of Quebec ignored the regions' approach and failed to ask the opinion of the CRD”.

That is blockage Quebecois of the CRD, 15 years later.

National Volunteer Week

[Inky Mark, Reform, Dauphin—Swan River, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this week communities across Canada will be celebrating National Volunteer Week. This week is set aside to thank and honour our communities' unsung heroes, those people who donate time and energy to help their fellow citizens and the causes they believe in.

Every day volunteers take time from their work, their leisure and their home life to volunteer their talents and energies to solve problems in their communities. They come from all walks of life and from all ages. They share in common their citizenship and commitment to improving the quality of life in their community.

In observing National Volunteer Week, I encourage all members of the House to join with all communities across Canada in thanking the volunteers, Canada's greatest natural resource.

[Carolyn Parrish, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this side of the House would also like to honour and acknowledge the countless efforts of millions of Canadian volunteers. From St. John's to Vancouver, volunteers help to build and shape our communities and neighbourhoods. It is during this week we need to publicly honour and thank volunteers for their commitment, compassion and generosity.

Canada has more than 7.5 million volunteers who contribute to society in positive and significant ways. These contributions occur not only in times of crisis, but in the important day to day lives of many people. They work as health care aides, coaches, referees, tour guides, board members, mentors, researchers and search and rescue team members. It is this dedicated effort and support from volunteers of all ages and backgrounds that we as Canadians need to honour and appreciate.

Now is the time to acknowledge and pay tribute to these exceptional Canadians who donate their precious time to causes they believe in. These volunteers help to define what it truly means to be a Canadian.

Bilingualism

[Maurice Godin, Bloc, Châteauguay, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would draw to your attention another example of the application of the two official languages in this country. only.

I recently received a 78 page publication from the Department of Veterans Affairs, on media coverage of the 55th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. While the title appeared in both official languages, 61 pages were in English and only a page and a half were in French. What a fine proportion.

However, the arrogance does not stop there. Declaration 31 on the 55th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, which I made in the House on June 3, 1988 in French, appeared in this document in English only.

QuebecKers agree with Mr. Bouchard and his government. The defence of French and of the culture of our people cannot be left to a unitarian and centralizing federal government.

Meadowvale Theatre

[Steve Mahoney, Liberal, Mississauga West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, April 1 marked the 10th anniversary of Mississauga's Meadowvale Theatre. Since opening its doors on April 1, 1989, Meadowvale Theatre has hosted nearly 750,000 artists, technicians and audience members.

From professional theatre productions to concerts, seminars and conventions, classes in mime, puppetry and circus crafts, co-op programs in technical theatre and theatre management, the Meadowvale Theatre provides a tremendous variety of events for my community.

I want to congratulate the Meadowvale Theatre of Mississauga as it celebrates its 10th anniversary. I also want to thank all of those people who have worked and volunteered to make it so successful.

Cfb Calgary

[Deepak Obhrai, Reform, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not have to go to Calgary to find out why westerners feel alienated. I can tell them right here.

CFB Calgary has been closed. Its land can help address the educational, social and health concerns of Calgarians. However, this land is earmarked for sale to private developers for top dollars.

Mount Royal College needs land to expand. This government has refused Mount Royal's request.

Our veterans desperately need a hospital in Calgary. These are the men and women who have defended our nation. Sadly, the land that was set aside for this hospital is in the process of being sold to private developers.

Habitat for Humanity, a charitable organization, builds low cost housing for young Canadian families. It is interested in securing some affordable land. CFB Calgary would have been an ideal location.

The Prime Minister can still intervene. Calgarians plead to him to please do so.

National Volunteer Week

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate National Volunteer Week, I am pleased to draw attention to the considerable contribution made by Canada's volunteers, particularly those in my riding of Pierrefonds—Dollard.

Volunteers' presence is everywhere: in hospitals, in food banks, in schools, in amateur sport, in human rights organizations, in seniors' centres, and in youth programs.

Volunteers give of themselves, and their unpaid efforts, their ongoing presence within our community, their solidarity, merit our consideration.

In this National Volunteer Week, let us pay tribute to these exceptional Canadians who give unselfishly of themselves to the causes they believe in. As we are all aware, volunteers open doors to a better world.

My congratulations, and more importantly my thanks, to all those who volunteer.

Nuclear Disarmament

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Foreign Affairs tabled the government's response to the report of the foreign affairs committee on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

While we welcome the government's call for an update of NATO's nuclear policy, it has failed to urge NATO to adopt a clear policy of no first use of nuclear weapons.

The government has also rejected the committee's strong and unanimous demand that Canada say no to burning MOX fuel in this country.

While we must work with Russia and the U.S. to address the problem of surplus fissile material, Canada must not become a nuclear waste dump for the world.

New Democrats urge the government to say no to MOX fuel in Canada and yes to a NATO policy of no first use of nuclear weapons.

As Physicians for Global Survival recently urged, let us give our children and grandchildren a world free of the terror of nuclear weapons.

Minister Of Intergovernmental Affairs

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in his comments on the debates addressing citizenship that went on at the Bloc Quebecois general assembly this past weekend, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs made a number of statements.

“It is an evil thing to require this exercise of people” he said. He went on to state: “Canada as a whole is a small nation, an uncertain nation, one whose identity has never been assured. It holds tight to that identity. That is something that must always be kept in mind”.

The minister is once again demonstrating that the Liberal government is refusing to recognize the existence of the Quebec nation and people.

By what intellectual sleight of hand can he justify allowing Canada the right to reflect on its identity, but not Quebec?

What even more despicable is that the minister is seeking to again pass the sovereignty project off as ethnic. He wants to conceal the fact that it is open to all Quebeckers of all origins, and that more and more of them are coming on side.

Bloc Quebecois

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

Mr. Speaker, I must inform you that from 1993 to 1997 a non-Canadian sat in this House.

I am referring to the Bloc Quebecois member, Roger Pomerleau, who represented the riding of Anjou—Rivière-des-Prairies for four years, and who said last week in Rivière-du-Loup that he is not a Canadian and is insulted that he is being treated like one.

We have seen the trouble the Bloc Quebecois has defining who is a Quebecker and who is not, which is rather troubling for a party that wants Quebec to separate. We also know that, for these folks, it is not possible to be a Canadian and a Quebecker at one and the same time, contrary to what most Quebeckers think.

Could we know how many non-Canadians there are in the Bloc Quebecois right now? Are the leader and the House leader of the Bloc Quebecois as insulted to be considered Canadians as the fellow the people of Anjou—Rivière-des-Prairies did not re-elect four years ago?

Canadian Cancer Society

[Greg Thompson, Progressive Conservative, Charlotte, NB]

Mr. Speaker, for more than 60 years the Canadian Cancer Society has tried to eradicate cancer and sought to better the lives of people living with cancer.

The Canadian Cancer Society is the single largest funder of cancer research in Canada and provides support to thousands of the best scientists across Canada who are working on research that continues to prevent cancer, change treatment methods and improve patient survival rates.

The victories and the fight against cancer is not over. In 1998 129,200 Canadians were diagnosed with cancer and 62,700 died from cancer.

Please join me in wishing the Canadian Cancer Society and its volunteers success in fundraising activities during the April campaign month.

National Organ Donor Week

[Lou Sekora, Liberal, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I ask all members to recognize that this is National Organ Donor Week in Canada. Unfortunately, there is a critical shortage of donated organs in Canada.

British Columbia is working towards reversing this trend by having established a B.C. Transplant Society. This society co-ordinates all aspects of organ donations, including related health issues. The B.C. Transplant Society is a success story and, I believe, a model in the future establishment of a national organ donor program.

[Keith Martin, Reform, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this is Organ Donor Week. Sadly, Canada has one of the worst organ donor rates in the entire developed world. This year alone 150 Canadians will die while waiting for a transplant. Some will be children, some will be adults and many will die unnecessarily.

We can change all of that. The following are some suggestions that the Minister of Health can employ today: First, create a national organ registry of potential recipients, link this registry up with hospitals across the country and have a registry of intended donors; second, that there be a form on every patient's chart so a person can be asked to be a donor and have their wishes express to their family; third, have an organ procurement co-ordinator in every hospital; fourth, that a pool of funds be available for transplantation; and, fifth, require that all deaths be reported to the national registry.

During Organ Donor Week, I implore every Canadian across the country to sign up, be an organ donor and save a life.

Public Service Pension Plan

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for the Treasury Board is in for the fight of his life if he thinks he is going to grab $30 billion from the surplus of the public service pension plan.

The government may have succeeded in stealing $25 billion from the unemployed workers in the EI fund—

[The Speaker]

Oral Questions. The hon. member for Calgary Northeast.

Kosovo

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, before I get to my question I want to remind the House of a saying often repeated during the second world war: “Loose lips sink ships”.

All members of the House need to be cognizant of the fact that what we discuss here can have an effect on the safety of our troops overseas. In other words, some questions are better asked in private.

My question is for the Minister of National Defence. The bombing campaign has been going on now for several weeks and the financial cost to the allies is enormous. The Americans are calling for more than $6 billion in new money to finance their side of the operation.

Has the defence minister asked cabinet for more money to finance the Canadian effort in Yugoslavia?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, there will be additional funds that I will seek, but the cost to this point in time in terms of the Canadian forces is approximately $32 million in incremental costs going back to the first deployment of the CF-18s. However, there will be additional costs and there are efforts being put together now to get those numbers ready for members of the House.

I also want to indicate that I appreciate the comments of the hon. member with respect to the well-being of our troops. Interestingly enough, I received some additional comments from citizens, for example, of Calgary. This is addressed to the hon. member for Compton—Stanstead, the Conservative defence critic. He addresses the member by saying:

Your comments regarding soldiers in Kosovo are very dangerous and damaging to any ground troops that are undercover in that war.

He said:

Get real man. If those comments were made for political gain then you come up a big loser.

[The Speaker]

We have had the opening question and statement and now we have to tighten up a bit. The hon. member for Calgary Northeast.

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government has repeatedly assured us that there will be enough money for the Canadian forces to carry out their mission in Yugoslavia; however, it often does not provide enough details for any assurance and the estimates do not predict war.

Could the Minister of National Defence tell the House how much the mission is expected to cost Canada and how much more new money is being set aside for our troops?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, there are provisions for funds for special missions whether they be the kind of mission we are in now or other peacekeeping missions. However, when we run out of those funds then we have to seek additional funds for that purpose.

As I think I indicated in answer to the previous question, the costs are not of an unreasonable nature at this point in time—those are the incremental costs—but certainly if additional funds are needed then these matters will be discussed in cabinet.

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, with 18 CF-18 fighters now in Aviano there will be an increased strain on both ground crews and particularly our pilots.

The situation in the Canadian forces is that there is a shortage of fighter pilots. With half of the combat-ready pilots now situated in Aviano, what measures is the defence minister taking to ensure that our borders at home are protected? After all, one never knows when there is a Korean missile flying from Korea over to Compton—Stanstead.

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I believe that is a quote which originated with the member for Compton—Stanstead.

We are endeavouring to add to our pool of qualified pilots, both jet fighter pilots and pilots of other aircraft that we have.

We are bearing in mind that they need to be kept for other purposes, such as the commitments we have to NORAD, as well as other training obligations. We are bearing that in mind in terms of the deployment of our jet pilots into this theatre in Aviano.

Taxation

[Jason Kenney, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government's high tax policies are forcing normally law-abiding Canadians to look for a way out. Today the auditor general revealed that the underground economy accounts for $12 billion in lost revenues per year.

A growing number of Canadians are doing everything they can to avoid the taxman. The government's answer is more taxes and more tax collectors.

My question is for the Minister of National Revenue. Why can the government not see the real source of the problem? Why can it not see that high taxes are driving Canadians south of the border and into the black market?