Debates of April 22nd, 1999

Trade

[Sergio Marchi, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada not only is standing up for all that amount in trade, it also believes in its Canadian culture. That culture is also part of our exports.

It is also not correct to say that the discussions with our friends from the United States are going badly. We have completed seven meetings. There is one next week. If the truth be known, on both sides there is good faith and a good attempt to try to avoid what we believe are unnecessary trade slippery slope threats. We will continue to defend—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Mercier.

Access To Information Act

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, “requests for access processed at a snail's pace, more and more files revealed only partially, exceptions increasingly cited, more requests ending in justified complaints”, this is the picture painted by the Canadian Association of Journalists of the administration of the federal access to information legislation in the public sector.

My question is for the Minister of Justice. Does this very strong statement not confirm that power is increasingly concentrated in the office of the Prime Minister, subject to the whim of his office, and less and less under the control of Cabinet and Parliament?

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

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary. This government is extremely concerned about these files. In 1998, we established new procedures to expedite requests for access to information. We have cut the time involved by some 12%. We increased the percentage of responses given those applying, and the number of exemptions and exclusions has decreased since then.

Health

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear Canada has a critical shortage of organ donations. It is also clear that Canadians want action and they want safety.

Under the government they get neither, no commitment to a national donor registry and a complete abdication of health protection by ignoring the Krever report and treating organs as if they were toasters.

Will the minister today commit to doing what Canadians want? Will he stand up for a national donor registry and will he commit to the strongest possible system of safety for organs and tissue?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the question provides me with an opportunity to express thanks to the members of the committee who worked so hard on this issue. They delivered a report today with constructive recommendations. I also thank Canadians, members of families who have been touched by this issue, who had the courage to come before the committee, sometimes with difficulty, to tell their stories.

I can assure the House that I will consider with great care the recommendations made today. I will be responding to the report later this year.

Transport

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

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

Recently the Government of Nova Scotia and Transport Canada arranged a meeting to discuss the emergency measures aspects of hazardous transportation of radioactive materials through Nova Scotia. The material provided said that the sample of radioactive material which comes from Russia by ship will enter Canada in Halifax and be moved by road to Chalk River, Ontario early this summer.

First, will the minister confirm that approval has been granted for this shipment? Second, will he indicate whether this meeting scheduled for tomorrow in Truro, Nova Scotia—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Transport.

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, there are some 800,000 shipments each year of radioactive material in Canada. It is not unusual for Transport Canada officials to liaise with local authorities and emergency response organizations to ensure that these shipments are carried out in accordance with the Dangerous Goods Act.

With respect to the planned meeting tomorrow it is obvious that some alarm had been raised. As my colleague the Minister of Natural Resources has said, there has been no request to transport this particular material and there has been no route decided so such a meeting was premature.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. Minister of Health mentioned that he would respond to the committee's report by the end of this year.

Today there is a little boy waiting in the intensive care unit in Toronto on death's doorstep. His name is Robbie Thompson and he needs a new heart.

Will the Minister of Health respond to the committee report sooner? What is his position on the creation of a national registry of intended organ donors and potential organ recipients?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I know the member will recall that it is this minister and this government that referred this issue to the committee for examination. It is this government that asked the committee to listen to witnesses, to find out why Canada is so far behind other countries in the rate of organ donation.

We must do better. The greatest responsibility we have to that child waiting in that hospital for an organ transplant is to make sure we get the right solution, a durable solution that will provide opportunities not only for that child but for generations to come.

That is our commitment. This government will consider the report that the member and others worked so hard on. We will look at all the recommendations. We will bring forward the best, most effective—

[The Speaker]

That would bring to a conclusion our question period today.

Today in question period we had the use of a word which in my judgment was unparliamentary. I did not want to stop question period when I heard the hon. member, who incidentally was not really involved in the question and answer but was an adjunct to it.

Many times in the House we use facts to support an argument and words sometimes come out that are not always intended that way but are used that way.

The hon. member who used the word is an officer of the House. In many ways that brings about certain responsibilities that we otherwise would not have. That is not to say any member should use words such as lie in the course of debate. After we have reflected on it for a little while we might reconsider.

I am going to direct my words directly to the House leader of the opposition who, as I have said, is an officer of the House. In that sense now that the question period is over, I would ask him respectfully to withdraw the word lie. All I want from the hon. House leader is yes, he will withdraw. Hopefully he will not say no, he will not withdraw.

[Randy White, Reform, Langley—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, with due respect to the Chair, I do withdraw the word.

[The Speaker]

I thank the hon. House leader of the opposition and the matter is closed.

Points Of Order

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During question period the Prime Minister quoted from a document. I would like the government to confirm that was a Liberal document and I would like him to table the document in the House.

On the same point, I would seek consent of the House to table a Reform document which confirms that we are in fact calling for an increase in defence spending of $1 billion.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member has raised two points. In looking at the Prime Minister and listening to him today, he did quote from a document. We would ask that this document be tabled.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will verify and have it tabled within a few minutes. It is a summary prepared by our own party of quotations from the Reform Party. I will gladly table the resumé of Reform quotes that we have.

[The Speaker]

That was the first part. We will have that document tabled.

The second part was that the hon. member wishes to table a document in the House. Does the hon. member have permission to put a motion to table this document?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[An hon. member]

No.

Privilege

[Mike Scott, Reform, Skeena, BC]

In five and a half years of being in this place I have never risen on a question of privilege before and I seek your guidance, Mr. Speaker.

When a member of the House actually states that another member said things the member did not say in any way, shape or form, it has huge ramifications on the positions we take on issues in various parts of the country. Because these proceedings are televised, it has the effect of leaving the public with an impression that is very wrong.

I need to know how we can end these kinds of untruthful or wrong impressions—

[The Speaker]

I am always reluctant to tell hon. members how to go about their business in the House.

When a statement is made that one hon. member does not agree with, one side or the other, usually the hon. member will rise in his place at the end and say that he did not say such and such. It is not really a point of order but it gets on the record. In that way it is dealt with because it is an interpretation of what one person or the other person used as facts.

If after reflection, after the hon. member has had a look at the blues, he wishes to do something like that then for a half a minute or a minute the House can take that kind of time.

Business Of The House

[Randy White, Reform, Langley—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, given that we expect the Nisga'a agreement to come into the House, I would like the government House leader to advise the House of the nature of the business for the remainder of this week and next week, and whether or not the Nisga'a agreement will come into the House and whether or not his members will speak accurately about the—

[The Speaker]

The first three comments were not bad and the fourth one we will disregard.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the question asked by the hon. opposition House leader.

This afternoon we will continue with Bill C-78, the public service superannuation legislation. Unfortunately, as a result of a delaying motion that was introduced today, I think we might require an additional day on Monday to return to Bill C-78 as a result of this obstruction.

On Friday we will call the expositions bill, Bill C-64. Next Tuesday shall be an allotted day and next Wednesday we will debate the report stage and hopefully third reading of Bill C-66, the housing legislation.

Given the interest of the hon. House leader of the opposition to know the business for a slightly longer term, I will take this opportunity to inform the House that next Thursday morning there will be a special joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Commons to hear an address by His Excellency President Václav Havel of the Czech Republic.

This is the business of the House until Thursday of next week. Of course there will be the ongoing consultation and progress we always have with our colleagues across the way.