Debates of April 29th, 1999

Aboriginal Affairs

[David Iftody, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat again that chapter 2, section 13, expressly states that where there is a contradiction between those laws, the general laws of application will apply. We have made that very, very clear. We are very firm on that position. We will act to protect the rights of women. They are protected in this treaty.

Young Offenders

[Michel Bellehumeur, Bloc, Berthier—Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, rather than try to understand where Quebec is coming from on the young offenders legislation, the Minister of Justice has stuck to the same old script from the beginning.

Today, I urge the minister to listen carefully to my question, to give it some thought, and to come up with an answer.

How can she say that Quebec's model is not threatened, when Quebec's judges will be bound by her bill's principle of uniformity in sentencing? I would like an answer, this time.

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, not only have we listened to the views and concerns of Quebec, we have learned from the model of Quebec. The new youth justice legislation acknowledges diverse approaches to the challenges of youth crime. In fact, I think if the hon. member carefully reads the youth justice act he will find that there is no attempt to impose uniformity of sentencing across the country.

[Michel Bellehumeur, Bloc, Berthier—Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, how can the minister talk about flexibility, her refrain from the beginning, and uniformity of sentencing, as provided for in clause 37.2(b) of her bill, in the same breath? It is one or the other.

She cannot talk about flexibility and coast to coast uniformity at the same time.

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the hon. member knows, being a former advocate himself, that a similar provision has existed in the Criminal Code for some time. I am sure he also knows that the provision of that section in the Criminal Code has not prevented regional variation in sentencing.

Hepatitis C

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in Quebec hepatitis C victims get Interferon and the new drug Ribavirin without any problem. Now the Government of Quebec has decided that it wants to give direct aid to every single victim.

Why is this government standing in the way of those victims in Quebec?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as the minister stated in the House, an offer of $300 million has been made to all of the provinces to ensure that people infected with hepatitis C have access to the services which they require, those services which are not presently insured services, throughout the course of their lives. An offer has been made to the minister of Quebec and the Minister of Health is hopeful that Quebec will respond to the offer that has been made.

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I think the member missed the point. People in Quebec already have those services.

We remember the excuses. There was the precedent, there were too many victims, it was going to break medicare. Now that Ontario and Quebec have both shown that those were just that, lame excuses, will this government put aside ego and stubbornness and say yes to the victims in Quebec?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite just does not get it. The Minister of Health has repeated on numerous occasions that our approach has been to attempt to resolve the law suits and to do so through negotiations for those infected between 1986 and 1990. An agreement was reached in December. We are hoping that through those negotiations it will be before the courts this June and the courts will then ensure Canadians that this settlement is fair.

When it comes to those infected through the blood supply, an offer of $300 million for services, needed medical—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Rosemont.

Millennium Scholarships

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the opinion on the millennium scholarships remains unanimous in Quebec. Yesterday, the leaders of the three parties in the National Assembly proposed a political solution by asking the federal government to appoint a government negotiator not involved with the foundation to permit the resumption of government to government negotiations with Quebec.

If the Minister of Human Resources Development really has the welfare of young people at heart, will he assume his political responsibilities and give this reasonable proposal a favourable response?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Rosemont for his interest in Quebec students. I can assure him that I do share his interest in our students in Quebec.

We received a letter yesterday afternoon, at the same time as the media. We will take time to consider the proposal it contains. I note that, in this letter, the Government of Quebec returns to the Gautrin motion, which was unanimously approved in the National Assembly and which recognizes that the Government of Canada has a role to play.

So, I must tell you that I am pleased—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Rosemont.

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the president of the millennium scholarship foundation set the minister straight, when he stated:

In this matter, there is management responsibility and there is political responsibility. I am looking after the management responsibility.

Is the Minister of Human Resources Development, who spends his time coming unstrung and hiding behind the foundation, beginning to understand that the political responsibility Mr. Monty is referring to is his own?

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

Mr. Speaker, first, what I see is that the Government of Quebec is coming back to the Gautrin motion. I think this is much more encouraging than the right to opt out with full compensation minister Legault was still talking about last week.

What I can say is that the member for Rosemont has said “the letter talks of appointing political negotiators”. In fact the letter talks of not wanting political negotiators but rather non elected government representatives, which, obviously, takes me off the file. That is what the letter says. It must be understood, before—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Langley—Abbotsford.

Public Works

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

Mr. Speaker, is it any wonder our taxes are so high in this country. Four big-time drug dealers were caught with six tonnes of hashish in Vancouver. Their million dollar house, bought with the drug money, was seized and is now the property of the public works department.

Why has the public works minister allowed one of the dealers to rent back the house and why has he entered into discussions with the dealer to buy the house back at a discounted price?

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of the specific case that the hon. member is citing. However, there is a policy that whenever we are authorized by the courts to dispose of property, it is disposed of by public tender. That is the policy.

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

Mr. Speaker, I think if he looks more carefully he will realize that he is aware of it.

What is so bizarre about this is that the drug dealer has never paid his $35,000 fine for peddling six tonnes of hashish and now the public works minister has agreed to give him $200,000 for renovations which he says he made to the house during the time he was laundering the drug money.

Why on earth is this government giving a major drug dealer $200,000 of tax—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Public Works.

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat that I do not know the specifics of the case. Therefore, I cannot accept the premise of the member of parliament. If his question was really serious, he could have given us notice and I would have looked at the details. I will look at the details and I hope I can provide an answer as soon as possible.

Immigration

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, April 27, Immigration Canada cavalierly returned Mrs. Isabelle Yoro to the Ivory Coast. Mrs. Yoro is in the eighth month of a high risk pregnancy.

The Sunday before, the deportation failed—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Hochelaga—Maisonneuve.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Sunday before, the deportation failed because KLM refused to carry her, deeming her condition to be too precarious.

How can the Minister of Immigration, with all the compassion for refugees she puts on when the cameras are rolling, show so little compassion toward a woman who did not represent a security threat, and who was experiencing a high risk pregnancy. The minister's actions were both cavalier and uncivilized.