Debates of May 10th, 1999

North Korea

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

Mr. Speaker, after several years of poor crops and natural disasters in North Korea, millions of people are suffering from malnutrition and countless numbers of them have died of starvation.

Can the Minister for International Cooperation tell the House what Canada is doing to help the victims of this tragedy?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, there has been much talk of the Kosovar refugees recently. However, we must not forget the other people in the world who are starving, particularly in North Korea.

In the last two years, we have sent $23 million in fish, peas and vegetable oil. We are certainly going to go on providing food assistance, because they lack the means of providing for themselves.

Air India

[John Nunziata, Independent, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the solicitor general.

The biggest mass murder in Canadian history took place 14 years ago when 300 Canadians were blown out of the sky on an Air India flight off the coast of Ireland. To date no one has been charged with respect to that terrorist act and there has been no royal commission of inquiry in Canada, notwithstanding that the Government of Ireland has had a royal commission as well as the Government of India.

What is the current status of the investigation? When does the solicitor general expect charges to be laid? Does he intend to keep the promise to hold a royal commission of inquiry into that tragedy?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that this is a heavy burden for families and friends of the victims of the Air India crash; however, this is a very complex investigation. In fact it is up to the Attorney General of British Columbia to decide whether charges will be laid.

[John Nunziata, Independent, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when in opposition the Liberal Party promised a royal commission of inquiry and that is clearly the responsibility of the federal government.

Can the solicitor general explain to the people of Canada and to the families of the victims why his government has not initiated a royal commission of inquiry?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated to my hon. colleague, the investigation continues. The information is being relayed to the Attorney General of British Columbia and he will decide whether charges will or will not be laid.

St. John's Port Authority

[Lee Morrison, Reform, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the transport minister approved the appointment of Mel Woodward to the St. John's port authority even though he works at Coastal Shipping, which is a regular user of the port. He claims that Mr. Woodward has resigned his post and that his appointment therefore does not contravene the Canada Marine Act.

We phoned Coastal Shipping and guess what? Mel Woodward still works there. He is still the boss. Why not? He owns the company.

Will the minister now please obey the law and remove Mr. Woodward from the board? Shame on you, Mr. Minister.

[The Speaker]

I would ask hon. members, please, to always address the Speaker.

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I would have thought that the hon. member, as a member of the transport committee which studied Bill C-9, would know what the law states. The law states that one member of the advisory group of the port authority is nominated by a province and one by the municipality.

The appointment of Mr. Woodward was the prerogative of the provincial government. The provincial government was well aware of what the law states and I understand that the provincial government has sought legal advice and believes that the appointment of Mr. Woodward is in compliance with the law.

Military College In Saint-Jean

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on July 1, 2000, the lease between the federal government and the Conseil économique du Haut-Richelieu for the former military college in Saint-Jean runs out. Companies want to start up on the site of the college and are impatiently awaiting Ottawa's decision.

My question is for the Minister of National Defence. Does the minister intend to grant the request by the Fort Saint-Jean campus to renew the lease on a long term basis to ensure the campus' viability?

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

Mr. Speaker, as members know, we have already invested $25 million to keep the campus going and help it become an institution that serves the entire region. We are now negotiating with regional officials to find a way of allowing this campus to continue to be used for the benefit of the local population.

Freshwater Exports

[Rick Laliberte, NDP, Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment has been reassuring the House that the government will be protecting our freshwater resources from becoming a tradable good.

The proposed voluntary ban of bulk exports has been denied by some provinces. Newfoundland and other jurisdictions do not fall under the IJC mandate. Canadians demand that the government protect, preserve and conserve our waters.

Will the minister commit today to a national water act that will ban the wholesale export of our freshwater in this country?

[Christine Stewart, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the government made an announcement in February that we were calling for an immediate moratorium on the withdrawal of bulk water from watersheds in this country. All provinces, with the exception of Quebec, agreed to the moratorium.

We said that we would be developing an accord with all of the provinces and territories in this country with regard to the withdrawal of bulk water from watersheds. We expect that we will achieve that. We will be amending the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act. We are going to develop with all of the provinces and territories a strategy to protect all freshwater as it exists in our freshwater basins.

National Defence

[David Price, Progressive Conservative, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have been told that it costs $6,500 an hour to keep our aging Sea Kings airworthy, whereas the modern helicopter flies at $800 to $1,000 an hour. The auditor general has questioned the wisdom of spending taxpayers' money on helicopters that have an availability rate of less than 50%.

When will the government initiate the maritime helicopter program by releasing a statement of requirement? It is long past due. Please, think of the families and crew.

[Robert Bertrand, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has said on many occasions that he wants to move on a replacement project for the Sea Kings as quickly as possible. He has also mentioned that he hopes to make an announcement sometime this year.

Public Service

[Eugène Bellemare, Liberal, Carleton—Gloucester, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in his spring 1999 report, the Auditor General of Canada indicates that the federal government will have to recruit some 3,000 scientists and technologists in the next five years.

Could the President of the Treasury Board tell us what strategies the government intends to take to meet this important objective?

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

Mr. Speaker, yes, the main science oriented departments have established recruitment strategies to ensure their needs are met. They are doing so through the regular programs of the Public Service Commission and through pilot projects they have already begun to put in place.

The auditor general has quite rightly alerted us, and we are in the process of putting place the measures that will ensure we have the scientists the government needs.

Mining

[John Duncan, Reform, Vancouver Island North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the giant gold mine near Yellowknife has been dumping arsenic dust into the mine for almost 50 years. Cleanup costs are estimated at anywhere between $100 million to $1 billion.

Who will fund this cleanup? Will the government guarantee that it will not be the beleaguered Canadian taxpayer?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, my department is fully aware of the collection of arsenic as a result of the processes at the giant gold mine. We know that Royal Oak is under considerable duress and that there has been a receiver appointed in regard to that mine.

It is our hope that a private sector interest will be found to take over the mine. However, I would like to confirm for the House that my department has a plan of action in place to deal with the arsenic should the mine be closed down. The safety of the community will be protected.

Iraq

[Maud Debien, Bloc, Laval East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

According to the National Post , Canada is involved in transactions aimed at lifting economic sanctions against Iraq and even at providing compensation if it allows UN inspections to resume, on the grounds that compliance with the UN resolutions can never be totally guaranteed.

Is this approach not sending the contradictory message to President Milosevic that he will succeed in bending the will of Canada and the international community if he hangs in long enough?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think we can make a comparison. As the hon. member knows, we had put in place a series of panels in the security council to assess the humanitarian and the arms inspection regimes.

They came forward with proposals and we were basically supporting those proposals which would allow the re-enactment of an international arms control but at the same time make sure that there not be excessive humanitarian damage in Iraq because of the sanctions policy.

We were trying to provide a bridge between the two extremes, between those who simply say keep the sanctions the way they are and those who say there should be no inspection. In good Canadian style we are trying to build a bridge between those two positions.

Housing

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, one of the very negative consequences of the downloading of social housing and co-op housing by the federal government has been the confusion around the management of co-op housing.

As the minister of public works knows there has been a very spirited campaign from the co-operative housing federation for a third sector agency. The minister has agreed to this in Ontario, but there is also a campaign in B.C. to have the same kind of arrangement.

Will the minister respond in the affirmative to the request from the co-op housing movement, and when will he make an announcement that third sector management will take place?

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

Mr. Speaker, the announcement we made on co-ops in Ontario applies to the other provinces. We will deal with it every time we negotiate with the provinces.

In the case of British Columbia as soon as negotiations start we will definitely discuss them. The same arrangements that were given to the Ontario co-ops can definitely be offered to the British Columbian co-ops.

National Defence

[David Price, Progressive Conservative, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for the second time in a week a Sea King was forced to make a precautionary landing due to a gear box problem. According to experts a gear box failure could be catastrophic. With all the problems with our 35 year old Sea Kings the minister's comment in scrum was “let's not exaggerate”.

Will the government initiate a maritime helicopter program before lives are lost due to an aging, unreliable Sea King? The minister said within two weeks. That was two weeks ago.

[Robert Bertrand, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I mention to my hon. colleague that the air force follows a very strict maintenance and inspection regime. The problems we have recently seen are being addressed. We will continue to do what is necessary to keep our aircraft flying safely.

In conclusion I mention to my hon. colleague that Canada is not the only country that has Sea Kings. The Americans have them and the British air force have them also.