Debates of May 26th, 1999

Publishing Industry

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleading with the Reform Party to start reviewing some of its policies because I believe that one of the reasons it is at 6% and falling is because it spends more time defending the Americans than it does defending Canada.

One of the reasons the government has come out fighting for Bill C-55, the first law that will protect Canadian magazines in this country, is precisely because the Prime Minister, the cabinet and the government understand that Canadian culture is worth fighting for.

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will protect Canadian culture. They do not need this incompetent minister to do it, frankly. First it was the GST, then MMT and now the magazine spending spree. How many strikes does it take before this minister is out of there?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is clear that members of the Reform Party have spent the vast part of their political careers covering their butts. This is the same party that on the issue of magazines is prepared to throw to the wolves literally thousands of Canadian jobs and is prepared to tell readers of Chatelaine , readers of Maclean's —

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at today's press conference the Minister of Canadian Heritage expressed her delight at the outcome of the U.S. magazine negotiations.

The agreement provides compensation for Canadian publishers.

Can the minister tell the House how much this agreement will cost?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has asked me to work closely, and I have already started this morning, with all Canadian publishers in order to determine, first, what is the best arrangement and, second, how we can ensure Canadian content in Canadian magazines. That is what we are working on now.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is all very fine and well, but perhaps all this should have been worked out beforehand.

Before such a sweeping and important agreement is signed, I think it only right that the cost be known, and that the Minister of Finance, who is responsible for budgets, perhaps be consulted.

Can the minister tell us today what this undertaking is expected to cost? I think this would show some accountability.

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, we found ourselves in a situation where there was no legislation at all. The World Trade Organization already decided two years ago that there would be no legislation.

We now have legislation protecting 82% of the Canadian market and I think that represents a good balance between a potential trade war that will harm the lumber, steel and plastics sectors and the assurance of Canadian content in culture.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we do not disagree with the explanations provided by the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

What we want to know is whether the Minister of Canadian Heritage, or the government, signed an agreement without having any idea of the costs involved.

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, we signed an agreement which, for the first time, protects our culture in an international trade agreement. That in itself is a step forward.

Also, instead of getting the whole pie, as they had been trying to do for two years, the Americans will get 18% of the market. We figured this was the price to pay to avoid a trade war—as we have had—and we all agree that this is a gain for us, for Canada, primarily as regards the Canadian content of magazines.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let me now turn to the Minister of Finance.

A government cannot make a commitment of this magnitude without having at least some idea of the costs involved for taxpayers.

I am asking the Minister of Finance what provisions he included in his budget to cover the costs of the program that is supposed to be implemented by the Minister of Canadian Heritage. She does not know how much it will cost, but the Minister of Finance must have an idea of these costs, so I put the question to him.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, first, I can tell the member that these costs are within our budget. That being said, I want to congratulate the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Minister for International Trade, who both did a tremendous job. The Minister of Canadian Heritage was successful in protecting Canadian culture.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. The Minister of Canadian Heritage told Canadians that Bill C-55 was necessary to protect Canadian culture and that it was WTO proof. Perhaps it is WTO proof, but the real threat to Canadian culture comes not from without, it comes from within, from a government prepared to sell out Canadian magazines.

Will the Prime Minister acknowledge that his cave-in on Bill C-55 has left the heritage minister with no credibility whatsoever on Canadian cultural matters?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is because of the hard work and determination of the Minister of Canadian Heritage that for the first time the Americans have recognized that we have the right to protect Canadian culture.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, with this government Canadian culture is nothing more than a few flags or subsidies.

Let us revisit for a moment the heritage minister's words on Bill C-55: “We intend to win this fight because it is an important fight for Canada. This is not just about magazines, it is about a country's capacity to protect and promote their own culture. We must not back down to threats by the Americans”.

Why did the government back down?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have a better deal than we ever expected to have. The minister did a great job. She came to the House, she showed her determination and everybody in Canada was asking us for a fair deal. This is a very good deal and I am very proud of it.

[Mark Muise, Progressive Conservative, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage said “If we back down on the magazine issue, tomorrow it will be softwood lumber, the day after it will be steel. We must not back down to threats by the Americans”. The minister has backed down. She has failed. She has lost the respect of the Canadian people and the very industry she was supposed to protect.

Can the minister explain why she agreed to sell out Canadian culture so easily?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, we did not back down. We have an agreement. From the beginning of the process we have always said that if we can reach an agreement with the Americans, if they put something on the table that is reasonable, if they recognize the right of Canada to protect its culture, an agreement is far preferable to either the WTO or a trade war.

[Mark Muise, Progressive Conservative, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage has failed. She has failed to convince her cabinet colleagues, she has failed to support the Canadian magazine industry and she has failed to support Canadian culture against the U.S.

In light of these failures, is the Prime Minister prepared to demand her resignation?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, last week it was open season for the Americans on Canadian magazines. There was not a single law in place to protect Canada. This week we have managed to secure 82% of the magazine market for Canada. I say that is a win for Canadian magazines. It is a win for the government. Above all, it is a win for my daughter who will have a chance to read her stories in her country for the next century.

Canada Development Corporation

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, prior to 1986 the finance minister was a director of a crown corporation that made money by selling tainted blood, blood which then infected thousands of Canadians.

As finance minister of the government 12 years later, was this minister at the table when the decision was made to deny those same victims compensation?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is factually incorrect. I was a director of the Canada Development Corporation. Connaught Laboratories was a subsidiary of a subsidiary of the Canada Development Corporation. Each of the companies had their own independent boards of directors.

As I have already stated, I have no recollection of any discussions at the CDC board level on this matter. As a matter of fact this has been discussed by my office with a number of other directors and they have no recollection of the matter being discussed.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the question remains: Was he at the table when the decision was made to deny compensation to the pre-1986 victims of tainted blood? That is the first question.

The second question is this. I think Canadians want to get to the bottom of this as does the Prime Minister and the minister himself. Would the Prime Minister ask the ethics counsellor, Howard Wilson, to investigate this matter and report back to parliament, not to the Prime Minister, and clear the air on this once and for all?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, these are the same people who were supposed to introduce new politics a few years ago, who are now at the level of throwing dirt, which is the only thing they can do.

The Minister of Finance has said that he does not recall anything. He has explained the file. These people do not seem to have anything substantial to do but to try to tarnish the reputation of a great public servant.