Debates of May 26th, 1999

Bill C-55

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I trust that question was not directed to the hard on crime minister.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The hon. member for Dartmouth.

[Wendy Lill, NDP, Dartmouth, NS]

Thank you for that answer. Mr. Speaker, I have one more question and it deserves a more serious response.

Is there anyone on the government side of the House, the ministers of culture, trade, environment, anyone, who is willing to stand up and just say no to the Americans?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, on a serious note, I respect the fact the member has posed a very serious question.

With this bill for the first time in the history of this country we are going to have certainty for the long term for the Canadian magazine industry. For the first time the Americans have agreed in an international agreement to respect Canadian content. That was an unprecedented pill for the Americans to swallow. The fact that we have this agreement is a win for Canadian culture into the 21st century.

[André Bachand, Progressive Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Where in this agreement are the cultural protection and exemption she has mentioned so often? With the agreement announced this morning, the spirit and the letter of Bill C-55 have died.

Will the minister promise to recall Bill C-55 from the Senate and introduce a completely new bill in the House?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I can understand that the Progressive Conservative members are a bit embarrassed.

When we introduced Bill C-55 in the House, approximately half of them voted against it. Now they are here to support it.

I hope that, when amendments are introduced in the Senate on Monday, they will have the courage to admit that we are now protecting 82% of the Canadian advertising market for Canadian magazines. And I hope that those who voted against Bill C-55 at the outset will support this policy, which guarantees Canadian content in Canada in the future.

[André Bachand, Progressive Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if that is what we have to show for cultural protection and exemption on the eve of WTO negotiations, it is very dangerous.

The minister has used parliament and the other place to negotiate with the Americans.

Will she at least have the decency to recall Bill C-55 so that we can have a full debate in this place? Otherwise, she should kiss her cabinet colleagues goodbye.

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, although I do not agree with the Reform Party's anticultural policy, I see that they are all of one mind.

The Progressive Conservative members were half for and half against Bill C-55.

On Monday in the Senate, amendments will be introduced that will preserve Canadian content, provide financial assistance to the Canadian magazine industry and, for the first time in the history of the United States, recognize that cultural protection is a vested right of Canadians.

This is a step forward for Canada and I hope that the member will be in the House next week—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, recently in the House we have had a couple of great progress reports on aboriginal self-government negotiations in western Canada. There are quite a few aboriginal communities and nations in the province of Quebec. I would like the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to tell us what if any negotiations are going on for aboriginal self-government in my province of Quebec.

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

Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to be in Quebec City a week ago to sign a framework agreement among the Micmac of Gespeg, the province of Quebec and the Government of Canada.

This shows clearly that we can work together to improve the self-reliance of first nations in Quebec and in Canada.

I would like to recognize the hard work and the vision of the Micmac of Gespeg and to say that, as is consistent with Gathering Strength, the Government of Canada will continue to work with them toward an agreement in principle on self-government and then a final agreement.

National Revenue

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

Mr. Speaker, Revenue Canada has moved processing of income tax returns from Ottawa to Shawinigan. On several occasions members of the official opposition asked the Minister of National Revenue how many jobs were moved to Shawinigan. Twice the minister told us that only one job was transferred. We know that this year 723,000 returns were moved from Ottawa to Shawinigan. Is that not a lot of returns for only one person?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, it is incredible that members of the Reform Party bring this issue up. Why are they not saying that processing all the applications at the immigration office in Vegreville is wrong? Why do they not say it is wrong where we process applications in the rest of the country? Why is it only in Shawinigan?

Obviously they are not interested in efficiency. They are not interested in making sure that we operate in the best possible way to provide the best service to Canadians. We will continue to do so to make sure that we provide service to Canadians across the country, everywhere from coast to coast.

Bill C-77

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, whether it is with regard to regional transit by bus or urban transit, Bill C-77 creates major problems in Quebec.

I realize that the Minister of Transport, who is responsible for the greater Toronto area, made promises to his Ontario counterpart.

However, considering the serious impact of Bill C-77 in Quebec, does the minister not realize that the only option is to delete from his bill the whole part that has to do with the deregulation of bus transportation?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, amendments to the Motor Vehicle Transport Act are being considered. This bill is the result of five years of consultations with the provinces. The hon. member may have amendments to propose, which is why legislation is debated here in the House of Commons.

I believe there is strong support for the proposed measures across the country, including in the province of Quebec.

Fisheries

[Angela Vautour, NDP, Beauséjour—Petitcodiac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, this year the early spring resulted in a disastrous herring fishery in southeastern New Brunswick. Hundreds of fishers and plant workers are affected. These are the same people who find themselves without income year after year because of the employment insurance cuts.

It is one thing for a herring not to follow the calendar, but it is quite another thing for a minister not to realize that a season can start earlier than usual.

Can the minister explain to us why he did not listen to the fishers, and will he in future allow his department to have a flexible date to allow for an early opening of the spring herring fishery?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, in the herring fishery area in question, it is rare to have substantial landings before May 1. The fishery did open in late April.

The fishery certainly appears to be down. There are fluctuations in fisheries which occur for natural reasons. We will be following this closely as we go along. We obviously are concerned about it, as is the hon. member. I think she should recognize that at the present time we have to wait until we get more results from the fishery before we can conclude what measures might be taken in whatever area.

Prime Minister

[Jim Jones, Progressive Conservative, Markham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the wagons are circling among eager Liberal backbenchers to protect the Prime Minister. Debbie Weinstein has spoken freely to the media about the Prime Minister's blind trust, yet the Liberals have done everything to keep her from answering questions from parliamentarians.

Will the Prime Minister tell us why his trustee is allowed to speak to the media but not to elected parliamentarians?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has acted perfectly properly in these matters. The hon. member is trying to bring to the floor of the House during question period something that happened during a hearing of a parliamentary committee. I think that is quite contrary to our rules and practices.

Foreign Affairs

[John Cannis, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific.

I understand that he was recently in Pakistan where he met with his counterpart. Was the secretary of state able to raise the issue of the arrest of the leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan?

[Raymond Chan, Liberal, Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific)]

Mr. Speaker, we are very concerned about religious persecution in Pakistan. On my recent trip to south Asia, in Islamabad particularly, I raised the concern with the minister of state for foreign affairs as well as with the minister of justice, law and human rights, Mr. Anwar. We expressed our serious concern and asked them to look into the matter.

Arts And Culture

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the heritage minister.

There has been a lot of talk recently about the National Film Board being censored by a person who is the subject of one of the board's films, something about a custodian. I want to know why the minister did not stand up for the National Film Board. Why did she not protect Canadian filmmakers' rights to freedom of expression?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, again the Reform Party has to make up its mind. Last week Reformers were accusing me of personally making decisions about every film that was made under the Canada Council. This week they are telling me that I should intervene to protect the editorial content of the NFB. The NFB and the Canada Council are arm's length organizations. I do not think politicians should be deciding what is art.

Marijuana

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, by voting heavily in favour of my motion on the legalization of marijuana for therapeutic purposes, this House has clearly demonstrated its desire to move quickly in order to bring relief to patients in need of this drug.

Today, everyone is asking the same question: when will the Minister of Health table his calendar of clinical trials so that this drug may be legalized as quickly as possible?