Debates of May 4th, 1999

Nisga'A Treaty

[Ted McWhinney, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning we signed an agreement designed to ensure equality and opportunity for the people of the Nisga'a Nation. The agreement is the result of the negotiations carried out in good faith over an extended period and testifies to Canadians' willingness to reconcile historical and cultural differences through negotiation and, where necessary, pragmatic compromise.

Congratulations to President Joe Gosnell of the Nisga'a Tribal Council and to all the Nisga'a people whose ancestors first paddled their canoes to the provincial capital, Victoria, a century ago.

Congratulations to the Nisga'a for their perseverance and patience in bringing their historic quest for an agreement to a successful conclusion.

World War Ii

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Oak Ridges, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally to the allied forces at Reims, France, meaning victory in Europe.

In the six years of conflict Canada had enlisted more than one million men and women in our armed forces. More than 45,000 gave their lives in the cause of peace and freedom.

For a population of 11 million, our contribution was remarkable, from the battle of Britain, the battle of the Atlantic, Dieppe, Sicily, Italy, Normandy, the Netherlands and the Rhineland. We must remember the contribution of our soldiers, sailors, merchant marines and air crews.

Canada matured through the ordeal of war and emerged ready to assume new responsibilities in the world community.

On May 3, 1915, Lt. Col. John McRae composed his poem In Flanders Fields in 20 minutes while overlooking the grave of a fellow officer at Ypres.

Some 54 years later we must remember those who served for Canada and honour the words written by him:

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

Rocky Elementary Students

[Bob Mills, Reform, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, every few weeks the House acknowledges the presence of distinguished visitors in the gallery. It is only right and proper that we do so.

Today I would like to draw the attention of members to a special group of visitors which is in our gallery. Today a group of students from Rocky Elementary School in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, from my riding, are here watching us. They are part of a French immersion class on a field trip to Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City.

They may not be prime ministers, cabinet ministers, mayors or public officials, at least not yet, but they do represent something just as important. They are just a small portion of this country's future. It is for them that we are working here today and ultimately our success or failure will most clearly impact upon them.

I know that all members share this sense of responsibility. And I know also that this House will join me in welcoming these students to Ottawa, Parliament Hill and the House of Commons.

Volunteers

[Paul Bonwick, Liberal, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to a group of volunteers leading a relief effort for the Kosovo refugees, the likes of which we have not witnessed in many years.

These volunteers from Angus, Ontario have been working diligently for many weeks collecting enormous quantities of clothing, toys and much needed goods. When I visited their facilities this past Saturday I was astounded at the mountains of donated goods I witnessed. These great Canadians have collected an amazing 40 tractor-trailer loads of goods.

On behalf of my colleagues I want to congratulate Rita and Dan Heffernan, Tamara and Larry Culham, Carmen Angus, Bill Dunkley, Vera McIntosh, Shirley and Bill Coleski, Teha and Tasha Brown, Ralph Hodsdon, Janet Dalton, Suzanne Finck, Lori Ignatov, Thea Lavoie, George Nitsche, members of the St. John Ambulance corps and cadets, and the 2408 Base Borden army cadets.

They make us all proud to be Canadians.

National Forest Week

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, May 2 to May 8 is National Forest Week, providing a unique opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of Canada's forests to our environment, our economy, our culture and our history.

Our forests are a natural resource whose maintenance and management concern all Canadians.

The forest industry supports 337 communities and provides jobs for over 877,000 Canadians, including some residents in my riding of Oakville. As well, this industry is the net largest contributor to our balance of trade, representing over $31.6 billion in 1998.

This year, 1999, also commemorates the centennial of the Canadian Forest Service. Canadians can be proud of the vision of the Right Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier who 100 years ago created what has become Canada's principal forest research organization.

Jason Lang

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in the last week the eyes of the country have been on Taber, Alberta, as that community struggles with the tragic death of Jason Lang.

Yesterday Jason's memory was honoured before 2,000 mourners and the national media in a remarkable way. The service was conducted by the Reverend Dale Lang, Jason's father. Dale Lang, his wife Diane and their children displayed tremendous courage and forgiveness, buoyed by their deep faith in God, as they asked that some good come from this tragedy so that Jason's death would not be in vain.

There could have been bitterness and blame and a call for revenge. As a parent, I would have understood. The loss of a child is every parent's worst nightmare. But the Lang family saw the chance to use the death of their son to challenge the people of Taber to take back their school where this tragedy occurred and to reach out to those young people who have lost their way.

I know the House will join with me in expressing our deepest condolences to the Lang family on the death of Jason and our thanks for their wonderful example of the Christian faith in action.

As well, we extend our best wishes and our prayers for a speedy recovery to Shane Christmas, the other brave young man who was seriously injured in Wednesday's tragedy.

Grand Prix D'Excellence-Mode Québec

[Pierrette Venne, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today I want to congratulate Isabelle Gendron from Saint-Hubert, who won the Grand prix d'excellence-Mode Québec, in the student category, at the Quebec young designers competition, on April 8. The winner's name was announced during the Salon de la Jeunesse held in Montreal's Palais des Congrès.

Isabelle Gendron, who is a student at CEGEP Marie-Victorin, also won the Grand prix “Vêtement féminin at the provincial level”. The theme of this year's competition, which is in its 15th year, was “Interculturalism: a world reality”.

The winners of the competition shared $14,000 in prizes. All the garments created by the finalists and winners were shown to visitors, during a fashion show organized as part of the Salon de la Jeunesse.

Congratulations, Isabelle, and good luck in your new career.

Young Entrepreneurs

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Anjou—Rivière-Des-Prairies, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is today, in Ottawa, that the public hearings of the Liberal task force on young entrepreneurs will begin.

This national task force will prepare a report that will be submitted to the Prime Minister by October. This report will include an assessment of the programs and services available to young people who have business projects, and it will determine how the federal government, the private sector, associated groups and young people themselves can create a better synergy.

So, the hearings begin here at 6 p.m., in the Centre Block. The task force will then be in Montreal on May 14 and 15, in Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce on May 17, and in Laval on May 28.

This tour of the Quebec regions is an excellent way of contacting young entrepreneurs and organizations that help them with their projects, in their own environment.

This is an opportunity to hear their views on their projects and on what they expect from the government.

Canada Post

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

Mr. Speaker, the Canada Post Corporation Act says that Canada Post is not expected to pay dividends to the government. Instead, surplus revenues should pay for improved services and provide decent wages and benefits for postal workers. However, Canada Post will be giving $200 million to the federal government as a dividend payment.

Meanwhile, Canadians are worried about their postal services. In Sackville there are super mailboxes which freeze in the winter. In Shediac there are long line-ups. In Richibucto the post office building is for sale. More and more it seems that Canada Post's only concern is to make profits. Could it be to make deregulation or privatization easier?

The NDP strongly believes that Canada is best served by keeping Canada Post as a public service. Deregulating or removing the post office's monopoly would increase postal rates in rural areas, raise post office deficits and eliminate postal services and jobs.

Canada Post should work toward offering better service to all Canadians.

Liberal Government

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday evening in Montreal, the Prime Minister of Canada delivered an important message, reaffirming his commitment to liberal values.

This commitment means that his government will follow a line of economic realism and social progress.

The liberal values the Prime Minister is referring to are the cornerstone of a society that wants to protect its health care system, ensure economic growth through job creation and develop policies encouraging entrepreneurship in Canada and Quebec.

These liberal values also apply to a society as modern as Canada, open to partners throughout the world who share our ideas of liberty and our concern for improving people's quality of life.

Long live Canada.

Employment Insurance

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on April 11, the Association coopérative d'économie familiale de Bois-Franc announced the winners of its 13th Déméritas consumer price awards.

The garbage can award went to the federal government for appropriation of the surplus in the employment insurance fund to pay the deficit.

As of March 31, 1999, the surplus was $7 billion. Obviously, the federal government is very interested in this surplus, an interest that is especially upsetting because it does not contribute at all to this fund, since it is funded by the contributions of workers and employers.

The ACEF supports the statement by the Coalition régionale sur l'assurance-emploi, which says, and I quote “that the employment insurance fund is a unique social safety net”.

Workers will never support the federal government's immoral approach in pillaging the surpluses in the employment insurance fund. Canadians and Quebecers will never condone this behaviour.

Shag Harbour Fire

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, last Saturday I surveyed the damage caused by the Shag Harbour fire. Only the quick response of local volunteers and professionals prevented complete devastation.

Two thousand acres were destroyed by this fire, which swept the edge of Shag Harbour and travelled nine kilometres to the sea. Two homes, along with other workshops, were completely destroyed and other homes were extensively damaged.

Four hundred and eighty-seven houses were threatened and 1,800-plus people were evacuated from the fire zone. Had this fire, which travelled north to south, been 250 metres farther west, Shag Harbour would have been destroyed.

Thirteen fire departments and two Department of Natural Resources helicopter crews battled the flames. Fire Chief Ricky Banks of Shag Harbour and Chief Darren Nickerson of Woods Harbour, Emergency Medical Organization co-ordinator Ed Nickerson, Bill DesChamp, Department of Natural Resources fire boss, local RCMP, Tina Wickens, warden of the Municipality of Barrington, and all field and support staff deserve commendation.

Typical of Canadian communities, Shag Harbour and Woods Harbour drew upon the strength of their human resources and survived against great odds.

Member For Calgary Southeast

[Joe Jordan, Liberal, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, which can only be described as a vast expenditure of human voice, the member for Calgary Southeast rode into the great riding of Leeds—Grenville and addressed a packed closet of about 40 Reformers.

He spent a great deal of time attacking me personally—and I am quoting him directly now—my “lack of courage and lack of guts”.

I do not know how they define courage in Calgary Southeast, but in Leeds—Grenville it does not involve taking cheap personal shots at a colleague when he or she is not there to bring some truth to the discussion.

My actual point is that the member for Calgary Southeast made a great public announcement recently about being celibate. When he tours the country to simply preach this type of partisan nonsense—

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[The Speaker]

Order, please.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, today the Indian affairs minister signed a document with enormous ramifications for the Nisga'a people, the people of British Columbia and the people of Canada.

This Nisga'a treaty was rammed through the B.C. legislature over the objections of the B.C. Liberal opposition which challenged its constitutionality. Today the federal government signs it without a national discussion, without a debate in parliament, without a vote in parliament, and without a mandate from parliament.

Why would the government flagrantly violate democracy and the democratic process on such an important subject as Nisga'a?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the government has not violated the democratic process. The democratic process will be fully followed in the House and in parliament.

The signatures today are subject to the overall approval of the House of Commons and parliament as a whole. The proper process will be followed, a democratic process in which we believe fully.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been spending too much time with Castro—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

The Prime Minister increases Canada's military commitment to Kosovo without a vote or a mandate from parliament. He fails to consult parliament on the appointment of justices to the supreme court. He consistently ignores the results of democratic Senate elections in Alberta and he uses his party discipline to force his own members to vote against tax fairness and stronger measures against child pornography. Now he is taking exactly the same approach with respect to the Nisga'a treaty.

How can the government expect the Nisga'a or anyone else to respect the democratic process when the Prime Minister does not respect it himself?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me say how proud I was today on behalf of the Government of Canada to sign the final agreement.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, there was once a prime minister who stood in the House and said that he was terribly proud of trying to arbitrarily amend the Canadian Constitution. He too held a signing ceremony, but he neglected to consult the people or parliament in advance of the signing and he refused a national referendum. In the end the Meech Lake accord failed and that prime minister alienated and embittered the very people on whose behalf he claimed to be pushing that accord.

Why does the Prime Minister think we can go down exactly the same road with the Nisga'a people without producing exactly the same negative and divisive results?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will be very disappointed to hear the Leader of the Opposition disparaging the Canadian Constitution in a totally unwarranted way.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.