House of Commons Hansard #237 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was treaty.
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has just informed me that there will probably be a meeting of ministers of foreign affairs next week on this, and Canada will be taking part.
Alexa McDonough NDP Halifax, NS
Mr. Speaker, following on that question, I would like to direct my question to the finance minister.
Canadians are very much heartened by the news of significant progress toward peace in Kosovo, toward that objective of enabling the Kosovars to return safely to live in their own homes.
The reality is that a great many homes have been destroyed, that a great many villages have been burned. The reality is that there are no crops in the fields.
My question for the finance minister is what provisions has he made to assist the Kosovars in rebuilding their lives and rebuilding their communities?
Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, this is a matter certainly upon which my colleague can respond.
I can say that at the most recent meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank with all of the finance ministers, this whole question of reconstruction was looked at. At present they are obviously not in a position to estimate the total costs nor the amount of human suffering that will obviously have to be dealt with, but I can tell the hon. member that the international community is active on the file.
Alexa McDonough NDP Halifax, NS
Mr. Speaker, I think we would all agree that it is absolutely critical we not lose sight of the original objective of our intervention in the Balkans, which was to ensure that the Kosovars are able to return and live in their own homes in some peace and security and with some degree of comfort.
We cannot now, in any way, leave them without food or shelter. We cannot abandon them to the massive reconstruction that will be necessary and have them face that reconstruction on their own.
I want to ask the finance minister again, what provisions have we made here in Canada to fulfil our share of that international obligation?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we are involved in the program that will follow. There will be a meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs to discuss it. As members know, our Minister for International Cooperation has been in Macedonia on behalf of the government. We have accepted refugees. We have been doing our part in a very honourable way and all Canadians should be happy.
We intend to do our part according to Canada's size and wealth to make sure that the Kosovars can return home in peace and in security. Canadians will be there, as we have always been in those circumstances.
Jim Jones Progressive Conservative Markham, ON
Mr. Speaker, today the Prime Minister passed the buck to his trustee Debbie Weinstein. However, while Debbie Weinstein is allowed to speak to reporters, the Liberal industry committee chair will not allow my motion to summon Ms. Weinstein for questioning to be considered. The Prime Minister claims he welcomes open debate but his Liberal pawns suggest otherwise.
Will he therefore ask his trustee to appear before the industry committee or will he let the chair fight his own battles?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I do not know why they are debating this. What I have done is what every other member of parliament who becomes a minister is obliged to do. He has to put his assets in the hands of a trustee. It is up to the trustee to make all the decisions and it is up to the ethics commissioner to pass judgment. He has been informed of every operation. I do not know why they are insisting. I have followed exactly all the requirements that have been established for a person who holds the office of minister.
Jim Jones Progressive Conservative Markham, ON
Mr. Speaker, ethics counsellor Howard Wilson appeared last month before this committee and he established that the conflict of interest code falls under the industry committee's mandate. Debbie Weinstein is appointed and governed by this code. Mr. Wilson also said it is Ms. Weinstein's decision whether she should appear before the industry committee.
Will the Prime Minister instruct his trustee to answer questions from a legislative body based on her comments in the media?
Standing Committee On IndustryOral Question Period
The Speaker
It is not up to the Prime Minister or any other minister to decide who is going to be a witness at these committees. I find that question to be out of order.
Jason Kenney Reform Calgary Southeast, AB
Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday the Prime Minister was bullying opposition members for asking questions about conflicts of interest, but it turns out he was just bluffing. Today he accuses opposition members of having benefited from HRD grants going into their ridings when no one has presented a shred of evidence of a personal financial benefit on the part of a member of the opposition from a grant made in their riding.
The Prime Minister denies ownership of the shares of the numbered company in question that did business with Mr. Gauthier and Mr. Duhaime, but the ethics commissioner said that the code requires that a declaration be made stating that his company has a 25% interest in the golf club. If he does have an interest, how can there not be a conflict of interest?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, I think that when a member of parliament from the Reform Party is getting a grant or helping to get a grant for his constituents, he is just doing his job. He is making sure that his constituents benefit from the programs available from government. Some have quite rightly said that they do not agree with grants, but we are not to deprive under our system our electors from receiving the money that is available to them. I think that is exactly what I have done as the member of parliament for Saint-Maurice. I keep saying the same thing. I have followed all the rules for 36 years.
Jason Kenney Reform Calgary Southeast, AB
Mr. Speaker, yes, the Prime Minister does keep saying the same thing by evading the questions. The question is not whether or not a program exists that supplies pork barrel grants to ridings. The question is whether or not the Prime Minister had a personal financial benefit in the arrangements surrounding the golf course in Shawinigan. He denies ownership in those shares, but payment was never made for those shares. Ownership was never transferred for those shares. The Prime Minister continues to own those shares and has benefited from the transactions that occurred.
How does the Prime Minister continue to deny that he had a direct personal financial stake—
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I sold my shares before I became Prime Minister. That is it. That day I gave my assets, as any minister is obliged to do, to a trustee to decide. That is the way I have acted. I have always done that, all my life.
What I am surprised about is when there are all sorts of very important problems being resolved, they are just trying to destroy the reputation of somebody. I know that the people of Canada do not buy it.
Francine Lalonde Bloc Mercier, QC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Industry defended Bill C-54, quoting professor Jacques Frémont.
We sent the minister's responses to Mr. Frémont and here is his answer to them “The distortion of my words is really unacceptable. Unbelievable”.
How does the Minister of Industry explain his denaturing the words of an eminent professor in order to justify the constitutional blow that Bill C-54 represents?
John Manley LiberalMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, he does not want to protect the privacy of Quebecers and of Canadians.
John Manley Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Let us look at the comments by Action réseau consommateur and Option consommateurs du Québec, which have said, and I quote “We unreservedly support the principles underlying this bill. We also want to mention the importance and relevance of the federal government's intervention nationally and internationally to ensure the protection of Canadians' personal information”.
We will comply with the law in Quebec. Both levels of government have a responsibility regarding the protection—
Francine Lalonde Bloc Mercier, QC
Mr. Speaker, the option they prefer is to withdraw.
The Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs told his Quebec counterpart that Bill C-54 does not challenge the “principles of Quebec civil law”. Yesterday, the minister did not dare rise in the House to defend his position.
Today, is he going to tell us whether he has realized that his position puts him in total contradiction with the Barreau du Québec, the Chambre des notaires du Québec and the Conseil interprofessionnel du Québec?
Stéphane Dion LiberalPresident of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, in his letter to the Government of Quebec, the Minister of Industry clearly explained how his bill respects Canada's Constitution.
I defy the Bloc—
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
—to find a federation that has established for itself good personal information protection legislation without having the federal government involved in it.
Diane Ablonczy Reform Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister never sold the Grand-Mère golf course and he has known this since 1996.
Can he not see that any dealing which benefits his land and involves public money and the use of his office is a clear conflict of interest? Can he not see that?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister yesterday talked about a contract given to a bidder, who offered to do a piece of work under the rules as agreed to by the Canadian government and a foreign government, selected by them and at $2.5 million less than the others. The contract was for $6.5 million. The second bidder was $9 million.
The Reform Party thinks that we should have given it to the second one because the owner of the company, who has done business with the government for a long time—