Debates of June 7th, 1999

D-Day

[George Proud, Liberal, Hillsborough, PE]

Mr. Speaker, in the wee hours of June 6, 1944, while 450 Canadian paratroopers rained down on France behind German defences, 109 vessels of the Royal Canadian Navy sailed for France as part of the massive allied armada.

Canadian aircraft engaged the enemy in the sky and on the ground. That was 55 years ago. By the evening 14,000 Canadians had landed in Normandy and had gained more ground than any of our allies. The liberation of Europe was under way.

Between the morning and the evening there was the heroic but bloody story of D-Day, of troops striking mines hidden by high tides, of others landing in plain view of enemy strong points and of house to house combat with the enemy. On that day 340 Canadians died, 547 were wounded and 47 were taken prisoner.

The Canadians who helped smash German defences did so with unflinching courage and unflagging energy, a kind of spirit and commitment that few of us could even fathom.

We must not allow time to diminish this magnitude of sacrifice, nor complacency to fade the importance of the day.

Governor General's Foot Guards

[Judi Longfield, Liberal, Whitby—Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Monday marks the anniversary of one of Canada's oldest and most well known Canadian forces militia units. The Governor General's Foot Guards is celebrating 127 years serving Canada and Canadians.

It is one of the two units that provides soldiers to the Canadian forces ceremonial guards on Parliament Hill. The red uniforms and bearskin hats these soldiers wear are symbols of Canada known throughout the world.

The changing of the guard ceremony performed every day in the summer is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Ottawa, but the Governor General's Foot Guards is more than a ceremonial presence on Parliament Hill. It is a well trained militia unit whose members have served Canada since the early years of Confederation.

Members of the Governor General's Foot Guards helped their fellow Canadians during the Manitoba flood and the 1998 ice storm. They serve the cause of international peace in wartorn places like Cyprus, Somalia and Bosnia.

I am sure all members of the House will join me in congratulating the Governor General's Foot Guards on its anniversary and wishing its members every success in the years to come.

Quebec Nurses

[Guy St-Julien, Liberal, Abitibi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week there will be two one-hour strikes by hospital nurses in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Quebec City regions, respectively.

The purpose of this pressure tactic is to show their dissatisfaction with the slowness of negotiations with the Parti Quebecois government of Lucien Bouchard.

In 1982-83 that same Lucien Bouchard was the chief negotiator for the Parti Quebecois government with the nurses of Quebec.

In addition to the fee paid to his Chicoutimi law practice, Lucien Bouchard received a $250,000 bonus from the Parti Quebecois government for cutting the salaries of Quebec nurses by 20%.

The nurses of Quebec deserve an increase of more than 15% for their loyal services to the people of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, particularly since they have not had a raise for some years.

Despite their mistreatment at the hands of the Parti Quebecois government, we are very well looked after by the nurses in our hospitals, who provide excellent patient care.

Astronaut Julie Payette

[Rahim Jaffer, Reform, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to salute Julie Payette, our Canadian member of the Discovery mission.

Julie Payette is an astronaut, engineer, pilot and musician who speaks six languages. Her life of tremendous achievement is testimony to the unlimited possibilities for excellence that can be found in all of us.

We can only hope that her life becomes a model for all young people who aspire to greatness in science and engineering.

Julie's eyes may be on the sky, but we all know that her heart is right here in Canada. On behalf of the Reform caucus, I am pleased that Julie has returned to earth safe and sound after an excellent mission.

The Late Léon Lajoie

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Léon Lajoie, a Jesuit who was the priest in Kahnawake for 39 years, died on May 14, and the whole community is in mourning.

The Mohawk honoured Léon Lajoie for his lifelong dedication, openness and receptiveness by giving him the name sakohá..wi, which means “the one who leads and shoulders the burden”. “Our captain is gone”, commented parishioners as they were coming out of church.

Everyone trusted Léon Lajoie. His church was always open, and secrets, however serious they were, remained secrets.

As a show of respect, an eagle feather, the symbols of the bear, turtle and wolf clans, and a flower representing Katéri Tékakwitha were laid in his coffin.

“The one who leads and shoulders the burden” played a major role during the difficult events that took place, even though that role was a quiet one and was overlooked. In fact, Léon Lajoie maintained a quiet but effective link between all the Mohawk and other Quebecers.

Léon Lajoie, is worthy of all our admiration. Let us hope we can learn from his example.

Canadian Skills Competition

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend Kitchener—Waterloo welcomed 600 young people from across Canada who have proven they have skills of the future. They were participants in the fifth annual Canadian skills competition which ran from last Wednesday until yesterday.

This national competition offers young Canadians the opportunity to showcase their skills and abilities in trades and disciplines ranging from architecture and cabinet making to fashion and culinary arts, computer animation and auto mechanics.

In addition, some 100 young Canadians competed to determine who will be part of team Canada at the upcoming 35th world skills competition to be held this November in Montreal.

I am proud that the Government of Canada is a major sponsor of the Canadian skills competition through Canada's youth employment strategy. This event celebrates the excellence of Canada's young people.

These young people know the economic opportunities of tomorrow will be available to people with the skills and dedication they are showing in Kitchener—Waterloo today. Congratulations to all the weekend's participants.

Astronaut Julie Payette

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what can we say to mark the return of Julie and all the other members of the space shuttle? Hear, hear.

Not only did Quebecer Julie Payette represent us brilliantly, but she is also an example of determination and patience for young people looking for a dream.

All Canadians followed her throughout a complex mission during which Julie had to perform a series of risky manoeuvres that were essential for the space shuttle's crew.

We are now hoping that Julie will share her experience with us, and we are convinced that she will have given many young Canadians the desire to follow in her footsteps, with the same spirit of determination, risk taking and adventure.

We welcome Julie back. We are all proud to say with her “Mission accomplished”.

New Brunswick Election

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is decision day in New Brunswick. We encourage the people of that great province to get out en masse and vote for the political parties, the policies and the candidates of their choice.

It has turned into a proverbial political horse race between a standing champion and a young challenger. Reigning Camille Red, trained and nourished on McKenna oats, burst out of the gate with a big lead but as we all know early leads do not guarantee late wins.

Old political warhorses in Fredericton, Ottawa and everywhere else eventually realize that the jockeying of the backroom boys, the punditry of the press and the betting of the crowd are not enough to win today or tomorrow. New ideas, new energy and fresh blood are what it takes to win in the future.

In New Brunswick, Lord Blue has tracked brilliantly to the inside lane of lower taxes and a brighter economic future for children. He has pulled ahead in this race with the finish line in sight. There is a message here for the old warhorse in Ottawa: “You can't win in the future by running forever on your past”.

Forces Of Liberation

[Paul Mercier, Bloc, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on June 5, 1944, just 55 years ago, millions of Europeans in occupied countries who were anxiously listening to the BBC, as they did every evening, heard, as I did, despite the jamming by the Germans, a mysterious phrase that translated roughly as: The drawn out sobs of fall's violins soothe my heart with their monotonous languor.

The next day they understood. Deliverance was at hand. The landing had just begun. The mysterious coded message was a warning to the French resistance.

That day 20,000 Canadians and Quebecers launched an attack on Juno beach and 359 of them died for the liberation of Europe. Let us never forget.

Today, obviously on a smaller scale, the same countries have again mobilized to liberate another people from an occupation they oppose; the Kosovars.

Let us be proud to belong to the free world, to the western world, which knows how to mobilize not just to defend its own freedom, but the freedom of others, even when its own material interest is not threatened.

Julie Payette

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians welcome astronaut Julie Payette who returned to earth yesterday after a successful mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery to deliver two tonnes of supplies, including tools, clothes, water and other supplies to the new international space station.

When Discovery emerged from the night sky at 2:03 a.m. above the Kennedy Space Centre, it was only the 11th time that a space shuttle had landed in darkness. Mission Control waited until almost the last minute before giving the seven astronauts approval to fire the breaking engines and come home.

Astronaut Payette worked gruelling 15 hour days to prepare to go into the space station on the way to fulfilling her dream. As Julie has said herself, there is no miracle recipe or magic road to follow, but one of the keys is to maintain a positive attitude and to be true to oneself”.

We are proud of Julie and welcome her home.

Health

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are becoming increasingly concerned about their food safety and increasingly frustrated with a government that appears more concerned with pleasing corporations than with protecting their health.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has proven itself incapable of taking decisive action to protect our health. When imported raspberries poisoned hundreds of Canadians last year, it refused to step in to ban the imports because of liability concerns. When salmonella tainted alfalfa sprouts poisoned nearly 200 people, the CFIA backed away from reporting the industry responsible.

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada that represents the scientists and food inspectors charged with safeguarding our food supply has said the agency has totalled abandoned its mandate. It has cut hundreds of field inspector jobs and stopped conducting annual safety audits of meat establishments.

Today a scientist said the government uses wrong procedures when it comes to assessing the environmental and food safety risks posed by genetically engineered foods. Today scientists said that when it comes to soy based infant formula Health Canada chooses to ignore the scientific evidence.

Jean-François Legault

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on July 27, 1997, Jean-François Legault, a 14 year old resident of the municipality of Mascouche, saved his father from certain death, an action for which he recently received the Governor General's medal of bravery and the Quebec National Assembly's citation for citizenship.

When an explosion threw his father into his garage, Jean-François risked his life to extinguish the flames enveloping the man and drag him out of the inferno, despite the intense heat and smoke.

Mr. Legault hovered between life and death for 48 hours and was kept in the burn ward of Montreal's Hôtel-Dieu hospital for six months. Today, he is continuing his rehabilitation.

I say “Bravo”, to Jean-François and thanks for that example of courage.

Quebec Model

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Lucien Bouchard has decided to play tough in recent days. Now he is usurping the notion of the Quebec model in the name of his political party. Worse still, he is also appropriating the definition of Quebec's identity.

The Quebec model was not established by the separatists. It was established by Quebecers themselves. They are also the ones who toiled away in recent decades to build a modern Quebec within Canada.

The Quebec model is not that proposed by the separatists, who are now sending patients to the United States for care. The Quebec model is not the one proposed by the separatists, where groups of individuals they do not want in the definition of a Quebecer are excluded.

The Quebec model is the one Quebecers want for themselves; the means they want to put in place to develop and improve their regions, their country, Canada and their outlook on the world. This is the model people want.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, the government's complete and total disregard for the personal safety of Canada's emergency rescue personnel has reduced morale to an all time low.

We are all well aware of the inherent dangers involved with flying one of our Sea King helicopters. Each day our military personnel risk their lives by flying these outdated military aircraft. In recent months our Labrador helicopters have experienced their own problems, culminating with the tragic deaths of six search and rescue officers.

Despite that tragedy and subsequent problems with burnt wiring, the government continues to risk the lives of our airmen. The government cancelled the EH-101 helicopter deal for purely political reasons, putting at risk the lives of our military personnel.

Why will the government not quit putting Canadian lives at risk by immediately providing our personnel with the necessary equipment they need to fulfil the mandate the government has given them?

Futuristic Science Project

[Ted McWhinney, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we congratulate Robyn Massel, Katie Mogan, Olivia Maginley and Patricia Lau, four grade nine students from Point Grey Mini-school in my riding of Vancouver Quadra. They have been awarded first prize in the prestigious Toshiba/NSTA Explora Vision Awards program. Their science project is intended to combat osteoporosis. Last week they travelled to Washington, D.C. with each one to receive $10,000 U.S. for post-secondary studies.

The federal government's commitment for funding research in the basic sciences will ensure that imaginative cures for debilitating diseases like osteoporosis will one day become a reality for all Canadians.

Kosovo

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the peace deal in Kosovo suffered a setback last night forcing NATO to step up air attacks on Serb military positions.

In spite of the expressed support of the Serb parliament for the G-8 peace proposal, the Serb military leaders continue to resist the G-8 peace plan.

Does the government view the objections of the Serb military to the G-8 peace plan as a temporary setback, or does this constitute an outright rejection of the G-8 peace deal?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our position is clear. The Yugoslav government must follow through with its commitments to the G-8 peace plan which it agreed to last week.

Certainly the NATO military people are ready to resume discussions. Until there is a resolution consistent with the G-8 peace plan of the military discussions, the bombings will continue.

While the leader of the opposition speaks of a setback, I would like to think that the discussions will resume and the agreement in question will be carried out.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the G-8 foreign ministers are meeting in Bonn today to discuss how to get the G-8 agreement back on track.

The House has been concerned about the lack of strong and specific Canadian input into both the defence ministers meetings at NATO and the G-8 deliberations on Kosovo.

What specific instructions did the Prime Minister give to Canada's foreign minister to take to today's meetings in Bonn?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our Minister of Foreign Affairs is meeting with his G-8 counterparts. The purpose is to develop a resolution to be placed before the United Nations which would authorize the military and civilian aspects of a peace settlement.

Those are our foreign minister's instructions on behalf of the government. I am sure he is carrying them out with great skill and with great vigour.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, 400 more Canadian forces troops leave Edmonton today for the former Yugoslavia. They are heading for Yugoslavia at a time when the outcome of these peace negotiations is still uncertain.

We owe it to both the troops and their families to tell them the circumstances under which NATO will deploy them.

Is it intended that our troops will enter Kosovo only as peacekeepers, or could they be used as part of a NATO ground force to drive unco-operative Serb forces out?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it has been said over and over again, and this position has not changed, that our troops are going to that area of the world to take part in peacekeeping operations. No decision has been made to change that position. If it does, certainly the House will be informed and there will be opportunities for further debate.

Government Contracts

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister refuses to admit his blatant conflict of interest. For the sake of seeing whether we really know what a conflict of interest is and whether he has any idea, I would like to consider the following: First, a businessman receives a multimillion dollar government contract; and second, that same businessman donates $10,000 to a particular politician's campaign and subsequently buys a half million dollars worth of land from that particular politician's company.

Does the Prime Minister see that this is a conflict of interest, or does he think that this is just business as usual?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there is no conflict of interest. The contract in question went to a company to carry out work in Mali. This contract was decided on not by the Prime Minister but by an arm's length committee of whom a majority of voting members represented the Mali government.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, those arms get pretty short.

The Prime Minister owns shares in a golf course that not only stands to benefit from government contracts and grants, its value was then boosted by a half million dollar land deal from a friend who happened to, just as luck would have it I am sure, get a $6 million CIDA contract.

The truth is that the Prime Minister knows full well that he is in a conflict of interest. He just thinks that there is nothing wrong with it.

I would like to ask, I would like to demand as Canadians would like to know, why the Prime Minister will not just clear the air and clear his name.

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is wrong again. She has been wrong every time she has got up on this subject. The Prime Minister does not own the shares in question. They were sold before he became Prime Minister. The Prime Minister does not need to clear his name. His name stands unblemished, as one of the leading and most dignified persons full of integrity in the country.

There is no conflict of interest. The hon. member should be ashamed of herself by repeating over and over again, misusing the process of the House, to make these unwarranted charges without any shred of evidence to back them up.