Debates of Oct. 16th, 2000

Canadian Heritage

[Louise Hardy, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, the heritage minister has a very close relationship with the Prime Minister. Maybe she can get him to change his mind because the people of Kluane, Haines Junction, Yukon and Canada are really shocked at the Prime Minister changing the name of Mount Logan.

People have told me they do not mind a tribute and in fact they support a tribute to former Prime Minister Trudeau, but they do not like how this was done. They are opposed to it because they think it wrongs Yukoners, first nations and the Logan legacy.

Will the heritage minister make sure that Mount Logan stays Mount Logan and that the Prime Minister changes his mind?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank the hon. member for Yukon who a few days ago expressed support for the suggestion by the Prime Minister.

I also want to thank the member for her personal input. I hope we can work together with interested parties, including the Government of the Yukon, the member and the first nations, to ensure that any move to change any name is respectful of all of the parties involved and does not disrespect the history or the name of any pioneer of Canada.

[Louise Hardy, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken clearly that I support a tribute. The Yukon also supports a tribute but it does not support this tribute. Maybe the aboriginal affairs minister has something to say because the umbrella final agreement for the Yukon, which was signed in 1993, clearly states that a traditional territory, if it is to be renamed, has to be done in consultation.

The Prime Minister's approach to this has been a failure. It has offended and affected first nations people. It has offended Canadians. It has probably seriously embarrassed the Trudeau family. They should rethink this, do it properly and let Canadians choose a tribute.

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the member will know that when she stated her support for the renaming, she and a lot of other members were responding, in particular, to the support that people have for the recognition of a beloved former prime minister of Canada, Mr. Trudeau.

I think the message she is sending, and certainly the message being sent by Canadians, is that we have to ensure that in respecting Mr. Trudeau's memory we do not cause any difficulty for the history of Mount Logan. That is something that the Prime Minister has taken into account and is certainly something we will want to work on with her, with other members and with the government—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Cumberland—Colchester.

Transport Canada

[Bill Casey, Progressive Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, on September 18 I asked the Minister of Transport about a shell company that was established for the sole purpose of accessing $3 million of taxpayers' money under the pretence of working on the Digby wharf.

Has the minister stopped the shell company from disbursing the next scheduled transfer of $600,000, scheduled for October 27, until there is a complete accountability of every single dime of the $3 million?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for bringing this to the attention of the House some weeks ago. As a result of his representations, we moved up the audit by Transport Canada on this particular wharf. It would be very premature to start making any further moves in the absence of the audit which will be completed very soon.

[Bill Casey, Progressive Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I am really glad the minister is reacting to the issues we bring up. We are giving him advance notice of one that is going to happen on October 27. He does not have to wait for us to bring it up until after it has happened. He knows it will happen.

On October 27, $600,000 of taxpayers' money will be transferred from a non-profit society to a private company. Will he stop that payment until he knows where every single dime is going?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has entered into an agreement with the society that is now in charge of that particular port. As such, we assume that the society is living by the agreement as made. If the audit shows to the contrary then obviously we will take remedial action. However, we will wait for the audit report which should come very quickly.

World March Of Women

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the World March of Women has drawn the attention of parliamentarians and Canadians alike to two critical issues that impact gender equality: poverty and violence against women.

My question is for the Secretary of State for the Status of Women. How is the government responding to the demands voiced by the women of this country?

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism)(Status of Women)]

Mr. Speaker, gender equality and women's issues have been at the forefront of the commitment of the government since it came into power.

We have set out a clear set of infrastructure issues that deal with violence and the economic issues women face. Each year, in each budget and within each department, we have been building on that infrastructure.

We are looking forward to meeting with the women. The Prime Minister met with them yesterday and assured them that his individual ministers will discuss their individual issues with them. They will look at how we work with them to build upon the initiatives we have already taken and do the right thing to make sure—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Souris—Moose Mountain.

Veterans Affairs

[Roy H. Bailey, Reform, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Justice Brockenshire brought down a damning judgment against the federal government, condemning the government for breaching its trusteeship related to the pensions it managed on behalf of the severely handicapped veterans. Canadians need to know as soon as possible if the government is going to honour the judge's decision? Will the minister now do the honourable thing and negotiate a settlement starting today?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Veterans Affairs, I would respond to the hon. member by pointing out that the decision is currently being reviewed by the Department of Justice and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Within 30 days a decision will be made on whether or not an appeal will be made.

Canada prides itself in having some of the best programs for its veterans in the world. I know the minister wants to continue that practice.

Parental Leave

[Hélène Alarie, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, two thirds of women who are currently unemployed have no hope of receiving employment insurance benefits. The government dares to say it is improving parental leave, when the majority of women will not even have access to it, contrary to Quebec's proposal.

My question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development. When will the government respond to women's demands for accessible and universal parental leave, which will leave no one out in the cold? When will it negotiate with Quebec to develop something like this?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Indeed, Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member points out, we will have doubled parental leave benefits for Canadians, men and women, by the end of this year. At the same time, we will reduce the number of hours required for women to get these special benefits.

Again I point the hon. member to the changes in Bill C-44 which deal with the issues of clawback and others that specifically relate to the impact of employment insurance on women.

Foreign Affairs

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I want to commend the government for supporting the recent UN security council resolution 1322 on the tragic events in the Middle East, particularly the call for an impartial international inquiry into the violence in the territories illegally occupied by Israel since 1967.

In light of this, can the minister explain to the House why Canada shamefully abstained on the vote to call a special session of the UN commission on human rights on these tragic events? Why did Canada not support the call for a special session of the UN commission on human rights into the situation in the Middle East?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure I speak for all members of the House in hoping very deeply that the summit, which is taking place today between the parties, will result in a step back from the violence and the killing and that we can begin to resume serious discussions on a peace process.

Canada has been very active in the last several days making calls to try to support that process. The Prime Minister called his counterparts in the Middle East, along with President Clinton. I spoke yesterday to Syrian and Lebanese representatives to talk about the kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers and to see if we could have some return in those areas.

We met with the Israeli envoy today to talk particularly about how we can assist as Canadians in trying to restore peace. This is the important thing.

Poverty

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

Mr. Speaker, I believe that everyone would recognize that the government has failed badly when we talk about women and children. There are more women and children living in poverty today than we have ever seen, especially since 1993.

Will the Minister of Finance recognize these women in crisis and introduce solutions in his upcoming budget so that we can put an end to the suffering and the unfairness that women and children are facing in this rich country? We should not have one woman or child living in the kind of poverty we are now seeing. Will the minister introduce something—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Finance.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the situation in which many Canadians find themselves, despite the fact that our economy is very strong, is one that is obviously of great concern to all Canadians and certainly this government.

The hon. member must recognize that because of that, this government, in a recent federal-provincial agreement, put $2.2 billion into early childhood development. After creating the national child tax benefit, this particular government has consistently increased it. The government has put money into prenatal nutrition and community welfare organizations and it will continue doing those kinds of things because we share—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Charleswood St. James—Assiniboia.

Infrastructure

[John Harvard, Liberal, Charleswood—Assiniboine, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board.

The minister was in western Canada last week. In that regard, I would like to know whether she can provide the House with details of infrastructure agreements she signed on behalf of the federal government with the provincial governments of the four western provinces.

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to report that we signed agreements last week with the Governments of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia under the infrastructure Canada program. The total value of the four agreements is $1.6 billion.

The priority of investment will be the green infrastructure to improve the quality of air and water for our citizens. This is a very good example of all different levels of government working together for the benefit of Canadians.

Federal Election

[John Nunziata, Independent, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is about to call an election, an election that nobody wants, not even his backbenchers.

This will be the third election in seven years. It is a cynical and arrogant move on the part of the Prime Minister. Why is the government calling an unnecessary election when it still has two years to run in the mandate it was given in 1997?