Debates of Feb. 10th, 2000

Annette Helene Augustine

[Stan Dromisky, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Atikokan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute today to Mrs. Annette Helene Augustine, an exceptional member of the Thunder Bay community.

Yesterday, among her friends and family, Mrs. Augustine received the Order of Canada in recognition of her achievements and unselfish contributions.

Beginning in the 1960s she displayed remarkable courage, lobbied tirelessly for improved social services and the establishment of first class educational, recreational and cultural facilities in northern Ontario.

With her husband, Dr. John Augustine, they worked diligently for the provincial recognition and programs for perceptually handicapped children, the Thunder Bay museum and the Thunder Bay National Art Gallery for Native Art.

Mrs. Augustine has devoted countless hours and energy to the enhancement of the quality of life in Thunder Bay, and is a most worthy recipient. I invite all members of the House to join me in congratulating this wonderful Canadian, Annette Helene Augustine.

Canadian Forces

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the final edition of the Fraser report on change in the Canadian Forces was issued yesterday.

I am disappointed that such a prestigious committee chairman was mandated not to look at the real problems in the military but to tinker with a decaying force structure. The result is a report that is irrelevant and out of touch.

Why did the government shackle this committee? Though I applaud the notion of monitoring change in our military, this report will not lead to any of the changes that are desperately needed to save the Canadian Forces from oblivion.

The Fraser report does not even identify the two fundamental problems that are destroying our military: chronic underfunding and demilitarization.

For decades social experimentation has impaired combat capability. The government has treated military personnel as civilians in uniform. This report is about changing oil when the engine requires a complete overhaul.

Dr. Jocelyn Demers

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Dr. Jocelyn Demers, a resident of Boucherville, was honored for a prolific and brilliant career dedicated to fighting cancer, particularly childhood cancer.

His skills, superior expertise, determination and love of life and human nature are widely recognized. Dr. Demers, who is a member of the Conseil québécois de lutte contre le cancer, is leading a relentless fight against this terrible disease.

One of the most eloquent illustrations of his desire to promote the well-being of sick children and their families is undoubtedly the building of the Manoir Ronald McDonald, in Montreal. Thanks to Dr. Demers and to many other stakeholders, the families of sick children can now stay at a facility that is very close to the hospital.

The professionalism demonstrated by dedicated specialists like Dr. Demers enables countless people to continue to believe that life is beautiful in spite of all the hardships.

Dr. Demers, congratulations and thank you.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

[Wendy Lill, NDP, Dartmouth, NS]

Mr. Speaker, today 173 more workers were pushed out the door at the CBC, following 3,000 who have already gone down the road.

The mother corp says it is due to money problems, but people know that it is due to a government which ignores culture and the role it plays in a nation. Now is the time to reinvest in the CBC, not stand by as cuts tear out our cultural bones.

The CBC is our largest stage, our most loved book, our most revered painting and our most recognized song. It is where Canadians tell each other stories.

For Canada to have an independent future in a world of globalization and media convergence we need to strengthen public broadcasting. We need to invest resources in protecting culture. We need to invest our surplus in protecting culture.

To all who listened to the CBC this morning or who watched The National last night, please do not sit idly by and let our public broadcaster die on the vine. Please protect our culture.

Agriculture

[Jim Pankiw, Reform, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Mr. Speaker, agriculture is in a crisis. Currently in Saskatchewan there is a sit-in in the provincial legislature.

The causes of the crisis are numerous. International subsidies by the Europeans and the Americans place our farmers at a competitive disadvantage. We have a grain transportation system that is broken and needs to be fixed. Grain marketing problems and the monopoly of the Canadian Wheat Board are preventing value added processing. User fees imposed on farmers by the Canadian Grain Commission and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency could be removed by the government. Most of all, the high taxes that the government imposes are directly faced by farmers. As the end users they have no place to pass on their costs. Half the cost of farm inputs, such as fertilizers and chemicals, consists of taxes.

Why does the government not act immediately to cut taxes to take the burden off farmers, to remove the unfair user fees which they are paying, to reform the marketing system and to fix the grain transportation system?

Global Energy Regulation Forum

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

Mr. Speaker, in May, Montreal will host an international forum on energy regulation, which will be attended by industries, regulatory agencies, consumer associations and experts in economy.

The purpose of this forum is to exchange ideas on the various mechanisms to regulate energy efficiently. Globalization, deregulation and environmental issues will also be on the agenda.

This is an important event, considering the challenges facing every sector as we enter into this new millennium, including the energy sector.

Canada is a key player internationally in the areas of energy and economy. Montreal has every reason to be proud to have been selected to host this important gathering.

We wish good luck to the organizers of that forum.

Member For Ahuntsic

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval West, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last Sunday in Montreal, the Greek community gathered to pay tribute to the member for Ahuntsic, who was awarded the Order of the Phoenix, presented by the ambassador of Greece on behalf of the president of the Hellenic Republic.

We, the Liberal caucus of the House, are proud to have among our ranks a member such as her.

All our congratulations.

Farm Aid

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out how the Government of Canada works with the provinces to help farmers manage the risks inherent in agriculture.

Last year, the Government of Canada committed a maximum of $1.1 billion for 1998 and 1999 to help farmers deal with the revenue crisis.

On January 13, our government announced additional spending of up to $500 million a year for two years to establish a new shared cost national disaster relief program.

As we can see, the Government of Canada is acting effectively and creatively to help Canadian producers and ensure a quality of life for them.

Bill C-20

[Diane St-Jacques, Progressive Conservative, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after a quick look at Bill C-20, you will agree with me that it smacks of improvization and shows a lack of respect for Canadian federalism, the Parliament of Canada, the national assembly and provincial jurisdictions.

Furthermore, the bill is poorly drafted, and looks more like an election platform than a serious piece of legislation. The Liberal cabinet is ignoring major issues in its desire to achieve its political ends at all costs.

Is Quebec's desire to separate a priority for Quebecers and Canadians? No. According to the results of an Angus Reid poll released Monday, only 11% of people gave national unity as their priority, putting it in eighth place. The number one priority for 55% of Canadians is and remains health.

The present government is obviously not listening to Canadians. It should withdraw its bill and redo its homework so that it responds to the real needs of Canadians.

The Economy

[John O'Reilly, Liberal, Victoria—Haliburton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the Conservative Party was thrown out of office in 1993 it left a sorry legacy of high unemployment, high taxes, high deficit and high interest rates. Canadians had lost complete confidence in the Conservatives' ability to manage the economy and further the interests of our nation. The unemployment rate was 11.4% and Canadians faced a $42 billion deficit, the highest in Canadian history.

Today, after six years of Liberal management, the country has turned around. The unemployment rate is 6.8%, 4.6% lower than when we took office. Over 1.7 million jobs have been created in the private sector since this Liberal government took office. Our government's jobs and growth strategy has created more jobs in just six years than in nine years under Tory prime ministers Mulroney and Campbell—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast.

Justice

[John Reynolds, Reform, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC]

Mr. Speaker, if Canadians think that the one billion dollar boondoggle at human resources smacks of political payoff, they should also know that questionable use of taxpayers' resources by way of grants is not exclusive to HRDC.

At a time when the RCMP has faced budgetary cutbacks of $169 million and some 430 frontline B.C. RCMP positions go lacking, affecting their ability to investigate and fight crime, the Minister of Justice has $32 million to spend on crime prevention. Guess where $2 million of this is going. It is going to none other than national lobby groups, no doubt with impeccable Liberal credentials.

The Minister of Justice gave $2 million to such crime fighters as the Canadian Bankers Association, the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, the Insurance Council of Canada and the Retail Council of Canada.

Maybe an audit should be conducted into the crimes they solved. Maybe the Liberal House leader has it in his binder.

Porcupine Caribou Agreement

[Louise Hardy, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, for centuries the lives of the Gwich'in people of Yukon and Alaska have been ecologically connected to the migration of the porcupine caribou herd. Their name means people of the caribou.

Now, while the caribou are safely in their wintering grounds, it is a little known fact but the Gwich'in people themselves have been making an annual migration to the southern United States. They have been going there for years to lobby to preserve the calving grounds of the caribou and they just left Washington yesterday.

In 1987 the Porcupine Caribou Agreement was signed by both countries to protect the herd. Canada created two national parks, Aulavik and Vuntut, to safeguard the calving grounds.

The U.S. still allows oil drilling in the Arctic wildlife refuge and these sensitive and ancient calving grounds are under unnecessary pressure. Just 2% of the refuge needs to be protected and it needs to be done now.

Canada has been true to its word. We must make sure the U.S. is true to its commitment. I implore all members of parliament to think about the Gwich'in who need our help and to raise this issue until the caribou are safe.

Bill C-20

[Jean-Paul Marchand, Bloc, Québec East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, sovereignists are not alone in denouncing Bill C-20 as anti-democratic. Early this week, they were joined by other Canadians.

Now a former U.S. diplomat has criticized the federal government for its anti-democratic tactic. David Jones says that the purpose of Bill C-20 is to strengthen the legal chains binding Quebec to Canada.

The former minister, an advisor to the American Embassy in Ottawa, wonders about the concept of majority as understood in Bill C-20. Is a clear majority 50% plus one, 66%, or 75%, he wonders, and says that nobody knows.

He even concludes that, with this bill, no referendum results will be accepted as clear.

In short, another person who thinks that the bill on clarity is a masterpiece of ambiguity.

Fisheries Infrastructure

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

Mr. Speaker, on January 21, southeastern New Brunswick was struck by a severe blizzard with high winds. Several docks sustained heavy damage, possibly thousands of dollars worth.

The disaster happened three weeks ago and yet the federal government continues to ignore the extent of the damage. The department's silence on this is just one more example of its lack of understanding of the fishing industry and of its importance to our communities.

Today the fishers again feel that they have been abandoned by this government. We must not lose sight of the fact that this is the same Liberal government that shirked its responsibility by abandoning the docks.

Abdicating its responsibilities with respect to the fishing wharves resulted—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

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

Mr. Speaker, I find it very difficult to speak when everybody in the House is screaming.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. I agree with the hon. member. She has every right to be heard. She may continue with her statement.

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

Mr. Speaker, the government's abdication of responsibilities with respect to the fishing wharves resulted in serious problems, which persist today. It must be not be forgotten that an unsafe wharf is a danger for fishers, for tourists, for the general population who use it.

The port authority committees are calling for repairs to be made as well as for an action plan to be put in place immediately so that their fisheries infrastructure will be operational and ready for the opening of the spring fisheries.

Human Resources Development

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the HRDC audit took a random sampling of only 1% of the department's total cases. It uncovered a billion dollar bungle. With that, we can just guess where it will lead.

The Prime Minister likes to pretend that those 37 cases cited are the limit of its problems. Unfortunately, we know it is just the tip of the iceberg.

Yesterday he claimed that the total overpayment was simply $251, that the protection of taxpayers was okay and that everything was going to be all right. My foot. How were taxpayers so protected when $2 million went to self-confessed embezzler, Pierre Thibault, in his own riding?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member, by her question, continues to show the House that she does not understand the intent of the audit we are speaking of.

This audit was undertaken to check the administrative practices of grants and contributions in the Department of Human Resources Development. What it said was that our administrative practices needed to be improved.

Today I was at the committee where I made it clear that we have a six point action plan that will fix this problem. I know it is going to work.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister talks about administrative deficiencies. We are certainly seeing a whole lot more than that. The Prime Minister has doled out cash in his own riding for years. It is hard to expect high standards from ministers when their boss is breaking the rules left, right and centre.

Pierre Thibault was promised $600,000 of that money without even filing any paperwork with Human Resources Development. That was the same month the 1997 election was called.

Is the Prime Minister protecting his minister because he knows he has been directly involved with this billion dollar bungle?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's insinuations are totally unwarranted and baseless. The Prime Minister is not personally doling out money. He is not directing any improper conduct. He wants things to be done properly.

If one listens to the Minister of Human Resources Development, one will see that she has in place a six point program approved by the auditor general to deal with any administrative problems that have been identified.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the six point plan sounds like a miracle. It should have been in place a long time ago. This has been going on for years.

There is a huge correlation here between who gets grants and who makes donations to the Prime Minister's campaign. Thirty-three per cent of those donors to the Prime Minister's personal campaign can be linked to grants, contributions or contracts. That is one-third or one out of three.

I would like to ask this again and we would like an answer. Is he protecting the minister because he knows he had a hand in this boondoggle, or is he just afraid that he is going to kill the goose that lays the golden egg? Which is it?