Debates of Feb. 8th, 2000

Questions On The Order Paper

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

With reference to the SSHRCC and its predecessor agency, the Canada Council: ( a ) what funds were granted for research on editorial projects for (i) work on men writers/scholars and (ii) work on women writers/scholars; ( b ) what are the amounts of these research grants in constant dollars for the five largest projects by men writers/scholars and women writers/scholars, respectively, ( c ) what applications for research on editorial projects to produce the work on a writer/scholar have been rejected in the last five years for each category and, in each case, what was the name of the writer/scholar, the year and the amount of the grant requested that was rejected?

[John Cannis, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Industry]

It is not possible for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to respond to this question because the category editorial project is not a separately coded category. Nor is it necessarily supplied by the researchers in the list of key words they give for their projects. The current corporate storage and retrieval system thus cannot provide a reliable and comprehensive report of the funds granted under the category editorial projects. It should be noted that the council awards its grants through a highly selective competitive process which considers the research, intellectual and social significance as well as the overall excellence of the projects submitted.

Question No. 39—

[Ted White, Reform, North Vancouver, BC]

With respect to the RCMP ownership of at least one 0.50 calibre Browning M2 machine gun, and the ability of the RCMP to access a number of other 0.50 calibre Browning machine guns as dictated by operational requirements at various locations across Canada: ( a ) what are the circumstances under which such weapons might be used by the RCMP; and ( b ) would the RCMP in such circumstances be fulfilling a role which would normally be carried out by the military?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

With respect to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, (RCMP), ownership of a 0.50 calibre Browning M2 machine gun, the deployment of such weapons is as follows:

(a) It is conceivable that under certain operational conditions the necessity to deploy weapons of this calibre will be a requirement. Currently the 0.50 calibre machine gun capability of the RCMP is restricted to the armoured public and police safety vehicle program and could be deployed when there is a requirement for the protection provided by such vehicles. Because of the capability of this system very careful consideration will be given to every request for deployment. It is conceivable that additional restrictions could be imposed prior to authorization being granted to deploy the entire system.

(b) With respect to the role of the military in Canada the RCMP cannot comment, except to say that under the National Defence Act, the Canadian forces could be requested to provide assistance if the situation is beyond the capability of the police. A situation such as a natural disaster might elicit a request for military assistance.

The RCMP is dedicated to the safety and protection of the Canadian public.

Question No. 44—

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

With respect to the lobster and fishing licences purchased by the government for first nations in Atlantic Canada: ( a ) how many licences were purchased, and of these (i) how many were inshore licences; (ii) how many were offshore licences; ( b ) what species are covered by these licences; and ( c ) what bands have been given these licences?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

(a) Licences retired: 240.

(a) (i) 240 are inshore; (ii) zero are offshore.

(b) and (c) 222 have been issued to first nations; 18 are being retained and will be issued under future agreements with first nations.

First Nation—Species

Annapolis Valley (2)—Herring, Scallop

Chapel Island (4)—Bluefin Tuna, Lobster, Mackerel, Squid

Eskasoni (6)—Bluefin Tuna, Groundfish, Herring, Lobster, Mackerel (2)

Fort Folly (2)—Groundfish, Lobster

Horton (4)—Groundfish, Lobster (2), Mackerel

Kingsclear (5)—Groundfish, Herring, Lobster, Scallop, Sea Urchin

Membertou (5)—Bluefin Tuna, Groundfish, Lobster, Mackerel, Scallop

Millbrook (10)—Bluefin Tuna, Groundfish (2), Herring, Lobster (2) Mackerel (2), Snow Crab, Swordfish

Native Council of Nova Scotia (13)—Lobster (3), Scallop, Hering (2), Mackerel (2), Groundfish (2), Swordfish, Bluefin Tuna, Gaspereau

Saint Mary's (2)—Lobster (2)

Wagmatcook (6)—Groundfish, Lobster (2), Mackerel (2), Swordfish

Waycobah (3)—Lobster, Mackerel, Swordfish

Woodstock (3)—Herring, Lobster, Scallop

Abegweit (13)—Groundfish, Herring (2), Lobster (3), Mackerel (2), Scallop, Squid, Clam, Swordfish, Oyster

Big cove (27)—Eel (3), Herring (6), Mackerel, Lobster (16), Smelts

Buctouche (7)—Herring (2), Lobster (2), Mackerel, Scallop, Smelts

Burnt Church (25)—Herring (5), Lobster (13), Mackerel (4), Oysters (3)

Eel Ground (7)—Herring Lobster, Mackerel, Eel, Oysters, Gaspereau, Clams

Eel River Bar (7)—Herring, Lobster (4), Mackerel, Smelts

Indian Island (9)—Groundfish, Herring, Lobster (5), Scallop, Gaspereau

Lennox Island (20)—Herring, Lobster (5), Mackerel (5), Squid, Oyster (4), Clams (2), Mussels (2)

Listuguj (3)—Rock Crab, Lobster (2)

Native Council of PEI (21)—Lobster (2), Swordfish, Squid, Clam, Scallop, Groundfish, Eels, Mackerel, Oyster (12)

New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council (4)—Lobster (2), Herring, Mackerel

Pabineau (3)—Herring, Mackerel, Lobster

Pictou Landing (4)—Herring (2), Lobster (2)

Red Bank (2)—Gaspereau, Lobster

Tobique (5)—Groundfish, Herring (2), Lobster, Scallop

Question No. 53—

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

How many Kosovar refugees came to Canada since March 1999 and how many have since returned back to Kosovo?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Since March 1999, 5,051 Kosovar refugees arrived under the emergency humanitarian evacuation and 2,192 Kosovar refugees arrived under the family reunification program for a total of 7,243.

1,735 Kosovar refugees have returned to Kosovo including 9 newborns who are not part of the above numbers.

Question No. 68—

[Leon Benoit, Reform, Lakeland, AB]

With regard to the groups consulted by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration in the first session of this parliament during the period from February 27, 1998, through to March 11, 1998: ( a ) which of the groups received government issued grants and/or subsidies; ( b ) what was the total grant or subsidy; ( c ) what was the reason for the grant or the subsidy; and ( d ) which government department issued the grant or subsidy?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

No group was consulted by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration during the period of February 27, 1998, through to March 11, 1998.

Questions Passed As Orders For Returns

[Derek Lee, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, if Questions Nos. 1, 21, 27 and 30 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed. .[Text]

Question No. 1—

[Mike Scott, Reform, Skeena, BC]

Could the government provide a list of all Chiefs in Canada and the amount of their salaries for the following fiscal years: ( a ) 1994; ( b ) 1995; ( c ) 1996; and ( d ) 1997?

Return tabled.

Question No. 21—

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

With respect to cancer and cancer research in Canada, what has the government determined to be: ( a ) the incidence and fatality rates for breast cancer within the female population expressed as a percentage of all Canadian women; ( b ) the incidence and fatality rates for prostate cancer within the male population expressed as a percentage of all Canadian men; ( c ) the total amount of federal tax dollars put towards breast cancer research in the last five recorded fiscal years; and ( d ) the total amount of federal tax dollars put towards prostate cancer research in the last five recorded fiscal years?

Return tabled.

Question No. 27—

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

With respect to Mr. Ole Ingstrup, Commissioner of the Corrections Service Canada, will the government provide a detailed breakdown of Mr. Ingstrup's business related travel expenses?

Return tabled.

Question No. 30—

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

With regard to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program: ( a ) how many CMHC offices administer the program across Canada, and in what locations; ( b ) how many grants were distributed by each office and in what amounts for each of the years 1995 through 1998; ( c ) what was the average amount of the grants, in dollars, awarded for each of the same years; ( d ) how many applications did each office receive for each of these years and how many of these applications received grants; and ( e ) what is the current waiting list or backlog of applications for each office administering these grants?

Return tabled.

[Derek Lee, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that the remaining questions be allowed to stand.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. A few minutes ago, the member for Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore sought the unanimous consent of this House to have the first report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans adopted.

I would just like to draw to your attention, since you seem not to have heard him, that my colleague from Charlevoix clearly indicated that he was not in agreement with the adoption of this report.

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore did not seek the unanimous consent of this House to present this motion. He proposed it. It is a motion contained on the notice paper, of which he has already given the House notice.

The motion was proposed and I asked if any members wanted to use their right to take part in a debate. No one stood up and so I put the matter to a vote and the motion was agreed to unanimously.

If someone did say no, I did not hear it, I am sorry to say. However, the motion in question was not a matter of unanimous consent.

[Gérard Asselin, Bloc, Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as a daily occurrence in this House, when the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader wants to table documents, he asks for unanimous consent of the House to do so.

You did indeed ask for it, because our colleague asked for it through you. As the Speaker, you asked “Does the parliamentary secretary have unanimous consent?” I said no, Mr. Speaker.

[An hon. member]

I am a witness to that.

[Gérard Asselin, Bloc, Charlevoix, QC]

Then it must not be tabled, as there was no consent—