Debates of March 24th, 2000

Oshawa Harbour

[Ivan Grose, Liberal, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about Oshawa Harbour, which has just been granted Canadian port authority status.

Oshawa city council lobbied vigorously to take over the harbour. I opposed city council's bid because I felt that city council was not competent to run the harbour as its track record on running the airport leaves something to be desired.

Be that as it may, under control of the Oshawa Harbour Commission, traffic and profit have increased year after year.

I have been accused of seeing my city through rose coloured glasses. I plead guilty to this charge. I look at my city and say “Why not?” For a first class city, why not a first class harbour?

Just watch us. We can and we will add to the pride which all of us have in my city.

Religious Discrimination

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP joins with all those who have condemned the massacre of 35 men of the Sikh faith by terrorists on March 21 at Chittisinghpura in the state of Kashmir.

Religious persecution and religiously motivated killings are to be abhorred wherever they occur. The world is an increasingly dangerous place for people of many faiths, depending on where they happen to be born or where they live. The Baha'is in Iran and the Christians in Sudan come quickly to mind, but Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists and all other faiths each find themselves persecuted in various contexts. What I find most distressing is state sanctioned official persecution.

The NDP believes, as I am sure most Canadians do, that the 21st century is a time when religious discrimination and hatred should be put behind us forever.

Tax On International Financial Transactions

[Stéphan Tremblay, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday morning the representatives of Attac-Québec and Initiative Halifax expressed concern that the government seemed to be ignoring the spirit and the letter of a motion passed a year ago.

This motion sought to have the government, with the international community, decree a tax on financial transactions. Although the motion did not receive unanimous approval, the aim of it, which was to limit financial speculation, is relevant, since it affects most of us.

Every day, over $1.8 billion U.S. changes hands in financial markets. Of this amount, only 5% to 10% is involved in transactions relating to goods and services. It seems to me legitimate therefore to control this market.

I support the recommendations of the groups of citizens wanting, among other things, to have the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, which examines issues of globalization, mandated to consider the feasibility of measures to control financial markets, such as the Tobin tax.

Tourist Events

[Denis Paradis, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, who has not yet heard of the internationalcrossing of Lake Memphrémagog, a marathon swim that brings together the world's best long distance swimmers, the Bromont International, an international riding competition, which just this week was awarded the Prix de tourisme des Cantons de l'Est, of the Orford classical music festival, of the Cowansville international street musicians festival, of the arts tour and of the Bedford and Brome agricultural fair, to name but a few.

The riding of Brome—Missisquoi is bursting with prestigious events that draw thousands of visitors annually. These events are what they are today thanks to the energy of the people of Brome—Missisquoi.

A tip of the hat to the organizers, who work tirelessly and resolutely to ensure the success of these events. I would also like to thank the people for their hospitality, which endows each of these events with a touch of the unique and irreplaceable.

I therefore invite my colleagues to visit the riding of Brome—Missisquoi. I am convinced they will have an unforgettable time there.

Randol Whidden Ganong

[Greg Thompson, Progressive Conservative, Charlotte, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour Randol Whidden Ganong of New Brunswick who died this past weekend.

Mr. Ganong, without doubt, was one of Canada's most famous candy makers, if not the most famous candy maker. His accomplishments went far beyond the candy company that bore the family name in St. Stephen. Mr. Ganong was an Order of Canada recipient whose accomplishments were numerous. He spent two years overseas during the second world war as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Mr. Ganong was also mayor of his town for two years before becoming president of the family business. He was the first president of the Confectionery Manufacturers' Association of Canada and worked as a director of both the CBC and the New Brunswick telephone company.

Through good times and bad R. W. was loyal to his family, community and employees, and one of the most thoughtful, honourable and principled business leaders Canada has ever produced. We will miss R. W. Ganong.

National Capital Institute Of Technology

[Marlene Catterall, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week I had the privilege of representing the Minister of Industry at the launching of the new National Capital Institute of Technology and the opening of its new headquarters at Canada's Communications Research Centre in Nepean.

The institute is an impressive example of partnership between governments, the private sector and academia to advance research and development in this region and in Canada's vital telecommunications sector.

I congratulate the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation, Nortel, Newbridge, Bell Nexxia, QNX, the National Research Council, the Communications Research Centre, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and Carleton and Ottawa universities for this unique partnership that will benefit all Canadians and keep Canada at the cutting edge of this important economic sector.

The Canadian Flag

[Peter Goldring, Reform, Edmonton East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, how a nation views itself is a measure of its pride and self-esteem. How a nation is viewed by the world is a reflection of its collective deeds. How a nation projects this image is through its national symbol.

Our nation is known throughout the world for its deeds in war and peace. Canada's symbol is its flag, which floats majestically over this very House. Our flag is the embodiment of our nation's heart and soul.

To desecrate Canada's flag must be forbidden by law. To defile the symbol of our nation must have due consequence.

The House will soon decide the importance of our flag. The member for Prince George—Bulkley Valley wishes to add the significance of a cloak of law to protect our flag. I ask for all to support his stand.

Bill C-20

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since the introduction of Bill C-20 and throughout the undemocratic process applied to pass that legislation, the Prime Minister and his Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs have always refused to be perfectly clear on the majority required for the federal government to fulfil its obligation to negotiate with Quebec.

While the 50% plus one rule is very clear and fair, the Prime Minister and his minister have purposely maintained a state of confusion. But, since yesterday, the cat is out of the bag. In Calgary, thinking that he was safely out of earshot from Quebecers, the Prime Minister said that a 66% majority would not be enough. This is the hidden side of Bill C-20.

This act not only rejects the democratic principle of the equality of voters, but allows parliament and the federal government to reject the democratic will of Quebecers, even if more than 60% of them decide that they want a country.

Human Resources Development

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the auditor general slammed the human resources department yesterday. He said that he had never seen mismanagement on the scale of this giant fiasco.

However, the internal audit that uncovered the billion dollar bungle was only the latest in a long series of warnings that this and previous HRD ministers have received over the past two decades. The Liberals ignored those warnings because it allowed them to continue using taxpayers' money for partisan political purposes.

If the minister were sincere in wanting to clean up her department, why did she wait until she was caught before implementing a plan?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the member's question has an inaccurate premise. The minister did not wait. She released the audit report and the information on her six point action plan before she took note of any request to release information.

It is important to note that the auditor general approved of the six point action plan. It is being carried out. The government is identifying the problems and addressing them. The hon. member should give us credit for that.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, every Canadian knows that the minister actually began to address the problem two days after receiving an access to information request to release the audit.

Let us consider the HRD minister's, by now, infamous six point plan that will supposedly clean up her mess. She stumbled, she stammered and she stifled, and then she stalled and stuttered before stonewalling. If she had spent more time addressing the problems and less time with her image consultant, perhaps taxpayers would take her plan seriously.

If the minister was serious about cleaning up her own department, why did she have to get caught before she did something about it?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's premise is totally wrong. Once again he and his party are slamming and criticizing an officer of the House, the auditor general. That is what they are doing when they are criticizing the six point action plan. The auditor general said “I do believe this is a very thorough plan for corrective action to address the immediate control problems that were identified. Some longer term action plans are also included that further strengthen the approach”.

The Reform Party ought to apologize to the auditor general and to the House for the unwarranted criticism of his support of the six point action plan.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have always fully supported the auditor general. It is the Liberal government that only uses his words when it suits its needs.

It does not matter how many points there are in the minister's plan. As long as the very first point is political interference the plan is doomed to failure. With the Shawinigan fountain king staying on as leader, HRDC has no hope of fixing itself.

The minister and her predecessors have been warned for years that HRDC was rife with waste and they chose to do nothing about it.

Why should Canadians believe that the patronage and the political meddling is about to stop?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, again the premise is wrong. There have been no findings of improper political interference, unless we want to talk about the representations by Reform members in support of grants from the HRD department. The hon. member should be looking at himself in this regard if he thinks that this is improper. This is something he in effect is saying.

This government is dealing with these problems. It has the six point action plan. I think it deserves credit for taking note of the problems and dealing with them in a way that the auditor general finds effective and meaningful.

Again, the Reform Party should apologize for criticizing—

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Dewdney—Alouette.

[Grant McNally, Reform, Dewdney—Alouette, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Reform Party will not apologize for continuing to keep this government accountable. The auditor general has warned against political interference in his report and the Deputy Prime Minister knows it.

Just to refresh the minister's memory, that is when the boss puts pressure on the department to dole out cash for fountains and shifty hoteliers, or when she goes against the rules of her own program and drops millions of dollars into her own riding. Political interference will get in the way of any plan to restore integrity to the way grants are doled out at HRDC.

It is the same players and the same programs. How can it be expected that there will be anything different this time around?

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, if the members of the Reform Party spent as much time on their research as they do on their alliterations they might have some of their facts correct.

Once again, they are only telling part of the story. They did not mention what the auditor general also said. He said “Exceptional circumstances demand exceptional actions. The action plan proposed is exceptional. I believe it is a very thorough plan for corrective action”. When asked about political interference, he said that he had found no evidence of political interference.

[Grant McNally, Reform, Dewdney—Alouette, BC]

Mr. Speaker, while the auditor general talked about facts, let us talk about some other facts. The parliamentary secretary talked about facts.

The minister took no action until she was caught. That is a fact. She tried to bury the audit for months and hoped that it would not be found. That is a fact. When she was outed by an access request she reluctantly released the audit. Since then she has stonewalled every attempt to get to the truth. That is a fact. She has not so much as apologized for this billion dollar bungle.

With this kind of track record, how can anyone expect anything but a repeat of this disaster as long as this minister is still in charge?

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to answer a set of challenges that are untrue. There is no billion dollar boondoggle. A billion dollars is not lost.

The minister has never stonewalled. She has led us into the new century of transparency by publishing 10,000 pages of information, which these people would do well to go through so they could for once get their facts straight.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Mitis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister.

According to the auditor general, the situation at the Department of Human Resources Development is serious. Indeed, the auditor general said that, based on his severity scale, this situation is at the top.

Beyond the six point plan, what is the government prepared to do to follow up on the auditor general's criticisms and recommendations?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the auditor general supports the six point plan. He insists that we must continue with that plan.

Once the auditor general has completed his work, in October, we will take a very close look at his recommendations. For the time being, we are following his advice and we are continuing to implement our six point plan.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Mitis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the government is prepared to follow the auditor general's recommendations. Let me remind the government of one recommendation that the auditor general finds extremely important.

Yesterday, before the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development, the auditor general said that, in order to get to the bottom of things in such cases, a police investigation is always required.

What is the government waiting for to launch a police investigation, particularly in the case of Placeteco?

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, we do not wait when things indicate we should do it. If the opposition party has evidence that it thinks should be referred to a police investigation, it should present it.

Our review of this particular case suggests that we have all the invoices that document the expenses of the company and how it used our money. We are satisfied with that so there is no need for establishing an overpayment or any such thing, or referring it to the police.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if the government wants evidence in the Placeteco affair, it can have it: a $1 million grant paid out under a secret agreement that left small creditors out in the cold; an HRDC trustee who is also the buyer's lawyer; several friends of the Prime Minister—Claude Gauthier, Gilles Champagne and Michel Béliveau—are involved.

What is the government waiting for to launch a police investigation so that we can get to the bottom of things, as the auditor general says.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, sometimes I wonder if that party wants to bring jobs to its province. It should know that it is difficult to acquire private sector—