Debates of March 27th, 2000

Toronto Waterfront

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last November the federal government formed the Toronto waterfront revitalization task force in co-operation with the Government of Ontario and the city of Toronto. Today the task force issued its report “Gateway to Canada”. In response to this report, can the Minister of Transport tell the House what steps the government plans to take to enhance and revitalize Toronto's waterfront?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very good day for Toronto and for Canada. We have a report that will transform the port lands and the entire shore in the greater Toronto area into a world class commercial, residential and recreational facility. If this goes ahead, this will be the largest urban redevelopment in world history, twice as large as Canary Wharf.

The Government of Canada will want to work with the local authorities to realize this dream. If we do realize this dream, I am sure that it will assist Toronto in being awarded the 2008 Summer and Para Olympics.

Economic Development Agency

[Deepak Obhrai, Reform, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the CED audits are a mirror image of the mess at HRDC. If the minister does not have a copy, it would be my pleasure to give him the audit report. There is too much flexibility, insufficient monitoring and lack of compliance. After three audits the problems remain. Why?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue and Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, I guess it must be part of those members' dream. What I would like to tell the House is like any other regional development agency, we face audits on a yearly basis. I am pleased to report that the department is able to cope with the situation and that there is good management of public funds in my department and in regional agencies.

The problem is that back in 1993 they on the other side of the House would have destroyed all the tools that the Canadian government has to get involved in economic development of the regions. However, our Liberal values make sure that we are going to keep being involved in order to make a difference in all communities across Canada.

[The Speaker]

I remind the hon. member to please not use any props.

[Deepak Obhrai, Reform, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a taxpayer's nightmare the way this government spends taxpayers' money. He still does not get it. Even after three audits the problems and I quote what it says “have remained appreciably the same”. Do these audits not show that the bungle at HRDC was just the tip of the iceberg?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue and Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, again, if they have a specific point they would like to raise, I ask them to come over.

I am pleased to report that we are working on a yearly basis with the auditor general and the internal audit as well. I have all the reports—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. I know that we do things sometimes that come up pretty fast but that type of action in the House is not acceptable. I would ask that this type of thing not occur again in the House. The hon. minister may answer the question.

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, you have seen what they just did. To keep up such behaviour has to be seen as a lack of judgment. If they keep acting like that, I guess they are going to have change their name one more time.

I would like to tell the House that we are working with the auditor general. We are doing fine. We make a difference in the regions across the province of Quebec and we are going to keep helping the regions not only in the province of Quebec but across Canada, even if they do not like it.

Public Works And Government Services

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, over a year ago the House of Commons passed a motion that directed the government to energy retrofit all of its 50,000 publicly owned buildings. Given our obligation under Kyoto to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and given the obvious cost savings benefits associated with the demand side management of our energy resources, I would like the Minister of Public Works and Government Services to answer one simple question. How many of these 50,000 buildings has the government energy retrofitted since it was directed to do so by a motion in the House over a year ago?

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, many buildings have already been retrofitted and we continue to do so. We work with the agencies and all the departments involved. We have a problem and we intend to achieve all our objectives and have all government buildings retrofitted to meet the energy requirements.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I can tell the hon. minister how many. Fewer than 100 have been done since 1993. Of 50,000 buildings, 100 have been completed. It will be a 500 year program to energy retrofit its buildings. The government is devoid of ideas. It is a government that is out of gas, except for greenhouse gases it would seem.

We have an opportunity to save billions of dollars a year in operating costs, create thousands of jobs and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions by hundreds of millions of tonnes, yet the government refuses to act.

The demand side management of our energy resources is an idea whose time has come. Why will the government not get on with it?

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, let me assure the hon. member and the House that we have a schedule. We are working diligently with industry and all the departments. We will meet the requirements as scheduled.

Human Resources Development

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

Mr. Speaker, my question again is for the parliamentary secretary and former teacher. I think she doth protest too much.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. I am sure it is interesting what we all did in our former lives, but perhaps we could just call ourselves by our present titles.

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

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary knows there is nothing improper in asking about ongoing investigations. The minister has referred many times to the 19 that are currently under way. We would like to know about more.

In February 1998 the member for Kitchener Centre replied to a letter to an ACTI complaint that she had contacted HRDC and that everything was fine. Was the complaint passed on to the department and did the department act on that investigation?

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

Mr. Speaker, I actually do not know the answer, but I will be happy to check on this project with the officials and get back to the member opposite.

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

Mr. Speaker, there is a growing concern that part of the six point plan is to call in the police. I would like to know if the hon. parliamentary secretary would be willing to table documents and correspondence with respect to this ongoing problem that appears to exist with ACTI. Will she undertake to table those documents in the House?

[George Baker, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)]

Mr. Speaker, the majority of these 19 investigations which the hon. member referred to actually involve ACOA in the eastern region. Three of them concern only the applications because no money was spent. Separate from that, three of them involve investigations into provincial involvement. With four of them the grants were given out when the Tories were in power. We are still trying to clean up the mess left by the hon. member's government.

National Defence

[John Richardson, Liberal, Perth—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to address this question to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence.

A recent report states that national defence plans to eliminate some of its historic combat regiments. Would the parliamentary secretary give members of the House a more current report of the national defence report being studied at national defence headquarters?

[Robert Bertrand, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, before answering my colleague's question, I would like to point out the excellent work done by our reservists, whether in Bosnia, Kosovo or other hot spots.

Returning to the specific question of my colleague, I can tell you that no specific decision has been reached. The document to which hon. member refers is only a reference document. It is one of several on the minister's desk for consideration in due course.

Economic Development Agency

[Philip Mayfield, Reform, Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General of Canada pointed out that HRDC's disregard for rules and proper controls is embedded in its culture and showed that lax administration was an ongoing problem since at least 1977. That is 23 years, nearly a quarter of a century.

Here in these latest audits we see the same problems at Canadian Economic Development. How many more audits need to be uncovered before the government cleans up its shocking, scandalous mismanagement of taxpayers' money?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue and Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we have had a new mission at Canadian Economic Development since 1995. We are dealing basically with—