Debates of March 3rd, 2000

The Budget

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the increase is not at all as the hon. member says it is. As a matter of fact, the overall increase in expenditures over last year is a little over 1% different.

[Lorne Nystrom, NDP, Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the estimates have an increase of $47 million to $52 million in the government's blue book. Maybe I could put it a different way. That $5 million increase is equivalent to about $48,000 per senator, and the extra $20 million in health care in Saskatchewan is about $20 per person.

I want him to explain why the government would make that tremendous increase in allocation for the Senate and only a few dollars for people in Saskatchewan and Manitoba for health care. Please come clean on this.

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I would not want to give the House inaccurate information. Let me be even more precise. The actual increase over actuals for last year is 1.32%. I know I said that it was a little over 1% and it is 1.32%. I am sure most people will understand that.

Gasoline Prices

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transport.

Truckers are protesting in Ottawa today. Yesterday I stated that high diesel prices, along with high gas and fuel oil prices, are hurting Canadians.

What is the minister prepared to do to ensure that diesel, gasoline and fuel oil prices are lower for all Canadians.

[Brent St. Denis, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that oil prices are traded on world markets and, in that vein, Canada is an active member of the international oil energy agency.

We are actively working with our fellow members to push the OPEC nations to increase production so that we can regain some stability in the world's oil markets.

These measures are effective and I would ask the member to be a little more patient.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Mark Muise, Progressive Conservative, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government will spend $160 million over two years to help the natives integrate into the fishery.

Can the minister of fisheries tell us how much money it will cost to fully integrate natives into the fishery? Does the department have a detailed outline of the strategy and can he provide us with a copy? Does this strategy address the serious issue of the summer food fishery?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has asked us a detailed question about the aboriginal fishery. I will gladly bring the issue to the attention of the minister of fisheries and provide a full response for him in the House.

Needless to say, the government is committed to ensuring, pursuant to the decisions of the court, that the aboriginal fishery is properly taken care of and in a way where everyone lives in harmony and participates in the activity.

Multiculturalism

[Ian Murray, Liberal, Lanark—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism.

Tonight, with children from my riding, I will attend an anti-racism concert in Kanata which is sponsored by the Government of Canada.

I applaud the minister for this initiative but would she explain what she hopes this concert will accomplish and why she believes it is necessary?

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

Mr. Speaker, this concert will perhaps be the biggest initiative put on by any country in the world, both nationally and internationally, to deal with the issue of racism.

Tonight in Ottawa, young people from about seven countries in the world and Canadian youth will join with Dubmatique, Monica, Bif Naked and Juliette Powell in a concert in which youth will speak out in the language they know best, music. This is Canada's step to what is creating a world of peace and human security.

Human Resources Development

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

Mr. Speaker, I realize the minister does not want to hinder any HRD investigations, and today I heard the parliamentary secretary say that making known who is being investigated may hinder or perhaps jeopardize these investigations.

I ask the parliamentary secretary, does that mean that those known investigations are already tainted and that those individuals who are under investigation, including those in Shawinigan, will be getting off scot-free?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think one should read that into any answers given. These are matters for the police. Whether it is the RCMP or a local police force, they will do their duty and, in consultation with crown attorneys, will decide what steps are to be taken. The premise of the member's question is totally off base, as usual.

[Jean-Guy Chrétien, Bloc, Frontenac—Mégantic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in a release dated February 23, the Minister of Human Resources Development boasted that a telephone line had been reserved for members of parliament interested in getting information.

I submitted a request for information by following the suggested procedure. Four days later, I received a letter telling me to go through the access to information process.

Can the minister tell me why I cannot obtain information, even when I follow her own guidelines?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member is justified in his complaint if the telephone line did not give him the information he wanted. I apologize for that. I will see what I can do to fix it.

However, I would remind the member that there are 18 binders, five and a half inches each, of paper. His House leader and his Whip I believe are in charge of them. Those papers have been provided by the department for his perusal. I am sure he can find it in there.

Health

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government must assume its responsibilities in health care.

Monday's budget would give the Province of New Brunswick only $60 million over four years. This is not even enough to cover the debts of New Brunswick's hospital corporations.

Will the government listen to the Premier of New Brunswick and to all the other premiers and pay for 50% of the cost of the health care system in this country, in order to keep it from being privatized?

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health and the government have indicated that they increased public health funding to the unprecedented sum of $31 billion this year. One step has therefore already been taken.

The Minister of Health and the Minister of Finance said that they were open to additional funding, provided that the provinces and the federal government discuss priorities for renewing the health care system. We hope this will be done as soon as May.

Canadian International Development Agency

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

Mr. Speaker, Paul Lemire, the director of CITEC, was under investigation in 1997 for $1.4 million in tax fraud involving Abattoir A.L. Bellerive.

This same abattoir gave $1,200 to the party in power, $500 of it for the Prime Minister's personal election campaign. Abattoir Bellerive received a CIDA contract worth $117,400.

What were the Minister for International Cooperation's criteria in awarding a contract to this company?

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, I must say that I do not have that information with me. I will take notice and report back to the House on that particular question. I am not familiar with that at this point.

The Budget

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for the Status of Women.

There has been concern expressed that the budget is a good budget for business and corporate taxes but it does not address directly the needs of women.

Can the minister tell us whether she has made a gender analysis of the budget and what are its implications for women?

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

Mr. Speaker, the reindexation of personal income taxes will benefit low income families, many of whom are women.

The increase in the child tax benefit will ensure that those benefits are no longer eroded, nor the GST tax credit. Senior women will also benefit from this reindexation.

Small businesses will get a lower tax, which will go down to 21%. We know that women are starting businesses right now at twice the rate of men. These are small and micro businesses. That will benefit them.

I could go on and on but I do not have the time.

Human Resources Development

[Gurmant Grewal, Reform, Surrey Central, BC]

Mr. Speaker, 10,000 pages of inaccurate files, 15 days of non-answers from this weak government, two image consultants, nine police investigations and over $13 million spent with zero jobs created. All this equals one incompetent minister.

Can the Prime Minister give Canadians just one good reason why this incompetent HRD minister should not resign today?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I will give the hon. member 1.9 million reasons. That is the number of jobs created by this government, including the current HRD minister, since we took office. Those are 1.9 million reasons, 1.9 million facts that show the hon. member and his party do not know what they are talking about when they choose to speak about the government in the baseless way they have been doing.

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the more questions we ask on the unbelievable scandal at Human Resources Development Canada, the less we learn. Everything is becoming more and complicated, and every day we are learning of new investigations on top of those already under way. The government's credibility is at stake, and taxpayer confidence is being undermined.

My question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. When is the government going to finally decide to institute a public and independent inquiry under the Inquiries Act?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we already have an independent and public inquiry going on, carried out by the Auditor General.

I wonder why the Bloc Quebecois is attacking the auditor general, who is an officer of this House. The Bloc Quebecois has a duty to support him in his work, not to undermine his work. Their undermining in this House of the work of the auditor general is scandalous.

Scotia Rainbow

[Michelle Dockrill, NDP, Bras D'Or, NS]

Mr. Speaker, attacks in the media indicate the Liberal wagons are circling around Scotia Rainbow. The government, time and time again, has said that it supports Scotia Rainbow because of the jobs it has created in my riding.

Twenty-two million dollars later and the employees of Scotia Rainbow were not paid today. My question is for the minister responsible for ACOA. Why is the government paying a company when the company is not paying its employees?

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

Mr. Speaker, I already have, in answer to another question put forward by the hon. member, made reference to an editorial in one of the Cape Breton newspapers asking that this member step down.

Here is another editorial in the Cape Breton Post that attacks the NDP and says:

Scotia Rainbow is regarded as an important employer, paying out $4.5 million last year in wages. These public dollars are necessary to get such ventures off the ground in Cape Breton Island.

When will the NDP start supporting employment in Cape Breton?