Debates of April 14th, 2000

Housing

[Mac Harb, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

Would she mind informing the House what has the government done to help the Canadian housing industry participate on the international scene?

[Carolyn Parrish, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I would not mind at all.

Canada's national housing agency, CMHC, works closely with industry and its team Canada partners to promote the participation of the Canadian housing system in foreign markets. CMHC brings down housing barriers, gathers market intelligence and supports the housing industry's export promotion, new trade shows and other missions.

In fact, I was able to join the team Canada mission to Poland last year which saw a lot of contracts signed. Joint ventures were entered into that enriched both economies.

Opening new markets and increasing the number of Canadian firms involved in exports is at the heart of Canada's international business.

Canada Development Corporation

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

Mr. Speaker, in relation to the finance minister's involvement in the tainted blood situation, I would like to follow up on what the Deputy Prime Minister said.

He said that all the documents were under the control of the government. He also said that board members were interviewed. The fact is that the same board members could face liability issues on this too. It is no wonder that they said there was no conflict.

The truth of the matter is that the ethics counsellor and the government have the board minutes and they are stonewalling and refusing to release them. What is it that they are hiding in these documents?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I did not say all the documents are under the control of the government. I said just the opposite.

Also, the hon. member is making an assertion which is not accurate, and that is that the Minister of Finance is involved in the tainted blood scandal. This is not true and this is backed up by all the inquiries made into this matter.

The hon. member ought to take another look at the premise of his question. His colleague does not like me talking about the premise of a question but if the premise is wrong, it is wrong. I will not be muzzled and I will not be censored when I want to bring that fact to the attention of the House.

Genetically Modified Organisms

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as regards the GMO issue, the Minister of Agriculture is either burying his head in the sand or he is not properly informed.

Europe has the technology to detect GMOs and is threatening to ban Canadian agricultural products. Here in Canada, the Laboratoire d'environnement SM, in Quebec, and Genserve Laboratories, in Saskatchewan, can detect GMOs.

Since the technology to detect GMOs exists in Europe and in Canada, what is the minister waiting for to order the mandatory labelling of GMOs, for the benefit of consumers and farmers?

[Gilbert Normand, Liberal, Secretary of State (Science]

Mr. Speaker, we already said that a committee of experts was set up to see if it is advisable to label GMOs.

This week, I met with Australia's chief scientist. Last year, Australia passed a law on the labelling of GMOs. He told us that the law cannot be enforced, because they do not have the scientific means and it costs too much money. We are currently looking at the issue and we will protect the public's health.

Canadian Grain Commission

[Dick Proctor, NDP, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, problems continue to mount inside the Canadian Grain Commission. The government has had to address a $20 million cost overrun recently.

There is an ongoing inquiry as to why 70 grain inspectors were off the job recently in Thunder Bay. One inspector is under a gag order for criticizing mismanagement at the place. Now unidentified grain inspectors are sending mail to members of parliament saying they feel stepped on, suppressed, silenced and, frankly, scared of management at the grain commission and the government. How has it deteriorated so much—

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Natural Resources.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has taken some very positive steps, most recently in the latest budget, to deal with the pressures that apply to the Canadian Grain Commission.

Substantial new dollars have been made available which will ensure that the grain commission can continue to provide top quality service protecting the interests of farmers and, at the same time, there will be no fee increases for a period of at least four years.

Points Of Order

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

Mr. Speaker, my point of order arises out of Standing Order 31. You may have noticed that there was a member who did a bit of fundraising for a particular cause during his statement.

Although I have a great deal of sympathy for the cause, which is multiple sclerosis, and I have a great deal of admiration for the person who was named in the statement, I think it would be a mistake if we were to get into the habit or even allow it to pass without comment when members rise in their place and give telephone numbers and addresses as to where people could donate to certain causes.

I think this is something that the Chair might perhaps want to comment on. If there is no rule against it, it seems to me there should be. I just wanted to register my own concern about that particular event.

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

Mr. Speaker, I had not intended to rise on this point but now that the hon. member has raised it, there could be a precedence here that should be looked at either by the Chair, and if not, then perhaps House leaders could arrive at a consensus to make a recommendation, if there is none available, to the Chair immediately.

It seems that using Standing Order 31 for the purpose of fundraising for charitable causes, and in this case a very excellent one, is perhaps a precedent that we should be very careful of setting.

[Dave Chatters, Reform, Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there is no disputing the value and legitimacy of the question raised by the member. If the House leader of the government has a problem with it, we would be glad to get together with all House leaders to talk about it.

[Randy White, Reform, Langley—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that this issue has come up. We in the House should also understand and respect the right of each member to submit to the House issues that are importance to them. If the information in that S. O. 31 was important to the member then it should also be respected and kept in mind if any decisions are made.

[John Bryden, Liberal, Wentworth—Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have done a lot of research on non-profit organizations and charities. The reality is that although there are very many worthy charities, sometimes it is impossible to tell when a charity is not worthy. I think it would be a great mistake to set a precedence whereby members would be promoting one charity or another charity when there is always some danger that the charities may, indeed, not be worthy.

[The Deputy Speaker]

The Chair is ready to at least say something on this subject. It is a matter of some concern to the chair, not just because of the point raised today but because there have been other occasions when the Chair occupant has been in the House and has heard statements listing other members' number so people can call and complain or giving various sorts of advertising for different causes. They are sometimes of interest and sometimes of great amusement but they are not always ones that are necessarily widely appreciated on every side.

Being conscious of that and being conscious of the freedom of speech that the Chair seeks to ensure for all hon. members in the House, I respect the submissions that have been made by all hon. members who have said something on this subject.

For the benefit of all hon. members, I will read from page 364 of Marleau-Montpetit. It states:

The Speaker has also cautioned Members not to use this period to make defamatory comments about non-Members, nor to use the verbatim remarks of a private citizen as a statement, nor to make statements of a commercial nature.

Whether we have stepped beyond a charity, to commercial in this case, I am not prepared to rule. I would caution members to exercise discretion in their use of the time they have. It is a one minute statement. There are guidelines. If hon. members feel uncertain about the guidelines I urge them to read chapter 10 of Marleau-Montpetit and conduct themselves accordingly.

Government Response To Petitions

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 30 petitions.

Committees Of The House

[Rick Limoges, Liberal, Windsor—St. Clair, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration with regard to Bill C-16, an act respecting Canadian citizenship.

[Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal, Vaughan—King—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Finance regarding its order of reference of Thursday, April 6, 2000 in relation to Bill C-22, an act to facilitate combatting the laundering of the proceeds of crime, to establish a financial transactions or reports analysis centre of Canada and to amend and repeal certain acts in consequence.

The Committee has considered Bill C-22 and reports the bill with amendment.

I want to quickly take the opportunity to thank the clerk, the researchers, the members of the committee, the witnesses and departmental officials for their excellent work.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 27th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership and associate membership of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and I should like to move concurrence at this time.

(Motion agreed to)

Petitions

[Clifford Lincoln, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition by 25 people in my riding and other areas of Quebec who call on parliament to enact an immediate moratorium on the cosmetic use of chemical pesticides.

That moratorium would be in effect until the safety of these products had been demonstrated and their long term effects known.

[Val Meredith, Reform, South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present to the House today.

The first petition, although it is late and third reading has already been given, prays that parliament withdraw Bill C-23 and affirm the opposite sex definition of marriage in legislation and ensure that marriage is recognized as a unique institution.

[Val Meredith, Reform, South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC]

The second petition, Mr. Speaker, calls on parliament to prioritize funding for the national highway system, a project very dear to me, in the 2000 budget to reduce fatalities and injuries on the roadways, alleviate congestion, lower vehicle operating costs and reduce emissions, improve Canada's competitiveness, economic development and overall economic prosperity. This is a wonderful petition.

[John Harvard, Liberal, Charleswood—Assiniboine, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have in my hand a petition signed by dozens of Canadians who are concerned about the high rate of breast cancer in Canada.

The petitioners point out that Canada has the second highest rate of breast cancer in the world, second only to the United States. They also point out that the U.S. has had a mandatory mammography quality assurance standard since 1994 and that Canada has no legislation for mandatory mammography quality assurance standards.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon parliament to enact legislation to establish an independent governing body to develop, implement and enforce uniform and mandatory mammography quality assurance and quality control standards in Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by virtually hundreds of Canadians, most of them from the Victoria and Nanaimo, B.C. area.

The petitioners draw the attention of the House to the fact that one in five Canadian children live in poverty; that on November 24, 1989 the House of Commons unanimously resolved to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000; and that since 1989 the number of poor children in Canada has increased 60%.

They therefore call upon parliament to use the federal budget 2000 to introduce a multi-year plan to improve the well-being of Canada's children. The budget is already over but the sentiments of these Canadians continues on to other budgets and beyond.

[John Bryden, Liberal, Wentworth—Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have in my hand a petition calling on the government to withdraw Bill C-23 and affirm the opposite sex definition of marriage in legislation and ensure that marriage is recognized as a unique institution.

You will realize, of course, Mr. Speaker, that the House of Commons did indeed pass Bill C-23. Bill C-23 does include legislation that defines marriage as a union of opposite sex persons and that it has ensured that marriage is recognized as a unique institution.