Oh, oh.
House of Commons Hansard #94 of the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was pornography.
House of Commons Hansard #94 of the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was pornography.
AcoaOral Question Period
The Speaker
Order, please. I would say the hon. member is pretty close to being out of bounds on that shot.
George Baker LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)
Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member said improve his line. I think that was what she said.
To clear up the confusion in case the hon. member's research bureau cannot do it, one can get grants, non-repayable contributions, if one is transferring money to the provincial government to do something that is a provincial government priority in these agreements, or under infrastructure, or if one is a non-profit organization, but there are no forgivable loans for businesses. On these lines, if these lines keep up, they—
Charlie Penson Reform Peace River, AB
Mr. Speaker, the ACOA minister's storytelling abilities know no bounds. I suppose that is necessary, since the details of ACOA spending is one strange tale indeed.
However the little overblown agency that he has come to know and love seems to have a very big problem with its bookkeeping. Since the Liberals have come to power, ACOA has spent more than $19 million on projects they refer to as “rationale unknown”.
Why is it the policy of the government to hand out millions of dollars of taxpayer money without knowing why or how that money is being spent?
George Baker LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)
Mr. Speaker, members of the official opposition gave an example yesterday of this unknown category—
George Baker Liberal Gander—Grand Falls, NL
I am answering the question. They gave an example as Bombardier ACOA grant unknown and then they said Mirabel, Quebec. That was a loan. It has been paid back. It set up a business in Fredericton, New Brunswick. It employs over 30 people. The only unknown thing here is where the opposition is getting this terrible information.
Charlie Penson Reform Peace River, AB
Well, Mr. Speaker, the similarities between the ACOA minister and the human resources minister are becoming more obvious every day.
Both hand out millions of dollars of taxpayer money. Both kind of know where the money went. They just cannot figure out why it went to those agencies: $19 million under rationale unknown. If ACOA cannot explain why the money is needed, why does the minister continue to write the cheques?
George Baker LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)
Mr. Speaker, they also claim that 58% of the money from ACOA goes to big business.
Statistics Canada did a study in 1997. It examined over 6,000 ACOA clients. It found that 92% of the money goes to small and medium size businesses. Who do we believe, the reform alliance or Statistics Canada?
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is unbelievable that the Department of Human Resources Development, which has an army of public servants, which has access to all kinds of documents and which has the power to investigate and audit, still paid $700,000 for the transfer of jobs.
How can the minister display so much ignorance and incompetence in this matter, when a simple audit would have shown that the payment of the $700,000 to Modes Conili was totally unjustified?
Bonnie Brown LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, over the last few days the party opposite has brought to the House's attention some new information.
At the present time the department is reviewing that new information. If any additional steps are necessary on this file they will be taken promptly.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. No one in the department was able to obtain letters signed by the presidents of the two companies and received by all the employees, the same employees who were laid off, who applied for employment insurance benefits and who were hired by the new company.
Is this not further proof of the total incompetence of this government in the management of the Department of Human Resources Development?
Bonnie Brown LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is trying to get a second day's news out of yesterday's news.
This is exactly the information that we are now reviewing as a department. Steps will be taken if the information suggests they should be.
Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is both funny and sad.
There are always documents missing in the files obtained under the Access to Information Act. In the case of Placeteco, it was the invoices and in the case of Modes Conili it is the report that could support the government's claims.
If everything is so perfect for the government, why does it not have the documents to prove its claims?
Bonnie Brown LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, the access to information process is there at arm's length from the government. The party opposite has chosen to go that route.
The member knows there are legal requirements that must be followed when publicly releasing personal or business information. I am confident that all the information the member is requesting that can be released will be released, as is the usual practice.
Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is much simpler than that. No jobs were created at Modes Conili. Employees were simply transferred from one plant to the other.
When will the government ask the recipient to repay the grant?
Bonnie Brown LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, as I have already said, the department is reviewing this information as we speak. If action is necessary, it will be taken.
Alexa McDonough NDP Halifax, NS
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. CBC's corporate plan states “to be national one must first be regional”. Yet today English regional television is being gutted: in Nova Scotia, 220 staff reduced to 145; in New Brunswick, 48 to 9; P.E.I., 36 to 6; Newfoundland, 85 down to 35; Hear and Now , Newfoundland's highly successful local news program, gone.
Why has the government abandoned its commitment to build a strong national broadcaster by building on strong regional programming?
Mauril Bélanger LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, the government is not abandoning the CBC at all. The government has stood by the mandate of CBC.
I encourage the member of parliament opposite, her constituents and the constituents of all members, if they have concerns about the plans of the CBC, to express those concerns to the members of the board or to the president of CBC before the decision is made, because it has not yet been made.
Alexa McDonough NDP Halifax, NS
Mr. Speaker, I think Canadians want to hear from the Prime Minister on this issue. He must know that the Broadcast Act directs the national broadcaster to reflect Canada's regions to regional audiences.
Regional broadcasting is not optional. In this Internet era and with growing demand for local programming, centralization not only defies the law. It defies the cry for nation building. What is the government's response to the CBC proposals to abandon regions like Atlantic Canada?
Mauril Bélanger LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, the government is not abandoning the regions. The government has stood by the CBC Act and its mandate of reflecting Canadians in each region of the country to each other.
I advise the member that her own critic has asked the heritage committee to meet with the president of CBC, which the committee agreed to do before the next board meeting, so that it could be apprised of the concerns expressed by Canadians to some members of the House. In the meantime, before the next board meeting where decisions and recommendations will be—
Elsie Wayne Progressive Conservative Saint John, NB
Mr. Speaker, in the last 24 hours the Department of National Defence has confirmed that at CFB Cold Lake there are five known cases where tuberculosis skin tests have come back positive.
We thank God that none of these cases are active right now, but as I stated yesterday we have been informed that there is at least one active case in the military today.
Will the minister tell the House what percentage of the total base population at CFB Cold Lake has undergone TB tests, and will he call for all base personnel to be tested immediately?
Art Eggleton LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, all who go over to the Balkans where there have been difficulties with tuberculosis are tested before they go over and when they come back.
There are only five cases in Cold Lake where there has been a positive skin test, meaning that there has been exposure to tuberculosis. It does not mean they have active tuberculosis. In fact, none of the five have active tuberculosis. All of them are receiving treatment for this. It is in fact totally 100% curable with treatment.
