Debates of May 11th, 2000

Airline Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for that, but the employees of the airline, the 2,100 employees who are waiting in limbo to know what will happen to their jobs, want to know exactly how long it will be before they know what their future holds, whether or not they will have jobs. Could you let them know how many weeks—

[The Speaker]

I ask all members to speak through the Chair as opposed to each other.

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate it has been unsettling not just for the employees of Canadian Regional but for all the employees at Canadian Airlines and at Air Canada during this very difficult period.

Under the terms of the deal of December 21, if Canadian Regional is sold all the service obligations, all the communities as of December 21 that Canadian Regional served, must be maintained for three years. One assumes therefore that all the employees will have to be retained to provide those services. Therefore if this sale goes through those jobs will be guaranteed.

Health

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week, we heard on the news about the terrible situation on the Island Lake reserve, where aboriginals have no health care services at all, when it is up to the federal Minister of Health to see that they do.

How can a minister who is unable to properly discharge his reduced health care responsibilities claim to control what is going on in Canadian provinces? What a nerve.

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we are working closely with aboriginal communities to make the necessary health care services available.

When one has responsibilities involving very remote regions, it is always difficult. However, we are working with communities to meet our responsibilities.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, instead of spending $4 million to establish a network of federal health inspectors to spy on the provinces, would the Minister of Health not be better advised to use that same amount to do what he is paid to do and provide aboriginals with decent health care? That is his job. It is what he is supposed to do and what he should be looking after.

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we spend over $1 billion annually to ensure that health care services are available to aboriginals on first nations territory.

We will continue to work with aboriginal communities to ensure that essential services are available.

Grain Transportation

[Gerry Ritz, Reform, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the proposed changes to grain transportation announced yesterday, and I guess that would be legislation by press conference, are based on a memorandum of understanding between the wheat board and the government.

Sceptics believe that the wheat board will protect its own turf and not all real improvements to proceed. Will the government clear the air by tabling that memorandum before it introduces actual legislation?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have had the opportunity to discuss in the last short while the principles upon which the government intended to move. Those principles were announced yesterday by the Minister of Transport.

In so far as those principles bear upon the operations of the Canadian Wheat Board, we now have to translate that into a legal document that will be a memorandum of understanding between the board and the government. When those discussions are concluded it will be a public document. In the meantime we will be consulting with the other players to get their input too.

[Gerry Ritz, Reform, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line in all this is that producers have to benefit the most of any of the players. Allowing the wheat board to sit behind closed doors and determine the rules for the future of the grain industry would be totally self-serving.

All the studies that have been done have shown the government that freight costs will decrease only when railways and grain companies can negotiate efficient grain movement directly between themselves.

Could the transport minister guarantee those producers out there that his new system will allow the grain companies and railways to negotiate without interference by the government or the wheat board?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the proposal I announced yesterday has to be seen as a complete package. I think the hon. member would have to admit that putting $178 million out there for the producers is a victory for western farmers. I challenge the Alliance to go anywhere in western Canada and to say otherwise.

This is a comprehensive package. This will allow a competitive system in western Canada for the first time, and the producers will get the benefit.

Canada Information Office

[Ghislain Lebel, Bloc, Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned from Access to Information that the Canada Information Office, the famous CIO, the federal propaganda agency, has given $1.2 million to BCE Média, an affiliate of BCE, headed by Jean Monty, for the production of a program, Scully RDI .

My question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Why is the federal government subsidizing a company as rich as BCE, just so that it can be used as a front for producing Scully RDI ?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Canada Information Office participated, in partnership with BCE Média and the CRB Foundation in a program called “Le Canada du millénaire”.

In it we addressed the challenges Canada faces with its millennium programs.

Greenhouse Gas

[Guy St-Julien, Liberal, Abitibi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Natural Resources.

Global warming constitutes real threat for the people of Canada, and for their way of living. In Kyoto in 1997, Canada—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. If hon. members wish to have personal discussions, I would ask them to be so kind as to withdraw.

[Guy St-Julien, Liberal, Abitibi, QC]

In Kyoto in 1997 Canada made a commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to below the 1990 level between now and the 2008-2012 time horizon.

Could the Minister of Natural Resources tell us what measures Canadian industry has taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to have this question on the eve of what will be next week National Mining Week in Canada.

The Canadian mining industry is today releasing a document entitled “Global Climate Change—Taking Action”. It recognizes climate change as not just a challenge but also an opportunity. It partners with environmental organizations like the Pembina Institute and Stratos in constructive action. It shows that the Canadian mining industry this year will be more than 4% below its 1990 levels in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, and it promises to do more.

Grain Transportation

[Roy H. Bailey, Reform, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the winter of 1996-97 accentuated a huge problem in grain transportation in western Canada. The Estey report, followed by the Kroeger report, made several recommendations, one of which was to put grain transportation on a totally commercial basis.

These reports recommended that grain companies and the railways should enter into contractual agreements for moving the grain to port. Why has the government decided virtually to ignore the major recommendations made by both Estey and Kroeger?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member from western Canada knows that this issue divides everyone in the western provinces. It is full of emotion. It is full of history. What Mr. Estey did in his report was to give us the framework. What Mr. Kroeger did was to show us how to implement it.

We have used their work as a basis of the package we announced yesterday. Yesterday's announcement marks the beginning of a competitive system that will continue for years to come.

[Roy H. Bailey, Reform, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the government's independent third party to monitor the overall efficiency of grain transportation will no doubt come up with the same recommendations as Mr. Estey and Mr. Kroeger.

Everyone knows that this Liberal caucus has been fighting over this issue for months. Why has the Minister of Transportation allowed government infighting to overrule the wishes of the stakeholders in the grain transportation?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps there is infighting in the Alliance Party but in the Liberal Party there is constructive dialogue on the issues of the day. This constructive dialogue has helped to bring forward a balanced package.

The bottom line in that package is that the paramount issues affecting western producers have been addressed. One hundred and seventy-eight million dollars have been put into the hands of farmers and $175 million will be spent to improve grain roads. This is a victory for dialogue and a victory for the producers in western Canada.

Health

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

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

The fact remains that the Minister of Health has failed to stop something that he himself said was disastrous for medicare. The fact remains that the record of the Minister of Health stands in stark contrast to the record of a former Liberal minister of health, Monique Bégin, who, when she saw a threat to medicare, used the power of this parliament to amend medicare legislation and bring in the Canada Health Act.

This has happened on the health minister's watch. He failed on all counts to stop what he himself said was disastrous. Why does he not consider resigning?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, there they go again: Empty rhetoric, no ideas, no solutions and no specifics. How does bill 11 contravene the Canada Health Act? How are they going to solve the problems of medicare? For a party on the periphery, it is easy to just talk.

This government will be watching on the ground in Alberta to make sure those private for profit facilities do not contravene the Canada Health Act. That is the role Canadians want us to play and that is the role we are going to fulfill.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister is watching on the ground all right. He is on the ground with Ralph Klein's foot on his neck, doing whatever he pleases with the federal government standing by doing nothing while this happens to medicare.

We have made all kinds of suggestions. One suggestion we have made is that the federal government restore its full share of medicare funding. If it had done that we never would have had this problem. Do not dare to stand up here and tell us that we have not made suggestions.

The minister did not say a word about NAFTA in his statement. Can he tell us today when we will get the federal government's opinion on why it thinks this has no NAFTA implications?