Debates of May 15th, 2000

Export Development Corporation

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. There is something rotten going on at EDC.

When the largest oil company in Brazil needed a loan guarantee, René Fugère, a good friend of the Prime Minister and currently under RCMP investigation, helped to get it one. The man appointed to be chairman of the EDC has a personal financial interest in companies that receive millions of dollars from the EDC. The biggest corporate donors to the Liberal Party are the biggest beneficiaries of EDC financial assistance.

Why is it that so many recipients of EDC support just happen to have such close personal and political connections to the Liberal Party and the Prime Minister of Canada?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member ought to explain why many of the companies to which he refers are also donors to the Conservative Party and even the reform alliance party.

What is the reform alliance party up to? Reform alliancers should come clean. What are they up to?

Human Resources Development

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Human Resources Development has been saying since the beginning that she has invoices to justify the payment of the $1.2 million grant to Placeteco.

My question is very simple: Where are these invoices?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has told the House that he has made an access request for these invoices. I have said a number of times that I agree that the responsible approach to take when we are talking about individual companies with personal information is to use the access to information process.

I am sure that the department, when it reviews the request, will make available all information that it can make available.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if these invoices exist, the minister could table them. They were not in the file provided to us under the Access to Information Act. We have submitted a request, but this has gone on for too long.

The minister solemnly told this House that, indeed, invoices had been submitted by Placeteco. Since she minister is not tabling these invoices, will the minister reaffirm in this House that the grant to Placeteco was in fact paid out on the basis of invoices from and only from Placeteco?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I said in the House before, the department did an administrative review of this file. It identified there were invoices that concurred with the terms and conditions of the program.

The hon. member has said that he has requested the invoices through an access to information request. Again I would say that this is arm's length from the minister. The information that can be made available will be made available.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are quite prepared to give a chance to the Minister of Human Resources Development, but there are limits.

She just told us again that we simply have to submit a request under the Access to Information Act. We did, but we got a file in which there were no invoices. We submitted a second access to information request on March 23. That was seven weeks ago, and we have not yet seen any invoices.

Do these invoices really exist?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, the department has received hundreds of access requests as a result of undertakings these last few months.

The department is working very diligently to respond to the requests of members of the House and of others with regard to their concerns. Again, I am convinced that whatever information can be made available under the access program will be made available in due course.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the minister that, strangely enough, when we ask for other files, the invoices are always included.

With regard to Placeteco, the minister's whole defence is based on the existence of invoices. These invoices were not in the first file. We submitted another request seven weeks ago. We were still not able to get these invoices. We asked the minister to table them, but she did not. No one has ever seen these invoices.

Is this not simply because the invoices to which the minister referred concern companies other than Placeteco and that none of these invoices concern Placeteco as such?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, again let me say to the House that the department is working diligently to ensure that the information requested is made available. Thousands of pages of information have been provided to the public as a result of access to information.

In this case the hon. member confirms that he has made a request. He has asked for the invoices. Again, it is an arm's length process. The request will be reviewed and any information that can be made available will be made available.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage who is responsible for the CBC. It now appears certain after the announcement or non-announcement on Friday that CBC has plans to violate, even repudiate, the mandate given to it by the government and the mandate that the CBC committed itself to in front of the CRTC.

I want to ask the Minister of Canadian Heritage as the minister responsible for CBC and for making sure that mandate is lived up to what the government intends to do now in order to make sure that the CBC does not go ahead with these plans.

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, subsection 3(1) of the Broadcasting Act makes it very clear that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has the responsibility to reflect Canada and its regions to the national and regional audiences while serving the special needs of those regions. I fully expect that mandate will be respected.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. I wish the bantering back and forth between the minister and the leaders would stop so we could hear the question. I think that is only fair.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister said in the House before that she expects the mandate to be lived up to, but what she is not telling the House is what she will do if it is not lived up to, what she will do about the fact that the vice-president of English CBC has all but indicated that they will not live up to the mandate.

Could she please tell us how she will communicate to the CBC that Toronto is not the centre of the universe and that regional news broadcasts like 24 Hours in Winnipeg and Here and Now in Newfoundland and in other Canadian cities need to be preserved or otherwise the CBC will hardly be worth having soon?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the member's comments and views are shared by all members of the House, including members of the Canadian Alliance. I fully expect that the CBC will continue to meets is mandate under the Broadcasting Act.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians everywhere, including the good people of St. John's West, are tired of waiting for the health minister to come forward with real action on the number one issue facing the nation, health.

At this weekend's P.C. policy convention our party overwhelmingly endorsed implementing a sixth principle of the Canada Health Act to provide much needed stability and predictability.

Will the health minister commit today to meaningful long term health care funding for the provinces to face this crisis?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it is regrettable that the Progressive Conservative Party did not use the opportunity of the weekend's convention to change its policy in relation to funding under the Canada Health Act.

The Progressive Conservative Party would provide funding only through tax points with no cash, removing any opportunity for the Government of Canada to enforce the principles of the Canada Health Act. That would be ruinous for Canada's health care system.

I call upon the PCs to see the light, to change their policy and to do what governing Liberals do.

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

Mr. Speaker, once again the health minister is caught in a time warp. Canadians are looking for action, not words from the minister.

Members of the Liberal government have had seven years to come forward with a meaningful plan to address the health care crisis. First, they have removed billions of dollars from social transfers, and the minister's stand pat attitude just does not cut it. The provinces have been forced to look for their own solutions.

Will the health minister stop the rhetoric and commit today to a concrete plan to provide predictable, stable, long term plans for health care in the country?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the member has not been listening. We have been saying for months the status quo is not on. We know what the status quo is. Status quo is Latin for the mess the Tories left us. It is not on. We cannot go on like this. We need to improve the quality of care for Canadians.

If the member would speak to the Tory Premier of Ontario, perhaps he could make some progress talking about a constructive plan instead of just television ads picking fights about funding.

Airline Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport claims that he wants competition in Canada's airline industry but he has a funny way of showing it.

The Department of Transport recently informed Calgary based WestJet that it will no longer be able to have its flight operation inspections in Edmonton. Instead it will have to bring its airplanes and pilots to Ottawa.

Will the minister please explain how forcing WestJet to take its flight operation inspections to Ottawa is going to enhance competition?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member had given me notice of this question I would have had a detailed answer for her. I certainly will look into the matter and get an answer tomorrow.

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

Mr. Speaker, the director general of civil aviation for Transport Canada stated that it was Air Canada that suggested WestJet should be required to do its inspections in Ottawa instead of Edmonton.

Will the minister please inform the House when he transferred his authority to oversee Canada's airline industry over to Robert Milton?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member poses her question in such a rhetorical way having sat for months on this particular file. In fact, we are doing report stage and third reading today on Bill C-26. She knows full well that it is the law that will be passed by this parliament that will ensure that there is competition in the air industry. It is the law that is passed by this parliament that will ensure that consumers are protected. She should know that Transport Canada has the most outstanding air inspection regime of anywhere in the world. I am surprised she would ask that kind of question.

Human Resources Development

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the Modes Conili affair, the Minister of Human Resources Development has described as new information the letters sent out to employees by the presidents of Conili Star and Paris Star.

Can the minister guarantee that the auditors of her department did not have the letters to employees in hand at the time they submitted their report, which led to the paying out of a $700,000 grant?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, I am informed that last Tuesday the department received new information on this file. On Wednesday it reviewed the information. On Thursday it transferred it to the RCMP, which, in its authority, will determine what steps to take next.