Debates of May 2nd, 2000

Public Works And Government Services

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

Mr. Speaker, in 1997 in Ontario, Public Works and Government Services Canada gave 1,845 contracts worth $361 million to companies that donated to the province's 103 federal Liberal candidates. Some 64% of the contracts were untendered. If one did not give money to the governing party, chances are one did not get the contract. The auditor general has condemned this practice.

Will the minister call in the auditor general again to investigate why the minister's department is handing out so many untendered contracts that disproportionately reward government supporters?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member got those figures. It was just yesterday that I looked at the figures and in my department 66% of the contracts went to public tender. Only 6% were sole sourced and the balance were under the program where, as we advised before, we give a contract if there is no other possibility. The hon. member has all the figures wrong.

The auditor general is there on a daily basis and he audits all the programs that we have. I do not have to invite him. He is already there.

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

Once again he has contradicted the auditor general. We will see tomorrow who is right.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, the government's very liberal approach to crime has provided $450,000 in a grant to the Elizabeth Fry Society so that it could fully support and wish every success to Karla Homolka's bid for early release into a halfway house. Within the year the same society will provide favourable representations to the parole board for early release.

Rehabilitation support for prisoners is important, but where is the balance in our justice system which forces taxpayers to fund the early release of convicted sex killers while the rights of the French and Mahaffy families are ignored?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the Elizabeth Fry Society speaks on behalf of offenders, women offenders in particular. It is an independent, non-profit organization which speaks on behalf of women offenders. It does not decide who is paroled. That is done by Correctional Service Canada or the National Parole Board.

Gun Control

[Steve Mahoney, Liberal, Mississauga West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this afternoon in the city of Toronto representatives of the provincial weapons enforcement unit of Ontario, the Toronto police area firearms office, and the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms announced the uncovering of a major international firearms smuggling operation.

Could the Minister of Justice inform the House of what her department's role was and, most important, the role of the Canadian firearms registration system in this operation?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I do want to confirm that Canadian and U.S. authorities have uncovered what is believed to be the largest international firearms smuggling ring in North America.

Over 22,000 firearms and components were seized. To quote the Toronto police service which was involved in this seizure, “the investigation commenced as a result of the new Firearms Act that included the creation of the Canadian firearms registration system”.

Grain Transportation

[Howard Hilstrom, Reform, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the grain transportation system, dominated by the Canadian Wheat Board, has just dished out $44 million for rate increases to Canadian farmers.

Grain farmers and Canada's grain companies have joined with the government's own experts in calling for the removal of the Canadian Wheat Board's iron fisted domination, yet the Liberals refuse to act. This inaction has led to rate increases instead of reductions.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Why is preserving the control of the Canadian Wheat Board more important to the government than lower rates for farmers?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I answered yesterday to a question from the NDP, the Canadian Transportation Agency was fully within its statutory authority when it issued the authority for the increase last week.

I know this has caused some concern with producers, in particular on the prairies, but shortly I will be coming before the House with a package of reforms which will be fair and equitable. The bottom line is that those reforms will benefit western farmers. I hope the Reform or Alliance Party will be there to support the bill when it comes in.

Human Resources Development

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

Mr. Speaker, in the matter of the Placeteco invoices, the minister has told us three times today to use access to information.

I repeat, for the third time, that we have done so. Not only have we done so, but we received the file yesterday, May 1, a big file without a single invoice in it. To the claim that it is confidential, I reply that in a number of other instances we have received invoices and pay slips. There was no invoice in the Placeteco file.

I ask the minister why the invoices are not in the file. Were there any in the first place?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have said on a number of occasions, we have reviewed this file. Indeed the moneys that were presented to Placeteco were fully identified in the context of appropriate terms and conditions of the agreement.

Again, access to information is a process whereby information is reviewed and is protected according to privacy decisions. I do not make those decisions. They are made in the context of the act of this House.

Patented Medicines

[John Solomon, NDP, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. Recent WTO rulings on patented drugs will again increase drug costs for Canadians.

The Liberals broke their 1993 promise to protect generic drugs, so brand name drug prices have soared adding billions to our health costs. More health dollars are now spent on drugs than on doctors' fees and too many people have to choose between filling their prescriptions or buying food.

Will the Liberal government at least draw a line in the sand and appeal the WTO ruling on drug patents or, better still, will the Prime Minister finally stand up for Canadians and kill Bill C-91, like he promised seven years ago?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the member may have been watching the news lately to hear about how citizens of the United States are crossing our borders because our drug prices are significantly lower than they are in the United States.

He may think that the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board in fact should have credit for the fact that Canadian patented medicine prices are lower than in the United States and should be applauding the government for that.

As to the appeal, we will take the case under consideration and we will determine at the appropriate time what remedies we should seek.

The Economy

[Norman E. Doyle, Progressive Conservative, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. The minister was in Newfoundland a few days ago. He publicly stated that he was willing to consider providing a 10 year holiday on the equalization clawback for have not provinces.

That caused quite a stir in Newfoundland because this is a battle that the premier, the opposition, and the people of the province have been waging for quite some time. Is the minister serious about a new equalization arrangement for Newfoundland and the have not provinces?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, what I said in Newfoundland is something that I have said on many occasions. In terms of Newfoundland and in terms of Atlantic Canada it is very clear that the development of a modern economy requires a leg up.

The government is prepared to stand behind Atlantic Canada because we recognize that the depth of entrepreneurship, the educational institutions and the basic research that is there all can combine to give Atlantic Canada a very strong economy, and we will make sure that it happens.

Sports

[Walt Lastewka, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a month ago the Secretary of State for Amateur Sport announced some additional funding for Canadian athletes. Could the secretary of state update us on what he is doing to help national coaches in our sports federations?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Secretary of State (Amateur Sport)]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday our government showed once again that amateur sport is a priority for us.

We have invested an additional $5.2 million to help our olympic and paralympic athletes prepare in addition to those who often make a difference and are too often forgotten: our trainers. Funding has now increased from $8 million to $11 million.

Since the last budget our government invested $13 million more, and it is only the beginning. Once again we walk the talk.

Grain Transportation

[Howard Hilstrom, Reform, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out to the transport minister that the highly regulated statutory freight rate system that is currently in place is exactly what is wrong with grain transportation. That is why there is a 4.5% increase in rates.

The savings from grain transportation reform would give farmers an average of $15,000 per year if it were deregulated. Why again is this minister and the Prime Minister willing to continue with the regulated freight system that is driving our farmers into bankruptcy? Let us see an end to it. Will you end it with your new legislation?

[The Speaker]

Please address questions through the Chair.

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, when we bring in the bill which hopefully will take effect for the beginning of the grain season in August we will see a change in the regime that has penalized producers, has penalized railways and has penalized grain companies. It has penalized everybody in the system for the last 60, 70, 80, 100 years.

This government has taken its responsibilities. We have commissioned two prominent Canadians, Justice Estey and Mr. Arthur Kroeger. We have the benefit of their advice and will be moving on a package of reforms. Given the hon. member's enthusiasm, I know that we can count on his support.

Employment Insurance

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in a press conference yesterday, the Mouvement autonome et solidaire des sans-emploi voiced its support of the Bloc Quebecois by calling for the Minister of Human Resources Development to proceed as promptly as possible with an in-depth reform of the employment insurance program.

When will the minister respond to this heart-felt cry from the jobless, and when will she finally decide to act?

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

Mr. Speaker, if we want to look at what has been happening for the unemployed, we can look at the fact that two million Canadians who were not working in 1993 are working today. We can look at the fact that we have the lowest rate of unemployment in Canada in decades.

We can look at the investments that this government has been making in areas that have not had the opportunity to benefit from the surge in the economic growth in Canada. Those are the kinds of investments that we feel are important. Those are our responses to the unemployed.

Publishing Industry

[Wendy Lill, NDP, Dartmouth, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Last year we saw the minister surrender to the U.S. on magazines, but to her credit it was at least after a fight. Yesterday she indicated that she is willing to give up our newspapers without even fighting.

It is demeaning that our culture minister goes to Boston to show Americans a beer ad so they will “understand us better”. If she thinks that Americans do not understand us, why would she allow Americans to control Canadian newsrooms? Why is she ignoring 30 years of studies which are firm in opposing foreign control of newspapers?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I would never allow foreign control of newspapers.

Fisheries

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

Of the first nations bands fishing in Atlantic Canada, how many and which ones are fishing under band conservation regulations instead of Department of Fisheries and Oceans conservation regulations?