House of Commons Hansard #114 of the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was impaired.
Diane Ablonczy Reform Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, would you invest money with Mr. Lafrenière? Here is his track record: In 1998, Quebec operation shut down for polluting a recreational lake; in August 1999, went bankrupt owing $3.6 million; in April 1999, Ontario operation went bankrupt; and in May 1999, independent accounting said he lost $2.4 million in the last six months.
That was enough to impress the HRDC minister. She gave him $1 million in September and another million in January. How does she explain such poor judgment?
Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period
Gander—Grand Falls Newfoundland & Labrador
Liberal
George Baker LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)
Mr. Speaker, the chartered banks put in four times as much as the federal government. Private enterprise put in three times as much as the federal government. The provincial government put in twice as much as the federal government.
They are just opposed to any money going to high unemployment areas in Canada, or to our farmers, or to our fishermen, or to our miners. We will fight this anti-rural Canada attitude on the part of the reform alliance.
Diane Ablonczy Reform Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, it is too bad the minister did not fight his deplorable tendency to bluster when the minister who was asked the question does not have a good answer.
I quote from today's Ottawa Citizen : “A Gatineau businessman with a history of failure but great Liberal connections gets $15 million in grants and government loan guarantees”, $2 million from the HRDC minister after she knew of his dismal track record.
Why is she so eager to invest other people's money in clearly a money losing operation?
Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period
Gander—Grand Falls Newfoundland & Labrador
Liberal
George Baker LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)
Mr. Speaker, that party wants to replace all these programs with a fat cat flat tax and tax incentives to business.
Mr. Speaker, you and I know—we have been here a long time—that tax incentives to businesses are actually tax expenditures paid for by ordinary working Canadians. They do not want a tax take from that party. They want a tax break from the Liberal government.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, in the matter of parental insurance, the Prime Minister said yesterday that it suited him fine to have Quebec go before the courts.
Does the Prime Minister understand that this is not his concern, but rather the concern of young families?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, 30 years ago, the federal government instituted a program of parental leave, long before the provincial governments started talking about it.
If the provincial government considers there are gaps in Quebec's social policy and it has the money to invest, it is welcome to do so.
But the program that provided six months' parental leave now provides 12. Everyone applauded when we announced it in the throne speech and the budget. Only after we concluded our plans and announced what we were going to do, they suddenly wanted to renegotiate, when they were the ones to leave the table—
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, we will take a look at the Employment Insurance Act. At section 69, it provides, among other things that “the Commission shall, with the approval of the governor in council, make regulations to provide a system for premiums where an equivalent provincial program exists”.
Despite the Prime Minister's statements, the commission cannot refuse to negotiate, it has to reach a settlement.
Does the Prime Minister realize that his own legislation requires him not only to negotiate but to reach a settlement?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the law provides that reaching a settlement is required but also stipulates with the approval of the governor in council.
We negotiated with them in good faith a few years ago, but we could not reach an agreement. We assumed our responsibilities and we believe that it was important to increase parental leave benefits so people could have children without losing their job. We extended the period to 12 months.
If, as I said earlier, the provincial government finds that it should inject more money, that there are social problems it is responsible for, it should assume its responsibilities. We have assumed ours.
Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC
Mr. Speaker, the parental insurance matter is not a complicated one. We are dealing with two programs—
Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC
—one of which is more advantageous because it applies to all young families, while the other excludes a very large number of them.
Setting aside the confrontation with Quebec and his short-term political interests, does the Prime Minister not find that the best choice, the most obvious choice, the required choice, is to be on the side of these young families, by offering them the best program, that is the one that is part of Quebec's family policy?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the two are not mutually exclusive. We cover those who have contributed to employment insurance. If there are people who have not contributed to employment insurance and who are having problems, that comes under the social policy of the provincial government, and it is up to it to solve the problem.
This is all the more the case because we transfer funds to the provinces to help them in this field.
Jean Chrétien Liberal Saint-Maurice, QC
Yes, we do, Mr. Speaker, but the only thing is that they do not always apply them to social programs.
Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC
Mr. Speaker, we cannot understand the Prime Minister's attitude in this matter.
All that we are asking him to do is to sit down and negotiate, in keeping with subsection 69(2) of the Employment Insurance Act. The more involvement he has in this matter, the less we understand where he is headed.
Why is he opposed to doing what is best for Quebec's young families?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member would like us to intervene in the social policy of the Government of Quebec.
If they want to look after families who are not covered by employment insurance, that is their choice; they have the power to do so, and they have the opportunity to do so. They should thank us for covering a goodly proportion of families. They can cover the rest if they think that there is a problem that is of great concern to them.
Alexa McDonough NDP Halifax, NS
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. Today we have health care workers across the country sounding another warning about health care. Meanwhile, we have the Prime Minister trotting around the country, dropping in on premiers to say “I feel your pain but I just cannot pay a cent until the eve of the next election”.
Why is the Prime Minister delaying on the restoration of crucial cash transfers to health care?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, we said, and the premiers agreed, that we have to sit down and look at what we should do collectively.
We have to make sure that we have the maximum return on the money that will be used by the provincial governments and by us. It is exactly why the minister is talking with the ministers this week. We hope there will be meetings of officials in the weeks to come. Eventually the ministers will meet and the first ministers.
That is the way we do things. We do it after there has been enough consultation, and if the premiers agree with me.
Alexa McDonough NDP Halifax, NS
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just does not seem to get it. Backroom deals and pre-election posturing are the politics of the past. Maybe I can get an answer on another question.
On March 28 in this House we asked questions about queue jumping in Calgary and in Montreal. After three months of investigation, is the government now prepared to say that $400 for an operating room or $4,000 for vital eye surgery violates the Canada Health Act? Or, is this just another hep C fiasco where this government is all talk and no action?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the minister is looking into these cases.
To come back to the question before the hon. member changed the subject, I would like to say that in my negotiations with the provinces I have talked with the premier of British Columbia, who is a member of the NDP. I have talked many times with the premier of Saskatchewan. This week I have had conversations with Premier Doer of Manitoba. The premiers seem to understand us much better than the leader of the fourth, soon to become the fifth party.
Peter MacKay Progressive Conservative Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS
Mr. Speaker, speaking of all talk and no action, the government has proved again that it is the world's worst project manager. This Liberal government undermined Canada's international reputation again through its bungled effort to remove land—
Peter MacKay Progressive Conservative Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS
Mr. Speaker, proving once again that the Liberal government is the world's worst project manager, evidence has come forward that undermines Canada's international reputation, again due to the bungled effort to remove land mines in Kosovo. Bureaucratic delays, contract squabbles, political interference and poor housing undermined Canada's effort and led to CIDA's confirmation that Canada is not living up to its commitment to remove land mines in Kosovo. Amid much fanfare, Canada was supposed to take a lead role in this humanitarian effort.
Why was our effort so ill-equipped and ill-prepared that a senior UN diplomat called it a joke and a laughingstock?