Debates of June 2nd, 2000

Correctional Service Canada

[Chuck Cadman, Reform, Surrey North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we all know about the corrections commissioner's goal to have 50% of federal offenders out in the community under supervision.

We must assume that the costs to which my colleague referred were rising during the implementation of that plan. Will the solicitor general please assure Canadians that prison costs will not continue to rise as the system approaches that 50% goal?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure my hon. colleague would never want to mislead the House or the Canadian people. He knows very well, as he heard the Commissioner of Correctional Service Canada and I indicate many times, that there is no quota.

Public safety is always the number one issue. When we have a 15% to 20% decrease in recidivism it is important for Canadians.

Gasoline Pricing

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, drivers were stupefied by the ten cent increase in the price of a litre of gasoline at the pump in a single day this week.

The news of it did not perturb the federal government, which remains totally indifferent.

I ask the Minister of Finance if he could tell us what he intends to do to respond to consumer concerns about these dizzying increases in the price of gasoline?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, this is exactly why the Minister of Industry called for a study on the entire question, and we are anxiously awaiting the results of it.

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the study is expected in January 2001, it should be noted.

Is the federal government going to continue to close its eyes much longer on the dubious practices of the oil industry, when, according to the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute itself, the refineries are taking advantage of the nervousness in the oil market to raise their refining margin?

When is the government going to assume its responsibilities and act in this matter?

[John Cannis, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the government has taken action. It was this Liberal team that came together, 47 members, and commenced the procedure for where we are today on an ongoing basis. We were responsible and will continue to be responsible. If they would only participate we would advance it even further.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service

[Leon Benoit, Reform, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, CSIS, the U.S. State Department and a counterterrorism organization in Israel have identified FACT as a front for the Tamil tigers. The immigration department is using this information to try to deport this group's former co-ordinator, alleging that he was sent to Toronto to raise money for weapons for this terrorist organization.

Is this not an admission that FACT is indeed a front for a terrorist organization? Could the minister please relay this information to her colleague in finance?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that CSIS does not provide a list of terrorist organizations and it does not provide a list of people or organizations that it is targetting.

Airline Industry

[Gary Lunn, Reform, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the merger of Canada's two major airlines is causing the tourism industry in Victoria to crash. Hotel occupancy is down to 54%. There will be 18% fewer seats in the month of August and the cost will be higher.

The mayor of Victoria, Allan Lowe, is in Ottawa this week looking for answers. Air Canada promised the passengers that they would be the winners as a result of this merger. Clearly they are the losers. Why has the government not acted to make Air Canada live up to its promises?

[George Baker, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the House realizes that the Commissioner of the Competition Bureau and the Minister of Transport are keeping a very close eye on this situation. I understand the minister has a meeting today with his assistant.

Banking

[René Laurin, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the secretary of state for finance indicated that the future of Quebec's banks is in the hands of the federal Minister of Finance, and that he would take the interests of Quebecers into consideration.

Why has the minister decided, with his bill, to give immediate protection to the Canadian banks while offering the banks of Quebec up to foreign control? What is the hidden agenda here?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question is utterly ridiculous.

What the banks were calling for is more flexibility, more leeway for forging alliances. This is something they have been asking for, and we have provided it to the tune of 20% as far as the major banks are concerned. Quebec banks, the smaller ones, have been asking for more flexibility, more leeway for expansion.

When our document is released, it will show our readiness to allow more expansion possibilities to the smaller banks.

International Cooperation

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister for International Cooperation announced that the government will spend $120 million on developing countries over a three-year period.

Could the parliamentary secretary tell us more about this announcement?

[Eugène Bellemare, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister for International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, among other things, CIDA will use this new funding to contribute $5 million to the international AIDS vaccine initiative, $3.8 million to UNICEF for research on anti-HIV drugs, and $13 million over five years for AIDS education and prevention programs in Malawi.

National Defence

[Philip Mayfield, Reform, Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is hosting thousands of visiting airmen in Exercise Maple Flag at Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake. Reports indicate that our participating CF-18 aircraft are obsolete and do not meet the technological standards of other nations participating. The Hornet's cockpit technology is 20 years out of date.

Will the minister explain to Canadians why after seven years of promises the Liberal government is unable to provide Canadian forces with the modern equipment that they so desperately need?

[Robert Bertrand, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I do not agree at all with what the member just said.

He, in particular, must be aware that we have invested heavily in updating the CF-18 computers. We have invested in a number of other assets for the Canadian forces, including new search and rescue helicopters, and I could go on. There are many others.

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

[Charlie Penson, Reform, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for ACOA defends his agency's wasteful spending on golf courses as joint projects with provincial and municipal governments.

However the federal portion of the funding for the Gander golf course was 80%, or $1 million, and it was a non-repayable contribution. The province's portion was only 8% and this money was lent to the golf course. It appears there was no money from the municipality.

If the funding was truly one-third from each level of government as the minister told the House, will he table the documents that would prove it?

[George Baker, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is still in the rough. One cannot go into any ACOA office and ask for a grant to build a golf course. They will say no. If one goes in and asks for a loan, they will say no because it does not exist.

However, this was a co-operation agreement between governments. ACOA did not fund it. It was a co-operation agreement.

Devco

[Michelle Dockrill, NDP, Bras D'Or, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Devco arbitrator announced his decision today. The arbitrator slammed the government's plan to provide no real support for Devco miners, something we in the NDP caucus have been telling the government for 18 months. Now the arbitrator has forced the government to recognize that its package was wrong.

Will the government now admit that its package was an insult to Cape Bretoners, and will it commit to act on the arbitrator's decision immediately?

[Brent St. Denis, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we are pleased that the arbitrator issued his report. The member knows that Devco has just received the report and will review it carefully so that it fully understands the implications.

It is a report that is binding. We accept and Devco accepts that it is binding. We look forward to its implementation in due course.

Occupational Health And Safety

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it has been eight years since the Westray mine disaster and it has been three years since the Westray inquiry directed parliament to amend the Criminal Code of Canada to make it a crime if workers are killed by gross negligence or a wilful blindness to workplace safety. Earlier this year parliament passed a motion to that effect by an overwhelming majority.

Will the Minister of Justice tell Canadians that she will act in this session of parliament to implement the recommendations of the Westray inquiry?

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

Mr. Speaker, I respect the hon. member's very deep concern in relation to the Westray incident and the corporate and directors liability.

I want to inform the hon. member and the House that it is my understanding that next week the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights will take up the question of recommendation 73 which emanated from the Westray report. I look forward to hearing what the justice and human rights committee has to say in relation to that recommendation. I will take its views under very careful advisement.

Fisheries

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans recently announced a 300% increase in the crab quota in eastern Nova Scotia.

Knowing that the crab population fluctuates wildly, how can the minister justify this increase? It certainly looks like little more than election strategy to me.

[Lawrence O'Brien, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, the crab fishery in Atlantic Canada is a case of peaks and valleys. In this particular case, we are very fortunate that we have a peak. As a result, there has been a major increase in the quota. We are very pleased with it.

As he has pointed out, this year the fishers in that particular area will see a $43 million fishery. That is an increase of $30 million. As the fishery moves along from one year to the next things may change, but we are very pleased to have come up with this format. It is a good one.

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

Mr. Speaker, could he tell us what the potential cost will be of that $30 million? Increasing the crab quota by 300% will entice more fishermen to gear up, to increase their efforts and to put more boats on the water.

Can the minister tell us what will happen to those fishers next year if the crab quota is significantly reduced? Would the minister not have been wiser to err on the side of caution?