Debates of June 8th, 2000

Oceans Day

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today is World Oceans Day.

The idea for oceans day dates back to 1992, at the earth summit in Rio de Janeiro. It quickly went on to become an event celebrated every year on June 8.

Canada is a maritime nation. Our oceans have shaped our history. We rely on them for transportation, fishing, tourism and recreation. They are as vulnerable as they are important, however, and their vulnerability makes us vulnerable as well if we do not take the necessary steps to preserve and protect them. Sustainable ocean management is an important international issue which requires international co-operation.

Oceans day is an opportunity to send our message the length and breadth of Canada, and to the entire world: we share one world, one ocean, one life. While Canadians everywhere are taking part in activities aimed at raising public awareness of the importance—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Prince George—Peace River.

Progressive Conservative Party

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian diplomats are supposed to be non-partisan. However it seems Kim Campbell has grown tired of hosting cocktail parties in Hollywood and has decided to re-enter the political fray.

Yesterday in Edmonton the architect of the two seat caucus unleashed a rant that alleges intolerance in the Canadian Alliance. Kim Campbell should look back to her own 1993 campaign ads attacking the current Prime Minister's appearance by saying “Is this the face of a Prime Minister?” What a low point in Canada's political history.

In a desperate attempt to stop the exodus from their ranks the Tories have resorted to mud slinging. First it was the member for Compton—Stanstead calling us racists. Now it is Kim the socialite calling us, and those who have left the Clark party, intolerant.

Canadians see through these desperate acts. While the Tories drag out politic relics from the past to sling mud, the Canadian Alliance with over 100,000 members is forging ahead, building coalitions committed to giving Canadians a brighter, more prosperous future.

Canadian Alliance Party

[Lorne Nystrom, NDP, Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this morning I picked up the Globe and Mail and this is what I read about the new alliance, old Reform Party.

I read that Stockwell Day said the federal government cutbacks in 1995 were too timid, in particular that Health Canada should have more cutbacks. He said that the department did not pay a single nurse or administer a single hospital. In fact the department provides services to veterans hospitals, prisons, Indian reserves, the RCMP, and many other services.

He said he wanted to privatize VIA Rail, CMHC and Atomic Energy. He also said he wanted to use the notwithstanding clause to override the supreme court and enforce some of his more extreme social views.

To top it off, I read this morning that the defence critic of the alliance party said “We have compromised our combat capability in this country because of the women, aboriginals and visible minorities in the military”. That sounds to me like Fred Flintstone or Barney Rubble. That is only in one day, in one newspaper: same party, different name; same policies, the same game.

Human Resources Development Canada

[Maurice Dumas, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is a report in La Presse concerning the case of Mrs. Irene Parry, aged 78, who has fallen victim to Human Resources Development Canada policies.

HRDC did not think it worth mentioning to Mrs. Parry that there had been a two-month overpayment of her late husband's pension. The department paid itself back by directly withdrawing the amount from Mrs. Parry's bank account, but it mistakenly took ten times the amount owing. This they call an administrative error.

This is not an isolated case. Projet Génèse, a community organization, held a press conference yesterday to reveal two other cases of victims of the scandalous attitude of HRDC. The cases of Mr. Spence and Mr. Georgantas took close to two years before they were settled, and there was no acceptable reason for the delay. The two men were left in deplorable living conditions and without income.

Given all this, I believe that the minister needs to move beyond public excuses and apologies and to take steps to ensure that such situations are not repeated.

Prostate Cancer

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Canadian men. In 1999 it is estimated that over 16,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. More than 40,000 Canadians died that same year of this disease.

Overall, one in eight men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and those diagnosed too late to be cured must live with the complications of the disease and of the side effects of life long treatment.

There are many unanswered questions about prostate cancer, but one thing we do know is that early detection of prostate cancer before symptoms are present or while it is confined to the prostate gland offers the best chance of cure and control.

The Canadian Prostate Cancer Network strongly recommends that men over 50 speak to their physicians about early testing with a PSA blood test and examination as part of their regular check-ups. Canadians should inform themselves about prostate cancer and get a check-up.

Hockey

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

Mr. Speaker, Jon Sim of the Dallas Stars and Colin White of the New Jersey Devils are both competing for Lord Stanley's Cup in this year's NHL final.

Both these fine young athletes are residents of the riverfront town of New Glasgow in the riding of Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough in Nova Scotia. Last year thousands turned out to attend a thrilling welcome home for Jon as a Stanley Cup champion. This year the famous trophy will be making another visit to New Glasglow. However it is yet to be decided who will bring it home.

Who could have imagined when Colin and Jon were teammates in the Pictou county minor hockey system that they would one day face off against one another for hockey's most coveted prize? The county has produced other greats such as Lowell MacDonald and Tiger Mackie.

It is every Canadian's dream to compete for the Stanley Cup. As the nation watches this year's final, two of Pictou county's finest young men are living that dream.

On behalf of the PC Party of Canada and the Right Hon. Joe Clark, I extend congratulations to Colin and Jon and their families. No matter who brings the cup home, they can rest assured they are both great champions. I congratulate them.

Soccer

[Joe Jordan, Liberal, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as a result of the MPs-pages soccer game I must perform the following function:

My fellow MPs, it is a sad tale I tell Our page-MP soccer game did not go well Stop reading Quorum , put down your water Listen to me as I recount the slaughter.

Sprits were high, we were rarin' to go After all, we had won this two years in a row. But the pages were ready, and showed us no mercy, And raced 'cross the field in their bright orange jerseys.

They scored once in the first half and twice in the second, The pages were giving us more than we reckoned. We tried our best, but we were unprepared For once in our lives, we ran out of air.

They outran us, outpassed us, outscored us, it's true, So I guess it's high time that we gave them their due For the shutout, their goalie deserves all our praise And for their winning spirits, let's give them a raise.

Jean Lesage

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today, before the Quebec National Assembly, the leaders of the Quebec political parties and Mrs. Corinne Lagarde-Lesage paid tribute to the former Premier of Quebec and father of the quiet revolution, Jean Lesage, by unveiling a statue of him.

When he took office in 1960 with his “équipe du tonnerre”, which included a young journalist by the name of René Lévesque, Jean Lesage launched an era of major social, economic and cultural reforms that would turn Quebec into a modern state. These reforms included a renewal of institutions and policies, including in the areas of health and education.

In 1962, when he called an election on the nationalization of electricity, which was to provide all Quebecers with the necessary tools to fulfil their ambitions, Jean Lesage won a tremendous victory under the theme “Maître chez nous”, master of our own house.

Today, the Bloc Quebecois, along with the National Assembly, wants to pay tribute to a great statesman and democrat who forever marked Quebec's history by promoting the growth of the collective conscience of an entire people.

Transportation

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Toronto Centre—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw the attention of the House to a very important announcement for my riding of Toronto—Centre—Rosedale, for the region of Toronto and for the citizens of Canada. This announcement concerns the redevelopment of Union Station and its partnership with VIA Rail, one of Canada's busiest stations with over 2.3 million passengers per year.

The key elements of this plan include increasing the number of trains operating out of Union Station from 42 to 54, for an increase of 700,000 passengers per year travelling through the station.

The establishment of a high speed air-rail link connecting Union Station with Pearson International Airport is a very important component of this plan. This venture will connect passengers travelling between the two transportation hubs in approximately 20 minutes. As someone who has battled the traffic getting to Pearson airport for many years, this will be a welcome relief.

This major expansion coincides with the current improvements being proposed for the downtown waterfront and will assist in—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst.

Steelworkers Union

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely pleased to rise in this house today to congratulate the steelworkers union and its members.

As a former steelworker, it was a pleasure for me to meet them this week on Parliament Hill. They spent two weeks here, meeting with members of parliament and explaining to parliamentarians how important it is to have legislation requiring the top executives of companies to introduce safety measures for workers, to prevent tragedies like the one at the Westray mine. They have demonstrated to members of parliament that there is a great need for such legislation in Canada.

This week, the Minister of Justice announced that she was prepared to examine the committee's recommendations. I want to extend my sincere congratulations to the steelworkers union and its members, who have spent two weeks here to present the views of Canadian workers on this workplace health and safety concern.

Airline Industry

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Air Canada's pilots are threatening to go on strike in just over a week. Thanks to this government's mismanagement of the airline industry, this could leave thousands of Canadians stranded.

Will the government draft and have ready back-to-work legislation if thee pilots decide to walk?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary explained this very well to the House yesterday. Either we believe in the right to collective bargaining or we do not. There is a process going on and they are negotiating. This is not the time to tell them that we will take away their rights under the law. If the Reform Party would like to take away the normal process, they should say so. Yesterday the critics said that they believed in the bargaining process between the union and the company. Let the process come to fruition. We will decide, if there is a strike, not before.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is a matter of trust. We agree with collective bargaining, but this government has allowed a virtual monopoly on national airline routes. This government has the responsibility and the obligation to ensure that travellers are not left stranded across the country. They will be held hostage if this happens, and this government should wear the shame of that.

Why will this government not prepare draft back-to-work legislation so that it is ready if need be so the people will not be left stranded across the country?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is a purely hypothetical question. The parliamentary secretary explained very well the position of the government yesterday and she was backed by the critics of the Reform Party, who should have a little consultation with their leader at this moment.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the government should have a little consultation with those people who will be left on the ground when pilots are on strike.

The parliamentary secretary can brag about the fact that this government is really looking after things well. How about a few solutions? How about acting on something? What about a 90 day cooling off period for the workers? How about final offer arbitration? How about allowing foreign competition in the industry?

Instead of just hoping for the best, will the government be prepared in the contingency that a strike happens next week?

[Judi Longfield, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, if members opposite truly believed in the collective bargaining process they would let the collective bargaining process work. They agreed yesterday that a negotiated settlement was the best settlement for all concerned. We are talking about things that are premature. There will be a negotiated settlement.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. Perhaps the front benches could let us get on with our work.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is fine for government ministers who have access to a government plane when they need it, but a strike at Air Canada is a threat to the travel plans of thousands of Canadians. Canadians want to know that when they show up at the airport this summer the pilots will be in the cockpit, not on the picket line.

While everyone hopes for a negotiated settlement, is the government really prepared to see 85% of Canada's airline industry behind a picket line?

[Judi Longfield, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, members opposite are asking us to bargain in bad faith. They are asking us to prejudge the collective bargaining process. There is a process in place. There is a mediator who knows the file, who is prepared to sit down with both sides. I urge the party opposite to let the collective bargaining process run its course. We are in very delicate negotiations and this wild speculation is just jeopardizing those negotiations.

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

Mr. Speaker, now that Air Canada controls 85% of passenger airline service in this country, its importance to the Canadian economy is undeniable.

The minister is well aware that this is only one of many labour disputes facing Air Canada and its employees.

Why is the government prepared to allow Canada's economy to be threatened every time there is a labour-management dispute at Air Canada.

[Judi Longfield, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, the only thing this party is prepared to do is to abide by the collective bargaining process. We are not going to interfere in a situation that is on the table, where there are negotiators and the bargaining process is in place.

Parental Leave

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

Mr. Speaker, only 42% of those who contribute to employment insurance are entitled to benefits, as we know. This means 58% of contributors, primarily young people and women, are excluded. The Quebec parental insurance program, which is much more generous, provides full access to all employees and to the self-employed.

What has the Prime Minister got to say to the thousands of young families that will be excluded from the Quebec program because of his old habit of seeing reality in confrontational terms?