House of Commons Hansard #117 of the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was endangered.

Topics

Organized CrimeOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Edmonton West Alberta

Liberal

Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, first, let me say on behalf of everybody on this side of the House, it is great to have the hon. member for Langley—Abbotsford back.

In response to the hon. member's question, I have obviously discussed the issue of organized crime with my colleague, the attorney general of Ontario. We have meetings today with representatives from the attorney general of Quebec and the public security minister of Quebec. We are going to be talking to other provinces and territories.

In fact, it is fair to say and I have already said in the House that we will be in a position to make changes to the anti-gang provisions in the criminal code that reflect many of the concerns raised by the government of Quebec, the government of Ontario, police forces—

Organized CrimeOral Question Period

3 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. member for Langley—Abbotsford.

Organized CrimeOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Reform

Randy White Reform Langley—Abbotsford, BC

Mr. Speaker, the difficulty is that the justice minister says she is going to look at it and discuss it. This is not a problem that occurred yesterday. Over 400 people died of drug overdoses in Toronto and Vancouver last year alone and years before that.

When is the justice minister going to get on with this? Will it be before the election or does she want the Canadian Alliance to do it after the election?

Organized CrimeOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Edmonton West Alberta

Liberal

Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc says we move too quickly on youth justice and the Alliance says we move too slowly on youth justice. At the end of the day we are going to do the right thing.

For the party that talks the language and the rhetoric of provincial rights and provincial autonomy, it is interesting that it does not want to consult with the provinces and the territories. On this side of the House we understand that justice is a shared jurisdiction and we will do that work before we pass a law.

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Bloc

Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Human Resources Development is demonstrating unacceptable insensitivity to seasonal workers and their families, particularly when she says:

We will implement changes to the boundaries of EI regions gradually over the next three years, so that workers in the Lower St. Lawrence and North Shore regions can adapt.

When the minister says that workers will have to adapt, does she mean that she is condemning these workers to poverty and misery?

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Brant Ontario

Liberal

Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, again last week, we announced measures that will help seasonal workers adapt to the changes over the next four years.

But all levels of government must also work with them and with employers in order to create new opportunities for these workers.

Unlike the Bloc Quebecois, we on this side of the House want to work with employers in order to help improve the situation of these seasonal workers.

Species At Risk ActOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Liberal

Gar Knutson Liberal Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment.

Canadians are concerned about the loss of species and their habitat. They are pleased to see legislation to address this issue but there are still substantive concerns.

Given that the standing committee will soon be hearing from witnesses with a wide variety of views on how best to protect species at risk, can the minister assure us that amendments put forward by the environment committee will not simply be dismissed out of hand, but met with a genuine open mind by the government?

Species At Risk ActOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Victoria B.C.

Liberal

David Anderson LiberalMinister of the Environment

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to assure the hon. member that the recommendations of the committee and the presentations before the committee will be looked at very carefully by the government.

Obviously the bill is at second reading and until it leaves the House the committee cannot start its work. When it does and the witnesses are heard and the committee comes forward with carefully considered suggestions for the government, we will look at those with great care.

Grain TransportationOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Reform

Jay Hill Reform Prince George—Peace River, BC

Mr. Speaker, farmers are in the middle of harvest and desperately need cash flow. In order to maximize the grain farmers' returns, Canada must market and export as much grain as possible during this period. Disagreements between the Canadian Wheat Board, the grain companies and the railways are impeding the movement of grain at the farmers' expense. The grain industry itself has asked the government for a mediator to help resolve these disagreements and disputes.

Will the transport minister today appoint a mediator to assist in this issue?

Grain TransportationOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Wascana Saskatchewan

Liberal

Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board

Mr. Speaker, at the end of August the grain companies indicated that in their view they thought the discussions with the Canadian Wheat Board had arrived at an impasse. Although they did not provide any detail at that time of what that impasse might consist of, the government immediately asked the grain companies to provide more detail. That detail arrived during the course of last week. Their position is being carefully examined at the present time and we intend to respond in an appropriate manner very shortly.

Grain TransportationOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Reform

Jay Hill Reform Prince George—Peace River, BC

Mr. Speaker, it cannot respond any too fast for farmers' needs. These disagreements could lead to a complete system failure just like in 1993-94 and 1996-97. Those disputes damaged Canada's reputation as a reliable exporter and cost millions in demurrage and contract penalties, all at the farmers' expense.

The Estey and Kroeger reports recommended removing the wheat board from negotiations between the railways and the grain companies, yet the minister chose to ignore those recommendations.

I ask again, will the minister appoint a mediator to resolve this mess that he is partially responsible for?

Grain TransportationOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Wascana Saskatchewan

Liberal

Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board

Mr. Speaker, as I just indicated, the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and myself will be responding to the grain companies very shortly with an appropriate considered reply.

Let me simply say to all of the players in the grain handling and transportation system that neither the farmers nor this government will take lightly any behaviour that puts an excess burden upon farmers in these difficult times.

HousingOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC

Mr. Speaker, while the finance minister is patting himself on the back for a huge revenue surplus, tonight there will be thousands of Canadians, including children, who have no place to go except the streets and emergency shelters.

How can the finance minister feel good about engineering this massive surplus on the backs of so many Canadians who are denied the basic necessities of life including shelter and housing? How can he do that?

HousingOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Mississauga South Ontario

Liberal

Paul Szabo LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Public Works and Government Services

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has a strategy to deal with the matters the member just raised. CMHC makes mortgage loan insurance available across Canada with over 376,000 units insured in 1999. It provides about $1.9 billion annually in housing assistance to some 640,000 low income households.

HousingOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that the government gives the same stock answer that denies the reality of what is going on. The fact is the homelessness crisis is growing as evidenced by the call by provincial and municipal representatives who are meeting today in Fredericton.

I want to go back to the finance minister with a simple question. Will the minister do what is right and share the wealth with homeless Canadians and commit federal dollars for a national housing supply program? That is the right thing to do.

HousingOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Mississauga South Ontario

Liberal

Paul Szabo LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Public Works and Government Services

Mr. Speaker, the member is quite right. The federal, provincial and territorial ministers of housing did meet today. In fact, I have their joint communique in which the ministers advised that they discussed the lack of affordable rental housing and agreed to work on a plan which would involve a common research agenda and multisectoral consultations with stakeholders to discuss and formulate action plans on social housing.

FisheriesOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Gerald Keddy Progressive Conservative South Shore, NS

Mr. Speaker, this government has confirmed that it does not have a plan B if negotiations at Burnt Church fail. The people living around Miramichi Bay deserve a plan. What is it?

FisheriesOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Vancouver South—Burnaby B.C.

Liberal

Herb Dhaliwal LiberalMinister of Fisheries and Oceans

Mr. Speaker, as I have always said, we prefer the avenue of co-operative negotiations. I have said right from day one that we will enforce and make sure we uphold the law. The commercial fishermen have been very active and their views have been taken into consideration. They have been very much a part of what Mr. Rae is doing. He is meeting with the commercial fishermen making sure that their views are taken into consideration. We will monitor the situation very closely. We will make sure that we respond to make sure that the law of the land is upheld.

FisheriesOral Question Period

3:10 p.m.

NDP

Angela Vautour NDP Beauséjour—Petitcodiac, NB

Mr. Speaker, in 50 minutes Bob Rae could be walking out of the negotiations. The tension in the communities in the regions of Neguac, Burnt Church and Baie-Sainte-Anne is critical. It cannot go on. The government was not ready for the Marshall decision. Is it telling us today that it is not ready with a plan to make sure that there is no confrontation in the communities of Neguac, Baie-Sainte-Anne or Burnt Church today? We need an answer.

FisheriesOral Question Period

3:10 p.m.

Vancouver South—Burnaby B.C.

Liberal

Herb Dhaliwal LiberalMinister of Fisheries and Oceans

Mr. Speaker, it was members of the Conservative Party who said that I was doing too much when we bought vessels to include the aboriginal people. They were saying I was doing too much when we brought them into training. Now they are saying we are not doing enough. What they should do is be constructive and not try to divide Canadians, not try to inflame the situation but bring Canadians together to make sure the problem is solved at the community level. That is exactly what we are doing.

Canadian International Development AgencyOral Question Period

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Jean Augustine Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON

Mr. Speaker, many Canadians and NGOs have asked us to focus CIDA's attention to ensure that vulnerable populations are provided with the assistance they need to make their lives better. I know that the Minister for International Co-operation has recently announced a major change in CIDA's priorities. Could the minister tell us how this change will help the most vulnerable around the world?

Canadian International Development AgencyOral Question Period

3:10 p.m.

Beaches—East York Ontario

Liberal

Maria Minna LiberalMinister for International Cooperation

Mr. Speaker, on September 5 I launched a five year plan to strengthen CIDA's program in four key areas: health and nutrition; education; HIV and AIDS; and child protection. The increase over five years will be $2.8 billion. In fact, that will take programming in the basic human needs area from 19% to 38%.

I did this to ensure that we are using the money to maximize the impact on the ground as these are the fundamental blocks of development.

VietnamOral Question Period

3:10 p.m.

Reform

Monte Solberg Reform Medicine Hat, AB

Mr. Speaker, the government has sent tens of millions of dollars to Vietnam supposedly to improve its justice system but last spring that justice system unfairly executed a Canadian citizen. Now only five months later, the government is already in the process of normalizing relations with Vietnam.

Why are we restoring relations when there is not a shred of evidence that sort of travesty will not happen again?

VietnamOral Question Period

3:10 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Lloyd Axworthy LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, first let me welcome the hon. member to his very distinguished critic's role. I promise to work with him very closely to retrieve Alliance foreign policy from the office of the senator from North Carolina as quickly as possible.

In answer to the question, I point out to the hon. member that Canada did take very severe measures when the execution took place. It was a very tragic event. We insisted on a series of very clear responses, such as the return of the mother, that the Toronto police would be allowed to go and undertake proper negotiations on drug trafficking, that we would promptly have the returns placed. Those conditions have now been met. We have not restored normal relations but we have started communicating, dialoguing and engaging with the Vietnamese to make sure it does not happen again.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

3:10 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Paul Marchand Bloc Québec East, QC

Mr. Speaker, with help from various parties, including an officer in the Department of Human Resources Development who felt that the undertaking qualified under the job creation program, 21 workers from Confection Haut de Gamme, located in Vanier, in Quebec City, formed a co-operative.

Following an error of interpretation by the department, the expected contribution of $105,000 was withheld.

Is the minister prepared to review her department's decision in order to be fair to these workers and save 21 jobs?