Debates of Sept. 27th, 2000

Foreign Affairs

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Finance.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the young woman at this dinner there were doctors, there were lawyers, there were business people, there were teachers, and there were educators who had come together to celebrate their new year.

All of us on this side of the House have attended group festivities and celebrations of people from other parts of the world where there are also problems, but never once has it occurred to any Canadian to simply make the allegation that because in somebody's country there is a problem these people are not Canadians but these people are terrorists.

[Jason Kenney, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, if there is any shame then it is in this place in that a minister of the crown ignored warnings from one of our foreign embassies indicating, and I quote from a Sri Lankan newspaper, his “Liberation Tiger sympathies” and his presence at a “Liberation Tiger fundraiser” threatened the safety of Canadian embassy employees”.

Why does he continue to ignore the fact people in Sri Lanka read in a newspaper that he attended a Tamil tiger fundraiser and that he has Tamil tiger sympathies? Is he not at all concerned about the warnings that this would be a security threat to Canadian embassy employees?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, what I am concerned about is the sense of values that is being demonstrated by the official opposition.

Let us make it very clear, and I do not believe I am only speaking for the government but I am speaking for all Canadians, that there are not two kinds of citizenship in this country. When people land upon our shores they are entitled to celebrate their heritage and they are equal Canadians with all of us.

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, an election is in the air and that is perhaps why the Minister of Human Resources Development is getting ready to do something about employment insurance.

We have been pointing out these problems for years, but people had to take to the streets before she finally did something.

Will the minister give her word that she intends to undertake an overall reform of employment insurance and not just the piecemeal, cosmetic adjustments now being offered in an attempt to woo voters?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will know that we have given notice of our intent to present amendments to the Employment Insurance Act in the near future. I would ask him to wait and see what that package looks like.

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

A few days ago, it was not necessary, Mr. Speaker, and now all of a sudden it is.

The real and necessary changes which the minister must make to employment insurance affect seasonal workers, of course, but they also affect young people, women and the regions. What is needed is an overall reform of unemployment insurance, and the government has the money to act because it has helped itself to $30 billion from the EI fund.

Will she address all the problems quickly before the election?

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

Mr. Speaker, the government stands firmly behind the principles that motivated the 1996 employment insurance amendments.

We believe in building a fairer employment insurance system. We believe in building an employment insurance system that responds to the changing dynamics of the new economy. We believe in monitoring the impact of those amendments and making changes as changes are warranted.

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

Mr. Speaker, the hidden agenda of the government's latest employment insurance reform was to reduce the number of recipients to 38%, with young people among the most heavily penalized.

Can the minister tell us whether her piecemeal adjustments include anything for young people, or will she continue to exclude them as she has in the past?

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

Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that since the government came to power in 1993 the unemployment levels for young people in Canada have dropped significantly.

A lot of that had to do with the investments the government is making right across the country, including in the province of Quebec on behalf of young people, particularly youth at risk who have not been able to find their place in our Canadian society. We will continue to do that.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister's policies on youth and seasonal workers have been disastrous for the regions, which see their future slipping away from them.

Is the minister going to come to the realization that her government's record as far as employment insurance is concerned has impoverished and emptied the regions?

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

Mr. Speaker, again I point out that unemployment in the country has come down significantly since the government took office. As I have said on a number of occasions, I have been listening to groups representing seasonal workers, for example, and monitoring an assessment report gives us guidance.

As I have always said and as the government has committed, if there are indications that we need to make our system more efficient we will do that.

Rights Of Women

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

Mr. Speaker, as a Canadian woman I want the Prime Minister to know that we are not here for his personal viewing pleasure. As women in Canada make efforts to mobilize nationally and internationally against issues that affect us, we are hurt by the Prime Minister, not only by his policies but by his very own words.

Will the Prime Minister stand in the House today and apologize for the degrading remarks made yesterday that have insulted all Canadian women?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what the hon. member is referring to. If I have offended anybody I regret it, but the person in question can defend herself. I am sure it was taken in the spirit that I said these words when I was talking to the press that I meet regularly.

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

Mr. Speaker, an apology is only one step in many. Will the Prime Minister now commit to working with Canadian women and not against them and bring in policies before an election that will end discrimination against women?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is an opportunity to say that my record with the presence of women in public office has been excellent. I named a woman Governor General. I named the first woman Chief Justice of Canada. I named more women senators than men up to now.

The majority of the lieutenant governors in Canada are women, and in the territories it is the same. I think that the hon. member should get up and say that the government and the Prime Minister have done much for women in public life.

Employment Insurance

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. Seventy-five per cent of seasonal workers in New Brunswick earn less than $10,000 per year. The Prime Minister knew that when he attacked those seasonal workers with his employment insurance changes in 1996. What has changed since then to cause him to swallow his policy?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we knew we needed reforms because we were faced with a $42 billion deficit that his party had left us. We had to do something and we made some reforms. When we make reforms, sometimes we make changes. Eventually we see the results of them and we adjust them. That is what a moderate government that is flexible enough to adjust to the situation does. It is exactly what we are doing with the changes in the EI laws. I think the system has worked very well and the people will be very happy with the changes the minister will introduce on Monday.

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, he picked on the poorest of the poor. There are Liberal values.

Will the Prime Minister promise the House that there will be a full debate and a final vote on these employment insurance changes before parliament is dissolved? If not, this is an empty promise, as worthless as the Prime Minister's promise on the GST.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are willing to pass the bill in one day on Monday. We are asking for the consent of the House of Commons to pass the bill in one day. I hope we will have the support of hon. members.

Foreign Affairs

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the official opposition is not saying that there were not innocent people at that supper in Toronto on May 6. I know there were many innocent people at that supper on May 6 in Toronto, but my problem is that perhaps the finance minister was not. He had warnings from departmental officials from many departments that things were not wise for him to go there. CSIS warned against it. The U.S. State Department warned against it.

Why did the minister ignore the warnings of his own officials?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has said, there were over 25 elected politicians there. There were representatives of the Harris government. There were representatives of Toronto city hall. There was the managing editor of the Toronto Sun as well.

For the member's information, this minister and this government do not take orders from the U.S. State Department.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, again I mention that it was his own high commissioner in Sri Lanka who expressed concern about this.

The Prime Minister talks about values. The government brags about values. I will tell hon. members what we value. The high commissioner in Sri Lanka. The foreign affairs staff who did amazing work with warnings. We value the CSIS experts who gave red lights here and who were very concerned about it. When we are talking about values, I would like to ask the finance minister—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. We will hear the question my colleagues, as we will hear the answer.