Debates of Jan. 31st, 2001

Human Resources Development

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

Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding the questionable contention of the Prime Minister and the minister that the ethics counsellor has cleared the Prime Minister of any wrongdoing, a commissioner, I note, who reports only to the Prime Minister, will he now admit that there was a connection between the decision of the Business Development Bank to call the $600,000 loan to the Prime Minister's friend Yvon Duhaime and the dismissal of the Business Development Bank president François Beaudoin?

[Brian Tobin, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, no, I would make no such admission because that is an absolutely false and misleading statement.

I would ask the member to contemplate the nature of the kinds of comments that are now being made. The question of the dismissal of the former executive is a matter now before the courts. The member as a lawyer knows it ought not to be commented upon in the House or outside the House.

Pornography

[Vic Toews, Canadian Alliance, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, in its decision on child pornography last week, the Supreme Court of Canada legalized some child pornography, stating that harm to children would be minimal.

Does the Minister of Justice agree with the court that the risk to our children created by the court is acceptable?

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

Mr. Speaker, first, let me welcome my colleague, the member of parliament for Provencher. The member and I have a history together. He is the former—

[Ronald J. Duhamel, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Poor you.

[Deborah Grey, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton North, AB]

Should I give him my red jacket?

[The Speaker]

Order, please. I am sure the House will want to hear the history.

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Edmonton West, AB]

Let me clarify that the history to which I am referring is the fact the hon. member is the former attorney general of the province of Manitoba. I look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead.

The hon. member raises an important question. Since the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in R v Sharpe, I made it plain that I would consult with provincial and territorial colleagues, the police and the prosecutors. In fact, if further clarification is required in relation to the two exemptions or exceptions set out by the supreme court, we in the House will undertake those clarifications.

[Vic Toews, Canadian Alliance, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for her answer. Considering my wife is in the audience in the House, I appreciate the clarification.

Contrary to the minister's position that the harm to Canada's children appears to be acceptable, the attorney general of Ontario has expressed concern that the decision of the court may create serious difficulties for law enforcement and our children. What concrete steps will the minister take to protect our children?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member knows I did not suggest in my response to his first question that the harm was acceptable.

As I said, I had the opportunity to speak with the attorney general of Ontario. I understand that the attorney general will be writing to me about some of the questions he has around the possible clarification of the two exceptions identified by the supreme court.

I appreciate receiving those concerns. I told the attorney general of Ontario that I would work with him, with other provincial and territorial colleagues, with the police and with the prosecutors, and if clarification is required to protect our children—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Longueuil.

Ethics Counsellor

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as we know, this government is still the object of numerous criminal investigations.

A major problem is the fact that the ethics counsellor is at the mercy of the Prime Minister's will and is not even accountable to the House of Commons.

How can the Prime Minister explain that the throne speech is totally silent on this issue, when we all know that it made headlines everywhere during the election campaign?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows full well, and in fact we answered the question earlier, that the ethics counsellor is truly a person of integrity and that he has done an excellent job. His appointment received the support of the member's party and of the Canadian Alliance or Reform Party, because I am not sure what they call themselves now.

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the issue is not who the government House leader consulted in 1993 or whenever.

We simply want to know why the Prime Minister stubbornly insists on maintaining full control over the ethics counsellor. Is it because it suits his purposes?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member got the answer to her question. Needless to say that, while she may try hard, she must know that these allegations are unfounded and also unfair to the Prime Minister, the ethics counsellor and everyone else. The hon. member knows full well that these accusations are completely incorrect.

Speech From The Throne

[Brian Pallister, Canadian Alliance, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member for Edmonton Southeast has said that western Canadians are being treated unfairly by his own government. He said “We are being shut out of the national government. We need substantial change, not cosmetics, optics or gimmicks”. Yet the throne speech contains nothing of substance to address this important issue.

Given that the problems are so obvious to members of his own caucus and cabinet, how does the Prime Minister propose to solve these important issues by ignoring them?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our government has managed to get 17 members elected west of Ontario three times in a row. We would like to have many more, but I guess we have a few more members than the Alliance has in Quebec or in Ontario.

We will continue working hard to convince them that we are providing them with a good government. Despite the fact that they have only 17 members, they have 9 members in cabinet and that is pretty good representation.

[Brian Pallister, Canadian Alliance, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, that tepid response, recent unfortunate comments by the intergovernmental affairs minister and disparaging remarks by the Prime Minister himself directed exclusively and solely at western Canadians require an apology.

The Prime Minister has spent more time in the air flying to Florida for golf trips than he has spent on the ground in western Canada. How does the Prime Minister expect to find solutions to important western Canadian problems when the closest he gets is 35,000 feet?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, no prime minister has ever travelled as much as I have in western Canada. I have been going there for many years. There has not been a year when I have not been in every province. I have travelled in the territories all my life. Half of my family is from Alberta. I know the west and I do my best. I am very proud that we have achieved something that has not been done before. I will keep working. We are persistent.

The member had to change parties, so others will probably decide to change parties to be on the good side with us.

Organized Crime

[Jean Guy Carignan, Liberal, Québec East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the solicitor general.

For a number of months now, organized crime has been becoming an increasing presence in our communities. People in my riding, as in the rest of Canada, need to know what the federal government will be doing in the face of this threat.

Could the solicitor general tell this House whether the government has a plan of action and, if so, what steps does he plan to take in the coming months?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for Québec East on his first question.

I am sure he is aware, as is everybody in the House, that we live in one of the safest countries in the world. The government is committed to making sure it stays that way.

My hon. colleagues are well aware that in the Speech from the Throne aggressive steps were taken to intensify the fight against organized crime, such as stronger anti-gang laws and the protection in the justice system of members against intimidation.

Agriculture

[Howard Hilstrom, Canadian Alliance, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the agriculture minister likes to selectively quote statistics to mask what is really happening now on Canadian farms with regard to the financial crisis. I have two statistics for him.

First, for the year 2000 in Saskatchewan the total net income will only be 35% of the five year average which is already a disaster. Second, only half of the money that the minister promised over two years ago has been delivered. Farmers are on the brink of bankruptcy and are demanding emergency cash injections.

Why will the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food not commit to an emergency cash injection right now before it is springtime?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, the role of supporting agriculture across the country is twofold, with both the federal government and the provincial governments giving support.

The government of Saskatchewan has put some support there, but nowhere near the level of support that some other provinces have given to individual farmers.

The commitment of the government, in conjunction with the provinces, that would put out $1.6 billion in aid and support to farmers will be fulfilled. I can guarantee that.

As I said before, the interest free money available for spring seeding will be there again this spring. We are looking at other support for farmers as we go into the spring seeding time.

[Howard Hilstrom, Canadian Alliance, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I never saw the Liberal government asking the provinces for permission to give Bombardier money.

Farmers across the country have come to Parliament Hill this week to tell the minister that agriculture programs have failed. The Speech from the Throne mentioned getting beyond crisis management in agriculture but ignored the disaster created by the government's mismanagement. Farm families need help today, not months or years from now.

Why will the minister not commit to an emergency cash injection before spring seeding?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I point out to the hon. member that the province of Quebec contributed to the support for Bombardier. It is a 100% repayable loan.

The hon. member made comments about the throne speech. I am very concerned that he does not want to see the government do all it possibly can to help the industry move beyond crisis management. That is the challenge we have and that is the opportunity we will fulfil.