Debates of Oct. 1st, 2001

Quebec/New York, A Show for Life

[Joe Peschisolido, Canadian Alliance, Richmond, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday 12,000 people attended an event at Montreal's Molson Centre, to express the solidarity of Quebecers with those who lost loved ones in the September 11 attacks on the United States. The $20 entrance fee went to the Red Cross for the victims' families.

The show, “Quebec/New York, A Show for Life”, brought together a number of celebrity performers, including Céline Dion and Luc Plamondon.

Quebec Premier Bernard Landry and Opposition Leader Jean Charest both attended, joined in solidarity behind the event.

On behalf on my party and all Canadians I congratulate the organizers and Quebec performers for their compassion and generosity. They have set a great example and made this show the great success that it was. Bravo.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, second hand smoke has proven to be a silent killer. It is for this reason that on October 1 and 2, for the first time ever, Canadians across the country will be able to take part in a real time Internet broadcast of the B.C. symposium “Clearing the Air: Protecting Workers' Health”.

The symposium will bring together employers, workers, medical health officers and managers who will hear from a range of international and national experts. It will be broadcast today from 7.30 to 9.30 p.m. and tomorrow from 8.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. at www.cctc.ca.

The symposium is an initiative of the Clean Air Coalition of B.C., the British Columbia Lung Association and the Canadian Cancer Society. It will make scientific and economic facts related to second hand smoke available from coast to coast.

The broadcast of the symposium is made possible by a partnership between the CAC, Cancer Care Ontario and the Canadian Council for Tobacco Control. I congratulate them on a Canadian first.

Terrorism

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, nothing prepared me for the scene at ground zero in New York. Nothing could prepare someone for the enormity of the horror. The TV images of mounds of rubble and tangled steel have become all too familiar, but TV images cannot begin to capture the heavy dusty smell or the eerie mood cast by jagged forms of concrete and debris wrought by the hand of evil. Nor can these simple words give a fair rendering.

What television also fails to capture is the pervading sense of inspired determination: determination to share the loss and grief together; determination to rebuild the city together; determination to rebuild the community on a foundation of co-operation; determination to rise above the petty differences that divide and focus on the values that unite; and, above all else, determination to join with the world to defeat terrorism and to ensure that no other community must endure such pain. We are with them.

Breast Cancer

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette-Et-La Mitis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the objective of the breast cancer awareness campaign is to inform and encourage dialogue between women and those around them concerning the disease of breast cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society and the Quebec Cancer Foundation are using the month of October to remind women of the importance of screening.

This is the type of cancer that affects the largest number of women in North America, England, Denmark, the Czech Republic and China. According to the latest statistics, 19,300 women are at risk of developing the disease in the next year, and 5,300 of them will die of it. Since 1991, the death rate for breast cancer has dropped by 6.3% in Quebec, thanks to the effectiveness of treatments and the distribution of information on early breast cancer detection techniques.

In this eighth edition of Breast Cancer Month, I encourage everyone to wear the pink ribbon or the lapel pin that symbolizes hope, and ultimately victory, over this disease.

Nick Basciano

[Walt Lastewka, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured today to pay tribute to Mr. Nick Basciano, a well respected home builder, who passed away on June 27, 2001. Nick Basciano, born in Italy in 1944, came to Canada, left school early and received his first lessons about construction work by pushing wheelbarrows around a construction site.

Mountainview Homes was conceived in 1979 by Nick and Mary Basciano and Mary's brothers, Frank and Lou Memme. Mountainview built over 3,000 homes and became Niagara's top home builder by always bringing a family oriented approach to its business.

Mountainview Homes received both the Niagara Home Builders Award and the St. Catharines Company of the Year Award as well as the prestigious Ontario award for after sales service excellence.

Nick never forgot his community. He generously gave back to it in the form of anonymous donations and his involvement with Partners in Education.

I wish to express my condolences to Nick's wife Mary, his children Mark and Michelle, and all of his family. Nick Basciano was a passionate man. He loved what he was doing. He loved his family, his friends, his community and his country, Canada. He was a true friend.

Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month

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

Mr. Speaker, this morning at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month, sponsored by the Child Welfare League of Canada, was launched by the unveiling of the casting model for a national monument entitled Reaching Out, created by the survivors of child abuse.

Clearly there is a need to further raise awareness of child abuse and to change public attitudes which far too often isolate survivors, preventing them from getting the support and healing victims need. It is often a lengthy, even lifelong, journey to overcome the horrific psychological and physical effects.

I commend all participants in today's unveiling, in particular Ken Dryden, president of the Toronto Maple Leafs, whose high profile support will raise awareness of the tragic child abuse incidents at Maple Leaf Gardens and elsewhere and will also raise awareness of prevention .

Throughout October the monument will be on display at the Galleria at the Air Canada Centre and upon completion in proximity to the ACC.

I encourage everyone to visit the display and to wear the purple ribbon to remind us that we must be vigilant, not only in protecting our children but in ensuring that victims of child abuse receive the ongoing support they deserve and need.

Quebec/New York, A Show for Life

[Gérard Binet, Liberal, Frontenac—Mégantic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw the attention of this House to a benefit show given Friday. It was entitled “Quebec/New York, a show for life”. The aim of the show was give to raise money for the victims of the attacks in the United States.

Before an audience of 12,000, Quebec artists such as Lara Fabian, Jean-Pierre Ferland, Éric Lapointe, Claude Dubois and Kevin Parent gave excellent performances.

The evening was a very emotional one. It gave artists and a large number of Quebecers an opportunity to express their solidarity with our American friends.

Government of Canada

[John Williams, Canadian Alliance, St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government tabled the public accounts last week and as usual it was another list of wild and wacky waste.

Here is just a taste of the waste: $93,000 in compensation for mistakenly identified potato seeds, and it is hard to mistake a potato, and $14,000 in compensation to a hog farmer who made modifications to his barn based on a bureaucrat's opinion, and that was a barnburner of a bureaucratic opinion.

We also paid $9,000 to a prisoner because a correctional officer used unreasonable force to stop him from swallowing contraband, $4,500 to two prisoners who had their pictures taken accidentally, and we thought their mug shots were free, and $2,500 to an inmate because he did not like being bunked with a smoker, the poor dear.

The government has its priorities wrong: waste and mismanagement before defence and security. It is time to return the government's books to sender because they just do not add up.

Terrorism

[Stockwell Day, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I think I can safely say on behalf of all political leaders in the House of Commons that we appreciate the Prime Minister agreeing to the need for a non-partisan visit to ground zero. Certainly our lives are forever changed by that. Our resolve has even deepened in terms of preventing such atrocities as we witnessed.

The United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution calling on all nations to toughen their refugee laws. Last week we learned that the government had lost track of literally thousands of failed refugee claimants who had been ordered deported.

It is now day 20. What real and specific steps has the government taken to show Canadians that their refugee system will no longer be open to terrorists and to illegal applicants?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I say to the Leader of the Opposition that in fact Bill C-11 addresses both of the issues that were raised in the UN convention.

One is to intensify and do the kind of upfront security screening that is called for and the second is to deny access to the refugee determination system to anyone who poses a security or criminality threat in Canada. We are doing it.

[Stockwell Day, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about thousands of illegal and dangerous applicants who are living among us now. The word on the UN resolution is that the United States had Canada in mind when it pushed for tougher standards and tougher screening for dangerous refugee claimants.

Again, what specific problem does the Prime Minister have with the Canadian Alliance request, which I believe is supported by most Canadians, to weed out dangerous, illegal refugee claimants as other countries do? What specific problem does he have with that?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition is trying to create an inaccurate and wrong impression. Bill C-11, which his party does not support, does exactly what the United Nations resolution suggests, that is give us the opportunity to do the kind of not only weeding out but identifying those who are inadmissible to Canada because they pose a threat or have a criminal record.

Where we do find that someone poses a security threat, we immediately detain. We also detain until we are sure who the individual is. The overwhelming majority of refugee claimants are not criminals.

[Stockwell Day, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

The government does not do that, Mr. Speaker, and there are thousands of these claimants roaming around Canada who should have been detained and some possibly deported.

It was an expert on the Council of Foreign Relations who talked about Canada's leaky borders and said “the U.S. officials promoting this language had Canada in mind”. I do not know how the Prime Minister can deny this.

We know that there have been terrorists living among us. We know that they get here illegally through our refugee system. What specific steps could the Prime Minister tell us about today that he has taken to protect Canadians and indirectly to protect our neighbours?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, first, not all refugee claimants are criminal and it is wrong for the Leader of the Opposition to suggest it. That is just fear mongering.

However let me say to the Leader of the Opposition that he does not have to take my word for it. Let me tell him what Ambassador Cellucci was saying. The ambassador of the United States said as recently as this weekend that he is indeed very impressed with the work that is being done in Canada to increase security and address these issues.

[Paul Forseth, Canadian Alliance, New Westminster—Coquitlam—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the United Nations has made two very clear demands on the government with the passage of resolution 1373: first, prevent terrorists and their supporters from using refugee claims to enter this country and, second, subject refugee claimants to comprehensive background checks to ensure that they are not terrorists.

What real, concrete action is the government prepared to take to answer the UN resolution call and ensure that refugee claimants are screened and terrorists are not allowed to abuse our generosity? It has to be more than Bill C-11.

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I point out to the member opposite that he and his party did not support Bill C-11, which says exactly what the United Nations has suggested in its resolution.

Further, we have already begun to intensify security screening, but I want to assure the member that all refugee claimants receive a preliminary security and criminality screening.

Bill C-11 addresses the issue of denying access to our refugee determination system to anyone who would pose a security threat or is inadmissible to Canada because of a criminal record. That is important progress. I am glad they are now--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for New Westminster--Coquitlam--Burnaby.

[Paul Forseth, Canadian Alliance, New Westminster—Coquitlam—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is certainly overselling Bill C-11. The answers she gives do not match up to the frontline reality. The United Nations Security Council wants the government to act. The United States wants the government to act and immigrant communities want the government to act. We see from opinion surveys that Canadians also want the government to act to bring in common sense changes to the way the country deals with refugee claimants.

When will the minister finally deliver the changes Canadians and our international partners want enacted to our refugee screening system?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-11 is now before the Senate. We are hoping that it will be passed expeditiously. However I want say to the member that Canadians would be surprised to know it was his party's critic and members on committee who actually voted to make it more difficult for us to remove criminals and security threats.

Those are the facts. They did not support it and further they moved motions which would have made it more difficult for Canada to be able to remove criminals and security threats. That is the truth.

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

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday opposition leaders travelled to New York with the Prime Minister, where we witnessed the full horror of terrorism.

On Friday, the UN security council adopted an important resolution to support the international fight against terrorism. Today, a debate began at the United Nations on this issue.

Will the Prime Minister tell us what the government has done and what it intends to do to support and implement the resolution passed by the security council?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased by the resolution that was passed by the security council, because it is one of the most important ones in years. I hope that the debate will lead to the ratification and implementation of this resolution by all UN member countries.

As for Canada, it will implement it as soon as possible. In fact, I set up a security committee chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and that committee has already begun its work. The minister had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Ridge, who was appointed director of internal security in the United States.

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

Mr. Speaker, the debate that is beginning will not be an easy one, but a difficult and sensitive one. We do not want laws that will infringe on our civil liberties but, at the same time, we cannot remain passive in the face of danger. Security and freedom must go hand in hand.

In Quebec some measures have been taken. A co-ordination committee was set up to deal with the threat to security. In fact, the television program “Zone libre” gave us a precise idea of the situation by showing the degree of penetration of these networks, which is really dumbfounding. Therefore, the Quebec government took action.

Does the federal government intend to set up a mechanism, a co-ordination committee to deal with terrorism?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to talk to RCMP Commissioner Zaccardelli this morning. He told me that he had already contacted all the chiefs of police of every provincial government. He added that he had never seen such a degree of co-operation between the provincial and federal police forces.

Everyone knows that collective action by all the Canadian police forces is what will give the anticipated results.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during the Prime Minister's visit to Washington, President Bush made no specific request of him.

Questioned later with respect to the action Canada intended to take, the Prime Minister said that he favoured diplomacy as a way to broaden the international coalition against terrorism.

What has the Prime Minister done since then and what does he intend to do on the diplomatic front to broaden this coalition?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have had an opportunity to speak with a very large number of the world's political leaders. Right now, everyone agrees that we must work together.

We are continuing to work on this. Our ambassadors in all countries are talking with the governments concerned.

As I said a few days ago, I have never seen all governments of the world share such a common purpose in wanting to work together to eliminate the scourge of terrorism.