House of Commons Hansard #91 of the 37th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was transport.
Vic Toews Canadian Alliance Provencher, MB
Mr. Speaker, the government is proud of the fact that it fails to find terrorists and leaves the real work to American police agencies. Now the Minister of Justice has refused to ask the supreme court to reconsider its apparent tolerance of foreign terrorists in Canada.
In light of the events of September 11, why has this minister refused to let the court know how its decisions on terrorism could threaten the security of all Canadians?
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
In fact, Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member is referring to the case of R. v Suresh, which is before the supreme court now, as I indicated earlier this month, I reconsidered. I looked at the factum that we submitted in the case of Suresh. I sought the advice of our litigation committee. I sought the advice of an experienced litigator who argued this case for us before the court.
The hon. member knows that for the court to even grant leave to submit new evidence after hearing a case is a rare situation. After considering all the facts, I concluded--
Vic Toews Canadian Alliance Provencher, MB
Mr. Speaker, instead of showing leadership in the supreme court, our justice minister simply asked the court to read the newspapers in order to make its decisions on terrorism.
Since the minister is not willing to voice the security concerns of Canadians to the supreme court, could the minister at least advise the House where she stands on the extradition of terrorists who commit murder?
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that the hon. member has not read the factum that the Government of Canada submitted in the case of R. v Suresh. If he had read it, he would know that we made a compelling case in relation to the dangers of terrorism and why this country cannot become and will not become a safe haven for terrorists.
Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, as we know, year after year the government is accumulating billions of dollars in surplus funds in the EI fund.
We have always been told that the surplus was for a rainy day. That is certainly what is being experienced by the companies and thousands of employees who have recently experienced job cuts.
Would the Minister of Finance not be well advised to use a little under $2 billion of that surplus to exempt workers and small and medium size businesses from having to contribute in November and December, thus helping them to get through this crisis?
Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, first of all, as the hon. member is well aware, the surplus in the EI fund is being used for health, for infrastructure programs, and for job creation.
At the same time, he is equally well aware that the Minister of Human Resources Development has already announced substantial improvements to the EI program, precisely in order to help the workers of Canada.
Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, in order to counteract the disastrous effects on thousands of men and women who have been laid off, would the Minister of Finance not find it appropriate to extend EI benefits by 10 weeks in order to allow these people time to get themselves on their feet and find other jobs?
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, the employment insurance system is there now to help Canadians who are facing layoffs. Our annual monitoring and assessment report indicates that the program is working and working well for Canadians. The hon. member might be interested to know that only about one in five Canadians utilizes or exhausts full benefits.
I just want to point out that the system is there because we have made changes. It will be there for Canadians who are facing these difficult times, to help support them with income.
Paul Forseth Canadian Alliance New Westminster—Coquitlam—Burnaby, BC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Convicted PLO terrorist Mahmoud Mohammad who shot up an airliner is still in Canada. The case reveals how inept and weak the Canadian system is. The Liberals railed against this when they were in opposition and in government they have had eight years to resolve it.
Is the minister finally going to pay particular attention to this case to show NATO and the world that Canada is not a safe haven for terrorists?
Elinor Caplan LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, I share the member's concern and frustration when I read about such cases. Although I cannot discuss individual cases in the House because of privacy concerns, I can tell him that was exactly the motivation for bringing forward new legislation that would streamline our procedures so we could remove individuals more quickly.
While we believe in the rule of law and due process, we know we can do things faster. However, they voted against the new bill that would have allowed us to streamline the system which exists today.
Paul Forseth Canadian Alliance New Westminster—Coquitlam—Burnaby, BC
Mr. Speaker, the case has dragged on far too long. The minister can no longer blame the law of the courts. The government is accountable for the legal context in which the system operates.
Sergio Marchi said that there should be a sense of urgency rather than simply letting it languish at the bottom of the barrel. Then, as minister, Marchi did absolutely nothing. The lack of results reveals the disastrous political choices of the government.
If the minister cannot rid the country of a terrorist, how can the government claim to remove any security risk?
Elinor Caplan LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, let me repeat again that I share the frustration of all those who believe that it takes too long for us to remove those people who are unwelcome and unwanted in Canada. If they are criminals or security risks, we want them out of here but we do have the rule of law. That is why I proposed new legislation to allow us to streamline our procedures.
There is one point I want to make. Where we have evidence that someone poses a risk to Canada, we do have the authority to detain and arrest, and we do that.
Monique Guay Bloc Laurentides, QC
Mr. Speaker, young people are often the last to be hired and the first to be let go when companies lay off employees.
In addition, they have to accumulate more hours to get employment insurance.
Does the Minister of Human Resources Development not see the current situation as a golden opportunity to eliminate the discriminatory clauses that hit young people hard?
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we do not want to do anything that encourages young people to fall into the cycle of employment insurance. Rather we want to make sure that young people have the opportunity to work. That is why every year, through our youth employment strategy, we invest over $400 million specifically in young Canadians.
We know young Canadians want to work and that is the policy strategy that we will take.
Monique Guay Bloc Laurentides, QC
Mr. Speaker, all of the minister's fancy words do not eliminate the discrimination, and when businesses lay off employees, as seniority is often the deciding factor, young people are all the more vulnerable.
Could the minister not use the current crisis to reach out to young people by making the protection of the employment insurance system more accessible to them and by treating them like all the other workers when they apply for benefits?
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member points out, there are unique circumstances facing young Canadians. That is why we have programs specifically directed at Canadian youth to help them with the cycle of no experience, no work and no work, no experience.
I say again that $400 million is invested every year in young people in Canada to ensure that they have access to our economy and the employment opportunities it can provide.
Keith Martin Canadian Alliance Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC
Mr. Speaker, the British government has seized $88 million worth of assets of terrorist organizations. The Prime Minister said we were doing this two weeks ago. The Minister of Finance said we could do it last week. The reality is, Canadian financial institutions received effective legal authority only two days ago to freeze, and not even seize, these assets.
My question is simple. Why do we still not have the laws here in Canada to seize the assets of terrorist organizations?
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, as I have pointed out before, we do in fact have the power to seize assets under the United Nations Act. That is found in section 3(2) of the United Nations Act. If information comes to my attention as Minister of Justice that assets have been frozen and if that information links assets to a prohibited or proscribed group, we will begin forfeiture proceedings in relation to those assets.
Keith Martin Canadian Alliance Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC
Mr. Speaker, I will give the Minister of Justice a grand opportunity right now.
In 1999 the U.S. state department, our immigration department, our Senate and our justice department said that FACT is a front that raises funds for the terrorist Tamil Tiger organization LTTE, yet this group still raises funds here in Canada.
My question for the Minister of Justice is a simple one. Will the minister place FACT on that list of organizations that are banned from raising funds here in Canada?
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, the process is that the governor in council can add organizations or individuals to the list of proscribed organizations. If information is brought to our attention in relation to any organization, we will consider that and we will make a decision on a case by case basis.
Beth Phinney Liberal Hamilton Mountain, ON
Mr. Speaker, Pakistan has been home to millions of refugees from Afghanistan for years. In the aftermath of September 11, there have been additional demands put on the government of Pakistan to not only respond to the refugees, but to join the fight against terrorism.
Would the Minister for International Cooperation tell the House what Canada is doing to help the government of Pakistan deal with the overwhelming burden of the Afghani refugees and their severe social and economic situation over the long term?
Maria Minna LiberalMinister for International Cooperation
Mr. Speaker, Afghanistan is faced with an enormous social and economic crisis. In recognition of the pressure put on the government of Pakistan to try to accommodate the increased number of refugees and its co-operation in the coalition against terrorism, the Government of Canada has agreed to convert the $447 million loan owed to CIDA into social programs, which will be about $16 million a year. This means that there will be $16 million a year used in Pakistan to assist in the area of social programs.
I will be working with the government of Pakistan and my colleagues to ensure that the money goes to the people. As well, the lifting of sanctions will allow me to reopen official assistance to Pakistan.
Lorne Nystrom NDP Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.
Nortel has just laid off another 20,000 people, many of them in this country. That means almost 70,000 Canadians have been laid off since last spring, including people in the high tech industry, the auto industry, the airline industry, and in agriculture and other manufacturing and service jobs.
What is the minister's strategy concerning jobs? How much more damage to the economy will it take before he brings down a budget? When he presents that budget to the House, can he tell us whether or not jobs and putting Canadians back to work will be the government's priority?
Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that jobs are the number one priority. That is why the first thing we did when we came to office was put in place a plan that would bring the unemployment rate down from 11.5% to where it is now.
The fact is that jobs continue to be the number one priority. That is why we proceeded to clean up the balance sheets, which is why we have enabled the Bank of Canada to bring down interest rates, which is why we have cut taxes, which is why we have invested in research and development, and which is why we will continue on that path.