Debates of Nov. 7th, 2001

Softwood Lumber

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, at 7.50 this morning I was speaking with the president. I talked about softwood lumber. I talked about the border. I talked about steel. I talked about the campaign in Afghanistan. I talked about refugees.

On softwood lumber, I told him that it was a very important problem. He knew that because I had talked to him 10 days before, when we were in China.

[Elsie Wayne, Progressive Conservative, Saint John, NB]

Mr. Speaker, we all oppose the anti-dumping duty that the United States has placed on softwood lumber, a duty that is unfair and is arbitrary. Most unfair is the fact that, despite the maritime accord, our industry in Atlantic Canada has been subjected to the anti-dumping duty for no logical reason whatsoever.

The Prime Minister has said he spoke with President Bush today. What we want to know is can the president tell us if he will take off that 13% right away?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the member is absolutely right that this dumping case is unjustified. It is punitive against the interests of all Canadian companies from coast to coast.

We were very pleased that we were able to exempt Atlantic Canada from the countervailing duties. On the dumping one, as the House knows, it is company related rather than related to government programs. Unfortunately Atlantic Canada is included.

However the government stands by its industry and we want the whole country exempted. That is part of our work because we are in complete solidarity with our Canadian industry.

Airline Industry

[James Moore, Canadian Alliance, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on October 25 the Minister of Transport announced a $75 million loan guarantee to Canada 3000. In exchange for the loan, it was mandated that Canada 3000 implement broad restructuring. This morning the Canadian Industrial Relations Board blocked the implementation of that restructuring plan. The president of the airline has said that the airline will run out of cash within 48 hours unless it has access to that loan guarantee.

Why has the Minister of Transport approved a loan guarantee for Canada 3000 that it cannot access knowing that this decision was coming?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the board of directors of Canada 3000 has come to the conclusion, due to changing circumstances over the past 10 days, that the business plan originally submitted to the government would not meet the government's condition of liability.

That is why the board is meeting right now. Given that it is meeting, it is unwise for me to make any substantive comment. However I should inform the House that the announced loan guarantee has not been finalized and there is no financial liability to the taxpayer of Canada.

[James Moore, Canadian Alliance, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yet Canada 3000 is waiting for a decision on its case against Air Canada for predatory pricing. It needs to appeal today's CIRB decision to the federal court. Also, the launch of Air Canada's fighting brand Tango is aimed at driving Canada 3000 out of business.

This transport minister has not stood up to Air Canada in favour of strong competition in the past, but now is the time for him to do exactly that.

What steps will the minister take to ensure that Canada 3000 and therefore broad competition in the air industry will be alive and well on Monday morning for Canadians?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should remember that Bill C-26 strengthened the hand of the competition commissioner and gave him the cease and desist powers which he sought to deal with these kinds of situations. The law is there and the law can be applied.

Saint-Hubert Airport

[Pierrette Venne, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for several years, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency carried out the customs processing and immigration screening of U.S. passengers on chartered flights at Saint-Hubert airport. The stepped up security since September 11, however, has meant that charters are no longer landing at Saint-Hubert, which has reduced its volume of foreign traffic by over 80%.

What is keeping the Minister of National Revenue from restoring Customs service at Saint-Hubert airport?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue and Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to state, essentially, that this service was restored today.

[Pierrette Venne, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that the service was restored today.

I would like to ask the minister what he intends to do to help out the businesses whose viability is in jeopardy because of his department's inability to provide the services necessary for proper functioning of the operations at Saint-Hubert airport?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue and Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, after September 11, service was indeed suspended, as it was at a number of airports. We are gradually resuming it, according to the amount of traffic at individual airports.

I am pleased to report that services were restored this morning to a number of airports, Saint-Hubert among them.

Public Works

[Peter Goldring, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Centre-East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this latest contract scandal involving the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and a criminal friend is not the first time that he has seen negative headlines across the country.

I will quote from a few which said: “Minister’s crony gets contract”; “Minister under ethics probe”; “Minister's pal gets big-bucks contracts”; and “contract awarded to shady friend”.

We have had all this and much more in only two short years. With this latest scandal involving the minister, how can Canadians have confidence in him?

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, all contracts given, whether through my department or through responsible crown corporations, have all followed treasury board guidelines. Therefore I will let the case rest by itself.

[Peter Goldring, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Centre-East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister took Mr. Creuso on an official government trip to Europe. Two government agencies under the minister's responsibility awarded him contracts. Now the minister wants to distance himself from Mr. Creuso.

Will the minister inform the House whether Mr. Creuso is still employed or still in receipt of Canadian government contracts? Is he still on the payroll?

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I said from the beginning that I do not get involved directly with crown corporation operations. Therefore, if the hon. member wants that information I will get it for him. I can transmit it to him or he can get it himself directly from the crown corporation. I do not get involved in the current operations of any crown corporation.

Acoa

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Bras D'Or—Cape Breton, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Atlantic innovation fund that was launched by the government in June of this year, and is aimed at increasing the research and development capacity of Atlantic Canada, has attracted a great deal of attention from research institutions and the business community in the Atlantic region.

Could the minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency inform the House as to the extent of the interest generated so far for funding under this $300 million initiative?

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)]

Mr. Speaker, I think so.

I am pleased to announce today that we have had outstanding response from research, industry and private sectors for applications under the Atlantic innovation partnership fund.

We have received 195 proposals totalling more than $1.5 billion. That shows the commitment of the research and business sector in research and development in Atlantic Canada. Even more important, I believe the commitment of the Government of Canada for innovation, research and development and to the--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Calgary Southeast.

The Economy

[Jason Kenney, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in the first half of this year the Canadian economy screeched to a halt. In the second half of this year the economy shrank.

Every economist in the country is convinced that in the third and fourth quarters of this year we are seeing a decline in the Canadian economy. Unemployment is going up and today the dollar is yet again trading at an all time low.

Everybody understands we are in a recession except for the Minister of Finance. When will he stand up and admit that he has led Canada into a recession?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, last week the United States announced the loss of some 400,000 jobs. Over the last three months Canada has created 67,000 new jobs. The fact is our economic growth is superior to the vast number of other countries in the G-7.

There is no doubt that we are an open and transparent economy and are obviously being affected by the global slow down. However the fact is that the massive amount of stimulus, as a result of our tax cuts and our investments, is flowing through the economy. That is what is sustaining us.

[Jason Kenney, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the first step to solving a problem is admitting that we have one. The finance minister is making the same mistake that his predecessor Mr. Wilson made in this place in 1991 when he refused to admit we were in a recession.

Instead of giving Canadians happy talk, Canadians who are losing their jobs, and there has been an increase in McJobs but a loss in real full time jobs, does the finance minister really plan in the face of this recession to give six billion new dollars to his friends in industry and HRDC to waste instead of creating jobs through increased tax relief to put more money in the pockets of--

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Finance.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it really does no good for the hon. member to engage in this kind of fearmongering about the Canadian economy. Canadians understand that there are problems. They understand that there are problems outside their borders and they understand that they impact upon them, but they also know that they are doing better than most other countries. They also know that our disposable income has just achieved an all time high.

The resilience of Canadians is now being seen in the way we are reacting to the slowdown and Canadians are not going to allow the Reform Party, the Alliance, to put them down.

Genetically Modified Wheat

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

Mr. Speaker, in a letter to the Prime Minister last July, the Canadian Wheat Board and several agricultural associations asked the government to suspend authorization for the cultivation of genetically modified wheat.

Since several international purchasers have already said that they would not buy Canadian genetically modified wheat, agricultural producers fear losing millions of dollars.

Will the Minister of Agriculture commit to ensure that the criterion of trade impact be included once again in the seed certification process for new varieties of wheat seeds because it would appear as though it has been removed, unbeknownst to the government?

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

Mr. Speaker, those kinds of decisions will be based on science. There has not been an application for such a wheat to be registered in Canada. If there is an application at some time there is a process in Canada, which is admired by other countries in the world, in which we review the science around it. Decisions are made based on that.