House of Commons Hansard #125 of the 37th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was c-27.

Topics

2 p.m.

The Speaker

As is our practice on Wednesday we will now sing O Canada, and we will be led by the hon. member for Bras d'Or--Cape Breton.

[Editor's Note: Members sang the national anthem]

Canada Loves New YorkStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Sophia Leung Liberal Vancouver Kingsway, BC

Mr. Speaker, on December 1, thousands of Canadians, including me, travelled to New York City as part of the Canada Loves New York campaign.

From coast to coast 20,000 Canadians joined with the Prime Minister and Mayor Giuliani in a spirited rally supporting New Yorkers and indeed all Americans during these difficult times. In fact so many Canadians participated in this event that Mayor Giuliani proclaimed the entire weekend as Canada Loves New York.

I encourage all Canadians to travel to New York and see a city that has dealt with a terrible tragedy and has emerged stronger and more united than ever. Canada loves New York.

Marine Conservation AreasStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Andy Burton Canadian Alliance Skeena, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say a special thanks for the time, talent and effort of a number of British Columbians who are fighting for changes to Bill C-10, the Marine Conservation Areas Act.

I publicly thank the mayor of Kitimat, Rick Wozney; business owner Reg Stowell; mayor of Telkwa, Sharon Hartwell; mayor of Smithers, Brian Northup, and councillor Cress Farrow; mayor of Prince Rupert, Don Scott, and councillor Paddy Greene; mayor of Port Clements, Joan-Ann Allen; chairman of the regional district of Kitimat-Stikine, Joanne Monaghan; chairman of the regional district of Skeena-Queen Charlottes, Ed Wampler; Phil Eidsvik of the B.C. Fisheries Survival Coalition; Michelle James of the B.C. Seafood Alliance; chairman of the North Coast Oil and Gas Task Force, David McGuigan; and finally, the B.C. government MLA for North Coast, Bill Belsey. I thank them all for their efforts.

EducationStatements By Members

December 5th, 2001 / 2:05 p.m.

Liberal

John Finlay Liberal Oxford, ON

Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada has made public a study carried out by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. This study was conducted in 32 industrialized countries. It showed that Canadian students have superior skills in reading, science and mathematics.

Quebecers and Albertans are the standouts according to this study. They rank higher than the national average.

As a former teacher, principal, superintendent and as member of parliament for Oxford, it is my pleasure to congratulate our young people on their academic performance. This study shows once more just how much aptitude they have for thinking and learning at a high level, both lifelong skills that will serve Canada well in the future.

They are educated, open-minded and optimistic. The young Canadians of today have a great future ahead of them. I would like to tell them all that all Canadians are proud of them.

VolunteerismStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Larry Bagnell Liberal Yukon, YT

Mr. Speaker, today, December 5, is International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development and the official close of the International Year of Volunteers.

It is a great day for Canada because at 1 o'clock this afternoon at the General Assembly of the United Nations the hon. minister of public works and the secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, unveiled a special International Year of Volunteers sculpture based on a coin designed by artist Anthony Testa of the Royal Canadian Mint. The sculpture will be displayed at the UN volunteers headquarters in Bonn.

Volunteerism has helped to increase literacy, protect the environment, stimulate cultural activity and promote co-operation with developing countries. Last year 6.5 million Canadians gave over a billion hours of their time volunteering.

In keeping with the 1985 UN resolution I encourage all Canadians to volunteer their time next year. On behalf of all my colleagues in the House I applaud all the thousands of Canadians whose volunteer efforts this year helped make the world a better place.

Dairy IndustryStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Gérard Binet Liberal Frontenac—Mégantic, QC

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, the appellate body of the World Trade Organization finally brought down a favourable decision on Canadian exports of dairy products.

This decision brings to an end the trade battle that has been going on since 1998 with the U.S. and New Zealand. It reverses the earlier decision by a special WTO group that Canada's milk export pricing practices constituted export subsidies.

This is excellent news for the Canadian dairy industry, which can now focus its efforts elsewhere, such as exploring new export markets.

This is good news for Frontenac--Mégantic. Congratulations to the Minister for International Trade on his excellent work.

George HarrisonStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Chuck Cadman Canadian Alliance Surrey North, BC

Mr. Speaker, last weekend while in New York City I made my way to Strawberry Fields in Central Park to join a small crowd at a makeshift shrine to the memory of George Harrison. The mound of flowers, pictures and tributes accompanied by strains of Beatles songs gave me pause to reflect.

I was about 14 when the Beatles exploded on the world. Drawn by the strong, lyrical guitar solos I made a decision that set the course for my life. I bought a used guitar for five bucks and a book of nine basic chords. My parents were not thrilled when a few years and two bands later I took the vice-principal up on his offer and left school for rock and roll on the road rather than get my hair cut.

The drone of Norwegian Wood , the melding of Indian and western themes in Within You, Without You , the raw emotion of Something and While My Guitar Gently Weeps will endure. For me personally it is the melodic ring and lyrical optimism of Here Comes The Sun that defines George Harrison.

Coming from that kid in the early sixties who, influenced by Harrison's brilliant simplicity, picked up a guitar and lived a dream, I say thanks to George.

International Criminal CourtStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Irwin Cotler Liberal Mount Royal, QC

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform hon. members that lawyers associations from all over the world will be meeting in Paris this Thursday and Friday. The purpose of this conference is to create an international criminal lawyers' association for the International Criminal Court. This conference is organized by the International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association, the headquarters of which is in Montreal.

The International Criminal Court is a central element of Canada's human security agenda and Canada has long been a world leader in the creation of the court.

Accordingly the Government of Canada is co-sponsoring this conference through the ICC campaign of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. It will bring together over 300 experts from the bar associations of 60 countries, including from the developing nations, and with representatives from foreign affairs and national defence in attendance.

Reflecting its commitment to due process and the rule of law, the Rome statute provides for the provision of legal counsel both to individuals accused and the victims of crimes within the court's jurisdiction. Indeed the conference dramatizes just how close we are to having the ICC, with the Rome statute having received the 47th of the 60 ratifications needed to create the court just last week.

Patrick CarpentierStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Bloc

Pierre Paquette Bloc Joliette, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize in this House the award given by the Société nationale des Québécois et des Québécoises de Lanaudière, the Marcel Bonin medal, to racing driver Patrick Carpentier of Joliette. He was honoured as sportsman of the year. Another famous Lanaudois, Gilles Villeneuve, was the very first winner of this award.

This season, Patrick Carpentier thrilled us and caused a stir of excitement with his first career victory on the Michigan course on July 22. His series of successes continued with 2nd place in Chicago a week later, 3rd place in the Mid-Ohio on August 12, and another rostrum in Germany on September 15.

Patrick Carpentier has distinguished himself both on the track and off and he is considered by his peers and by the sports media to be one of the nicest people in automotive sports. His exploits began in 1984, when he started in go-karting. Since then, he has recorded a championship in Atlantic Formula racing and won the title of recruit of the year in the CART series.

On behalf of people of the riding of Joliette and the Bloc Quebecois, I salute the tenacity and the talent of Patrick Carpentier for whom the best is yet to come, as he said himself at the end of the season.

Parliamentary Internship ProgramStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize some remarkable young Canadians. This week eight interns from the Ontario legislature internship program are on Parliament Hill for their annual study tour. Their visit is part of an exchange between the Ontario legislature internship program and the parliamentary internship program that places 10 young graduates here with members during the parliamentary year.

These young interns are bright and keen and have a promising future ahead of them. They are our potential leaders. This unique opportunity to develop skills and gain an understanding and knowledge of the parliamentary system is an invaluable exercise for all participants. I am proud that we all benefit from their experience.

I ask members to join me in welcoming the eight interns from Queen's Park and at the same time salute those 10 interns who are currently serving members on both sides of the House.

Andy ShottStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Dave Chatters Canadian Alliance Athabasca, AB

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my warmest thanks and congratulations to Mr. Andy Shott. The photographic recording of the history of this place has been in his capable hands ever since Andy became the official photographer for the House of Commons when he started the department in 1993.

Andy has photographed all of our memorable official visits and notable events as well as just the daily business of parliament for the last eight years, and during that time Andy has become a parliamentary institution. An event just was not the same if Andy was not there with at least three cameras hanging off his neck.

I should also remind the House that before starting the photography department Andy had 20 years of service on Parliament Hill in a variety of positions.

Andy is retiring in the early part of next year and I would like to tip my hat to him for all his great work, great humour and excellent service over the years. I know I speak on behalf of everyone when I wish Andy all the best of luck in his retirement. We hope that it is truly picture perfect.

Highway InfrastructureStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Serge Marcil Liberal Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC

Mr. Speaker, on January 19, 2000, the Quebec minister of transport repeated, as he had on a number of occasions, “I extend my hand today to the federal government so it will participate in the completion of Highway 30. If it wants to take over the construction of the bridges over the St. Lawrence and the Seaway and 14 kilometres of road, we can move up the timetable for the work”.

The Liberal members from the Montérégie are today wondering when the work on the Candiac and Sainte-Catherine leg will begin.

What stage has the work for the completion of the road from Châteauguay to Highway 20 and Highway 540 reached? When will the construction work begin? The public hearings office approved this leg in 1998.

Why, in order to complete this leg, does he not make immediate use of the $108 million the federal government is making available to him as part of the federal-provincial program on highway infrastructures?

Mr. Chevrette should stop making a production out of this matter and make his intentions clear by starting construction on this road right now. This project is of major economic importance for the development of the economy of greater Montreal and Quebec as a whole.

Auditor General's ReportStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

NDP

Wendy Lill NDP Dartmouth, NS

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the auditor general reported to the House that the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency is routinely ignoring the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

Her report examined 26 files requiring environmental assessments. It found that seven of them were approved prior to the completion of the assessments, seven more had assessments done calling for follow up action that never took place and twelve were approved without condition that the recommendations of the assessment be enforced.

The auditor general called this a worrisome trend, citing the case of a hotel in P.E.I. where an environmental protection plan for the construction period was a requirement of the environmental assessment. The agency blatantly ignored this requirement and the hotel was built without a plan to protect the fragile environment.

Atlantic Canadians, who saw the effects of the collapse of the cod fishery, know very well the importance of environmental protection. It is shameful that ACOA would become one of the most egregious violators of environmental laws.

Jean-Philippe BourgeoisStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

Bloc

Pauline Picard Bloc Drummond, QC

Mr. Speaker, last weekend, Jean-Philippe Bourgeois, an avalanche expert from Drummondville, arrived in Afghanistan.

Accompanied by a 25-member Swedish team, which he will direct, Mr. Bourgeois' job will be to keep ground lines of communication open for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

This will require him to artificially trigger avalanches in high mountain areas, dangerous work which will be accomplished with explosives and in conditions of extreme cold.

Mr. Bourgeois, who has done this sort of work before for Médecins sans frontières, will be working for Care Canada this time.

This is a fine example of commitment and courage showing us once again that Quebecers are now to be found throughout the world and that they often play key roles on the international scene.

I wish to say bravo to Jean-Philippe Bourgeois and all his team.

Economic DevelopmentStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

Liberal

Denis Paradis Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC

Mr. Speaker, today we have the pleasure of welcoming a delegation from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Chambly.

They are here to discuss economic development and infrastructures, and particularly the importance of extending Highway 35, which links Montreal and Boston and which is thus becoming an important link with our neighbours to the south, a link which is necessary to the growth of exports.

Mayor Dolbec and all the economic stakeholders are working hard. This project is vital to Quebec's economy and could create thousands of jobs in the medium and long terms.

I pay tribute to the energy and devotion they are bringing to this project, which is so important for our beautiful region.

Auditor General's ReportStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Greg Thompson Progressive Conservative New Brunswick Southwest, NB

Mr. Speaker, the auditor general has given a failing grade to treasury board. Here are some examples of Liberal misspending: a $36 billion surplus in the EI account, $20 billion more than required; 7,000 dead people given fuel rebate cheques; 1,600 federal prisoners given fuel rebate cheques; 4,000 people living outside of Canada given fuel rebate cheques; Sea King helicopters that spend 40 hours in repair for every hour of service; millions wasted on ill-conceived and poorly delivered programs at Health Canada; millionaire movie stars paying no tax, zero tax.

This is what happens when we have government spending by executive decree: billions wasted and no accountability.

Auditor General's ReportStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

The Speaker

Order, please. Before beginning oral question period today, since it is a Wednesday I would encourage all members to be careful in their choice of words, both in answers and in questions.

This week the Chair heard, in one case, the expression “spreading those lies” and, in another, the phrase “dishonours our word”. Such language does little to raise the level of debate in this place. I ask for the co-operation of all hon. members in this regard.

With this gentle reminder out of the way we will now begin question period.

Auditor General's ReportOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Okanagan—Coquihalla B.C.

Canadian Alliance

Stockwell Day Canadian AllianceLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, the auditor general has now confirmed graphically and painfully what the Canadian Alliance has been saying for over a year, and that is that this government, this group of Liberals, is quite possibly the worst bunch of money managers that the Canadian public has ever seen, through the sheer magnitude of dollars wasted, the worst ever.

If the Prime Minister and the finance minister were in a public company they would have been fired out the door.

To restore the shaken confidence of Canadians, will the Prime Minister please stand up and, at the very least, start the exercise by saying that he is sorry for presiding over the flushing of millions of Canadian dollars down the drain?

Auditor General's ReportOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I do not think I will be the one who will be fired soon.

I want to tell the Canadian public that they know better than the Leader of the Opposition. When we started we had a deficit of 6.2% of GDP and last year we had a surplus of 2% of GDP. We have managed to do that within eight years. No other country in the world has been able to do that. We have reduced unemployment from 11.5% to 7%. I could go on and on and still keep--

Auditor General's ReportOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Auditor General's ReportOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Okanagan—Coquihalla B.C.

Canadian Alliance

Stockwell Day Canadian AllianceLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, no other country reduced its deficit by ripping dollars away from health care and the armed forces. That is how the Liberals did it.

The auditor general was very clear: our armed forces are not ready. During the war in Kosovo, we even had to borrow military equipment from Australia and spare batteries from Spain.

How long does this government plan on playing Russian roulette with our armed forces? When will our armed forces be getting the money they need to protect us?

Auditor General's ReportOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I am not really sure what the Leader of the Opposition is getting at.

In all of the missions Canada took part in these past few years, whether in Kosovo or in Africa as part of peacekeeping missions, the Canadian army has always done very well.

Everyone says that Canadian soldiers are among the best and that they always do the best work.

I do not understand why the Leader of the Opposition would want to take away from the good work of Canadian soldiers in the eyes of Canadians.

Auditor General's ReportOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Okanagan—Coquihalla B.C.

Canadian Alliance

Stockwell Day Canadian AllianceLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, those cheap insults do not carry weight with Canadians any more. We value our troops and that is why we are asking our government to value the troops.

We know the Liberal strategy. They tell their ministers, in a time of crisis like this, to just cover their eyes, put their heads between their legs, wait for the Christmas break and this will all blow over. Well Canadians are not going to put up with it this time.

The armed forces need to know, in the budget he is writing, whether there will be the extra $2 billion they need to protect our country. Will it be there?

Auditor General's ReportOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I have a special feeling because I feel the Leader of the Opposition is using this week to launch his campaign to try to keep his job.

As you appealed to me, Mr. Speaker, and to the House of Commons, I would like to be very nice. I would like to be extremely nice to him because we do not want to lose him.

Auditor General's ReportOral Question Period

2:20 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Leon Benoit Canadian Alliance Lakeland, AB

Mr. Speaker, the cheap political shots really do not help. On a serious issue like the Canadian military, the auditor general has identified waste and mismanagement right across government. For example, there was a $1.3 billion shortfall in operations and maintenance in the budget of the Canadian forces. She identified another $4.5 billion in the equipment budget of the Canadian forces over the next five years.

Will the Prime Minister promise Canadians that he will cut wasteful spending right across the departments so that the government can allocate the necessary funding to defence over the next five years?