Debates of Feb. 12th, 2001

Heating Oil Refunds

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has chosen to send cheques of $125 and $250 to reduce the burden of the cost of heating oil to those who get a GST refund?

If the government wants to give the money to people, that is fine with me, but a lot of people paying heating costs did not receive this money, while others, who do not heat, even with oil, did.

Is this not proof of a purely vote getting measure, improvised and not thought out, announced on the eve of the election, a measure that completely missed its mark?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, clearly, when, a few months ago, we saw the problems low income Canadians were having in paying more for such expenses, we acted.

We acted quickly to help these people. We did not say there was no problem. We said we would address it.

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

Mr. Speaker, it was obvious there were problems. The government could have been a bit more responsible, rather than adopting a measure on the very eve of the election.

Would it not have been more judicious to suspend or reduce the GST on heating oil in addition to using refundable tax credits for those using heating oil so that the measure directly impacted those facing problems with the increase in the cost of heating oil, and not everyone on the eve of the election? That seems logical.

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, we dealt with this question six months ago. The minister said he would discuss it with his provincial counterparts. The response of the provincial finance ministers was no.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, cheques for $125 were sent to people who do not pay for heat, while some who do did not get any money.

For example, inmates in federal or provincial institutions that are heated by the crown received cheques for $125 to compensate them for their heating costs.

Will the government finally admit that its obsession with visibility led it to put the maple leaf on cheques paid directly to people, with the result that it completely missed its target?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, it is illegal for inmates in federal institutions to receive that credit. We are investigating the matter to see what we can do to correct that.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Secretary of State has just admitted that the Department of Finance acted illegally. He should have thought about that before taking that measure, not after.

Will the Secretary of State admit that, by distributing millions of dollars to people who have no heating costs, the government completely missed the boat? It missed its target. It did not do anything to solve the issue of heating oil costs. We can now conclude that the government's obsession with visibility has a price tag.

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member claims that we totally missed the target. Not at all.

We admitted that we experienced some minor problems. As for inmates, they account for less than 0.1% of the whole budget for that item.

There was a problem affecting low and middle income Canadians, and we had to take action. We did so and we are very proud of that.

Foreign Affairs

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Last week Amnesty International urged the Prime Minister and team Canada to speak out on the dramatic deterioration of human rights in China, including assaults on freedom of religion of Falun Gong practitioners and, in Tibet, torture and the suppression of dissent and labour rights.

How then does the foreign minister explain the Prime Minister's bizarre suggestion yesterday that the human rights situation in China has actually improved? Will this minister show that Canada is serious about human rights by co-sponsoring a strong resolution on China at the upcoming session of the UN commission on human rights?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that we do take the issue of human rights seriously and that is one of the reasons that the Prime Minister raised it with his interlocutors in China.

Apparently the member does not share the view of the leader of the New Democratic Party in the province of British Columbia who said “I was delighted that the Prime Minister raised the issue in an absolutely frank fashion”.

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the minister might want to indicate whether Canada will co-sponsor a resolution at the upcoming commission.

Last week the Dutch foreign minister cancelled his upcoming visit to China because the Chinese government refused to allow a round table to go ahead in Hong Kong with human rights practitioners including Falun Gong.

If Canada is serious about human rights in China, will our government and Prime Minister sponsor a similar round table during this current team Canada visit to China? Will we show we are serious about human rights?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister will have the opportunity to address the issue of human rights again during his visit. He has made Canada's position very clear. It has been our ability to engage China over the years because we have been seen by them to be their friends. This is why we have been able to make progress on a continuing dialogue on human rights, including the important contributions we have made to enhancing the judicial process in the People's Republic of China.

Business Development Bank Of Canada

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry.

I have reason to believe that in seeking a president and CEO of the Business Development Bank, the bank changed executive search firms between the appointment of Bernie Schroder and that of Michel Vennat.

Will the minister confirm that there was a change in search firms? Will he tell us why? Will he table the recommendations made by both firms? Will he table the board minutes recommending the change in search firms?

[Brian Tobin, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I have to tell the right hon. gentleman that I have no information that would support anything he has just said. I would be very glad to take his question as notice and try to respond in greater detail.

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the minister would also make a commitment now to provide that information to the House of Commons?

Perhaps the minister knows now, but if not he could take this as notice. Could he tell the House the name of the executive search firm that recommended the appointment to the Business Development Bank of Mr. Jean Carle? Will he table the recommendation of that firm respecting Mr. Carle?

[Brian Tobin, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I could only repeat to the right hon. gentleman that I will take all these questions as notice.

Human Rights

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has dropped his commitment to justice.

Prior to the team Canada trip news stories were filled with reports of his commitment to human rights in China. Now that he is on the ground there he seems to have changed his tune by saying that Canada is too small of a fry to stand up for what is right.

Canada has endangered species legislation that mandates fines of up to $25,000 or six months in jail for people who knowingly import products from endangered species, so we ban the importation of ivory to protect endangered African elephants. Why is the government prepared to give more protection to African elephants than to Chinese prisoners of conscience?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the assertions of the hon. member in his premise are absolutely wrong. The Prime Minister has spoken out vigorously on human rights in China during his current visit in his meetings with the Chinese premier. He will continue to do so and maintain this dialogue throughout his visit.

I am sure that we will hear more strong words from the Prime Minister during the course of his visit. His dialogue and assertions have been confirmed by NDP Premier Dosanjh of British Columbia.

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

Mr. Speaker, I guess the answer is hurry up and wait. In 1999 Canada imported a staggering $8.9 billion worth of products from China. There are reports everywhere from groups such as Amnesty International that some of those products are made by prisoners of conscience in labour camps.

Since 1930 the United States has had a law specifically prohibiting the importation of goods made by prisoners or forced labour. In the mid-1990s the American state department began working aggressively to ensure that goods made by Chinese prison labour were not imported into the United States.

When could Canadians expect a similarly tough attitude in defence of human rights in China?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, there are very few countries in the world that can have the influence that Canada has with China.

The hon. member raises, in my mind, some questions of exactly what the Alliance policy is with respect to trade. Is it suggesting that the Prime Minister and the nine premiers with him are wrong in promoting trade with China? Is the member suggesting that the Alliance policy is that Canada should withdraw from engagement with China and sit back on the sidelines where it can have no influence?

Canada is making a difference in China as it is around the world. Part of the reason for that is our history of engagement and active encouragement.

Cost Of Petroleum Products

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, by agreeing to send out rebate cheques to Canadians to offset the large increase in the cost of heating oil, the Minister of Finance admitted that there really was a problem with the cost of petroleum products.

Will the Minister of Industry give us a progress report on the investigation into the cost of petroleum products which he commissioned from the Conference Board of Canada, a board on which, I remind the House, the major oil companies sit?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, the question is a good one. We hope to have an answer from our officials as soon as possible.

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a preliminary copy of this report has been circulating since last October, and the government was supposed to receive the final copy in December.

Is the delay in releasing this report not a sign of the lack of political will of this government which, throughout this whole business, has done nothing but try to buy time, on the theory that the crisis would fade away on its own, when in fact it has not?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, it is my impression that the report will be tabled as quickly as possible.

Employment Insurance

[Val Meredith, Canadian Alliance, South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last year the Minister of Human Resources Development was in charge when there was a billion dollar boondoggle, and this year she has to explain why there is a $651 million bungle.

In 1996 the EI program had an error rate of 4% and last year under the minister's leadership the error rate jumped to 6.6%. That amounts to $651 million.

Could the minister explain why under her management the number of mistakes made is growing at such an astonishing rate?