Debates of Feb. 15th, 2001

Employment

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, the legislation does indeed allow the various departments, and the managers within those departments, to set geographic restrictions when posting public service jobs.

I imagine that the current case is perfectly consistent with the legislation, which allows this practice.

[Norman E. Doyle, Progressive Conservative, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Industry. The Minister of Industry has placed an ad with the federal public service and the ad reads that the minister is on the job hunt for a secretary for his own department. He goes on to say that only people from Ontario or Quebec need apply.

Is Newfoundland's regional minister telling me that only people from Ontario or Quebec may apply for that job within his own department, that Newfoundlanders are not welcome?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat, the legislation does indeed allow managers to limit the geographical areas in which candidates must reside.

It is not hard to understand. If a position for a secretary in the National Capital Region, for example, is open to all regions of Canada, this would mean that there could be 1 million applications for the job. The member can see where this might lead.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

The legislation allows managers to set geographical restrictions on applications for public service positions.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Reed Elley, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the people of the Sagkeeng reserve in Manitoba are living in poverty and the band's finances are in a mess. Yet the government allowed 75 staff members to go on a taxpayer funded Caribbean cruise and there is a trail of unpaid bills all over the place.

It is hard to believe that the minister of Indian affairs really cares about the families and the children of this reserve. If he does, why does he not order a forensic audit of the Sagkeeng band and clean up this mess?

[Bob Nault, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I made very clear to the member that he has to differentiate between two particular departments.

I will tell him what our department has done. We have had a number of audits done of the Sagkeeng first nation. Those audits are in. Those audits do comply with our regulations.

The fact is that the particular band is in third party management. KPMG, a very outstanding accounting firm, is looking after the management on our behalf. I think those issues will be resolved over time.

[Reed Elley, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, third party management is not the answer to my previous question. It is not working in the Sagkeeng. This is the second third party managers it has been under. It is still not getting to the bottom of the corruption.

I have talked with the people of the Sagkeeng. They are fed up with this system which makes band elites rich and keeps ordinary aboriginals poor. They are also demanding a forensic audit. What prevents the minister from doing his job? Could it be the connection between the Fontaine family and the Liberal Party?

[Bob Nault, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know whether it is even worth trying to answer a question as ridiculous as that one.

Let me try to put it to the member very clearly, as I know he has still not had his briefing and he could use one desperately. If he is going to ask such stupid questions he should at least get briefed.

[The Speaker]

We will not proceed with that kind of discussion.

Minister Of Intergovernmental Affairs

[Richard Marceau, Bloc, Charlesbourg—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday at the University of Toronto, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs made the statement that “those Quebec sovereignists were blackmailing Canada”.

How is it that the minister can say such a thing when it is a well-known fact that the sovereignists have never used blackmail, and that the federalists invented, and used for the first time on Quebec, the concept of holding a knife to our throats?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is misinformed. I did not say what he attributes to me. There is, moreover, nowhere he could have found such a quote.

[Richard Marceau, Bloc, Charlesbourg—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, is the minister going to acknowledge that, when it comes to blackmailing people, he has no right to preach at anyone when he was quoted a few years ago as saying “The more it hurts, the less support there will be for sovereignty”?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is quoting me totally out of context, and he knows that very well.

National Defence

[Art Hanger, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the proposed national missile defence system would play an integral role in protecting Canada's security interests.

Our strongest ally needs our support and wants our support, but the Prime Minister continues to dodge this issue. Canada could have considerable influence if the government would get off the fence and commit its support to the defence of our country and our ally.

Will the government take a proactive role and support the national missile defence system? Yes or no.

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member asks for more than the United States has asked for. It has not asked us for our endorsement.

In fact it has made clear to us that it is still in the process of determining what missile defence will look like. It intends to discuss it not only with us but with its other NATO allies and with Russia and China as well.

[Art Hanger, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister knows full well that Canada has been dragging its heels on this whole issue for some time now. In fact the Americans are looking for some sort of response from Canada and they are not getting it from the government.

The U.S. has embarked upon a proactive defence shield. Instead of weapons of mass destruction as a deterrent, the national missile defence proposes to destroy a nuclear warhead, thus saving lives and certainly preventing untold destruction.

Will the government stand up now in support of the national missile defence program and our national security?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

You know, Mr. Speaker, there may well have been a fly on the wall at that dinner with the president but it sure did not look like the hon. member. The United States has not asked us to do that. In fact the claims he makes about this system have not been proven yet technologically.

The previous U.S. administration chose specifically not to make a decision on it. The current one is saying it needs time in order to decide what it is that it intends to do, and then it will consult with us. I think that is a reasonable approach for our closest ally to take with us. We intend to use that time to consider what it proposes.

Canada Post

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the minister of public works about the status of a complaint filed by two Canada Post employees and the former president of Alliance Quebec, alleging that Canada Post in Montreal violates the language of work provisions of the Official Languages Act.

It is clear that Canada Post must respect the law, and this includes the Official Languages Act adopted by parliament over 30 years ago.

What progress is Canada Post making to address the rights of its French speaking employees outside Quebec and its English speaking employees inside Quebec?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me say that Canada Post has reduced its number of complaints by 70%. Canada Post is working with the Commissioner of Official Languages concerning the specific complaints and other complaints from across the country.

There is a plan in place that the Commissioner of Official Languages has accepted, is pleased with and continues to work with. The objective is to make sure that there are no complaints and that all citizens have its services in their official language.

Health

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, just last week a young mother in Barrie, Ontario, found a free youth conference on the Internet that was supported by Health Canada.

Let us imagine her surprise when she sent her 14 year old daughter there and found that one of the workshops was on safer sado-masochism. Do the Liberals think that is a good use of Canadian taxpayer funds?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I will be happy to take the question as notice. First I want to check the facts of this matter.

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this is not too tough for the Deputy Prime Minister. Here is a conference supported by Health Canada. This conference is free for youth. A 14 year old goes to that conference and is presented with a workshop on safer sado-masochism.

Does the Deputy Prime Minister support that use of taxpayer funds? Yes or no.

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in spite of the artificial indignation of the hon. member I think the prudent thing to do is to check the facts of the situation. Obviously we do not support anything involving abusive material for young people.

Single Currency

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, the American President, George W. Bush, is to meet the Mexican President, Vicente Fox, in Mexico.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lloyd Axworthy, said in an interview today “The question of a common currency should certainly come up”.

Will the minister finally admit that his government's refusal to address the question of a single currency excludes Canada in a way from the major hemispheric debates and explains in part the lack of vision criticized by the former minister?