House of Commons Hansard #22 of the 37th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was opposition.
Rose-Marie Ur Liberal Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadians living in rural or remote areas face many challenges, including access to health care. Could the Secretary of State for Rural Development tell the House what the federal government is doing to support health care in rural communities?
Andy Mitchell LiberalSecretary of State (Rural Development)(Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario)
Mr. Speaker, the delivery of health care in rural Canada is a priority for the government. We recognize that the challenges that rural Canadians face are unique and that the solutions that we come up with must be unique as well.
This is why I was pleased to announce yesterday, on behalf of the Minister of Health, $1.5 million to help nurse practitioners have the tools to deliver health care in rural and remote Ontario. This is part of the government's 1999 budget commitment of $50 million being committed to rural and community health. The government cares about rural Canada and rural Canadians.
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Mr. Speaker, following the Marshall decision in 1999, the government bought back fishing licences in order to distribute them within the reserves, and it continues to buy them.
The licence buybacks mean lost jobs for dockhands working on the boats and, in addition, move the resource out of the region, thus causing job losses in the local fish plants.
I would like the Liberal government to tell us how it plans to remedy this situation, which it created itself.
David Anderson LiberalMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, I am troubled by the hon. member's misunderstanding of the situation. The situation is very clearly a voluntary program where people have the right to sell something that they own to the government for the purposes that he described.
I think it would be most unfortunate if he wishes to give the impression that his party would prevent a voluntary sale by a willing seller to a willing buyer.
Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—St. Clair, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the minister of natural resources was in Washington discussing a confidential energy policy with the U.S. and eagerly promoting the massive expansion of oil and gas production in Canada to help the U.S. meet its energy needs.
Instead of encouraging policies that promote renewable energy resources and energy efficiency, the government is on a course to greatly increase the burning of fossil fuels and production of harmful emissions.
Why is the government putting the energy demands of the U.S. ahead of our environmental and our international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman has totally misunderstood the discussions yesterday in Washington.
I am happy to tell him that in the time I spent with Secretary Abraham, the United States secretary of energy, at least equal time in that conversation was devoted to topics about energy conservation, energy efficiency, renewables, alternative sources of energy and new technology, as compared to the conventional sources of fuels.
I would also remind him that in our budgetary plans from last year we have booked a total of $1.1 billion for the advancement of Canada's climate change objectives.
Peter MacKay Progressive Conservative Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS
Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration boasted that a criminal on Interpol's 500 most wanted list was arrested three weeks after the government learned it had let him in the country.
The minister referred to the 100 million people who entered Canada last year. Does she or her colleague, the solicitor general, have any idea how many more of those let into the country by her department were criminals?
Elinor Caplan LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, the overwhelming majority of the people who come to Canada come here for legitimate reasons. I want to inform the House that last year frontline officers at our ports of entry actually questioned 65,000 people. Of that estimate, 7,300 people were stopped because of concerns of criminality.
Canada is a world leader in removals. We removed 8,600 people last year and of those 1,700 were criminals. Criminal removals are a priority of the government.
Bill Casey Progressive Conservative Cumberland—Colchester, NS
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. On February 7 four Atlantic premiers signed a letter to the Prime Minister entitled “Softwood Lumber—Atlantic Canada Premiers' Request for renewal of the Maritime Accord”. In that letter they said that failure to continue the current agreement would have a devastating impact on the region's softwood lumber industry.
On February 22 the Minister for International Trade said in the House that no one in the country wanted the sort of agreement we had in the last five years.
Would the Deputy Prime Minister acknowledge the request of the four Atlantic premiers to renew the agreement? Would he also acknowledge that by failing to get consensus they have now pitted the east against—
Lumber IndustryOral Question Period
The Speaker
The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Trade.
Pat O'Brien LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister for International Trade
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member may be interested in pitting one region of the country against another but the government is clearly not interested in that.
As I said in response to this question yesterday, the concerns of all regions of Canada will be taken into consideration in developing the Canadian position.
Our ultimate goal is very clear. The minister was in Washington yesterday. He made the position of the Canadian government very clear. For the third time today, the ultimate goal is free trade in softwood lumber. The views of all Canadians will be considered in that regard.
Gurmant Grewal Canadian Alliance Surrey Central, BC
Mr. Speaker, February is Black History Month. The multiculturalism minister has published a list of outstanding Canadians of African descent and it looks like a Liberal Party roll call.
The Hon. Lincoln Alexander did not make the cut. He was Canada's first black MP, our first black cabinet minister and our first black lieutenant governor of a province. Even a major highway is named after him in the heritage minister's riding.
Why does the minister stereotype them? If they are not Liberals they are struck off the list.
Hedy Fry LiberalSecretary of State (Multiculturalism)(Status of Women)
Mr. Speaker, we got the list which we set up to recognize Black History Month and to pay tribute to all of the things that black Canadians have contributed to this nation from a book printed by the black community on the who's who of the black community.
Gurmant Grewal Canadian Alliance Surrey Central, BC
Mr. Speaker, that is what is called stereotyping. Five years ago the Prime Minister asked Lincoln Alexander to chair the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. He reports directly to the minister of multiculturalism.
Mr. Alexander is the most outstanding Canadian of African descent in our political history. Why would she make a mockery of this list by playing politics with it and ignoring him?
Hedy Fry LiberalSecretary of State (Multiculturalism)(Status of Women)
Mr. Speaker, I find the line of questioning from that political party really interesting. It does not believe in special interest recognition at all.
We are recognizing in Black History Month black Canadians and the contribution they made. This is a fitting thing to do. This is part of removing the systemic barriers to racism in Canada.
I would also like to say that it was this government that appointed Lincoln Alexander as chair of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.
Suzanne Tremblay Bloc Rimouski-Neigette-Et-La Mitis, QC
Mr. Speaker, by rushing to the rescue of Newfoundland, and its then premier, Captain Canada, and allocating to it in one fell swoop 50,351 tonnes of Northern shrimp, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans ought to have realized he would be creating a problem for the entire shrimping industry.
Predictably, the Newfoundland mega-industry has completely unbalanced the market.
Can the minister tell us whether he is now prepared to re-establish a degree of fairness by giving Quebec a new quota of 6,000 tonnes?
David Anderson LiberalMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the process of assigning quotas is a difficult one because obviously there are many more fishermen than available quotas. I recognize there are many people could be disappointed when quotas are assigned.
That said, the problem does not warrant the solution being proposed by the hon. member. It will have no impact on the market per se.
Suzanne Tremblay Bloc Rimouski-Neigette-Et-La Mitis, QC
Mr. Speaker, since the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and his provincial counterparts will be meeting at St. Andrews on March 30, can the minister tell us whether he is prepared to respond to the note written to him by his Quebec counterpart requesting 6,000 tonnes of shrimp for Quebec?
David Anderson LiberalMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has many requests from many areas for many tonnes of shrimp.
I must confess that I do not have this voluminous correspondence in front of me. I do not know which particular letters he has responded to at any one time. However I will say that he will be making a decision on shrimp quotas appropriately in accordance with the criteria that were established. When that is done, the people who have requested quotas will be informed.
Jim Pankiw Canadian Alliance Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK
Mr. Speaker, last week the minister for multiculturalism tried to justify a Correctional Service Canada job advertisement that accepted applications from Indians only. Other races were not even eligible to apply.
I have an advertisement here from the human resources development department that also uses discriminatory policies which exclude certain races.
What does the minister say to people who are denied the right to even apply for a job because they have the wrong skin colour?
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, time and again members of that party talk about racism. They talk about reverse discrimination.
We believe special measures are necessary. It is not about reverse discrimination. It is about reversing discrimination. We want to ensure that all Canadians can see themselves in the public sector because that is good for the country.
Jim Pankiw Canadian Alliance Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK
Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that the minister does not understand that it is not possible to discriminate in favour of someone on the basis of race without discriminating against someone else on the basis of his or her race.
I have the ad right here. It specifically says that people who are aboriginal are excluded, as are non-Caucasian people or people who are non-white.
Since Indians are prohibited from applying for the job, what does the minister say to qualified Indians who were denied the opportunity to even apply for the job because they were—
EmploymentOral Question Period
The Speaker
The hon. Minister of Human Resources Development.
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member seems to think that it is acceptable for Canadians not to be fully represented in the Government of Canada and its public service.
On this side of the House we categorically reject it. We will not rest until all Canadians, as I said, see themselves as part of this government and its public service.
Alexa McDonough NDP Halifax, NS
Mr. Speaker, earlier this afternoon the Secretary of State for Latin America, once we got his attention, indicated that Canada does not support Plan Colombia. It is not the unequivocal, clear condemnation that Colombians deserve, given the horrendous human rights violations occurring there, but at least it is progress beyond Canada's silence.
My question is for the hon. secretary of state. Could he give absolute assurances that Canada is not and will not sell any equipment to the Colombian military in view of the atrocious human rights violations, the killings and kidnappings going on there today?