House of Commons Hansard #34 of the 37th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was provinces.
MulticulturalismOral Question Period
The Speaker
I do not know whether there is an answer to the comment. If not the hon. member may want to proceed with his supplementary immediately.
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I do not think that party will ever learn the tradition in this House. When a member of parliament gets up and apologizes, in the way the minister apologized and in the way the member for Edmonton—Strathcona apologized, we have a tradition that when a mistake is made and recognized we accept the word of an hon. member of this House.
I know that the Alliance Party is desperate. We will miss the gentlemanly approach of the hon. member for Calgary Southwest when he leaves. He is a good example to those members but they do not want to follow it.
Brian Pallister Canadian Alliance Portage—Lisgar, MB
Mr. Speaker, yesterday's comments continue what seems to be a growing trend among Liberal ministers.
When the heritage minister makes hurtful comments, the Prime Minister says nothing. When the immigration minister sneers and makes intolerant comments toward Canadians, nothing is said and nothing is done. The Prime Minister remains silent and, in his silence, he condones the conduct of these ministers and encourages it to continue.
It is time to put an end to this dangerous trend by members of that party and that front bench. The member is totally unfit for her duties. I ask the Prime Minister to demand her resignation immediately.
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I understand that the leader of the fifth party is very happy that he does not have the member with him anymore.
Perhaps I should inform the House that today the Canadian Taxpayers Federation had their third annual Teddy Award. The winners of the federal Teddy goes to, hands down, no contest, to the majority of Canadian Alliance MPs from the class of '93 for abandoning their principled stand against the gold-plated MP pension plan and opting back in quicker than an Olympic sprinter.
Pierre Paquette Bloc Joliette, QC
Mr. Speaker, we just learned that an official from the BC Lumber Trade Council travelled to the United States to discuss the implementation of an export tax on BC's lumber. This morning, New Brunswick lumber producers asked to be exempted from any future agreement on lumber.
Could the Minister for International Trade tell us whether we are witnessing a complete collapse of the Canadian common front he wants so much, since New Brunswick is now jumping ship, while British Columbia is playing its cards without regard for the others?
Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister for International Trade
Mr. Speaker, first, I hope that I am not the only one who wants this consensus and that the Bloc Quebecois will also be part of it, because it is extremely important. I am not just pushing for a consensus.
That being said, if an official from the BC lumber industry is negotiating taxes in Washington, I can assure the House that this individual has no mandate from our government to do so. This is not how things work.
I met the people from British Columbia on Tuesday morning. Earlier today, I met officials from the Atlantic council. Later this afternoon, I will meet Quebec's lumber producers. I can assure the House that we all want free trade.
Pierre Paquette Bloc Joliette, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister for International Trade came to see me personally to stress the importance of Canadian unity in the lumber issue. Yet, his colleague, the Minister of the Environment, seems open to the idea of imposing a tax on exports.
In light of the crumbling Canadian position, who will protect Quebec's interests? Will we again have a Canada-wide agreement at the expense of Quebec, as was the case the last time?
Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister for International Trade
Mr. Speaker, our government is firmly determined to protect the interests of every region of the country, whether it is Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario or western Canada.
We are quite capable of protecting all the regions without pitting them against each other. I will be very pleased to meet Quebec producers later this afternoon to continue to represent their best interests, as they have confirmed to us that we have been doing in recent years.
Jay Hill Canadian Alliance Prince George—Peace River, BC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, following question period, my colleague from Prince George rose on a point of order to point out that the hon. Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women was wrong when she said that crosses were being burned on lawns in Prince George. When the secretary of state returned to the House of Commons she said that the mayor of Prince George had sent her a letter saying that. She has not tabled that letter and has not provided any proof of these false accusations against the citizens of Prince George. I call upon her here and now to resign.
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the secretary of state got up and offered an apology to the city of Prince George. She made a mistake. She was in error. We never heard the Leader of the Opposition apologizing for the mistake he made which cost the taxpayers of Alberta $700,000.
She said that she had made a mistake and she apologized. We did that for the member for Edmonton—Strathcona. He made a mistake and he apologized. We accepted that. These were the rules when we had an opposition that was more civilized than the one we have today.
Jay Hill Canadian Alliance Prince George—Peace River, BC
Mr. Speaker, whatever happened to accountability from the government?
It has been revealed that the secretary of state misled the House when she returned to the House yesterday. Whatever happened to accountability? The secretary of state needs to be disciplined.
Why will the Prime Minister not hold her accountable for what she has said in the House when she slandered an entire community?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I agree that we have rules that have been around for a long time in the House of Commons. Some stay too long perhaps. However, the people of Canada want me to be here. That is the problem that the Alliance has.
When there are 301 persons in one House, mistakes will happen. We are not perfect. However, our good tradition is that when somebody stands in his or her place and offers to apologize to a member and to the Canadian public, we accept that. It is a tradition that I want to be respected.
Bonnie Brown Liberal Oakville, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health.
I am sure we were all equally dismayed at the powerful television images we saw of children in Labrador sniffing gas.
In December the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health committed to do all they could to help these Inuit children from Davis Inlet and Sheshatsui.
Would the parliamentary secretary please inform the House how Health Canada is fulfilling these commitments?
Yvon Charbonneau LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health
Mr. Speaker, I would like to assure the House that the Minister of Health wants to honour his commitments to the children of these communities and that he is working hard on the matter.
I had the pleasure of announcing yesterday that a very productive meeting had been held between Health Canada and the community concerned, during which plans for treatment were discussed. Chief Tshakapesh has expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting.
The children of this community remain our priority. This is why all the participants—
Joe Peschisolido Canadian Alliance Richmond, BC
Mr. Speaker, nearly a month ago I sent a letter to the Minister of Finance and the Minister of National Revenue asking them to commission the auditor general to do a cost benefit analysis of the foreign asset disclosure rule.
To this date I have only received a form-like acknowledgement of my request. Will the Minister of National Revenue ask the auditor general to do a cost benefit analysis of this rule?
Martin Cauchon LiberalMinister of National Revenue and Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)
Mr. Speaker, we have received the letter and we will reply in due course.
Joe Peschisolido Canadian Alliance Richmond, BC
Mr. Speaker, with an economic downturn on the way, the government should be encouraging, not discouraging investments. The foreign asset disclosure rule was designed to boost tax compliance and increase revenue, yet it has done just the opposite.
If this rule works as well as the Liberals claim it does, why is the Minister of National Revenue afraid of a cost benefit analysis?
Martin Cauchon LiberalMinister of National Revenue and Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)
Mr. Speaker, as I said, we will reply in due course.
With respect to the hon. member stating that we should be encouraging investments, I ask him to look at what we have done over the past six or seven years: the budgets, the zero deficit, the investments we have made in order to help science and technology, and the investments in all regions across Canada.
We will keep working with businesses in order to create jobs, even though that party does not want us to do that.
Ghislain Fournier Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Speaker, the manager of the Sept-Îles airport said on television that the people of the beaches area, which have been without drinking water for over three years, simply have to wait another seven years and the products contaminating the water will just disappear.
How can the Minister of Transport allow his representatives to treat the people of my riding this way, when he has always intimated that he wanted to resolve the problem his department created in our region?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I have been told that most of the residents of the region affected by the problem are satisfied with the solutions Transport Canada has offered.
Presence In GalleryOral Question Period
The Speaker
I draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of the seven recipients of the 2001 Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts. I would ask hon. members to withhold their applause until I have named all seven.
They are: Douglas Cardinal, Joan Chalmers, Tom Dean, Russel Goodman, Jamelie Hassan, Liz Magor and Alanis Obomsawin.
Presence In GalleryOral Question Period
The Speaker
I invite all members to join them at the reception that will follow in Room 216 at 3.30 p.m.
Chuck Strahl Canadian Alliance Fraser Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, I must admit it is with heavy heart that I have to bring this question of privilege today to the attention of the House.
As the hon. Prime Minister has said, it should not be necessary in this place to remind the Prime Minister and the House about our traditions in this place, not only about telling the truth but about ministerial accountability and with knowledge aforethought misleading the House, which is what we have seen over the last two days from the minister for multiculturalism.
In response to a Liberal question from a backbencher, in other words a question that she knew well ahead of time what the contents of it would be, the minister for multiculturalism yesterday rose in the House and accused the people of Prince George and British Columbians of hate crimes and specifically about burning crosses on lawns as we speak. That is what she said in this place. She knew the question. She said that anyway.
That was bad enough, but then with two hours to think it over she came back to the House and she said the following, and every one of these things is not true. I refer to page 2010 of the Commons Debates from yesterday where she said:
In British Columbia there have been incidents of hate crime, including cross burnings. I know of this because I was contacted immediately that these incidents occurred by the mayor of Prince George.
That is not true. That is not true. She had two hours to think it over, two hours to check her facts, two hours to check her correspondence, and she came back in the House and said that. In the second incident she said:
In my position as Secretary of State for Multiculturalism I funded the mayor to set up a task force right away.
That is not true. There was no letter. There was no request. There were no cross burnings. With two hours to check her facts, she came back and said that following the cross burnings in British Columbia, which were false and never happened, and in consultation with the mayor, which never happened, they set up a task force. That is not true. Yet she said that in the House with two hours to think it over. She then said:
The community was duly concerned and duly appalled at the incident—
They are not appalled at anything. They are the proud members of Prince George, good, decent people who deserve better than what they got from this minister for multiculturalism over the last couple of days.
She went on to say that the people of the community demanded that they take immediate action:
—so I funded the mayor to hold a task force.
Again, not only did they not demand immediate action on that because it never happened, not only was the community not involved, they were not outraged. How could they be outraged? It never happened. Then she went on to say:
The task force met and came out with some remarkable and courageous recommendations—
That was about cross burnings that never ever happened in Prince George. Yet she had two hours to check her facts, two hours to come back to the House and give us the facts. She went on to say:
I was recently in Prince George—
We sometimes wonder if even this is true now, but perhaps she was. Then she said:
—I met with the task force and congratulated the mayor and the people of Prince George for taking immediate action on incidents that could happen—anywhere in Canada.
She came back to the House today and after all of that she went out to a scrum, talked to the media and said that she had a letter from the mayor of Prince George in her hand to back all this up. The letter does not exist. It never happened. This whole thing is a figment of her imagination. It is a complete fabrication.
That is not the worst of it. The worst of it is, not only is it all fabricated, not only after the two hours to check the facts, but she slandered an entire community, my province and the good people who are working to make the communities better, with two hours' notice and telling at least five untruths in this place. There were five after she had time to check her facts.
Today she went on to say that she regretted the original statement and would like to apologize to the people of Prince George. I will tell the House what she needs to apologize for. She could start with an apology to the people of Prince George, and that will be a long time being accepted because we do not consider this at all sincere.
On top of that what she has not yet done, and she has to do before she can take a position of responsibility in the House again, is to apologize for misleading the House of Commons with five, at least five, direct lies in the House of Commons.
It is one thing to misspeak. We all know how that can happen in the heat of the moment where something will come out and the Speaker will come forward and say that it was inappropriate and ask the member to withdraw it. The member says “I am sorry, that was a mistake” and withdraws it. That is not what we are dealing with at all.
We are dealing with malice from the multiculturalism minister. We are dealing with someone who knew what she was doing, not only before the question was asked, but with two hours notice and on into the media interviews. She not only did not tell the truth here, she did not tell the truth out there to the media. She did not tell the truth to the people of Canada. She made stuff up out of her complete imagination about whether or not a letter even existed. It did not exist.
She came in with an idea that she can just say sorry about that, so what about the record now that says Prince George is a haven for racists and cross burners; so what if she maligned an entire province and the people who live there; so what if she came into the House with two hours notice and told everyone, by the way, that was true. She went on to say that it was true and that there were racists in Prince George who burned crosses. “It is true”, she said, “I have checked it out. I have a letter from the mayor”.
All of it was untrue. She should have known it, she did know it and she repeated it anyway. I would argue, Mr. Speaker, that you have no other course of action but to find the minister in contempt for what she has taken the House through over the last two days.
The crass attempt at being mistaken and thinking it is all over is completely unacceptable. She is in contempt of the House and in contempt of parliament. She should be tossed from this place. I urge you, Mr. Speaker, to make that decision.