Debates of April 2nd, 2001

Prime Minister

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 54% of the Liberals who were polled about the Prime Minister's behaviour in the Auberge Grand-Mère issue feel that an inquiry should be held.

Even members of his own caucus are wondering about the contradictions between the Prime Minister's statements and the documents, or between the Prime Minister's statements and those of Yvon Duhaime.

Is the government not concerned about the behaviour of its Prime Minister, and should it not put pressure on him to accept that light be shed on this issue?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Absolutely not, Mr. Speaker. There is no conflict of interest and the Prime Minister did table the documents requested by the Bloc and the other opposition parties.

Now, they are not prepared to make good on their commitment to accept these documents and move on to other issues.

Quebecers and Canadians are disappointed with the opposition, because it is not asking real questions about real issues. We in government are the ones working on problems and proposing real solutions.

Government Response To Petition

[Derek Lee, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to one petition.

Committees Of The House

[Ovid Jackson, Liberal, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of tabling, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee of Transport and Government Operations regarding the order of reference of February 21, 2001, in relation to Bill S-2, an act respecting marine liability, and to validate certain bylaws and regulations. The committee has considered Bill S-2 and reports the bill without amendment.

Petitions

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to table a petition signed by a number of Canadians who are concerned about the situation facing rural route mail couriers today.

The petitioners are concerned about the working conditions of mail couriers. They point out that these hard working individuals make less than minimum wage. They are not allowed to bargain collectively. Their working conditions are reminiscent of another era.

They call upon the government to repeal the section of the Canada Post Corporation Act which prohibits rural route mail couriers from having collective bargaining rights.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure today to present a petition on behalf of many citizens of Manitoba, several of whom live in the riding of Winnipeg South Centre.

The undersigned residents of Canada draw the attention of the House to the fact that the Government of Canada may be asked to support the U.S. national missile defence program to be operated by the North American aerospace defence command.

The petitioners call upon parliament to play a leadership role in banning nuclear weapons in missile flight tests and to declare that Canada objects to the national missile defence program of the United States.

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I am proud to present this petition which is signed by numerous members of my constituency.

The undersigned appeal to the Parliament of Canada to strongly urge the—

[The Speaker]

Order, please. I am reluctant to interrupt the hon. member, but I am sure he knows it is not order to read petitions. He can give a brief summary. I would invite him to comply with the rules in every respect.

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

Fair enough, Mr. Speaker. I am presenting this petition on behalf of a number of my constituents.

They are asking parliament to urge the government of China and its president, Jiang Zemin, to release Falun Dafa practitioners from jail and to encourage an open dialogue to allow them to practise their chosen faith in their chosen way through freedom of religion.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise in the House to present a petition from the good people of Nova Scotia who are very concerned about oil and gas exploration off the coast of Cape Breton.

They pray that parliament investigate the powers and the undemocratic actions of the unelected Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board and the National Energy Board.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it also gives me great pleasure to introduce a wonderful petition by my good constituents of Sheet Harbour and Port Dufferin, Nova Scotia.

They are very concerned about the rise of poverty in Canada. They would like the government to bring forth a budget that eliminates child poverty.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition on the question of health care.

The petitioners of Victoria, British Columbia are very concerned about Alberta's bill 11 and the creeping privatization of health care in Canada. They pray that parliament will have some courage and will stop the privatization of health care.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, workers at the North Sydney postal terminal are very concerned about the fact that many of their jobs will transferred to New Brunswick.

The petitioners pray that parliament not close the North Sydney postal terminal.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NS]

Finally, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of thousands of Canadians, I present two great petitions on their concerns that Canada will not be releasing the full text of the FTAA.

They pray that parliament ensures democracy will rule and that they will be able to see the FTAA text before it is tabled and seen by other countries.

[Jim Gouk, Canadian Alliance, Kootenay—Boundary—Okanagan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions today. The first is from petitioners in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

They join with thousands of other petitioners who have already petitioned the government to request the funding and training necessary for the provision of quality end of life care.

[Jim Gouk, Canadian Alliance, Kootenay—Boundary—Okanagan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition today joins previous petitioners in calling upon parliament to implement a national strategy to create a non-adversarial marital separation code.

The object of the code would be to reduce tension and acrimony among the parties and particularly to protect the children involved.

[Andy Burton, Canadian Alliance, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to present a petition to the House signed by 1,300 British Columbians regarding their concern over genetically modified organisms.

Questions On The Order Paper

[Derek Lee, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Request For Emergency Debate

[The Speaker]

The Chair has notice of an application for emergency debate from the hon. member for Brandon—Souris.

[Rick Borotsik, Progressive Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, under Standing Order 52 I have filed for an emergency debate regarding a very serious issue facing Canadians. This would be a non-partisan debate, Mr. Speaker, if you should be as forthcoming as to allow it. It has to do with the potential problems the country may face with respect to foot and mouth disease.

We have an $11 billion livestock industry in Canada. We do not want this to be fearmongering. Nor do I wish it to be a partisan issue. I simply want a venue in which members of parliament can put forward precautionary measures that could and should be taken by all Canadians, not only by those in the industry. The measures could also be taken by tourists who come and go throughout the country and by people who import and export on a continuous basis.

I ask you, Mr. Speaker, and your office to please allow members of the House the opportunity to put forward the protective measures necessary for this terrible disease.

The minister of agriculture has today, with CFIA, put forward an advertising campaign. I applaud the CFIA and the department for allowing Canadians to have a better understanding of what we are dealing with. What better place for parliamentarians to debate the issue than in the House? That is why I ask you, Mr. Speaker, in the good graces of your office, to allow us to do so.

[The Speaker]

I thank the hon. member for Brandon—Souris for bringing the matter to the attention of the Chair. I have carefully considered his request and have decided to allow it. The debate will take place tomorrow night at 8 p.m. I trust hon. members will govern themselves accordingly.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-18, an act to amend the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to discuss Bill C-18 regarding equalization from the federal government to the provinces. The bill, if passed, and I expect the government will be able to get its members into the House for an important vote like this one, would lift the cap off equalization payments for the year 2000-01. Quite simply, that is what the bill is about.

It is not a complicated piece of legislation. It deals specifically with an issue and certainly would be a help and a boon to the provinces that need increased equalization payments, especially in this fiscal year.

As we are debating this bill today we know that the four Atlantic premiers, including one of the only two Liberal premiers in the country, are meeting in Charlottetown to discuss equalization payments. Certainly what they are asking the government to do and what we are expecting they will ask the government to do is permanently lift the cap on equalization. There are a number of reasons the government should seriously consider measures such as lifting the cap on a permanent basis.

The concept of providing effectively level taxation or similar levels of taxation and services across the country is perhaps the very cornerstone of Canadian social policy. That was said in the House not long ago by our finance critic, the member for Kings—Hants. I would like to state—