Debates of April 24th, 2001

Supply

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell the Minister for International Trade that I am pleased we are able to start debating this whole matter today. We are always focussing just on the process and I am anxious to see us touch on substantive issues.

That said, the opposition has not waited for government permission to call for the texts to be made public, as hon. members will recall. I believe the Minister for International Trade was surprised by his colleagues' response, the proof being that the French translation of the texts was not available. If the federal government had really thought the response would be positive, it would have started getting its texts translated before receiving the response.

I have been interested in the debates on the free trade area of the Americas for 15 years now. I have seen that the process has in fact become increasingly transparent as the result of social pressure, pressures from parliaments and parliamentarians. As far as the free trade agreement with the United States was concerned, and that was a relatively non-transparent negotiation, there was no desire to address trade issues.

When NAFTA was negotiated, there was a little more openness, but not a lot. It was the American government, at the urging of President Clinton, that finally forced Canada and Mexico to have two parallel agreements on the environment and on labour.

Now we are at another stage, the free trade area of the Americas. I willingly admit that there has been some progress as far as transparency is concerned, but not enough. It seems to me that we have reached the stage where parliamentarians need to be involved on an ongoing basis, and to have the opportunity to give their approval of any potential free trade area of the Americas agreement before government ratification of it.

It could very easily work this way: the government signs an agreement, submits it to the House, which holds a debate on it, the House approves it and then the executive ratifies it. That is the way it is done in Great Britain and in Australia, and how it will also be done in the Quebec national assembly. The premier of Quebec has in fact announced that the national assembly would vote on the agreement before the government signs it.

I believe we have got to this stage and I would have liked to have seen the government party support the amendment, which seems to me to be the stage we have reached at this time, as far as transparency and democracy in Canada and in Quebec are concerned.

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Papineau—Saint-Denis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the hon. member for Joliette has taken an interest in this issue for a long time. In fact, we can feel his influence on the Bloc Quebecois, which has traditionally been supportive of free trade agreements.

The Bloc Quebecois and the PQ in Quebec have generally been supportive of trade liberalization. The hon. member's influence is such that since his election to this House, there has been a complete distrust of what we are trying to accomplish in international trade.

Contrary to what the head office, the boss, the Quebec government is trying to do, being supportive of free trade—

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh.

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Papineau—Saint-Denis, QC]

I hear the member for Quebec, who is also extremely suspicious of trade. They always have a problem with the improvements that we are trying to bring about to liberalize trade.

It is somewhat ironic is this distrust by a few parliamentarians is changing an attitude that had so far been relatively open.

The vast majority of our fellow citizens is very aware of international trade issues. Our economy has made tremendous progress since we signed the free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico.

I remind the hon. member that it is not the U.S. presidency that changed Canada's approach on NAFTA and produced two side agreements on labour standards and the environment. These changes occurred because there was, at the same time, a change of Government in Canada. It is when the Liberal Party took office in 1993, at the same time that Mr. Clinton became president of the United States, that we, as a government, chose to add side agreements to NAFTA. We are the ones who took the initiative of proposing an improvement to what had been negotiated by the previous government. We are the ones who negotiated with Chile side agreements similar to those that we developed for the free trade agreement.

I should point out that yesterday morning, when I signed the bilateral free trade agreement with Costa Rica, my colleagues, the Minister of Labour and the Minister of the Environment, also signed side agreements.

It is from this side that leadership and innovation in international trade made its way to Buenos Aires. Any minister who took part in the meeting in Buenos Aires will confirm that had it not been for Canada's leadership the texts of the preliminary agreement would not be in the process of being released.

[Deepak Obhrai, Canadian Alliance, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the minister talking about transparency and how open his government has been. I can tell the House that when he talks about transparency it is restricted to government officials and ministers.

I have just returned from Geneva where there are many issues dealing with labour. Why is his government not tackling those issues by getting the Minister of Labour and the Minister of the Environment involved in order to open the process so that we do not have the protests that we had in Quebec City and in Seattle? Those protests symbolized that transparency is not there despite what he is saying. Would the minister please comment on that?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Papineau—Saint-Denis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the people who came to demonstrate in Quebec City or who demonstrated in Seattle did not do so because there was no transparency. They came because they did not like what we were trying to do. They were opposed to trade liberalization and the sort of improvements that we were trying to make to the international trade system. I find that very unfortunate.

I heard President Fox of Mexico, President Lagos of Chile and other leaders of smaller economies tell us that what they needed was trade and access to our markets. That is development that will help them strengthen their democracies. I beg those who object with what we are trying to do to pay attention. We will pay a great deal of attention to what they have to say.

I have met with many round table pressure groups but they should also listen to what 33 leaders of the Americas have come to tell us. They have said to give them trade.

[Steve Mahoney, Liberal, Mississauga West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the minister who has shown tremendous leadership in taking Canada down an inevitable path that we must seriously explore.

Imagine our country having any kind of serious negotiations with 33 other countries and not having some form of protest. I cannot imagine it. It is what makes Canada the most democratic and freest country in the world.

There was much noise made by people who were opposed to free trade about the security fence that was put up around the perimeter. Imagine the scenario if that particular defensive action was not undertaken by our government.

I recall when some students in Vancouver, who broke through at the APEC conference, were pepper sprayed. That led to a multimillion dollar inquiry into how the RCMP behaved and acted. There were all kinds of legal fees, allegations, counterallegations and charges. It was because some students had broken through a fence, perhaps not the same kind of fence as in Quebec City, in a violent way to try to force their views on the security people. It was not tolerated and the actions led to an inquiry.

What would have happened in Quebec City? We know that some people were arrested because they were carrying explosive devices and potential means of destruction into the country. Those weapons were confiscated. We saw it on television. What would have happened if there was not the level of security and those people had come through and somehow managed to detonate an explosive device and perhaps seriously injure, maim or even kill some of the participants?

Every member opposite in the House would be on their feet screaming indignation, calling for the government to resign, calling for the people involved in security, the solicitor general and others to resign their seat because they were unable to provide the necessary security for an international meeting to take place.

Canadians would agree that the images we saw were not what we expect to see in a Canadian city at any given time. The reality is that we live in a world that is full of people who would purport to put their views forward using means that are unacceptable to the vast majority of Canadians.

I wish to speak about that vast majority in terms of the demonstrators. Most of the demonstrators were there to peacefully put their viewpoints across. They held a very successful people's summit. I take some exception with that, but that is all right. I do not have a problem with that.

They put their counterviews on the table and they discussed them. They passed resolutions and developed strategies. There were people from the labour movement who were concerned about labour standards. There were people from the civil society who were concerned about sovereignty, culture and protection of our natural resources. The government does not have a problem with any of those issues being put forward.

I would argue that the protesters drove the agenda with some success. I am not convinced that six months ago when the planning began for this conference the first and most significant clause to come out of Quebec City would have been the democracy clause. The engagement of the public has led the leaders of all those countries to decide that a common bond, a common principle of any agreement on free trade must include an adherence to the democratic principles that Canadians hold so dear.

What this means is elections. That is why Cuba was not invited or allowed to participate. Anyone who has been to Cuba would realize that the people, on the surface, seem to have everything that they need. They seem to have their health care and their education provided for. They seem to have certain basic things like food and shelter. However, in Cuba they do not have the most fundamental basic human right, that is the right to dissent, the right to demonstrate, the right to hold a differing opinion, and the right to express that opinion. It is clear that in terms of this agreement, with the democracy clause, that they simply cannot be part of that.

One of the issues that will be looked at is the situation in Haiti. There will be a group travelling to Port-au-Prince to meet with government officials to ensure that true democracy and not some kind of military dominance is in place in Haiti.

The countries that are signatories to this agreement, and I do not know of any other agreement where this kind of a clause has been put in place, will have the right to expel a particular country from membership and disallow it from taking part in the particular benefits of free trade if in fact it violates the democracy clause. What we see could only occur in Canada. We need to deal with the possibilities if we can.

The member for Burnaby—Douglas claims he was shot by a rubber bullet, although he is not sure, but he and the leader of the NDP want to force an inquiry. These are mere tactics in an attempt to derail and stop the progress of negotiating a free trade agreement.

Who would benefit if we were to expand our markets? This country has done remarkably well. Our next census will show our population to be somewhere around 31 million people. If we compare that to our neighbour to the south, which has 10 times our population and the clout and economic ability to trade, it is quite remarkable that our growth rate is higher than the United States, 2.4% versus 1.7%. Our inflation rate is lower, our unemployment rate is comparable and our economy is very strong on its own.

Could we do that if we were to shrink wrap our borders and shrink wrap this country? I do not think we could. However, should we be looking at other markets? Do we want to tie ourselves to the will of the United States when the economy does take a downturn or do we want to have alternatives?

We want to ensure that our sovereignty is protected. I have no doubt about that. Every member in this place would agree with that. We want to ensure that our natural resources and renewable resources are protected and, where feasible, are marketed where opportunities arise.

The intent of the motion put on the floor by the Bloc is to ensure that there is transparency in the negotiations. Many of the meetings were on television. The media had complete access and the people's summit had terrific input into the process that went on. The transparency is there.

The fact that we are on our feet today is another example of how parliament can play a role in shaping the future. We should work with the minister and the government to ensure that we negotiate a free trade agreement of the Americas that will not only benefit Canada but benefit many of the poorer countries that could use assistance in terms of science and technology, our exports, our expertise and our capabilities, and that could perhaps use some help in the area of democratization.

We are on the edge of a tremendous opportunity to expand the horizons of this country. Instead of dwelling on the negative, the demonstrators and the rock throwers, we should acknowledge the fact that there is healthy dissent. It is truly Canadian and the Canadian way to negotiate. This is an opportunity we should seize. We should move forward and develop an agreement with the Americas that makes sense for the prosperity of this entire hemisphere.

I am confident that with the leadership of the minister and the Prime Minister, and the work of all the people involved, we will indeed have an agreement for which our children will say well done.

[Deepak Obhrai, Canadian Alliance, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is always interesting to listen to the member from Mississauga. There are times when I do not agree with him but this time, concerning the benefits of the FTAA, I have no problem agreeing with him. The benefits of the FTAA, if handled properly, will bring prosperity. However, if it is not handled properly, it will raise doubts and create the same thing that we had with the MAI. The government's inability to communicate the benefits of the MAI resulted in its failure. If the government continues on that path and does not allow more transparency in the FTAA we may face the same problem, which would be detrimental to our country and to prosperity in the hemisphere.

There have been voices out there in Quebec City. The minister rightly responded that a number of people there were totally opposed to the FTAA and not to the transparency of the system. I agree with him in that respect.

The other point is that a lot of protesters said that they wanted to ensure that prosperity was spread globally and that they had a voice in the process. The member said that parliament has been discussing this, but if it were really discussing the issue there would not be so much protest.

Does the hon. member not think it important that the final draft of the FTAA be brought into parliament for an open debate and ratification by parliamentarians? Would he not agree to that?

[Steve Mahoney, Liberal, Mississauga West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member earlier expressed an odd concern for a member of the Alliance Party, a concern one would sooner expect to hear from the NDP. He asked about labour standards and how they might be applied.

How could anyone in this place suggest that we impose our labour standards unilaterally or even bilaterally on countries within the free trade zone of the Americas? How can we ensure that labour standards regarding health and safety, minimum wage, procurement, fair wage and other issues are brought to bear in the countries with which we are negotiating if we do not negotiate with them?

We cannot have too many cooks in the kitchen or we will spoil the broth. We all know that. There is a job to be done. The negotiating team has work to do. The leaders of the countries have started the ball rolling with the meetings in Quebec.

Yes, we should work toward standardized labour protection in these countries. However, any member here who has travelled through the Americas knows that the labour conditions in many of the countries, notwithstanding the democracy clause that was passed, are atrocious and unacceptable.

We must work on a continual basis with these countries to show them the benefits of having a high quality, highly paid and highly skilled labour force. We can achieve this through negotiation and education. The FTAA is just one of many tools that can ensure prosperity is spread throughout the Americas.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am looking forward to taking part in this debate today.

It holds a particular interest for me, as the member for Quebec, the riding which hosted the summit of the Americas, as well as the people's summit. There has been much discussion about violence and tear gas, but today let us come back to the discussion by the entire spectrum of civil society, by these groups speaking for civil society, on the impact of the FTAA on people's daily life.

The discussion started a long time ago and resulted in the resolutions and the strong commitments made by the groups representing civil society.

Today I wish to congratulate the organizers of the people's summit on the quality of the contributions made by ordinary people on education, labour, agriculture, communications, human rights, environment, health and the status of women. What would the impact of the FTAA be on all these areas, if it were concluded, as there is every indication it will be?

These working groups noted the ever increasing gap between the rich and the poor.

This is an issue very close to my heart since I have worked on EI reform. We are aware of the gap between the rich and the poor. When businesses and plants close down and workers can no longer rely on insurance benefits to get the money they need between jobs, they can quickly and easily be forced into various levels of poverty and even utter poverty.

When I hear the Minister for International Trade say that he is very happy, very glad and very pleased, I cannot help but remember that he said the exact same thing when asked about the concerns raised by the EI reform. The minister is now sitting at the FTAA negotiating table and is saying that he is very confident and also glad to be able to meet with the public and various interest groups and to listen to them. However is there not a difference between listening to the people and following up on their concerns?

The Bloc Quebecois is very active on this issue and we have brought forward many motions in the House and also in the various committees dealing with the free trade area of the Americas. Today, what we are trying to do is to move the debate forward a bit.

Before the summit of the Americas, our colleague from Joliette proposed a motion to allow us to talk about what is at stake in these negotiations and to ensure greater transparency. We know what came out of that: nothing. It was too late, the texts could not be made available and they could not be translated into all the required languages. We cannot say it was a very transparent exercise, especially after learning, because of an open microphone, that certain clauses of particular interest to the opposition parties, in this case the Bloc Quebecois, and to civil society would be included in this FTAA agreement.

Personally, I am more concerned when I see the minister rejoice and say, as he always does, that everything is fine. In this motion, we are calling on the government to allow parliamentarians to debate this process and to allow civil society to be consulted not after an agreement has been signed, but before ratification is approved by parliament.

This concern and this desire were also expressed at the people's summit, during the plenary session of the last conference. It was requested that people be informed of all the issues related to the free trade area of the Americas and of the impact it could have on our lives if, for example, we adopted chapter 11, which gives businesses a special charter that would allow them to sue governments for loss of profits because these governments have put in place standards and safeguards in all areas, social, environmental, cultural and so on.

So this is why the Bloc Quebecois is concerned about how things are going and will act as watchdog so the people will know just what exactly is happening in the negotiations on the free trade area of the Americas. We know that this weekend nothing was signed. However in the coming years there will be a whole process where things will be thought out. We will therefore act as intermediary between public concerns and what is being concocted often behind closed doors.

When we talk about globalization with certain people, they say “Yes, there are political aspects to globalization. It means openness to the world, much better prices, the expansion of businesses and the export of goods and services”. When we talk to them about the real issues of the free trade area of the Americas, we are a little more reserved about the first interpretation of globalization. not

When we point out all the aspects of the free trade area of the Americas, including chapter 11, and some of the changes it could mean in the case of job security, for example, it makes them think. They wondered if it would bother certain businesses to have a government adopt labour or environmental standards or social conditions, because businesses' profits would be reduced in such cases. When people are faced with this sort of provision, they say “That could penalize us too and even lead to exclusion, impoverishment, a greater gap between the rich and the poor, a loss of gains, manipulation and especially to a loss of control and of choice”.

There is therefore a double standard. When all the stakes are made clear, other questions come to mind. They are also worried when we tell them, for instance, why groups representing civil society were not invited to make their concerns known to the 34 heads of state. They are worried when we tell them, for instance, that the forum of business people can, however, be heard.

Another irritant, a second obstacle, is the manner in which all the discussions can be interpreted. When it is said that the same people are both judge and judged, when one owns a business one will definitely look out for one's own interests.

Groups, civil society and elected representatives who are accountable to the public are also worried when, for example, there is a desire to create this link with civil society.

As I said earlier, the gap between the rich and the poor was one of the first observations of the people's summit. We are therefore concerned that there would be a charter for businesses setting out their right to set up operations in certain locations. For instance, we were told that because a business had been unable to expand as much as it would have liked in Mexico, it sued the government for lost profits.

Where will all this lead? We are right to be concerned. Instead of saying that everything is fine and that we are very enthusiastic, we must look carefully at where we are headed.

The people's summit was a reflection on our future, and there are many possible solutions. One of the most interesting things about the people's summit being held in Quebec City is that all Quebecers felt concerned. Social groups had an opportunity to speak with the public and made known their concerns.

I therefore hope the motion moved today by the member for Joliette will be adopted, as amended. I hope there will be support for our request that there be official ratification by the government, authorized by parliament, and that the public be consulted before this official ratification by parliament, by the government.

Elected representatives must take note, because we are accountable to the public for decisions taken by the government, particularly when it comes to something as precious as people's quality of life, because the FTAA is very much tied up with that quality of life.

Space Exploration

[Roger Gallaway, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today two Canadian technological models operate in outer space. The first is Canadarm2, the product of the Canadian Space Agency and an integral part of the international space station. The second is Chris Hadfield, a Canadian pilot, a colonel in our armed forces, a fighter pilot, engineer, father, husband and son, but above all a role model and ambassador for those serving in our armed forces and those who would consider enlisting.

As Colonel Hadfield takes his second walk in space in three days, residents of the city of Sarnia in my riding are paying particularly close attention to our astronaut and to Canadarm2. Students at King George IV School, which Sarnia born Chris Hadfield attended, have studied space travel. The Sarnia airport has been renamed Chris Hadfield Airport. In addition, Mac Evans, the president of the Canadian Space Agency, is Sarnia born and educated.

On behalf of the residents of Sarnia, I congratulate, somewhere here on earth, President Mac Evans of the Canadian Space Agency and, somewhere in the vacuum of space, Colonel Chris Hadfield for their out of this world achievements.

Bill C-331

[Inky Mark, Canadian Alliance, Dauphin—Swan River, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on the Liberal government to recognize the injustices that were done to the Canadians of Ukrainian descent and other Europeans who were interned at the time of the first great war. Over 5,000 were interned in 24 detention camps throughout Canada.

My private member's bill, Bill C-331, cited as the Ukrainian Canadian Restitution Act, calls for a final resolution to this bleak moment in Canadian history.

Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney made vague promises of support in the 1980s. The current Prime Minister also promised to deal fairly with the requests for acknowledgement and redress should he become Prime Minister in 1993. That promise has not been carried out.

Today there are over one million Canadians of Ukrainian descent. Many have made outstanding contributions to Canada in all areas of society. Canadians want to learn from their history. It is time for the government to do the right thing and bring this issue to a close.

Space Exploration

[Janko Peric, Liberal, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend Chris Hadfield became the first Canadian astronaut to walk in space. Hadfield's thrilling spacewalk entered the history books as he installed Canadarm2, the centrepiece of Canada's contribution to the international space station.

A little piece of Conestoga College also went along for Hadfield's historic voyage. Cynthia DeWitt, a second year graphic design student at Conestoga College, created the patch worn on Hadfield's flight suit. Seventeen Conestoga College students were finalists in a contest that drew over 120 entries from across Canada.

I join all members of the House in congratulating astronaut Chris Hadfield on his momentous walk and Cynthia, her classmates and staff at the graphic design program of Conestoga College. I wish to extend congratulations to all.

Veterans

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

Mr. Speaker, I remind members of the House that 50 years ago today the soldiers of the Second Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry held off Chinese forces in the Kapyong Valley in Korea. For its actions, the whole of the 2-PPCLI was awarded the United States presidential citation.

On Saturday, May 21, I, along with the minister of immigration, the member for Ottawa West—Nepean and the member for Markham, had the privilege to attend a dinner in Seoul hosted by the Korean War Veterans Association.

This dinner marked the 50th anniversary of the Korean war period, a time when over 20,000 Canadian Armed Forces personnel saw action overseas. Sixty-one Canadian veterans of this conflict were able to return to Korea for the event. It was a profoundly moving and memorable occasion.

I am dually honoured by these events: to have had the experience in Korea at the dinner and to have had such a distinguished unit stationed in my constituency, their barracks named after the historic Kapyong battle.

Mining Industry

[Guy St-Julien, Liberal, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on April 18, 2001, the Liberal member for Outremont and minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec announced a total of $1.1 million in Government of Canada funding to Quebec's mining industry, specifically to Corem and to the Quebec Mining Association.

The initiative provides Corem with considerable hope for the future and dovetails perfectly with the objectives of the Government of Canada: the creation of quality jobs and of an economy focussed on state of the art technology and export markets. As for the mining association, it will use the funding in 2001 and 2002 for a travelling exhibit on the mining industry called “From Ore to Metal”.

Through this contribution we wish to help the industry set up a project to raise public awareness of the importance and diversity of minerals in our lives and of the economic spinoffs of mining activities that respect the ecology and environmental standards.

Summit Of The Americas

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

Mr. Speaker, at this weekend's summit of the Americas, antagonists of disorder were frequently heard saying that all they want is democracy. This is an odd refrain to hear uttered from the oddities that did so.

It is odd indeed for union bosses to say that all they want is democracy and openness when most of them do not allow secret balloting within their own organizations and they conduct their negotiations behind closed doors.

It is also odd for members of the fourth party in the House to claim that all it wants is more democracy. If that is so, then why has it been so consistently advocating on behalf of the least democratic nation in this hemisphere, which is floating off the coast of Florida?

It is also odd for people to claim to be advocating for democracy when they march shoulder to shoulder with thugs sporting scarves emblazoned with the hammer and sickle insignia of one of the most murderous and totalitarian regimes in the history of civilization.

Democracy is among the greatest of man's implemented inventions. Its spokesmen should be only those who adhere to its tenets, not poseurs and pretenders.

Firefighters

[Gurbax Malhi, Liberal, Bramalea—Gore—Malton—Springdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, firefighters risk their safety in service to all Canadians. In 1998 the average age of firefighters who died from injuries received in the line of duty was 43 years.

The establishment of a federally funded public safety officer compensation fund would allow Canada to acknowledge the sacrifice made by firefighters who are killed or permanently injured in the line of duty, regardless of the jurisdiction in which they worked.

I encourage all members of the House to consider this proposal in the name of fairness for Canada's firefighters.

Synchro Canada

[Robert Lanctôt, Bloc, Châteauguay, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Quebecois wishes to draw attention to the courage of Raymond Côté, the president of Sports Quebec, whose resignation from the appeal committee looking into the conflict between Synchro Canada and Synchro Quebec has focussed attention on the lack of openness at Synchro Canada.

Synchro Canada has long refused to hand over certain documents relating to the dispute, despite repeated requests from the committee investigating the situation.

With his resignation, Mr. Côté is pointing a finger at Synchro Canada's lack of flexibility and its categorical refusal to take into account the input of Quebec athletes in the process of selecting the new training centre. We hope his action will result in concrete steps being taken to put an end to discrimination toward Quebec athletes.

The Bloc Quebecois hopes this decision will make other Canadian sports organizations that continue to systematically ignore the input of Quebec athletes rethink their position. This attitude compromises the future of many Quebec athletes, who have not only to master their discipline but also to cope with the closed-mindedness of the federal agencies.

Poetry

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

Mr. Speaker, in 1999 the League of Canadian Poets officially decreed April to be National Poetry Month. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to invite the House to celebrate poetry and the role it plays in Canadian culture.

I have the honour to sponsor Bill S-10, which would create the position of parliamentary poet laureate.

This tradition dates back to medieval times. England appointed its first official poet in 1668. This rich tradition moved the United States to follow suit and create the position of official poet in 1936.

To enable Canada to share in this tradition, I encourage my colleagues to support Bill S-10, so it may be examined in committee and ultimately passed by this House.

Heroism

[Chuck Cadman, Canadian Alliance, Surrey North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I pay tribute to three outstanding young men.

On a Friday night a few weeks ago, Mandeep Jaswal, 17, Gurpreet Awla, 18, and Ryan Parmar, 16, were walking in downtown Vancouver when a young man fell to the sidewalk in front of them. Recognizing that 16 year old Jason Knights was in serious trouble, and rather than just ignoring him, they sprang into action. Jason had been stabbed in the chest.

While Mandeep called 911, Ryan and Gurpreet applied pressure to the wound and administered mouth to mouth resuscitation. An ambulance rushed Jason to hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery.

The three heroes could have ignored Jason and left him to die in the street. One of their teachers suggested it would be nice if the trio got some press because, in her words “the few rotters get tons of media”. I could not agree more.

I invite all members to join me in commending these three young men, Mandeep Jaswal, Gurpreet Awla and Ryan Parmar, not only for their quick action and presence of mind but above all for their compassion toward a fellow human being in his time of need.

Firefighters

[Judi Longfield, Liberal, Whitby—Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, each year members of the House are visited in Ottawa by representatives of the International Association of Fire Fighters. These men and women come to this place to make their concerns known to us. The 10th annual legislative conference is being held this month.

Across Canada our professional firefighters and emergency medical personnel are prepared to put their lives on the line 365 days a year to ensure the safety of our families and our loved ones, but they do so much more. They are also vibrant, caring and active members of our communities, serving in a wide variety of roles such as hockey, ringette, and ball coaches, Big Brothers and Big Sisters and Rotarians, and in fundraisers for local and national charities.

I am honoured and privileged to call so many of these very special people my friends. I ask all members of the House to join me in expressing very public thanks to each and every one of them.

Crtc

[Wendy Lill, NDP, Dartmouth, NS]

Mr. Speaker, there is more to freedom of the press than the freedom to own all the presses and control all the news, and yet it is reported that every morning there is a conference call between newsrooms at Southam and at Global TV to set the day's agenda for Canadians.

Given these circumstances, I call upon the CRTC to set out strict conditions of licensing on both CTV and Global: to establish only one year renewals; to establish rules preventing the exchange of stories, sources and information between television and print media outlets owned by the same company; to compel the television stations to increase their Canadian programming in prime time; and, most important, to attach significant financial penalties to companies that break the conditions of licensing.

Voluntary commitments will not work. The CRTC has an important decision to make. That decision will either help expand or strangle the oxygen of our democracy, the free flow of ideas for Canadians.

Armenian People

[Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral, Bloc, Laval Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on April 24, the international community commemorates the Armenian genocide of 1915, which resulted in the death of over one million persons.

On March 24, 1998, Robert Kotcharian, the prime minister of the Republic of Armenia at the time, called for international recognition of the genocide, which was not “the tragedy of the Armenian people only”, but a tragedy for “all of humanity and is a heavy burden for the Armenian people because it has gone unpunished and, worse yet, has not been condemned as it ought”.

In North America, the Ontario legislature, the Quebec national assembly and the states of California, Delaware, Massachusetts and New York have recognized the Armenian genocide.

The Bloc Quebecois hopes that Canada, in keeping with its values of justice and compassion, will have the courage to adopt the following motion, which I moved in March: “That this House recognize the Armenian genocide of 1915 and condemn this act as a crime against humanity”.

Tourism

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for many years now Canada has been experiencing a growth in its economy and an increase in the number of working Canadians.

Much of this success is a direct result of the significant work of the Canadian tourism industry and its many small businesses. Currently 99.6% of tourism businesses meet the Statistics Canada definition of small or medium size enterprises, based on numbers of businesses. Of these, 97% are small companies.

Over the last decade Canada's tourism sector has outperformed the general economy, both in revenue generated and employment growth. This is a very impressive record.

Today I congratulate the tourism industry for its contribution to the Canadian economy and commend the tourism representatives present in Ottawa today for their strong commitment to the viability and sustainability of this dynamic industry sector.

Agriculture

[Elsie Wayne, Progressive Conservative, Saint John, NB]

Mr. Speaker, potato farmers in Prince Edward Island have been waiting since last October for the government to stand up for them.

Neither the Prime Minister, the Minister for International Trade nor the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food have been able to get the United States to lift its illegal ban on the export of Island potatoes.

Last weekend the agriculture minister had a perfect opportunity to press the case of P.E.I. potato farmers with U.S. agriculture secretary Ann Veneman, yet he did not know until Friday evening at 8 o'clock that the secretary was going to the summit.

Now the agriculture minister is stating that it is just a matter of time before the border will open. That is not good enough. Island farmers have to make decisions this week if they are to plant a crop. They need to know if they will have a market for their potatoes this fall.

When will the government stand up for the farmers in P.E.I. and give this issue the priority it deserves?