Debates of April 25th, 2001

Ethics Counsellor

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there is no need and no basis for the kind of inquiry sought by the hon. member. The ethics counsellor, a distinguished permanent career public servant, has looked into the matter and found no breach of ethics. The RCMP has looked into the matter and found nothing to go on.

I see the desperation of the Alliance Party by this renewed attempt to detract attention from its own implosion and disruption in trying to raise this matter rather than conditions and questions of interest to Canadians. Why does it not get back on track before it disintegrates completely?

Prime Minister

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Côte-De- Beaupré—Île-D'Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Industry made the statement that the lease between the Auberge Grand-Mère and the golf club was a forgery. He has now had 24 hours to verify that the lease is genuine.

How can the government justify the letter sent by the Prime Minister to the Conservative leader with statements to the effect that there was no connection whatsoever between the auberge and the golf club and that, on the contrary, they were competitors, whereas once again the lease proves exactly the opposite?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I totally reject the premise of the hon. member's question.

The ethics counsellor reported on this matter and clearly stated in a press release dated March 1, 2001, in connection with the company, in which the Prime Minister had an interest, as follows:

The company sold its interests in the Auberge Grand-Mère to Mr. Yvon Duhaime. This company was paid in full by the summer of 1993.

Therefore, there were no continuing financial links between Mr. Duhaime and the Prime Minister after the middle of 1993.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Côte-De- Beaupré—Île-D'Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Deputy Prime Minister is playing the wrong tape.

The Shawinigan property registry—here I am talking about a lease, so let the Deputy Prime Minister not answer about something other than the lease—indicates the existence of a lease signed in 1988, but has no indication of that lease being terminated before it expired in 1998.

Will the Deputy Prime Minister finally admit that the existence of this lease clearly demonstrates that the Prime Minister was in a conflict of interest situation?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

No, Mr. Speaker, absolutely not.

Health

[Diane Ablonczy, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health will know that one of the concerns surrounding this billion dollars for new equipment for Canadians is that the money is allegedly being used not to buy the needed new equipment but to pay for existing orders, equipment that had already been ordered and would have come anyway. In other words, some of the billion dollars is not buying new equipment.

Could the minister could tell us if he could do anything to ensure that Canadians actually get a billion dollars worth of new equipment that they would not have had otherwise?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the member raises a very good point. It was part of the agreement last September that as the Government of Canada provided the billion dollars and left it to the provinces to exercise their judgment about what equipment to buy, they would report to the public on how they spent that money so the public could see that it went for new equipment.

I am writing my provincial counterparts to ask them to now report to the public on how that money was used so we may all see that it went to new medical equipment.

[Diane Ablonczy, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this question is particularly critical in light of some of the recent concerns raised by radiologists, for example, saying that tests are not only unreliable but there may need to be some legal warnings to patients that they are not getting good results from equipment.

Could the minister tell us the time line he has in mind for Canadians to know exactly what they are getting for this expenditure?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I will ask the provincial and territorial ministers of health to respond as soon as possible. Obviously I will make their responses public as they have undertaken to tell the public how they are spending that money.

The government believes strongly that Canadians, no matter where they live, have the right of access to the finest, the best, the most effective medical equipment and treatment and need settle for nothing less. That was our objective in putting that money on the table.

Gasoline Prices

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while the oil companies continue to accumulate huge profits and we witness real collusion, the prices at the pump continue to rise.

The former Minister of Industry could come up with no better idea than to order a study by the Conference Board, where the oil companies are represented. As we expected, it produced nothing.

The public wants the government to take strong action against the oil companies. Will the government finally admit that its study is worthless? While they studied and pussyfooted around, the prices kept rising, and the oil companies made unconscionable profits.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the study that was undertaken by the conference board was obviously a very independent and professional study. I would point out that the conference board includes in its ranks a number of eminent organizations from the province of Quebec, including the Quebec department of natural resources. The study should have some credibility on that basis.

The issue of the regulation of consumer prices of petroleum products is very squarely within the jurisdiction of the provinces, not the Government of Canada but the provinces. I would like to know from the hon. gentleman if is recommending a federal intrusion in provincial jurisdiction.

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government, the Minister of Natural Resources can think of nothing better to say than increases are inevitable and others are to blame. In the meantime, truckers, taxi drivers, farmers and low income households continue to pay exorbitant prices.

Will the minister acknowledge finally that, instead of preaching resignation, he should consolidate the provisions of the Competition Act, which by the way is a federal jurisdiction, to bring the oil companies into line once and for all?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have the competition bureau to receive evidence. If there is evidence, it should be passed along to the competition bureau.

However, regulating the retail price of gasoline is a provincial matter. If the member is serious with his question, why does he not approach his colleagues in Quebec to get this matter settled?

Gasoline Taxes

[Joe Peschisolido, Canadian Alliance, Richmond, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in 1999-2000, the government accumulated revenues of about $333 million by imposing a tax on a tax.

Indeed, the GST is imposed on the federal and provincial taxes on gasoline.

My question is for the Minister of Finance. Will he finally correct that injustice by eliminating double taxation on gasoline?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member surely knows, this is an issue that was raised vigorously here and that was examined by several of our members, including the hon. member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge.

We did the necessary review. We talked to small retailers and companies. They told us that if we went ahead with that measure, it would really create an administrative nightmare for them and that it would be better to leave things as they are.

As I told the hon. members from our party, we continue to look at the situation.

[Joe Peschisolido, Canadian Alliance, Richmond, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in 1995 the government raised the federal excise tax on gasoline by 1.5 cents per litre in order to fight the deficit. That battle has been over yet Canadians are still paying that tax, over $700 million in 1999-2000 alone.

Will the Minister of Finance do the right thing and eliminate this needless tax?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, if we look at the taxes on gasoline they are substantially higher at the provincial level than they are at the federal level. That is why the federal government made the offer to all provinces that if they wanted to act in concert on this matter we would be prepared to do so.

The fact is a number of the provinces pointed out, including the province of Ontario, that any reduction in tax would be simply lost in volatility at the pump, and they were not prepared to proceed.

Agriculture

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, as all members of the House will know, it has been a long and difficult winter for P.E.I. potato producers.

Many warehouses still remain full of high quality potatoes blocked from movement to market by unfair United States trade action.

It is my understanding that some progress has been made to resolve this dispute. What could the minister tell the House and Prince Edward Island potato producers with respect to the discussions and any decisions which have been reached on this issue?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, we all recognize the difficulty this issue has caused for the producers of potatoes in Prince Edward Island. There has been a lot of discussion. The Prime Minister has entered into discussion at least twice with the president. Officials have been in discussions. I have been in discussions with the secretary in the United States.

Yesterday and today officials are again meeting. They are exchanging documents this morning and this afternoon. I am very optimistic that in the very near future we will have the border open between Canada and the United States.

Summit Of The Americas

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the trade minister. While police were firing tear gas and plastic bullets last weekend on peaceful demonstrators in Quebec City, inside the summit leaders were celebrating their great democracy clause.

Is it not a fact that this so-called democracy clause makes absolutely no link whatsoever between respect for democracy and access to the FTAA? In fact, the only sanction is exclusion from hemispheric summits. Is it not just window dressing to cover up their failure to deal with human rights, the environment and worker rights?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the immense commitment, under the leadership of our Prime Minister, the hemispheric leaders met through the democracy clause has also been supported by the world banks that have committed to work in that direction. I think this is major progress.

As the free trade area of the Americas is also one of the results of the summit of the Americas, one cannot participate in the free trade area of the Americas if one is not part of the summit. One cannot participate in the summit if one does not respect democracy.

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a supplementary question for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Yesterday people around the world solemnly commemorated the Armenian genocide of 1915.

When will the Liberal government finally stand up to pressure from the Turkish government and officially recognize, along with many parliaments including the French parliament, this genocide not just as a calamity, not just as a tragedy, but as a genocide, the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, first I am very pleased to know that there is a fund being accumulated for the hon. member's trousers. I hope to contribute to it.

I would also like to remind him of the importance that many of us place on his actually coming out and condemning the violence that occurred so often in Quebec City on the wrong side, so that we understand exactly where he stands on the question of how we maintain order and civility in society.

Lumber Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister for International Trade. Yesterday the Americans added Atlantic Canada to their softwood lumber countervail charges. Atlantic Canada through industry efforts had been excluded.

What action has the minister taken to deal with this important issue before we have bankrupt mills in Atlantic Canada?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, there were consultations last week in Washington with the commerce department. Our government has made very clear that if the Americans wanted to recognize what they have recognized in the past 20 years, that there are no allegations from the producers in the United States about Atlantic Canada, and wanted to make an exemption, this is something that our government would certainly support.

We are engaged in consultations with the commerce department in order to recognize what has been recognized for many years, that is an exemption for Atlantic producers in any countervailing duty. We will fight for the whole country.