Debates of April 6th, 2001

Correctional Service Canada

[Lynn Myers, Liberal, Waterloo—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday I had the opportunity to visit Collins Bay medium security penitentiary and the Frontenac minimum security institution as part of CBC's Big Picture on corrections in Canada.

During my tour of the institutions I witnessed firsthand the life of Canada's incarcerated offenders. I met and spoke with many inmates on the road to rehabilitation and with the men and women who daily do great work in this dangerous and unappreciated environment.

There is another group of individuals I met that deserves recognition and that is the hundreds of volunteers who give generously of their time in helping inmates turn their lives around. They are people like Don Andrychuk, a retired school teacher who helps in the Collins Bay learning centre by teaching basic skills to offenders.

It is these volunteers who bring a touch of compassion and humanity to a group of individuals that is often overlooked by the rest of society.

I extend my congratulations to Don and everyone like him and encourage Corrections Canada to keep up the good work.

Meningitis

[Kevin Sorenson, Canadian Alliance, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today out of respect for 19 year old Brent Danylyshen, the late son of Bernie and Bonnie Danylyshen of Veteran, Alberta. Brett died on October 4, 2000, from meningitis. Bernie and Bonnie wrote to me as follows:

While we are devastated by his death, we still want the Canadian public to be aware that there is a vaccine available to combat the disease that killed him. Public awareness of the signs and symptoms of meningococcal disease is the key to prevention as well.

Brett's case was the 39th reported by the Capital Health Authority in Alberta and the third death. There have now been 62 cases reported in just this one health region alone since December 1999. Alberta has finally called for province-wide immunization.

Mr. Danylyshen asked that the Canadian government sit up and take notice. There have been cases in almost every province of Canada and in some of those cases there have been deaths. Let us become aware of meningitis disease and let us be prepared to combat it.

Canada Post

[Tony Tirabassi, Liberal, Niagara Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today is an historic day for our country's postal service. It marks the 150th anniversary of the transfer of postal services from Britain to Canada. In 1851 Canada took control of its postal system and issued the first Canadian postage stamp, known as the threepence beaver.

In a country the size of Canada, postal services have played a paramount role in the building of our nation. Communication was and remains the key to facilitating the exchange of information and the physical distribution of goods.

Our country and our people have come a long way since 1851. We have achieved a great deal. Canada Post has issued hundreds of postage stamps honouring distinguished Canadians and marking important dates in our nation's history. Stamp collectors across the country will be excited to learn that a new 47 cent stamp will be issued today to capture the art of the now famous original threepence beaver.

I would ask all members to join me in congratulating all Canada Post employees for their hard work and dedication in making Canada Post a world leader—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Winnipeg North Centre.

Chronic Wasting Disease

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

Mr. Speaker, last night on CBC news it was reported that chronic wasting disease, a close cousin of mad cow disease, has now been identified in a wild deer in Canada. This is of great concern as deer and elk roadkill can be sent to rendering plants where it is ground up and fed back to cattle and other animals.

This is happening despite repeated urgings from the UN World Health Organization and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization to prohibit the use of ruminant tissues in ruminant feed. This is how mad cow disease is spread, not from the consumption of Brazilian corned beef.

On Wednesday officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada admitted that the possibility of ruminant roadkill making its way into cattle feed indeed exists. Furthermore they said that cattle are being fed materials made from the blood of cattle and other bovine materials. This country has clearly not learned anything from the mad cow disaster.

Today I urge the ministers of agriculture and health to immediately ban these cannibalistic—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques.

Employment Insurance

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the federal government received confirmation by a benefits adjudicator appointed under its own Employment Insurance Act of something women, advocacy groups for the unemployed and the Bloc Quebecois have been saying for years, that the Employment Insurance Act discriminates against women and part time workers who are also parents.

The Minister of Human Resources Development has no choice but to acknowledge this judgment and eliminate this discrimination from the legislation, along with the discrimination against young workers.

This decision also confirms the necessity of a thorough reform of the employment insurance program. The human resources development committee has made a commitment to propose changes to employment insurance by June 1, 2001.

She will then need to follow up on the committee's proposals in order to restore the true role of employment insurance, which is to protect people's income when they are unemployed.

Summit Of The Americas

[Derek Lee, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as Canadians prepare to be good hosts at the upcoming summit of the Americas in Quebec City, let us be focused on the work to be accomplished there: strengthening democracy, creating prosperity and realizing human potential.

However, at the same time, it appears from previous such meetings in Seattle and Europe that some people would provoke a clash between demonstrations of free expression and the need to avoid disruption and provide the high level of security needed for the hundreds of internationally protected delegates.

If the demonstrations do not penetrate the security zone and do not resort to the use of violence, we could have a great looking summit. However, if some of these things do happen, I hope we will accept that officials and police have a job to do in hosting the summit, that life and politics are not perfect sciences and are sometimes messy, and that as Canadians we are doing our best to deliver a most successful summit in Quebec City.

The television images we will watch, even if they are a little rough and tumble, will show Canada as one of the world's leading democracies proudly playing our international role. Good luck to us all.

Education

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

Mr. Speaker, the Yarmouth-Shelburne Community Learning Centres and the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce are the winning partnership for Nova Scotia in the Royal Bank partners in education awards category of the Conference Board of Canada's national partners in education awards.

The Yarmouth-Shelburne Community Learning Centres are a partnership of Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce, the Nova Scotia Community College, the Yarmouth County Learning Network, the Shelburne County Learning Network, community services and the Department of Education.

The centres offer academic upgrading on a year round basis to persons 18 years of age and older, along with life skills and job readiness training. Access to computer labs and classrooms is available to individuals and non-profit organizations for evening use on a non-fee basis, ensuring that Canada's youth and adults are learning the right skills for today's and tomorrow's world of work. I extend congratulations to all on a job well done.

Government Of Quebec

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Anjou—Rivière-Des-Prairies, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with the announcement of the commission on the future of health care in Canada, the Landry government cried foul and announced that Quebec would not co-operate in the work of the commission.

What incoherence from someone who has been known to talk of rebuilding the Canadian confederation.

It is true that the Clair commission in Quebec did appreciable work in connection with the organization of services, as other commissions have done in other provinces, but by denying the federal government the legitimacy of examining our health system over the long term, by denying Quebec's co-operation, by delaying taking the money made available to it by the federal government and by giving in to ill-timed fits of pique, Mr. Landry is punishing people and patients in Quebec.

The Landry government does not represent all of Quebec, but at best the most narrow minded and fanatical group of separatists in Quebec.

Gun Control

[Garry Breitkreuz, Canadian Alliance, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this week I made public the fact that more than a million firearms owners failed to apply for a firearms licence before the January 1 deadline. Of course the government has done its best to keep this phenomenal failure of the gun registry a secret.

The Liberals ignored all the common sense advice they received in 1995 concerning Bill C-68, and look at the jam they are in now. This type of backlash is predictable when millions of good citizens are treated like criminal suspects.

The government made the dubious claim that the gun registry would somehow be useful to police, but how will a registry with more than a million gun owners missing from it be of any benefit? No wonder the vast majority of front line police officers are so opposed to the gun registry.

On September 22, 1998, the justice minister said that the debate on Bill C-68 was over. If the debate was over back then, why did she have to introduce 22 pages of amendments to it? Six hundred million dollars sure would have put a lot of police on the street.

Lumber

[Stéphan Tremblay, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean—Saguenay, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the matter of softwood lumber, the Minister for International Trade must continue to hold the line so the industry in Quebec can break free of the negative effects of the agreement that choked it for five years.

The Canadian position must now support manufacturers consistently to enable them to get through the upcoming tense period. Nothing will justify his withdrawing from his position and denying fair treatment for Quebec producers.

The 1996 agreement heavily penalized the Quebec softwood industry. The return to free trade is a return to fair treatment for Quebec, and fair treatment is the only road to the future. This goes too for the jobs of thousands of Quebecers in the resource regions, which need a forestry industry that can get the most out of the American market.

The Bloc Quebecois is the voice of the Quebec softwood manufacturers in the House of Commons and will make sure the Minister for International Trade holds his position on the return to free trade in the case of softwood lumber.

Trade Relations

[Chuck Strahl, Canadian Alliance, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, if the Canadian government is attempting to get itself noticed by the Americans, it is succeeding.

While several major trade issues could affect tens of thousands of Canadian jobs, the Prime Minister has decided that the best negotiating strategy is to get personal with the president. Unfortunately, that does not mean picking up the phone and having a little chat with him. It means getting down and dirty behind his back.

My question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. How will insulting the president of the United States help negotiate good trade agreements?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has not insulted the new president of the United States. He has excellent working relations with him, and I am sure this will continue.

[Chuck Strahl, Canadian Alliance, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am afraid to ask what will continue.

The government does not seem to understand international diplomacy. When it should stand up to the Americans, as in the P.E.I. potato dispute, it chooses instead to tell our own farmers that it is too bad and that they should grow something else.

In the early critical days of negotiations over the softwood lumber issue, when the idea of a special envoy is up in the air and billions of dollars are at stake, the Prime Minister recklessly wades into this thing again and smacks the president of the United States with some remarks.

Yesterday a White House official said “If they prefer a bad relationship between Canada and the U.S., they can have a bad relationship”.

What is the government planning to do to repair this damage?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the government have not done anything to create damage in our relationship with the United States. We are working very well with the Americans on the dossiers that the hon. member has mentioned. For example, the Minister for International Trade has opened important new discussions with the new U.S. trade representative on the P.E.I. potato situation.

I might also point out that our Prime Minister is the senior statesman among the G-8 leaders. He is widely respected for his experience and his contribution to world affairs. He will continue to have very good relations with—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Fraser Valley.

[Chuck Strahl, Canadian Alliance, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are not that worried actually about the international trade minister. We know he is trying his best. We are worried about the comments that the Prime Minister seems to make every time he gets into this. I would like to give him a few hints that may perhaps help in the negotiations.

First, he should not muse about preferring Gore to Bush. That is a bad idea.

Second, he should not make derogatory comments about cowboys. He might want to consider that when he is out west this week, as well.

Third, he should send clear signals to the Americans that we value our trading relationships, we expect fair and free trade and we respect the president.

Does the Prime Minister expect to call the president of the United States today to get—

[The Speaker]

The hon. the Deputy Prime Minister.

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the press reports on which the hon. member is basing his question are not accurate. The Prime Minister has not spoken in a derogatory way of the new president, for whom he has the greatest respect and with whom he has established a very strong and friendly relationship. Our relations continue on a good foundation and my hon. friend is not helping to keep these relations on a good basis by making these unfounded allegations.

Taxation

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, the Prime Minister did insult the Americans.

Yesterday he terrified Albertans by musing about a national energy program, such as export tax on energy.

Here is an opportunity for the Deputy Prime Minister to stand and say that there will not be any NEP, such as export tax on energy, period.

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's assertions are without foundation. The claims that the right hon. Prime Minister has spoken disparagingly of the U.S. president or of the province of Alberta and its major industries are totally unfounded allegations.

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Deputy Prime Minister missed what I said. I did not say there were disparaging comments about Alberta. I said that the Prime Minister mused about an export tax on energy.

The Deputy Prime Minister could make this very simple if he would just stand and say that there will be no such export tax on energy. This is his opportunity.

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman is referring to thirdhand press reports that clearly are false and wrong.

Today the Prime Minister is addressing the Canadian Petroleum Producers Association in Calgary. He will make the position of the Government of Canada very clear. It will be very, very positive.

Prime Minister

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, contradictory statements have been accumulating for two months regarding the Auberge Grand-Mère affair.

Considering that the statements of the Prime Minister, those of his ethics counsellor and the documents provided raise many more questions than they provide answers, we understand why the public wants an inquiry.

Will the government comply with the public's wish and do the right thing, which is to respect the public and set up an independent commission of inquiry?