Debates of May 14th, 2001

National Defence

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, millions of Canadians have made it clear that we do not want to be a part of plans to spend billions of dollars escalating the arms race. Imagine our surprise, given what we have just heard, to read what senior officials are saying in today's paper, which is that Canada will support George Bush's missile shield and that Canada has already made up its mind. Who do we believe? We want to know.

Given this contradiction and the obvious division of interest around this, will the government bring to the House for debate and for a vote any ratification or endorsation of the NMD?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there is no contradiction. Members of the government are standing in their places in the House saying that the government has made no decision on an American proposal, which the Americans themselves have not yet quantified in detail.

It is true that officials are coming to Ottawa tomorrow to provide information to our officials. This is only at the level of officials. We have not made any decision on the matter and will not make any until we have studied all the details and have looked at it in the light of Canada's interests.

I repeat that we will seek appropriate ways of consulting with the House of Commons when the time arrives.

Human Resources Development

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in a speech delivered today in Halifax the human resources minister said that Canada faces a tremendous challenge in attracting and keeping high skilled workers.

This being the case, why does the minister's department post jobs located in the United States on HRDC's Canadian taxpayer funded website?

[Claudette Bradshaw, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, under departmental policy HRDC does not assist foreign employers to recruit Canadian employees for jobs outside Canada. We are looking into this case to ensure that the employer is Canadian. The posting has been suspended until this is determined.

The Economy

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the industry and human resources ministers are preparing a white paper that will outline how to correct Canada's lagging productivity growth and may suggest major tax changes in business incentives. This white paper sounds a lot like the budget that the finance minister is unwilling to deliver.

Has the finance minister's budget authority been usurped by the industry minister?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate both my colleagues, the Minister of Industry and the Minister of Human Resources Development, and indeed all the other members of cabinet and caucus who were involved in this paper.

It is very important, the hon. member will understand, to look ahead to begin to build the economy of tomorrow and that is exactly what the government is in the process of doing.

National Defence

[Roy H. Bailey, Canadian Alliance, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence.

Four prominent Canadian generals have publicly disagreed with the minister when the minister claimed that the Canadian forces are as combat ready as the forces were 10 years ago.

Generals MacKenzie, Dallaire, Addy and Belzile have warned Canadians about the capacity of the forces. When will the government rebuild morale, equipment and combat readiness?

[John O'Reilly, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the department under the present general, General Baril, has indicated that it is combat ready. We have 3,100 Canadian forces personnel presently on duty throughout the world doing a good job, a job for which they should be praised and thanked, not some hollow rhetoric.

I have never been allowed to say this, but it seems that as soon as one becomes a retired general one receives with the first pension cheque some type of conscience that one did not have when in the CF.

[Roy H. Bailey, Canadian Alliance, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I want to tell the hon. member that Canadians themselves disagree with what he has said. They really question the government and the capacity of the military.

How can we send troops into war zones around the world when the former military say that they are completely not ready to go?

[John O'Reilly, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to building and maintaining multipurpose, combat capable forces that are equipped to perform a wide range of duties and missions. The policy continues to serve Canada, both at home and abroad, and what military personnel do abroad.

Genetically Modified Organisms

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

Mr. Speaker, for more than two years now, the Bloc Quebecois has been pushing for mandatory labelling of genetically modified foods and calling on the government to bring in legislation.

Today, we have learned that over 80% of Quebec farmers polled are in favour of mandatory labelling of GMOs.

When is the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food going to face the facts and admit that legislation to make such labelling mandatory is long overdue and urgent?

[Larry McCormick, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, we are consulting with stakeholders and interested parties. We have had the Royal Society of expert panellists. They have made the report and of course we are studying it to see whether it would be possible to do this and how we would do it.

We want to be accountable for all our people and all our processes.

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

Mr. Speaker, European Union countries now require that genetically modified foods be labelled.

Does the minister, or his parliamentary secretary, not realize that his failure to act in this matter could have a serious negative impact on exports of Quebec and Canadian products?

[Larry McCormick, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, let us make it very clear that there has never been any proof of anyone getting sick from eating any type of GMO food.

Safety is our number one concern. We have the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and our products are well received around the world from all provinces, including Quebec.

National Parks

[Cheryl Gallant, Canadian Alliance, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, park wardens in our national parks have a proud tradition of service. Hiring the RCMP to do the wardens' job will still leave park wardens without the proper safety equipment.

Why will the minister not follow the recommendation of her department to equip wardens with side arms?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question. I would also like to wish my mother a happy mother's day because she is in the gallery today.

I hope I answer this one well. In fact, we are following the recommendations of the chief operating officer of Parks Canada.

[Cheryl Gallant, Canadian Alliance, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, why is the government insisting on spending $40 million for the RCMP to patrol our national parks when park wardens, if properly equipped, are already on the ground to do the job?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I think Parks Canada looked at the issue of enforcement and the chief operating officer of Parks Canada understood that if we want to have police enforcement in the national parks it should be done by police.

Para Transpo

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Labour. Last Friday the minister indicated her displeasure with all the parties involved in the Para Transpo strike, a strike that is entering its third month. Thousands of people have been left homebound and services are not being provided to the people who need them.

This morning the minister invited the various parties to the dispute to her office. Would she tell us what progress has been made and how soon these people can expect the service they need?

[Claudette Bradshaw, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I called an emergency meeting this morning to meet with both parties. I advised the union and the employer that they were responsible for resolving their differences and that it was time for them to settle the dispute and restore transportation services to the disabled people of Ottawa.

I also appointed my assistant deputy minister, Mr. Warren Edmondson, as mediator to work with them. I urge both parties to work with the assistance of Mr. Edmondson to conclude a fair collective agreement. This dispute must be settled soon.

Immigration

[Lynne Yelich, Canadian Alliance, Blackstrap, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it would appear that the immigration minister is more concerned about the public image of the department than about public health.

In 13,000 high risk cases of tuberculosis among landed immigrants, the immigration department failed to notify health authorities in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec.

Will the minister assure the House that the very serious problem of monitoring and reporting high risk TB cases will be properly addressed?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I assure all members that public health and safety are number one priorities for my department.

We are working to ensure that there is an improvement in the communication among federal, provincial and public health partners to ensure that we monitor and refer appropriately all cases of anyone who needs medical assistance in Canada.

[Lynne Yelich, Canadian Alliance, Blackstrap, SK]

Mr. Speaker, these alarming statistics come from the department of medicine of one of Canada's most respected universities. It is concerned.

I repeat that the immigration department did not report 13,000 high risk tuberculosis cases to provincial health authorities. When will the minister assure Canadians that the very serious problems of monitoring and reporting high risk TB cases will be properly addressed?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, it is important that the member opposite not engage in fearmongering. We are all very concerned that cases be properly reported and monitored.

However she should know and others should know that TB cases in Canada have remained stable over the last decade. Canada has one of the lowest number of cases of tuberculosis in the world. We want to keep it that way. That is why we want to improve our medical monitoring system and our partnership-relationship.

Foreign Affairs

[Yves Rocheleau, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Israeli government has rejected the Mitchell report recommendations calling on it to stop establishing Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories, in order to put the peace talks on a more solid footing. Yesterday, five Palestinian police officers were shot to death as the Intifada continued.

Does the Canadian government not feel that it should call on the United Nations to hold an emergency debate on the conflict between Israel and Palestine as soon as possible?