Debates of May 17th, 2001

The Environment

[Lorne Nystrom, NDP, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. One of the biggest failures of the Liberal government across the way is the complete lack of attention to the environment. In fact the University of Victoria recently did a study that said Canada had one of the worst records in the industrial world and that on 25 environmental indicators we now rank 28 out of 29 countries in the OECD.

The minister chose to put some $15 billion on the national debt. He knew there was a big surplus coming. Why did he not put some of that money into the environment? He had an option. Why did he choose the national debt entirely and ignore the environment?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt about the priority of the environment to Canadians and to the government. That is why we have put $1.1 billion toward climate change over the next five years. That is why the government allocated in the $2 billion municipal infrastructure program a minimum of 50% of the total program to go to green municipal infrastructure, which is primarily dedicated to drinking water and to sewage treatment projects.

Announcements of these kinds of investments have already been made in the member's province of Saskatchewan, in Newfoundland and New Brunswick, and we intend to continue with that course.

Poverty

[Lorne Nystrom, NDP, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, another major failure of the Liberal government across the way has been the growing gap between the rich and the poor. After eight long lean Liberal years, Statistics Canada says the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, yet the minister did not even mention equality or poverty in his speech today.

Why did the minister not put some of the money he put on the debt toward narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor? Why not put more money into the war against poverty instead of all $15 billion on the national debt?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what the government did. Perhaps the hon. member was not paying attention at that point, but $900 million as of July 1 will go into the child tax benefit. That is primarily to deal with low income families with children.

If we take a look at our tax cuts, overwhelmingly they were dedicated to middle and low income Canadians. Let us look at the kind of money we put into health care and education to help low income Canadians. If we look at the numbers, we see that while the gap between the rich and the poor before taxes, and nobody should be very proud of it, after taxes that gap narrows.

Immigration

[John Herron, Progressive Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the minister of immigration stated that no one gets deported over a $50 administrative error, so how did an immigration file get so lost in the system that the applicant ended up before the courts over $50?

Will the minister tell the House if members of the Sklarzyk family can remain in Canada until they have their humanitarian application interview? Will we not deport them? Could they at least have the humanitarian application interview?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the hon. member asked about an administrative issue within the department. Today he has changed his tune.

He is playing politics with people's lives. He did not come to me. As a member of the House he is entitled to have all the facts of this case. He has not asked one question of me privately, although he has on other cases.

I would say to him that it is very difficult to tell people they have to leave Canada. It is more difficult when members grandstand in the House inappropriately.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, DND has just initiated a change to its contracting procedure which will allow it to avoid going to tender and avoid the openness and accountability which Canadians deserve.

In fact the latest bid to bring our troops home from Eritrea was sent out to Europe well in advance of Canadian companies being advised of it. Why has the minister changed the tendering process in favour of one company?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, this has to do with the private contracting of sealift capability to bring our equipment home. As the House knows we had difficulty with one particular ship last year, so we changed our procedures to tighten up on that.

In the course of doing we contracted with a company which is the only company that has the kind of expertise needed to meet the new conditions. We therefore contracted with that company which will in turn give us a list of different ships available from which the department will choose.

We feel that is the best way to protect Canadian interests and the taxpayer dollar.

Human Resources Development

[John Williams, Canadian Alliance, St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last July the minister for HRDC said that bonuses would not be handed out to executives in her department to fix the million dollar boondoggle, but what do we find?

We find that 226 executives in her department received $685,000 in performance pay for meeting key performance targets. Why are we paying executives performance pay to correct their own mistakes?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, the men and women in the Department of Human Resources Development Canada should be applauded for the work they have undertaken over the course of the last year to improve the administration of grants and contributions.

The auditor general said that the department had turned itself inside out to respond to this important undertaking. We will continue to ensure that the administration of grants and contribution is done perfectly in order.

Treasury Board

[John Williams, Canadian Alliance, St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this is not applause. This is throwing money at these people.

Performance pay for senior public servants was to be paid out for superior performance. Now we find that virtually every executive across the board in every department qualifies for performance pay. It is just another way to get another raise.

My question is for the President of the Treasury Board. Is the qualification bar for performance pay so low that even incompetent executives qualify for raises nowadays?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, performance pay is not automatic for all senior executives.

It is a new way of paying those among them who have been set very specific objectives. It is a new approach to remuneration for that group.

Even the Strong report said that it was premature to reach a judgement on implementation at this time, because it is just beginning to be used. Next year, or the year after that, we will be in a position to know with some accuracy whether the objectives have been met.

Parental Leave

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

Mr. Speaker, section 69 of the Employment Insurance Act provides that, when a province wants to offer a broader program than the one available, the federal government will transfer the necessary funds.

Why do we have to fight the government to get what is rightly ours, when the Employment Insurance Act provides for a transfer of money to provincial governments, and Quebecers want a real program of parental leave?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of discussing this with the committee last week. I also had occasion to discuss it with my Quebec counterpart, Ms. Goupil, earlier in the week.

As I have said, our priority is to set up a program that meets the needs of all Canadians, including Quebecers.

As of December 31, we offered parental leave for one year at no additional cost to Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, the program of parental leave the Government of Quebec wants to put in place is also supported by the leader of the official opposition in the national assembly of Quebec, Jean Charest, and I quote him “The federal government has to negotiate that with Quebec”.

Will or will not the federal government agree to sit down and negotiate with the government of Quebec before setting up the program, given that the welfare of young families is involved?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, nothing prevents the government of Quebec from improving our program if it wants.

Canadian Human Rights Commission

[Keith Martin, Canadian Alliance, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, an internal report has just indicated that the Canadian Human Rights Commission is in chaos. Forty per cent of the members have quit and another thirty-seven per cent are poised to quit. Even John Hucker the second in command said “We simply cannot carry on the way we have been carrying on”.

My question is for the responsible minister. Why did senior executives of the Canadian Human Rights Commission receive pay performances for this dismal performance?

[John Maloney, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, we take the issue of human rights very seriously. The Canadian Human Rights Commission has recognized a problem within its management, and I commend it for initiating an internal workplace survey to correct any errors that may exist.

[Keith Martin, Canadian Alliance, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, while all of this is going on, the head of the commission is off gallivanting in Southeast Asia. The issue is why the executive of the commission is being rewarded for an appalling performance.

Again my question is for the responsible minister. Are these the performance levels that people in the executive have to meet to receive pay benefit packages?

[John Maloney, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, in 1999 the government appointed a panel headed by the hon. Gérard La Forest to review the Canadian Human Rights Act, including the mandates of the commission and the human rights tribunal.

The review panel provided significant recommendations covering the various issues. We are currently reviewing those recommendations.

Boating Safety

[Aileen Carroll, Liberal, Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Victoria Day long weekend is here. It is a traditional time for Canadians to go to the lake to open their cottages. It is also the beginning of Safe Boating Week and is a time to remind Canadians to be safe during the summer.

Could the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans tell us what he is doing to make our waterways safe this summer?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question. As members of parliament know, this week is Safe Boating Week, which runs from May 19 to May 25. It is extremely important. The coast guard is working with its partners across the country to make Canadians aware of boating safety.

Last year we introduced an operator competency test which we asked all Canadian boaters to take. We can prevent many of the injuries that happen every summer on our lakes and rivers. We ask Canadians to be fully involved in safety during Safe Boating Week.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Reed Elley, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, already this week three Indian band offices have been occupied by grassroots natives in western Canada. The Sagkeeng in Manitoba, the Tsuu T'ina in Alberta and the Penticton of B.C. have all been occupied by frustrated band members.

Could the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development tell us why these kinds of events are happening under his watch?

[Bob Nault, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is pretty obvious that when individuals in Canada have an interest in making a point they can start a demonstration. That is perfectly within their right and perfectly normal in a democracy.

[Reed Elley, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that answer tells me quite clearly that the minister does not know a darn thing about what is going on in his department. I will tell him why these natives are so unhappy.

In speaking with them, they are unhappy with the social conditions on reserves, where inadequate housing, soaring unemployment rates, a lack of proper health care and terrible financial mismanagement are making their lives simply miserable.

What will the minister of Indian affairs do to solve these problems and help the native people of Canada have some kind of future in the country?