Debates of May 2nd, 2001

Health

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, if this keeps up we will need to put health warnings on the Leader of the Opposition.

As to access to information by consumers, naturally, whether they are seniors or others, we are talking about prescription drugs. The access to information is in the hands of the physicians who are doing the prescribing and in the hands of the pharmacists. That is the important thing.

The bottom line is that Health Canada wants to make sure Canadians have access to safe drugs and as much information as they or their doctors need, which has been the focus of our work. According to the Canadian Medical Association, we are doing a pretty darn good job.

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, specifically, if 15 year old Vanessa Young had lived in the U.S. she and her doctor would have known two things: first, she should not have taken the drug at all because she was under 16; and second, that this drug could cause arrhythmia and possibly death.

Just exactly why is it that Canada's health warnings are inferior to those in the U.S.?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I know the member would join with me in saying that nothing said in this partisan or political discussion in the House today detracts for a moment from the tragic loss of a 15 year old child in Ontario. Our hearts are with her family.

Let us focus on making sure that we have the most effective and safest health system in the world.

Coming to this particular question, we accepted every recommendation made by the jury in the Vanessa Young case. We will work toward making the health care system and the warning system safer and even better. We are starting from a pretty good base. Health Canada does do a good job, as the CMA pointed out, and we will try to make it better.

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, when I practised medicine I trusted Health Canada to provide me with the best warnings, as did my colleagues and my patients. Does the minister know that those warnings are inferior to those in the U.S.? The sad thing is that Vanessa Young's family trusted those warnings as well.

Where is the ministerial responsibility on this failure?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member was right to trust the Health Canada warnings because Health Canada does a very good job. There is room for improvement, as there is in any system, and we are determined to make sure we do even better.

It is very refreshing to hear the opposition party express such confidence in the role and the need for Health Canada. That party's critic for health, the hon. member for South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, said in August 2000, “If I were minister of health, I would have my department people try to convince me why we are in the business of health at all”. I think they now know why and I am glad of it.

Antimissile Shield

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when Lloyd Axworthy was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada was far more vocal in its criticism of the planned U.S. missile defence shield.

In March 2000, Minister Axworthy stated that the system being proposed by the U.S. was not the best defence against nuclear proliferation. Today, the government is more accommodating.

How can the Prime Minister explain his government's change of attitude toward the United States' proposed national missile defence system?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have always made it clear that we had questions on this.

What President Bush did yesterday was to make a statement of his intent to continue with the project initiated by President Clinton.

At that time, we had some questions, and today we still do. That is why President Bush has assured us that an envoy will meet with us to discuss his plan. We will share our observations with him because we feel this is a very serious situation. We are going to give it all the attention it requires before reaching a final decision.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, one of the questions the Prime Minister needs to keep in mind is the one on the impact of such a project on current treaties.

Yesterday President Bush described the Antiballistic Missile Treaty of 1972, which has contributed greatly to reigning in nuclear escalation, as outmoded.

Does the Prime Minister also feel this treaty is out of date, and that from now on the arms race needs to be given precedence over treaty diplomacy?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are prepared to hold a dialogue with the United States on their defence plan, but they have also said they want to hold discussions with our European allies in NATO, with Russia and with China.

There will, therefore, be dialogue of course. We feel that the system of balances already in place was sufficient. If the Americans want a better one, we will have a look at it.

It is my belief, however, that the balance is the result of treaties signed several decades ago, which are still valid. If they have something better in mind, we are prepared to look at the potential improvements.

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when Lloyd Axworthy was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada's foreign policy was more rigorous. Today, we have the unpleasant feeling that Canada's foreign policy is patterned on U.S. foreign policy.

Will the Minister of Foreign Affairs recognize that, by supporting the U.S. space shield project, there is a serious risk that he will also support a renewed arms race?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we did not give such support, but I want to point out, because I think the hon. member will agree, that the summit held two weeks ago in Quebec City was a true success for our foreign policy.

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, President Bush said that he would send envoys to explain his project to his allies. Will the Prime Minister pledge that, contrary to what he did with the FTAA, once he has met that envoy he will hold a debate and a vote in the House on the position that Canada ought to take on this issue?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as regards the FTAA, a debate took place in the House and all members were able to state their views before the meeting in Quebec City. This is the beginning of a negotiation process that will last four years. It will take several years before the final documents are produced.

The hon. member may well no longer be here in four years, but many of us on this side will still be.

Arms Race

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the United States is leading us into an arms race.

Before making his announcement yesterday afternoon, President Bush spoke on the telephone with the Prime Minister.

Will the Prime Minister tell us what commitments he made on behalf of Canadians concerning star wars II during this conversation with President Bush?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is none.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has again indicated that Canada has taken no position on Star Wars II. He knows that Lloyd Axworthy has called for extensive consultation on Star Wars II. The Prime Minister will also recall that he and Mr. Axworthy served together on a parliamentary committee that travelled across the country to invite public input on Canada's response to Star Wars I.

Canadians want to know if the Prime Minister is open to similar consultations this time. He has already stated this afternoon that he is committed to a dialogue with the U.S. Is he open to a dialogue with Canadians on the latest Star Wars proposal?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite the members of the House who have an interest in this subject to look into it, debate it and report to the government. I do not think we will be confronted with a decision very rapidly.

Members of any committee of this House can consult with the Canadian public, prepare reports and give the House of Commons and the Canadian public their views. The government of course will consider these views before it decides.

Business Development Bank Of Canada

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this question is about the Duhaime loan application.

Yvon Duhaime confirmed that he owed $154,160. He confirmed that about one-quarter of that was owed to his father-in-law. He will not reveal to whom the other $107,000 was owed. The National Post has one version of that document. The Business Development Bank claims to have another version. One of them is forged.

Will the Prime Minister guarantee that both versions will be examined equally to determine which is the forgery, and that the investigation will reveal the names of every entity to which money was owed?

[Brian Tobin, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I want to quote from a letter in today's Ottawa Citizen which says:

I see a mountain of smoke, fanned by his political adversaries, but no flames. Nor any evidence of wrongdoing.

The letter is signed by Clayton Ruby, Ruby & Edwardh, Barristers, Toronto. I think that says it all.

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

That says nothing at all, Mr. Speaker. It is evasion as usual.

The Business Development Bank has refused to disclose the identity of the person at the BDC who signed the request asking the RCMP to investigate the alleged forgery of the BDC loan application. I wonder if it was the same person who gave instructions to request the destruction of documents.

Will the Prime Minister table in the House the request to the RCMP to investigate the forgery, as well as any supporting documents the BDC provided to substantiate this request?

[Brian Tobin, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, that same letter went on to say that to constantly be asked to prove one's innocence in a public forum was bad public policy and even worse constitutional law.

The problem for the leader of the Conservative Party is that he is a one trick pony and is upset that the Leader of the Opposition has finally managed to steal the headlines.

Immigration

[Leon Benoit, Canadian Alliance, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the immigration minister told the House that her department does not read seized mail. However her training manual goes through step by step instructions on how her officials are to input details into the national database, such as the place of birth, family members' names, and there is even a place for comments.

Would the minister explain how her officials can obtain this detailed information if they do not read the opened mail first?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me repeat again for the member who obviously was not listening yesterday.

My department does not open mail. When customs rightly opens packages that are sent into this country and it discovers documents which it has reasonable grounds to believe are fraudulent and could be used for fraudulent purposes in Canada, it sends them to my department. My department then examines them using the latest forensic techniques, including optical scanners. However sometimes it is enough to just feel the paper to determine that it is false, fraudulent or forged.

That is the way it works.

[Leon Benoit, Canadian Alliance, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, she can try to blame the customs department but it is not customs, it is the immigration department that is violating the concerns of Canadians and of the privacy commissioner.

Some items intercepted have been affidavits which have then ended up in the hands of government lawyers. The minister is indiscriminately reading mail as a form of intelligence gathering.

I will ask once again if she will explain to us how affidavits can be distributed throughout her department if they have not been read first.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat again for the member opposite that we do not read his grandmother's mail nor anyone else's mail. We do gather fraudulent documents to stop the criminals and the terrorists who want to use these documents.

Those who are concerned about stopping organized crime and terrorism and not providing a safe haven for fraudulent documents to be either imported or produced in Canada, would join with me in saying that the member's position is not in the public—