Debates of May 2nd, 2001

National Defence

[Greg Thompson, Progressive Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence has repeatedly stated in the House that the Lancaster Aviation contract to sell surplus DND Challenger jets was awarded by public tender. Does the minister stand by that comment today or will he retract his statement?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we have tried to get the co-operation of the hon. member to tell us what kind of information he has because we have not found anything that would in any way change the position I have taken before.

When in fact this contract was awarded to Lancaster to dispose of these aviation assets there were five bidders. There was a competition earlier this year in which it again won the contract. The assets it sold brought value to the Canadian government with the selling price being at market value.

[Greg Thompson, Progressive Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister would know that the first contract to Lancaster was to sell spare parts. There was no mention of Challenger aircraft or of helicopters.

The Challenger contract was awarded “as a special contract without going to tender”. Will the minister now admit that he was wrong and will he explain why two contracts worth $80 million were awarded without going to public tender?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the contract that was awarded in 1997 provided for the disposal of surplus aviation assets by Lancaster, the successful competitor.

There was also a provision for a special project sale identified as being unique project sales which may include high dollar value items. On that basis the sale of the twin Huey helicopters and the Challengers met the conditions of the contract.

Foreign Affairs

[Deepak Obhrai, Canadian Alliance, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs stonewalls serious concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe, attacks on members of the judiciary, business leaders and the recent threat against aid donor countries continue to escalate.

Will the minister responsible for CIDA temporarily suspend all Canadian aid to Zimbabwe until democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights are restored?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what stonewalling the hon. member is talking about. He knows that we put out a statement several months ago about both the attacks on the judiciary as well as on the media.

He knows of the interventions that were made at the Commonwealth ministerial action group in London a number of weeks ago. He knows of the concerns that are being expressed at that level. If he thinks that is stonewalling then we will need to have a little discussion about exactly what that means.

[Deepak Obhrai, Canadian Alliance, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, what I mean is quite simple. Will he stand today and confirm that he will temporarily stop aid to Zimbabwe until democracy and rule of law are reinstated there? Will he do that? That is the question.

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that any CIDA assistance to Zimbabwe goes directly to assist individual people, not to the government of Zimbabwe.

If the hon. member thinks that we should increase the hardship being faced by many people in that poor country, we do not agree with him.

International Assistance

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

Mr. Speaker, at a time when the World Bank is urging the international community to increase its aid to fight poverty in the world, Canada is constantly reducing the percentage of its GDP that is allocated to international assistance.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Is it not time to invest in the fight against world poverty, instead of investing in a new arms race?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, in the throne speech, we indicated our intention to increase our contribution to help poor countries. We are already doing a lot through CIDA's participation and we will continue to do so.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister talked about increasing Canadian aid by 7%.

This is totally inadequate, given that Canadian aid would in fact only increase from 0.25% to 0.27% of its GDP. At that rate, it will take Canada 35 years to achieve its objective of 0.7%.

Will Canada finally increase its international assistance by, among other things, supporting the project of Mexico's president to create a solidarity fund of the Americas?

[Eugène Bellemare, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister for International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is committed to helping developing countries, and domestic development is the reason why our economy is so strong.

When it comes to supporting the development of other countries, we are involved and we are continually increasing the budgets spent abroad.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, on Monday the Minister of Natural Resources dismissed the plight of the laid off workers at Chalk River.

Will the Prime Minister fulfil the campaign promise by funding the Canadian neutron facility?

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

Mr. Speaker, while the former member of parliament for that constituency, Mr. Clouthier, was arguing very strenuously for government support for the Chalk River facility, I never heard one peep, not one chirp, not one jot or scintilla of advice from the Reform Party or the Alliance Party in favour of that project. I welcome its newfound interest in the last three weeks.

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

Mr. Speaker, if the Minister of Natural Resources had read his mail, he would have seen the letters on this issue. Obviously a deal in principle with a government which has no principles is no deal.

The technology to be developed by the Canadian neutron facility holds the solution to tomorrow's energy crisis, the science for innovative new materials and research for medical breakthroughs. Why is cabinet holding up funding for the Canadian neutron facility when there is no political resistance?

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

Mr. Speaker, the government is in the process of considering a number of major science initiatives across the country.

They are not initiatives that are scribbled down on the back of an envelope or that are paid for with a dollar or two out of petty cash. These are major projects. They need to fit within the entire innovation agenda of the Government of Canada. They cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and the government is determined to make the right decisions based on sound science, due diligence and fiscal responsibility.

Bill C-15

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, I am asking this question because my constituents in Yukon have an interest in the wording of Bill C-15. Canadians agree that cruelty to animals should be prohibited in society. While we must not put at risk the current legal practices of fishing and hunting, we must stop the worst cases of cruelty and abuse.

Could the Minister of Justice reassure Canadians that the wording of Bill C-15 will be clear and precise enough to target the true abuse of animals?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's desire to bring clarity to this important point, one of considerable concern to a great many Canadians.

I want to underscore for the House that the animal cruelty provisions in Bill C-15 in no way outlaw current lawful practices such as farming, sport fishing or hunting. The proposed law targets those who wilfully abuse or harm animals.

These provisions are part of the government's ongoing efforts to modernize the criminal code for the 21st century and to reflect the values of Canadians.

Natural Resources

[James Rajotte, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, funding the Canadian neutron facility will not happen without a champion at the cabinet table. Clearly the Minister of Natural Resources is not up to the task.

Will the Minister of Industry commit today in his role as overseer of the National Research Council to champion the Canadian neutron facility?

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

Mr. Speaker, the facilities at Chalk River perform a number of important functions in the Canadian innovation system. They are obviously important in terms of Canada's strong reputation in the field of nuclear science. They perform functions in relation to other dimensions of science that are also important.

Those facilities are in need of refurbishment and renewal for the future. We have been considering the various options that are available to us to accomplish that important objective for the future. We will make a decision in due course based upon sound science and fiscal responsibility.

[James Rajotte, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, each day this decision is delayed endangers our position as world leaders in materials research and drives away the top scientists who are capable of doing this research.

Years ago the Minister of Industry championed the tiny turbot. This facility is a lot bigger and a lot more important than a fish. Will he commit today to championing this facility and getting cabinet approval by next week?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not agree with the hon. gentleman's demeaning of the Canadian fishery. Nor would I agree with the obvious attempt embedded in his question to pit one part of the country against another part of the country, one type of science against another type of science.

Canada is determined to be one of the most innovative nations on the face of the earth. We have indicated that we intend to double over this coming decade our investment in research and development. Canada will be among the leading nations on the face of the earth in the creation and dissemination of knowledge, and we will make the appropriate decisions.

Cheese Production

[Marcel Gagnon, Bloc, Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister for International Trade said last week that the issue of permits to import cheese over and above negotiated quotas was justified by demand or by a lack.

However, the volume of domestic cheese production easily meets demand without the need to import.

How does the minister explain the government's permitting the importation of cheese as a residue or in sticks, when local producers are struggling with surpluses and the industry will have to assume the loss of thousands of jobs?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I answered this question last week. We can return to it.

All discussions in connection with this decision involved the industry. They are often at the request of certain consumers needing specific products. We look very carefully at these requests, because, obviously, we are very concerned about the interests of our own cheese producers.

Canada Mortgage And Housing Corporation

[Janko Peric, Liberal, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

In my riding of Cambridge and in other parts of Canada rental vacancy rates are at an all time low. What is being done to help provide more affordable rental housing for Canadians, particularly low income Canadians?