Debates of May 3rd, 2001

Free Trade Area Of The Americas

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

Mr. Speaker, in Buenos Aires, on April 8, the Minister for International Trade boasted about convincing his colleagues of the Americas of the need to reveal the texts of the FTAA negotiations, adding that only their translation would delay them.

The next day, on Maisonneuve à l'écoute , the minister said even that the texts could be made public before the Quebec City summit. It now appears that the self-proclaimed champion of transparency has hidden part of the truth from us.

Does the minister acknowledge that he unreasonably misled the public, that he misled them by intimating that the texts would be released before the summit, when he had decided they would not?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I think that just about everyone understood what happened, except the leader of the Bloc Quebecois.

Canadian diplomacy won an extraordinary victory in Buenos Aires. Moreover, I am not the self-proclaimed grand champion of that, because Louise Baudoin claimed credit herself in Quebec City for having triumphed so exceptionally.

So there was a magnificent collaboration from the Americas. They supported the Canadian recommendation, and I am really delighted.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister said that it was just the translation that was holding up its release before the summit in Quebec City.

Yesterday, before a group of business people, he said there was another condition which he was involved in and it was that this would not occur prior to the Quebec City summit. He did not say that. It was misleading the public, when there were two conditions, not just one.

[An hon. member]

And on Maisonneuve à l'écoute .

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

Then, on Maisonneuve à l'écoute , he said “Yes, it is even possible before the Quebec City summit”. He knew full well that there was another condition.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

What a liar.

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

Why did he not say so, Mr. Speaker?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot can very well call me a liar, and it was miked—

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Yes, you are a liar.

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Papineau—Saint-Denis, QC]

—the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot continues to repeat this adjective, and I ask him to withdraw it.

[The Speaker]

Following oral question period we will discuss this matter.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Tuesday, according to the Canadian Press, the Minister for International Trade told a meeting of business people that the only two conditions set by the ministers in Buenos Aires were that translations be provided and that the texts be made available after the Quebec summit. Yesterday, in committee, he was singing quite a different tune.

How could he proudly proclaim, as he did, his great victory in convincing the other ministers to make the texts available, when he knew that there was never any question of doing so before the summit?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Mercier was in the parliamentary committee yesterday when we discussed this matter.

One country requested that the texts be in Portuguese before they were made public. I asked that they be in French before they were released. Another country said “Listen, this is something quite exceptional which should not be rushed. Perhaps we should do this after the Quebec summit”.

The chair decided to go with this point of view from a single country which was not a consensus of all countries. But I am pleased that the Bloc Quebecois is waking up and noticing that we have made some substantial progress with respect to transparency, thanks to this government.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister does not deny that there were two conditions. And he went even further when he took Quebec's minister of international relations to task for agreeing to accept the texts in their Spanish or English versions. The minister posed as a defender of the French language, saying that the texts would be made public only after they had been translated into French.

Will the minister finally admit that all his boasting had no other purpose than to conceal the existence of a second condition?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, it is totally amazing. Here we have the Bloc Quebecois criticizing a federal minister from Quebec for defending and promoting the French language.

Members should know that this government will be promoting the French language in the Americas and throughout the world. The voice of Canada is heard in French as well. It is heard in French in the Francophonie. It is heard in French in the World Trade Organization, and it will continue to be heard in French.

Health

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Sydney tar ponds remain one of the worst environmental disasters in North America contaminated by chemicals, causing cancers, miscarriages and birth defects. Finally Health Canada recognizes that people should not be sentenced to live in these horrendous conditions or to suffer premature death.

Will the health minister today report on plans for relocating the affected families? Specifically, when, where and how will the affected people be moved?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, based upon soil tests that were made available last week, Health Canada has proposed discussions with provincial and municipal leaders so that we can put a plan in place for temporary relocation of the families in the area under discussion.

It is proposed that there be other soil tests and further studies, but we believe that working through the joint advisory group, which is in place, we can work together to relocate those families in the short term.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, these people have been living in limbo. Their lives have already been shortened by 10 years, on average. I hope the minister understands that a temporary solution is no solution. It will simply prolong the agony and drag out the suffering.

Will the minister give the assurance that these families will be relocated permanently so they can get on with their lives?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, Health Canada has been working with the hon. members for Bras d'Or—Cape Breton and Sydney—Victoria to develop plans that will deal with these health issues, but we have to work in partnership with the provincial authorities and the people from the city.

That is what we propose. We are very much aware that this is an issue involving the health of those residents. We will move as quickly as we can in the circumstances.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, in relation to Lancaster Aviation, by inserting clause 14, the special sales clause, the government provided the escape clause to allow the sale of DND helicopters and Challenger jets without going back to public tender.

Why was the disposal of DND helicopters and Challenger jets not specifically set out in the original request for proposals?

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, for days now the hon. member keeps repeating that this contract was sole source and not competed for.

This contract was competed for in 1997 and was competed for again in the year 2000. Everything was done according to rule.

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

Mr. Speaker, maybe the minister should speak to his Florida friends. The letter from DND to public works states:

DND fully expects to monitor the activities of the contractor. DND is very conscious that its aircraft assets are disposed of with due diligence, and it will do whatever necessary to ensure this.

Why was Canadian military equipment moved out of Canada to a foreign country and allowed to be stored at a facility owned by an individual who has been indicted on fraud and money laundering charges?

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, again, the contract was competed for. Everything was done according to rule. The sale of the surplus aircraft was conducted to the letter of the law and with the interest of Canadian taxpayers in mind.

Health

[Preston Manning, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today the health minister presented the Standing Committee on Health with a draft bill on assisted human reproduction. The bill is incomplete and long overdue, but at least it is a start and the official opposition welcomes a chance to improve it.

Hon. members will know that our constitution assigns primary responsibility for health care to the provinces. Will the health minister agree to convene a federal-provincial conference on the support and regulation of reproductive technologies before the end of the year?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, may I say how much I look forward to working with the hon. member and members on all sides of the House on this issue, which is not a partisan issue and which raises questions that have a moral and an ethical as well as a legal and a scientific dimension. I enjoyed my appearance this morning before the committee and I look forward to continuing that work.

On the subject of who does what, I believe there is a role for leadership by the federal government in their consistent approaches throughout the country. We are making provision for equivalency agreements so provinces, if they want, can take an active role in equivalent regulations. I would be happy to take up with my provincial colleagues, as I already started to do, their reactions to these proposals.