Debates of May 4th, 2001

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, again I point out that the hon. member is referring to a specific case that was subject to a ruling by the Canada Employment Insurance Commission. It was the commission that made the unanimous decision to pursue a judicial review of the umpire's ruling because it appeared to go beyond the specifics of that particular case. It is important to seek clarification on that point.

I remind the House that the government has moved to improve the employment insurance system to make it more sensitive to the very concerns the hon. member has referred to, some of the concerns that were reflected in the particular—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Yorkton—Melville.

Canadian Wheat Board

[Garry Breitkreuz, Canadian Alliance, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board has no idea what is happening in western Canada. Nor does he know what is happening in his own portfolio.

Yesterday in question period he invited organic growers to apply for the freedom to market their own grain. They have repeatedly done this, only to be ignored by the minister. When will the minister introduce legislation that gives Canadian organic growers the right to process and market their own grain?

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask the hon. gentleman what part of the word democracy he does not understand.

The Canadian Wheat Board is governed by a board of directors that is two-thirds controlled by farmers who are elected by farmers. The debate we had in the House two years ago was to democratize the Canadian Wheat Board, to get rid of the old commissioner system, and to put decision making and accountability in the hands of farmers. It is up to the board of directors to make those decisions. I encourage it to be pro-active in doing so.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Canadian Alliance, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, 52% of voters in the election wanted freedom to market. Surely the minister knows that the Canadian Wheat Board cannot change the legislation. It can only apply the law as it is written, and the law prevents organic growers from developing the niche markets that will allow them to flourish.

Clearly the Canadian Wheat Board does not represent organic producers in western Canada. Nor is it marketing their product. Why is blindly protecting the power of the Canadian Wheat Board more important than the economic health of organic growers?

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

Mr. Speaker, just to refresh the hon. gentleman's memory about the course of that legislation which went through the House of Commons a couple of years ago, in the original draft of that legislation proposed by the government we laid out a proposed procedure for changing the mandate of the Canadian Wheat Board one direction or the other. It was the opposition that insisted that be removed from the legislation.

Foreign Affairs

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, although the Minister of Foreign Affairs acknowledges the presence of Talisman in Sudan will fuel a civil war, which looks more like genocide, he said yesterday there must be proof that Talisman's airport in the Sudan is being used for offensive purposes before he considers taking action.

Sudan's military budget has more than doubled since the arrival of petrodollars. Talisman's airstrip is being used as a base for the Sudanese army and most of its helicopters are around the oil wells.

What will it take for the minister to act?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have acted. I do not know exactly what the hon. member wants to do other than to try to get Talisman to leave Canada.

Perhaps that is a solution, but I do not understand why the member thinks it would serve the interests of the people of Sudan.

Yesterday, in committee, we debated the matter, and I think she understands very well why we are very concerned about the situation in Sudan. This is why CIDA is involved as well in helping the Sudanese in southern Sudan.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a year ago, in the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, minister Axworthy said he was considering amending the Special Economic Measures Act. Nearly two months ago, the Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa vigorously called for it. Time is passing, and thousands of people will be killed.

Why is the minister not proposing amendments to the Special Economic Measures Act and giving his government the power to prevent a Canadian company from becoming the financial arm of the war in Sudan and elsewhere?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I continue to believe that the best way for Canada to implement such measures is in a multilateral rather than a unilateral context. There is disagreement.

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

In the meantime, people are dying because of Talisman and such action.

[John Manley, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I also think it important to understand that the situation in Sudan is very grave; it is a civil war.

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

Fuelled by Talisman.

[The Speaker]

I think time has run out. The member for Yellowhead.

Highways

[Rob Merrifield, Canadian Alliance, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, 25,000 kilometres of highways criss-cross Canada and are in a sad state of repair.

Canada is the only G-7 country without a long term national investment strategy for highways. Just last week the transportation minister told the Yellowhead Highways Association that he knew there was a problem but there was nothing he could do about it.

If the minister's voice is so weak at the cabinet table, will he step aside and let the heritage minister take his place because she seems to get everything she wants?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I could say a thing or two about that last remark, but I think I had better stick to the facts.

When I was in Edmonton last week I said unequivocally that we know there needs to be investment in Canada's highways. That is why the Minister of Finance allocated $600 million in the budget last year.

We all know we need more money but we also know there are other priorities facing the treasury. Hon. members opposite and the provinces want money spent on health care and many other worthy things, so obviously it is a question of priorities. I am hopeful we will get more money soon.

[Rob Merrifield, Canadian Alliance, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am hoping so too. If the minister is truly concerned about strengthening our country, we need to commit to an east-west transportation system.

I travel the Yellowhead Highway each week, one of the nation's primary transportation links, and I have seen what the years of neglect by the federal government have done to that highway.

The minister knows it will take $17 billion to fix the years of neglect. Those numbers will only get larger. Will the minister get serious about fixing the national highway system for the sake of all Canadians?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member does not admit the fact that highways are a provincial responsibility. If he has a question about the quality of the surface of those highways in his province, he should go to the provincial ministers and asking them why they are not doing their job.

The federal government obviously wishes to assist with highways. We have done it for 80 years. We are doing it now, and we will put more money in as well in the future.

The Environment

[Tony Tirabassi, Liberal, Niagara Centre, ON]

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

Many cities in Canada have been surprised by early smog days. Could the parliamentary secretary tell the House what the government is doing to ensure Canadians will be breathing clean air in the future?

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, clean air is a priority for the Minister of the Environment and the government. As a matter of fact, our clean air agenda consists of an integrated strategy of actions in the area of vehicles and fuels, industrial emissions, the reduction of transporter air pollution and engaging Canadians in these solutions.

On February 19 the minister announced a $120 million strategy of new funding over four years. It will take strong action on vehicles and fuels and will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides in new vehicles by 90%. We are acting on behalf of Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the acting Prime Minister. We all know there has been another tragedy with contaminated water, this time in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. In 1997 the government introduced a bill on national water standards, Bill C-14, which died at committee stage at that time.

Why has the government not introduced an updated version of that bill so that the country can have a comprehensive water program as well as a program where we can put more money into national infrastructure specifically targeted for water treatment?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we obviously share the grief for those people affected in North Battleford. This is becoming an occurrence that is all too common in Canada. It happened a year or so ago in Walkerton, Ontario.

The government believes that the improvement of our drinking water supply and sewage treatment is of utmost priority. That is why we have allocated $2 billion for infrastructure. In many of the provinces much of that money is being used for water purification. Hopefully we can use this kind of approach, working with the provinces, to have a long term solution to the problem.

Foreign Affairs

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and it concerns Sudan and Talisman Energy.

Earlier this week the minister said that he had no evidence that the Sudanese government was using Talisman's air fields for offensive purposes in south Sudan. He relied on a document from his own assistant in Sudan, Nick Coghlan, and whited out substantial portions. That document states:

For the past month there have been two Hind gunships stationed at Unity Field, and interlocutors told me they had been flying sorties almost every day, taking on large amounts of ammunition, “and unloading none...”.

Why did the minister's staff white out that section? Why did the minister's staff say that was to protect Canadians when in fact it was a deliberate cover up of the operations of Talisman in allowing the Sudanese government to use its air fields for offensive purposes in Sudan? Why the cover up?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows there is a procedure for determining whether matters are properly withheld under access to information.

A proper reading of the document will disclose that the presence of Canadians at various sites in Sudan would have been disclosed. I think those who were conducting the response to the access to information request took the view that disclosing their whereabouts would put them at risk and that is why they withheld that information.

Agriculture

[Rick Borotsik, Progressive Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, just recently I obtained a ministerial briefing note that went from the deputy minister to the minister of agriculture. Effectively what it said was that agriculture was just rosy and we should not worry. I quote reads “Despite perceptions, indicators suggest the average producer is in reasonably good shape”.

I ask the minister of agriculture, is this the information he takes to the cabinet table? Is this why he fails miserably when he tries to find funding for agriculture? Will he stop listening to his bureaucrats?