Debates of June 12th, 2001

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Minister of National Defence have now admitted that there has been a secret cabinet committee overseeing the replacement of the Sea King helicopters, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister.

Could the Deputy Prime Minister tell the House what powers that secret committee of his exercised? Did it order changes made to the contract process? Did it recommend splitting the procurement contract?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence and I made no such admission. There is no secret committee presently overseeing the procurement of the new shipboard helicopter.

The hon. member is so off base he is even thinking of trying to become leader of the Alliance Party.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me quote the Prime Minister himself saying that the Deputy Prime Minister “presided over a committee to look at the process of establishing the bids that are out”.

I would like to ask a question of the Deputy Prime Minister. During his tenure as chair of the cabinet committee overseeing the maritime helicopter project, did the Deputy Prime Minister receive any representations or any interventions from any companies interested in bidding on this contract?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have heard from a lot of companies, as I think has the hon. member. I want to say that I am not supervising the procurement process. It is being carried out according to the established procedures by the Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

Yes, we looked in the past at how this process might operate. The work that we did in the past resulted in an open and transparent process. At this stage no request for proposals has yet been made. No bids have been received except the bid of the hon. member to head the Alliance Party.

Government Contracts

[Andy Burton, Canadian Alliance, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in an interview with La Presse last year Madam Tremblay acknowledged that her friendship with the Minister of Public Works and Government Services granted her an insider advantage over other firms in receiving government contracts.

Today we find out that this minister was handing out these contracts to Madam Tremblay as early as 1995. The government will not release even the most basic information about these contracts. When will the minister release the information?

[Judi Longfield, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, all contracts awarded by the government not only to this firm but to every firm are done under treasury board rules. These contracts were awarded under various ministers over a six year period of time. I repeat, they were done in compliance with treasury board rules.

[Andy Burton, Canadian Alliance, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, let me quote from the interview with Madame Tremblay:

—I know the minister...It's obvious that in that sense, it can be said that I have an advantage over others—

That seems to say it all right there. Why will the minister not release the information in these contracts? What is the government trying to hide?

[Judi Longfield, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, a lot of people claim to be friends with the government. However, contracts awarded by the government are awarded under treasury board guidelines and the rules are followed.

Criminal Code

[Michel Bellehumeur, Bloc, Berthier—Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at the federal-provincial conference on the harmonization of legislation, Quebec's proposal to introduce ignition interlock systems for drivers who are repeat offenders received the support of 32 of the 33 provincial delegates.

Does the Minister of Justice intend to act on this proposal by introducing legislative amendments to the criminal code quickly to enable Quebec and all provinces to start up a program for an ignition interlock device for drunk drivers who could be repeat offenders?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are in receipt of and well aware of the resolution the hon. member speaks of.

My officials are working with Quebec and other provinces, and we hope to make amendments to the criminal code very soon to permit just that.

[Michel Bellehumeur, Bloc, Berthier—Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is urgent.

Need I remind the minister that just about every week a child dies, men and women die, because of a repeat offender who could care less about the law?

For once, will the minister act like a minister and have her officials set to paper, in black and white, a bill that could be tabled this fall to fight these repeat offenders and enable the provinces that so desire to set up an ignition interlock device program for these alcoholics at the wheel? This is a serious question.

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

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, drunk driving is a severe problem in society. Too many people die tragically every year. The criminal code is one part of a concerted response to the problem of drunk driving.

As I have indicated to the hon. member, my officials are working with Quebec and others, and we hope to be able to come forward with an amendment to the criminal code as early as this fall.

Crtc

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

Mr. Speaker, democracy depends on a competitive and free news media. The decision by the CBC to pressure the CRTC to eliminate the competition for live coverage of Canadian events is an example of government agencies out of control.

For the sake of Canadians, will the minister ensure that Canadians will have a choice when it comes to live news coverage?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will know that the CRTC has asked for public comment.

I happen to have the phone number of the CRTC here. It is 819-997-0313. I urge all who share the views of the hon. member to please call the CRTC today.

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

Mr. Speaker, with only the CBC complaining, the CRTC has no right to be in the business of denying choice in news reporting.

Will the Prime Minister act now to ensure that interference with news reporting is stopped?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, it is precisely that interference we are trying to avoid. I would urge the hon. member, who has expressed a view which I am sure is shared by thousands of her constituents, to take the time today to listen to the CRTC's call for public comment and call 819-997-0313 and please make her views known.

Summit Of The Americas

[Tony Tirabassi, Liberal, Niagara Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the most significant outcome of the summit of the Americas was the democracy clause and the commitment that foreign ministers would develop an inter-American democratic charter.

Recently foreign ministers from the hemisphere met in Costa Rica to discuss this issue. Could the Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa inform us what action was taken on the democratic charter?

[David Kilgour, Liberal, Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa)]

Mr. Speaker, a little off subject, may I congratulate the hon. Secretary of State for Children and Youth for today obtaining an honorary doctorate of letters from Brock University.

The charter is moving. The OAS general assembly has considered the elements and 90 days from now—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Dauphin—Swan River.

Health

[Inky Mark, Canadian Alliance, Dauphin—Swan River, MB]

Mr. Speaker, less than nine months ago the health minister advised the department of immigration to screen all potential immigrants for HIV and hepatitis B. As of today that advice was rescinded and the Department of Health is now recommending that Canada admit HIV positive immigrants.

I would like to ask a question of the Minister of Health. Why the flip-flop? Are we putting the health of all Canadians at risk?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we have now brought the policy of this country in line with that of many others with which we compare ourselves.

The policy recommendation we have made to the minister of immigration is simply that we have mandatory testing for HIV and certain other diseases for anyone who would immigrate to Canada.

If persons are HIV positive they are counselled, informed and provided treatment if it is required. It is non-discriminatory. It is in the interests of public health in Canada and we have confidence that we have given the right advice.

[Inky Mark, Canadian Alliance, Dauphin—Swan River, MB]

Mr. Speaker, conservative estimates state that the annual cost of caring for a Canadian HIV patient is about $200,000. There were some 200 HIV positive immigrants allowed into Canada last year. That is $40 million a year.

How does the minister of immigration expect the already overburdened health system to cope?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me clarify the policy for the member opposite. There will be mandatory testing for all of those who want to come to Canada as immigrants. That testing is important because it leads to counselling and treatment. However we are working with the provinces to determine who will be admissible to Canada. Those decisions will be made on a case by case basis.

I want to point out to the member opposite that just as the Minister of Health said, consistent with other countries that accept refugees, there will be no inadmissibility bar for refugees, spouses, partners and dependent children. That is the right thing to do.

Revenue Canada

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a taxpayer from my region filed his income tax return in French, as usual, but received a notice of assessment that was in English only. He was told that this was because he had omitted to check off the box to specify his preferred language.

Could the minister responsible for official languages tell us if his new policy is to consider all Quebecers as anglophones unless they clearly identify themselves as francophones?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue and Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, as we know, all the departments must comply with the Official Languages Act.

Of course, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency provides services in both official languages, but mistakes can sometimes occur. If this is the case, I would ask people to contact the agency to correct the situation.

However this works both ways, because I personally once received a notice in English from Revenu Québec.