Debates of June 5th, 2001

Justice

[The Speaker]

I appreciate the enthusiasm the Prime Minister shows for getting to the answer, but I do not think the right hon. member had finished the question.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister also knows that parliament is not ready to deal with the unrelated matters that she added to the omnibus criminal code bill.

Why does the Minister of Justice refuse to put children first? Why does she not split the bill and let parliament act this week to fight sexual stalking and to fight child pornography on the Internet?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have said on numerous occasions, we on this side of the House are ready to move.

In the omnibus legislation we find a series of amendments to one statute: the Criminal Code of Canada. Many of those proposed amendments are not new. The opposition has had months of opportunity to study them. We on this side of the House are ready to move.

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

Mr. Speaker, if the minister is ready, let her act. What she is doing is stalling right now. She is putting obstacles in the path of this bill. That is why my question—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The right hon. member for Calgary Centre's case is not furthered by moving closer to the Chair.

Having said that, I do have to be able to hear the question. The right hon. member might say something that is out of order. The Chair has to be able to hear it. The right hon. member for Calgary Centre has the floor.

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

Mr. Speaker, there is an irresistible temptation. The Prime Minister and the government are stalling on the bill to protect children. Instead they give priority to a bill to increase their own pay.

I have a specific question for the Prime Minister. Will he explain why he went beyond the Lumley recommendations and proposes to give MPs even more money by making this pay raise retroactive to January 1?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to create any problem with the conscience of any member of parliament, including the leader of the fifth party, who is being paid $200,000 by his party to be in the House of Commons.

For those who will have a big problem with their conscience, it will be very easy for them. They will have the privilege to not accept the pay raise. It was to protect them that I have done this, so that they can sleep well after the vote.

National Defence

[Peter Goldring, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Centre-East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians need the best military helicopter possible for patrolling the north Atlantic. Whether hunting submarines or searching for survivors, range is critical.

DND documents state that a ship's search area is increased 25 times with a shipborne Sea King. The new reduced helicopter specifications will drop that capability to only 15 times. Why would the Liberals politically accept a critical patrol area only 60% of that covered by 40 year old Sea Kings?

[John O'Reilly, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, there is no requirement for the maritime helicopter for a specific distance capability. There is no distance that is affected by climate. It is endurance that the armed forces have asked for.

They must be capable of remaining airborne for 2 hours and 50 minutes under normal conditions with a 30 minute fuel remain reserve, and 2 hours and 20 minutes and a 30 minute reserve under intense heat. That is what the specifications call for and that is exactly what they will be delivered on.

[Peter Goldring, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Centre-East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the whirlybird procurement fiasco seemingly never ends. The minister says that we have new EH-101 helicopters to do the job of search and rescue. They were supposed to be delivered in January but they are not here yet. When will we take delivery of the EH-101 search and rescue helicopters, with full delivery?

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

Mr. Speaker, they are on their way to Canada.

Federal-Provincial Relations

[Richard Marceau, Bloc, Charlesbourg—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the matter of parental leave, the federal government is refusing to co-operate with the Government of Quebec to implement a program really suited to the needs of young families.

Is the federal government's inexplicable obstinacy not the most convincing proof of its belligerent, warring, strategy, which the Bloc Quebecois revealed yesterday and which makes federal visibility a priority over the needs of the public?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Bloc misled the House by presenting, as a government report, a report in fact produced by an academic and submitted to the government, committing only the author and on which the government has taken no position.

I read it for the first time this noon. I did not find the warring imagery especially useful. I did, however, find at least one sentence which I agreed with and which corresponds to the government's action. I will read it. It is not long. “Avenues must be found that will permit intervention while minimizing interference in provincial jurisdictions”.

[Richard Marceau, Bloc, Charlesbourg—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the document given us had been censured in several places, and it took us six months to get it. There must be someone in the government who censured it. It is certainly not the academic who censured his own work.

Given the federal government's strategy, should we expect, in the next four years when the surpluses will vary between $70 billion and $90 billion, to have a multitude of federal programs put in place that have no relation to Quebec's priorities and that serve only to heighten federal government visibility?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, the government's priority, once it re-established a balance in its public finances, was to consolidate transfers to the provinces.

As to the professor's report, if every report the government received required its commitment I imagine the same is true for political parties. In December 1999 Professor Alain Pellet wrote the Bloc saying that in the event of secession being negotiated the question of Quebec's borders would be on the table. This is now the position of the Bloc.

Fisheries

[John M. Cummins, Canadian Alliance, Delta—South Richmond, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today's newspapers say that violent lobster wars are likely to begin next week in St. Mary's Bay. The minister of fisheries is to blame for this pending confrontation. He has created an expectation for a food fishery that has no basis in law and opened the door to this dispute by refusing to accept Department of Justice legal advice.

Why has the minister of fisheries rejected legal advice from the justice department and moved to proceed with a fishery that can only end in confrontation and conservation concerns?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite clear to members on this side what the Marshall decision meant. It is quite clear to the Progressive Conservative Party and quite clear to the NDP. The only person who is not clear on what the Marshall decision is is the hon. member. He continues to stand up and is counselling division and confrontation.

This, we believe, is peaceful. We believe in co-operation. We believe in sitting at the table. That is why we had 30 first nations sign agreements last year and we have 5 agreements already signed this year for three years. We will continue with co-operation and resolving this peacefully. That is our goal.

[John M. Cummins, Canadian Alliance, Delta—South Richmond, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I will make it clear to the Liberals, the NDP and the Conservatives. Let me quote from the justice department's submission to the federal court. It states:

(The Department of Justice) specifically denies that the (Shubenacadie Band), their predecessors or the Mi'kmaq Indians in Nova Scotia fished lobster for food, social or ceremonial purposes before or at the time of European contact in St. Mary's Bay or at all.

In other words, the Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia do not enjoy an aboriginal right to harvest lobster for food. Why does the minister allow this lobster food fishery when it has been so clearly rejected by the Department of Justice?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member says is simply not the case. I think that party should know by now that we should refrain from commenting on matters that are before the courts and let the courts determine them. I am sure the leader of the Alliance Party should be able to counsel his members that we should refrain from talking about things that are before the courts.

Let me ask this of the hon. member. He has taken the time to be in Atlantic Canada and meet with the commercial fishermen. Why has he not sat down with the aboriginal first nations? Why is he refusing to meet with them and hear their side? He has a responsibility to meet with them and hear their—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Quebec.

Canada Day

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again the Bloc Quebecois has had to go through the access to information process in order to find out the budget the federal government will be allocating to Canada Day, and how it will be divided.

I would simply like to ask the Minister of Canadian Heritage what the Canada Day budget will be and what amount will be allocated to Quebec.

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I am absolutely thrilled that there are people all over Quebec who want to celebrate Canada Day. More and more requests are coming in from all over, from the lower St. Lawrence area, from the Saguenay and so on. We are as prepared to listen to their requests as we are to listen to all the people of Canada.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder how the minister can refuse to answer a question as simple as: What will the regional budget be for Quebec? I cannot imagine she is concerned about security.

Is not the concern behind the minister's refusal to respond rather one of concealing the federal government's propaganda operation, which has the bulk of the funding allocated to Quebec, and the fact that the funding is increasing every year to enhance the government's visibility?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I have already been invited to the Saguenay for June 24.