Debates of Jan. 29th, 2002

Foreign Affairs

[The Speaker]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I can say to the hon. leader of the party that these prisoners will be treated according to international law. That is the agreement that we have with the American government.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, secret tribunals leading to the death penalty are not Canadian values. This government may choose to wear a moral blindfold, but Canadians care a great deal about what we stand for at home and abroad.

Will the Prime Minister instruct his defence minister to ensure that Canadian values are not violated in the treatment of captives in Afghanistan?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as for our involvement with persons who are not Canadian citizens, Canada applies its values concerning the death penalty for people living on Canadian territory. Because of a judgment by the supreme court concerning extradition, we have to ensure they are not returning to a jurisdiction that has capital punishment.

In this case, these people are not covered by the Canadian charter of rights.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, a committee from the other place heard evidence to the effect that the United States is considering a continental defence and security policy aimed at extending Norad's control to include Canada's land and marine defence.

Will the government make a comprehensive and detailed statement on what is currently being discussed with the Americans in this regard?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are always consulting with the U.S. government on any number of issues. For example, there is the NORAD agreement, which includes a joint Canada-U.S. command regarding Canada's air defence.

We are always consulting regarding the borders with Canada and also with Mexico, in the context of North American security.

It goes without saying that if agreements are reached, we will inform the House accordingly. Such agreements would trigger a debate in the House and perhaps require Canadian legislation. But at this time, we are merely discussing. Absolutely no decision has been made—

[The Speaker]

The right hon. member for Calgary Centre.

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

Mr. Speaker, there always discussions with the Americans, but never with the Canadian parliament.

I want to return to the question of the answer given by the Minister of National Defence who said he first became aware on Friday that Canadian troops might have been taking prisoners in Afghanistan without there being clear rules of engagement.

Why in the world did he not tell his Prime Minister? Who is in charge of this bunch of Keystone Kops?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I heard that the leader of the fifth party said to the press that his prime minister was informed on an hourly basis of everything that was going on.

I have confidence in my ministers. However, I understand that Mr. Mulroney wanted to be briefed about foreign affairs because he probably had no confidence in the leader when he was the minister of foreign affairs.

Immigration

[Rahim Jaffer, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, according to an article in La Presse , a spokesperson for Immigration Canada confirms that we were right in doubting this government's commitment to improving our security.

This spokesperson admits that Tunisians posing as tourists arrived in Dorval and then vanished into thin air. We have learned that some Tunisian members of al-Qaeda were operating in Montreal.

How can the minister justify such sloppiness at Dorval?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I too read the La Presse article this morning. At that time, I requested a report on this from the deputy minister, and I await that information.

[Rahim Jaffer, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we all want to give the rooky minister a chance to find his feet. We appreciate that he is taking time to look into this, but other officials have revealed that because Canada's immigration officials are tired and overworked, 150 Tunisians came in two years ago with tourist visas, only $50 to $100 cash and no hotel reservations. Now they have completely disappeared.

How can the minister reassure Canadians he is addressing this lax security at one of our biggest entry points?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, let me say to the rooky critic that before saying anything we have to look at the facts. We did not wait to act. After September 11 we gave more tools to our agents. We gave more resources in the last budget so we are doing our job, but I am not going to comment without having any facts.

Foreign Affairs

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we now know that Canadian soldiers handed over Afghan Taliban prisoners to American authorities without receiving any specific assurances that the Geneva convention would be respected.

Does the Prime Minister realize that if Canadian Forces hand over prisoners captured in Afghanistan without specific assurances, Canada winds up doing indirectly what it says it does not want to do, which is to contravene the Geneva convention?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, everything is being done pursuant to the Geneva convention, all international laws governing war, and Canada's domestic policies.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, both Human Rights Watch and Colin Powell agree that the fact that the conventions do not apply to this new war against terrorism and to terrorists is terribly dangerous. If conventions do not apply to them, they do not apply to our forces either.

Did the Prime Minister think about Canada's armed forces when he agreed that the Geneva convention would not apply?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again I repeat that the government's policy has been laid out very clearly and that we are requiring that the U.S. respect international laws and the Geneva convention.

The Economy

[Jason Kenney, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance likes to blame others for the 62 cent Liberal “dollarette”. Yet he knows very well that it was his own policies that drove the dollar down. He knows that international markets are right when they say that our debt and our taxes are too high, and he knows that he must improve our productivity.

The “dollarette” must be rescued. When is he going to lower taxes and pay down our debt?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the member should stay on top of things. Not only did this government introduce the biggest tax cut in the history of Canada, right here in the House, but just last year, it reduced the debt by $17 billion.

This is why Canada's currency is stronger than most others, such as the Swedish krona, the pound sterling and the euro. It is a very clear indication of how Canada and its economy are viewed in international markets.

[Jason Kenney, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Once again, Mr. Speaker, he is not telling the truth. In fact the Bank of Canada reports that last year--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Calgary Southeast knows that all hon. members tell the truth all the time in this Chamber. I know he would not want to disagree with that.

[Jason Kenney, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure he is just doing so inadvertently, but according to the Bank of Canada the Canadian dollar has dropped by 20% against a basket of six major currencies including the pound, the yen and the Swedish krona. We are losing money against the Mexican peso.

The finance minister said last year that the dollar was a reflection of our level of productivity. The Deputy Prime Minister said three years ago that Canada's productivity was lagging very seriously.

Does the Minister of Finance have any plans to improve our productivity concretely by paying down taxes and debt, or will he simply continue to blame--

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Finance.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I have here the published numbers. Since it is obvious that the Alliance research department does not know where to find them, I would be quite happy to table these numbers which show since January 1 of this year, or if we want to go back five years, that the Canadian dollar has been stronger than the British pound, the euro, the Australian dollar and the Swedish krona; in fact the basket of currencies to which the hon. member referred.