Debates of Oct. 24th, 2002

Literacy Action Day

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as we welcome representative organizations to Parliament Hill for the annual Literacy Action Day, we are reminded of the theme that inspires this gathering, that literacy is for life.

Indeed, literacy engages and impacts upon every aspect of our individual lives. It is at the core of our early childhood learning, our personal development, our economic opportunity and our capacity to participate fully in all aspects of life and society, from individual and family literacy to workplace and political literacy. It is no less vital to us as a people, for in a knowledge based economy literacy has a crucial role to play in ensuring that Canada continues to be a productive, competitive and economically secure environment.

Regrettably, the final report of the International Adult Literacy Survey revealed that some 40% of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 65 have very low or limited levels of literacy, while 8 million Canadians, or 2 in 5 working age Canadians, do not even have the skills to contribute as full participants in our society and economy.

Accordingly, I am encouraged that the government's skills and learning agenda and the Speech from the Throne reaffirmed the government's commitment to knowledge as the engine of the new economy with the imperatives of literacy at its core.

Agriculture

[Howard Hilstrom, Canadian Alliance, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of western Canadian farmers do not have the basic human right to sell their own grain. They are forced to sell it to the Liberal imposed Canadian Wheat Board monopoly against their will. Quebec and Ontario farmers can sell their grain to whomever they want.

The Canadian Wheat Board minister has criminally convicted the following prairie farmers for selling their own wheat, some of whom are here in Ottawa today: Gary Brandt, Ron Duffy, Marcel Desrocher, Jim Chatenay, Rod Hanger, Martin Hall, Noel Hyslip, Ike Lanier, Mark Peterson, Jim Ness, Bill Moore, Rick Strankman, John Turcato and Darren Winczura.

Having already criminally prosecuted these prairie farmers, the Canadian Wheat Board minister is now going to physically throw them in an Alberta jail on October 31.

Why does he deny western Canadian prairie farmers the same opportunity given to farmers in the rest of the country?

International Literacy Day

[Mac Harb, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to announce to the House that today is International Literacy Day.

Today, some 22% of Canadians face barriers because of problems with reading and writing, and 26% do not have the skills required to work in today's economy, the knowledge economy.

There is a direct correlation between literacy and health, economic growth, crime prevention and social cohesion.

Therefore, I invite all of my colleagues to join me in highlighting the importance of literacy and its contribution to Canada's development.

Civets de la nature

[Jean-Yves Roy, Bloc, Matapédia—Matane, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a business in my riding that employs 12 persons and that has only been in existence for one year.

The Civets de la nature de Carleton, on Chaleur Bay, was recently been awarded two gold medals and two silver medals at the Masters européen de dégustation, an international culinary competition for fine preserves, held in Brussels.

The company, led by Michel Massouty, prepared a very creative menu quite typical of the region. This was not the first time that chef Christian Menant has won the award. He won honours at the Masters in 1999, when he lived in France.

It is worth noting that the award-winning food products almost never reached Brussels, because of long negotiations with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which refused to issue an export permit.

International Literacy Day

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I too would like to highlight International Literacy Day.

Once again this year nearly 100 adult learners, teachers and volunteers from literacy groups are on Parliament Hill to make us aware of the needs of people to combat illiteracy in this country. According to Statistics Canada, 22% of Canadians have difficulty reading simple text. It is simply unacceptable.

We must all work together to ensure that Canadians have the tools they need to be full participants in the social, economic and cultural life of our country, as well as in the age of information.

Canada is blessed with many extraordinarily talented writers, including Yann Martel, who won the Booker Prize this week for his book, Life of Pi . It is unfortunate that some Canadians do not read, it is tragic that some cannot read.

Let us all contribute to--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Fraser Valley.

Liberal Leadership Campaign

[Chuck Strahl, Canadian Alliance, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday the Prime Minister set loose the dogs of war. He has taken the leash off the cabinet ministers seeking to replace him and is allowing them to campaign for his job.

Being a cabinet minister is a fulltime position and a very heavy responsibility, but it is not, as the Prime Minister suggests, whether or not ministers can walk and chew gum at the same time. It is the fact that ministers angling for the leader's job are simply in a conflict of interest.

A few months ago the Prime Minister said that if ministers wanted to campaign, all they had to do was resign. He even fired his former finance minister when he refused to stop campaigning but apparently now those rules no longer apply. Why the double standard?

In the recent Canadian Alliance leadership race, our party led by example when the member for Okanagan--Coquihalla, the member for Macleod and the member for Calgary--Nose Hill all resigned their critic portfolios and other responsibilities so they could campaign fulltime for the leader's role.

It is clear that the right and honourable thing to do would be for those ministers to step down from their posts and campaign to their heart's content. To try to do two fulltime jobs at once does a disservice to their roles as ministers and an even greater disservice to the Canadian public.

United Nations Day

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today is United Nations Day. I am pleased to acknowledge the importance of this organization to Canada.

A founding member of the United Nations Organization, Canada has always been a strong champion of the system based on rules established when the UN Charter came into effect, on October 24, 1945.

We believed at the time, and still do, that multilateral cooperation is the safest way to ensure the safety and security of the world community in the long term.

Today, we look back on recent achievements—the summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg, the special session on children and the consensus achieved in Monterrey, Mexico—that have strengthened the partnership between developing countries and donor countries.

The potential for improvement has increased considerably under the leadership of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whose ideas for a reform of the organization have earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.

The UN must be and will be at the heart of the international community's response to the challenges it faces today. Canada will continue to provide it with its steadfast support in this regard.

Literacy Action Day

[Wendy Lill, NDP, Dartmouth, NS]

Mr. Speaker, today is Literacy Action Day and I would like to welcome all of the literacy delegates who are here today to give us an important message.

We all know in the House as parliamentarians the importance of solid reading, writing and comprehension skills in the full process of democratic debate and in the knowledge based economy that we are all working in now.

Canada has one of the highest literacy rates in the world and yet, ironically, in a country that has produced award winning writers, such as Yann Martel, close to half of our citizenry may not be able to even read his novel.

The development of a larger, more skilled workforce is crucial to Canada's future economic success, as well as creating a culture that values lifelong learning.

Today I join with the literacy delegates and call on the government to ensure that making advancements on literacy is a policy and a budget priority.

The Environment

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Environmental Excellence Awards ceremony was held on October 22. These awards are presented jointly by the Fondation estrienne en environnement and the Conseil régional de l'environnement de l'Estrie. It is my great pleasure to name the recipients:

UPA Estrie and Rivers and Lakes Foundation of Canada, agriculture or forestry sector category; the municipality of Saint-Herménégilde, municipality, city or town category; Envirotel 3000 of Sherbrooke, small business category; Kruger of Bromptonville, large or medium size business category; Action Saint-François of Sherbrooke, environmental group, NGO or institution category; and Daniel Bergeron of Orford, personal contribution category.

Finally, the Centre universitaire de formation en environnement at University of Sherbrooke received the special recognition award.

All the residents of the region can enjoy a quality environment, thanks to the actions and dedication of all these people.

Our congratulations and thanks to all the men and women involved in conserving and improving the environment. Keep up the good work.

Louis-Marie Gagné

[Gérard Binet, Liberal, Frontenac—Mégantic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week being Small Business Week, I wish to draw attention to the professionalism of Louis-Marie Gagné, founder of Groupe Évimbec group, the largest property assessment company in Quebec.

Mr. Gagné, a native of Thetford Mines, is now the owner of 15 offices throughout Quebec. The Thetford Mines office has already been in existence for 50 years. The company is also in proud partnership with the Roche Group, which is also very active in Canada and abroad.

For more than 50 years now, Évimbec has distinguished itself by its broad range of services and expertise. Dynamism and creativity are the keys to its vitality and success. It has set an example for others.

Small business is an essential element of our economy and we must continue to encourage its development.

Congratulations to Louis-Marie Gagné.

Literacy Action Day

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

Mr. Speaker, learners, teachers and administrators have come to Ottawa today to urge parliamentarians to make advances on our literacy policy.

Almost half of the Canadian population does not have the literacy skills they need to succeed in today's society. Literacy affects child poverty, unemployment, immigration settlement programs and advances for aboriginal people.

I call on the Government of Canada to: one, ensure literacy is key to the federal innovative agenda; two, create a Canadian literacy and essential skills strategy; and three, expand the role and resources of the National Literacy Secretariat.

With critical labour shortages threatening we cannot allow low literacy levels to force any of our citizens to the economic sidelines. We need to act now to advance literacy.

Louis Riel

[Jim Pankiw, Canadian Alliance, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation subjected Canadians to an unprecedented effort in rewriting the history of a murderous traitor, Louis Riel.

In one of the most rabid examples of political correctness, the CBC has attacked and blackened the eye of Canadian history, particularly the memory of those who were murdered in cold blood by Riel and his fanatics during the 1885 Northwest Rebellion.

The fact that Riel was justly convicted and executed for hatching his terrorist rebellion is shamefully ignored by historical revisionists at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

This is nothing new for the CBC which delights in drive-by smearings; witness the McKenna brothers' defamation and insult to the memory of Canada's World War II veterans.

Since the Liberals shovel almost a billion dollars a year into their propaganda machine, is it too much to ask that they leave our nation's history intact?

It is highly offensive and purely outrageous that hard-earned money from Canadian taxpayers is routinely wasted on historical revisionism.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, when this government set up the Canadian Institutes of Health Research it was the first of its kind in the world. Made up of 13 virtual institutes, it provides a collaborative network for researchers across the country, linking basic academic in vitro scientists with applied in vivo researchers.

The CIHR spans a broad spectrum of issues from the economics of health care to genomics. Its virtual nature allows for easy access and collaboration with low infrastructure costs. The CIHR is uniquely and innovatively Canadian.

This week researchers from across the country are visiting Parliament to applaud this Liberal government's initiative and to explain how the CIHR has not only reversed the Canadian brain drain, but also attracted non-Canadian researchers from around the world.

Canada is now seen as a worldclass centre for research. However the CIHR's worth is only as good as the support we give it.

I urge our government to continue to maintain, sustain and expand the CIHR so that it can continue to place Canada on the front lines of innovation.

Child Pornography

[Myron Thompson, Canadian Alliance, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in response to the Speech from the Throne, the justice minister announced that he would be introducing a children's legislative package that may take aim at child pornography on the Internet.

There is an epidemic of child pornography in this country. In the Toronto area alone 500 residents have been identified as being in possession of child porn. Due to the strict rules of evidence disclosure, investigators are required to view and catalogue every piece of pornography they seize. The investigations are so time consuming that only 20 Toronto area men have been charged this year. Yet in those 20 cases the numbers are staggering. Police have identified tens of thousands of victims in the more than 1.7 million photos and movies they have seized.

The very first thing the minister can do is provide our police with some relief by allowing them to treat child pornography the same as they do for drug crimes. In other words, a sample is considered to be representative of the whole. Give our police the means to do their job properly in their fight against child exploitation.

I want to thank Focus on the Family for its efforts.

Kyoto Protocol

[Stephen Harper, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, provincial support for the Kyoto accord continues to collapse.

Yesterday the Ontario legislature voted against endorsing ratification of Kyoto. Today, after the government tabled its latest Kyoto document, there was an all-province telephone conference. Afterward, the Alberta environment minister said that Ottawa is just trying to shove this down the provinces' throats.

Will the government ratify Kyoto without the consent of the provinces?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, until very recently we were asked for more and more detail by the provinces. We have deliberately waited until we meet with them on Monday so that we could have the benefit of their information and suggestions to make sure this is a truly made in Canada plan representing every part of the country.

So we obviously do not have the final word. We are obviously awaiting for the participation of our partners. We expect to get it on Monday.

[Stephen Harper, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it will be interesting to see whether he requires it, though.

On Tuesday the environment minister twice denied in question period that the government would engage in international emissions trading under the Kyoto accord. Yet today's latest document contains international emissions tradings.

Why did the government's position on this change in the last 48 hours?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, it has not changed. There are potentially 10 of the 240 megatonnes that would be from international trading, but it will not be as described by the opposition: simply buying credits which have no real reduction behind them in terms of reducing emissions overseas. We intend to make sure every credit purchased internationally results in a full reduction, tonne per tonne, overseas as in Canada.

[Stephen Harper, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, if the minister wants to do that he is going to have to have the accord renegotiated because that is not how it works now.

Today the government did table its latest incomplete Kyoto document and I want to know why, after five years, this document still contains no meaningful, detailed cost estimates.

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the document that we have is to be presented to the provinces and territories on Monday. There are pages and pages of it, of very detailed information. Obviously we expect them to have suggestions which we hope we will be able to incorporate into our future document. That is why at this point we cannot come up with any final figure.

[James Rajotte, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the provincial coalition against ratification of Kyoto is growing each day.

Newfoundland and Labrador's premier said that his province will pay a high price in terms of jobs lost and lost economic opportunities if Kyoto is ratified. B.C.'s premier also has grave concerns about the fact that his province seems to be taking a greater hit in terms of job loss and GDP.

Clearly, is it the intention of the government to ratify Kyoto and to impose Kyoto on the provinces without their consent?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, in the lengthy period of discussions on Kyoto with the territories and provinces, which has gone on for some five years at the request of all 14 first ministers, we have had very important discussions on various issues.

Now we are coming closer to finalization of this issue. Naturally I expect every province to say that the burden should be more on the other nine than on them. Naturally I expect the territories to take the same approach.

If we look at the history of federal-provincial conferences, even though they may agree with the objectives they always want to make sure that any burden on them is minimized and any benefits maximized.

That is when it is the turn of the federal government to speak up for Canada.

[James Rajotte, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that did not address my question at all. There are more concerns from more provinces. Nova Scotia's Premier John Hamm has said that implementation could threaten his province's oil and gas industry. Yesterday Ontario's Premier Ernie Eves rejected Kyoto, saying that his province would develop its own emissions reduction strategy.

True to form, this morning's cut-and-paste mystery meat scheme has satisfied no one, no provincial premier. I ask again, clearly, is it the intention of the government to impose Kyoto on the provinces without their agreement?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the material that was introduced and given to the opposition today clearly outlines some of the expectations with respect to costs of the modelling.

When I look at it and I read that the conventional oil cost per barrel is three cents, I say to myself that if that is how marginal the industry is in some part of the country, we should re-examine that particular industry because three cents on a barrel which has 200 litres does not work out to a major increase per litre.