Debates of Oct. 3rd, 2002

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the hon. member for Rosemont—Petite-Patrie is disappointed in the government, and he will agree that this feeling is shared by several parliamentarians in this House.

My question to him is twofold. I know that the hon. member for Rosemont—Petite-Patrie has worked very hard on the whole issue of federal contaminated sites. I think we all agree that this is a prime example of laxness, apathy and inaction on the part of this government.

Given his vast knowledge of the issue, could the hon. member explain the situation to us?

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I think this is truly an area where the government could carry out its responsibilities.

As my colleague indicated, it has been almost a year since we, on this side of the House, found out through access to information that many of the contaminated sites belonged to the federal government. Some sites come under Transport Canada, National Defence, Fisheries and Oceans, while others are directly under the of the Crown.

At the time, the government said “The Bloc Quebecois is wrong”. But we still had to wait until this summer, until last August in fact, to get our hands on the list of contaminated sites in Canada which are under federal jurisdiction—under the aegis of the President of the Treasury Board since she is responsible for these issues—and to realize that Quebec has more contaminated sites under federal jurisdiction than any other province.

We would have hoped to find in the throne speech not only decontamination measures but also additional funding. Civil servants are telling us that plans are in place but there is no money to implement them.

So, if we really want to commit to the cleanup and decontamination of federal sites, in order to avoid any impact on public health and the environment, we have to find additional funds to properly implement the decontamination plans for the good of the people.

[James Moore, Canadian Alliance, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I know that, unlike Jean Charest, my colleague knows full well that his national capital is Quebec City.

I want to ask him a question regarding Kyoto. There are only two ways to achieve the Kyoto objectives; first, by making energy more expensive to reduce consumption or, second, by entering the provincial legislative arena with regard to energy.

As a member of a party advocating provincial autonomy, how can he support such a measure and the direction that the federal government is going to take in interfering in the provincial legislative arena?

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, need I remind the hon. member that there is a consensus at the National Assembly on the ratification of the protocol?

The implementation of the Kyoto protocol affects areas under provincial jurisdiction, such as natural resources. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the provinces to put in place action plans to reduce climate change.

Experience has shown that when a province decides to develop an action plan with clear objectives, the results are positive. Between 1990 and 1999, Quebec reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 3%. Why? Because it had a plan.

Two Canadian provinces have developed action plans, namely Quebec and Manitoba. I invite my colleague from western Canada to do the same, to ask his province to develop an action plan with clear objectives, and perhaps he will see results.

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Attorney General of Canada]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour for me to rise today to comment on this week's Speech from the Throne.

As a Canadian, and the member for Outremont, I am proud of this government's program. Its commitment to competitive cities and healthy communities, innovation and regional development, youth and immigrants, will provide Quebeckers with the necessary tools for sustainable economic and social prosperity, as it will all Canadian provinces, territories and communities.

My role as Minister of Justice and Attorney General consists in working in conjunction with all Canadians and all members of Parliament, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, to bring Canada's justice system into the new millennium and to ensure that it meets the present and future needs of the Canadian population as a whole. Canada's justice system plays a crucial role within the society we wish to build, the society within which we wish to live.

A fair, accessible and effective justice system is an essential part of any free and democratic society. It guarantees a peaceful means of resolving differences. It allows us to protect those who are most vulnerable and is the foundation of the public's trust in its economic, social and political institutions. And, ultimately, it reflects and defends the values common to all Canadians, and makes Canada a country envied by all.

Children and the family are one of this government's main priorities. The health of a justice system—and the health of a society as well—can be measured by the way that we protect those less able to protect themselves. Children are our country's most precious resource. The hopes of our nation, its dreams for a prosperous future and a strong, sensitive, responsible and just society reside in our children.

I want to help families and these children in times of crisis. I think that we should amend the Divorce Act in order to serve the best interests of the child.

Last April, I presented a report to Parliament on the repercussions of the child support reforms implemented by this government in 1997. The news in this regard is in fact very encouraging. Research shows that a more objective calculation of child support orders reduces the tension between parents.

We must build on this success. This is why I will be introducing legislative changes to the Divorce Act and other federal family laws.

At this time I would like to thank the Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access. Its important work has directly led to many of the recommendations I will be taking forward.

In addition, I have heard from Canadians that services are just as or more important than legislative change and I am looking at how I can work with my provincial and territorial partners on this. One improvement could be expanding unified family courts. These courts provide a single forum for exercising comprehensive family law jurisdiction for both federal and provincial law.

The language we use in our laws and in the administration of justice sends an important signal about our values. This is why I am committed to bringing forward a proposal to reform family law legislation to eliminate the use of the terms “custody” and “access”, and to present a new approach based on parenting orders.

These changes must be accompanied by education and information about the nature of the reforms in order to promote a child-focused perspective on the part of parents, lawyers, judges, and indeed all Canadians. This is not the only area where we must act to protect children's interests. It is indeed intolerable that there are those in our society who would prey on our children. While rapid development in information and communications technology has presented great economic opportunities, it has also made it easier for some to exploit our children.

I would like to continue this progress by examining all the possibilities for amending the Criminal Code with respect to the specific issue of artistic merit as a defence in child pornography offences.

We have other specific measures in mind for protecting our children; I will mention just two. First, clarifying offences specifically involving children, such as in the area of child neglect and exploitation of children for sexual purposes. Second, making it easier for child victims to testify.

Another message that was clear in the Speech from the Throne was that the government is committed to creating an inclusive society. Justice is, and always should be, available to all, otherwise there is simply no justice.

A well-functioning legal aid system is indeed an indispensable element of providing accessible and inclusive justice. Last year and this year the Government of Canada provided an additional $20 million per year over and above our existing $82 million in contributions to the provinces and territories for criminal legal aid.

Increased funding alone is not a long-term solution to the pressures being faced by the legal aid system. Together with our provincial and territorial partners, we are nearing completion of a review of legal aid which includes a federally funded legal aid research initiative to look at unmet needs in criminal legal aid and representation in civil legal aid.

As part of this research initiative, pilot projects are being conducted to allow jurisdictions to test innovative and alternative service delivery methods. The results of both the research and pilot projects would be used by the provinces, territories and federal government as we move to jointly develop solutions to address the challenges currently facing the delivery of legal aid.

We must also guarantee that Canadians have access to the justice system in the language of their choice. This government has always advocated the enhancement and development of English and French language minorities and supports the full recognition of the use of French and English in Canadian society. And this is nowhere more important than in the justice system. This will indeed always be a priority to me.

Canada's justice system faces major challenges, when it comes to the fair treatment of natives.

In the last five years, the strategy on justice for natives has resulted in a greater optimism among first nations, the Inuit and northern communities. The strategy is aimed at implementing programs that respond well to local needs, through local traditions. Many of these programs have been very successful. They have improved access. They have reduced the recidivism rate. They have reinforced all of the communities.

The main thing is that these approaches are better tailored to the needs of natives and northern communities. I am committed to reinforcing these community approaches that focus on young people living on reserves and northern aboriginals.

I will continue to work with the provinces and territories, as well as with natives and northern communities, to take advantage of our collective successes in these important areas.

I will support the government's commitment to implement a national drug strategy to address addiction. Part of this is in rethinking our approach to dealing with the problem of drug use.

As Minister of Justice I will do my part by re-examining how the justice system treats drug cases. The Department of Justice is currently participating in two pilot drug treatment courts, one in Toronto and the other in Vancouver. This approach is based on the recognition that substance abuse is a chronic disorder that can be successfully treated.

Preliminary results are indeed very encouraging. I will therefore look to expand the use of these courts to other communities. Another area that I will be examining is that of decriminalizing cannabis possession. Currently these cases are dealt with through criminal prosecutions, the most coercive and expensive instrument we have. We need to examine whether this is the most effective means of achieving a positive result for our society.

I want to ensure that Canadians do not misunderstand me. Canada has no plans, as I said many times, to legalize marijuana use. I believe this could inflict serious harm on society and lead to bigger problems.

Any drug policy must be developed within a broad context of national policing, health and social policies, federal mandates and a collective will of the people of Canada. We must consider Canada's obligation under international convention. This is the responsible approach and it is the approach we will follow.

The special Senate committee on illegal drugs recently released its report and the special committee on the non-medical use of drugs will also be studying this question. Their reports will help inform members when debating this issue.

In addition to making Canada's communities safe and secure, we need to keep in mind that Canada is a member of the world community. As such we have a responsibility to help other nations meet their needs and aspirations. In particular, Canada has assumed a leadership role in supporting the new partnership for Africa's development. I am indeed committed to supporting the important work that Canada will be doing in this area. We will seek opportunities to lend interested African countries Canada's technical expertise and knowledge in the area of justice to help them build a justice infrastructure they need to become prosperous.

In conclusion, I am proud of the achievements of this government and I am proud of the agenda we set in the Speech from the Throne. I am convinced that these projects will improve the lives of all Canadians.

As the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, I will do everything that I can to ensure that Canada's justice system helps to build a better future for all of us.

[Kevin Sorenson, Canadian Alliance, Crowfoot, AB]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the justice minister for coming down and giving a response to the throne speech. I feel the justice minister should have taken the opportunity to speak to the Prime Minister before the throne speech was given because when we go through the throne speech it would appear there is little dealing with judicial change that we need to see in the country.

This throne speech hurts many parts of the country. It hurts western Canada. There is nothing in the throne speech dealing with agriculture. There is no hope for the oil and gas industry with the expectations that the government wants to push ahead with Kyoto.

However I do want to question the minister on two points. First, by mentioning in the throne speech the potential of decriminalizing marijuana, is it not his belief that he is pre-empting and taking away from the work of the non-medical drug committee that is expected to have a report out at the end of November?

The non-medical drug committee at this point is questioning which direction we should go, not only with marijuana but with addictions, safe injection, harm reduction and all those things. For a throne speech to come out and say that the plan is to decriminalize marijuana completely pre-empts the work of the non-medical drug committee.

My second question is in regard to another area that was not specific in the throne speech and deals with the plan to forge ahead in the fall, in November according to some of the media, to make significant changes to the Criminal Code that would bring forward a race-based Criminal Code, a two tier approach to criminal law based upon colour of skin and race.

Could the Minister of Justice please answer these two questions?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Madam Speaker, first of all, the hon. member says to the House and the Canadian population that in reading the Speech from the Throne he sees almost nothing from the justice department. I would invite him to read the Speech from the Throne again.

We talked about the protection of our children. It is a top priority for our government as well for Canadians. We will be coming forward this fall with measures to protect our children. We talked about family law in the Speech from the Throne. We have been discussing this and thanks to the work of members in the House regarding family law we want to move ahead with this.

We have been talking about legal aid. Maybe legal aid means nothing to the other side, but legal aid is key to the justice system as well as to our society.

The member talked about another question which is important as well, the question of decriminalizing marijuana. The hon. member said that I showed disrespect to a committee of the House. I guess that he would like the answer to be yes indeed, but the answer is exactly the opposite. In my main speech I said that before taking any position as a government we will wait for the report of that special committee.

I said as well that the Senate tabled a report some weeks ago with recommendations that affect the Department of Justice directly. We are looking into that report, but as I said many times before taking any official position on behalf of the government we will wait for the important work of our colleagues in the House. In light of those recommendations we will take the necessary steps.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Madam Speaker, I have two short questions for the minister.

Will he undertake to table the reform of the Canadian Human Rights Act so as to include social condition as a prohibited ground of discrimination and thus go down in history, if he wants to? This is a long-awaited reform.

Second, will the minister explain why he disappointed so many people this summer when he decided to appeal the decisions of the Ontario Divisional Court and the Quebec Superior Court concerning section 15?

It is amazing that the Minister of Justice did not support the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Will he undertake to table the relevant documentation in the House?

Section 15 provides for equal rights. Why is the minister appealing these decisions?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Madam Speaker, these are two very important issues for our government. They are also important for Canadians. These issues involve legislative as well as social considerations.

First, let us talk about the La Forest report. We received this report, which is a big document. We are currently reviewing it and, as soon as we are in a position to do so, we will provide a response, and I will explain the government's position and reaction, from both a political and legislative point of view.

The second question deals with marriage for same sex spouses, and more specifically with section 15 of the charter. The hon. member raised some important considerations. As a society, we adopted the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 15, which deals with equality rights, can be interpreted in many ways. This summer, we had a ruling from Ontario to the effect that the existing definition of marriage under common law violated the principles set out in section 15.

This being said, that same ruling overturned a decision made by the same court, in 1993 or 1994 if memory serves me right, confirming the legality of the definition.

I should also point out that a totally opposite ruling was made in British Columbia. That ruling maintains the legality of the current definition.

Following these rulings, the government decided to go ahead with a consultation process that will be conducted by the appropriate and competent parliamentary committee. During the summer, I also announced, on behalf of our government, that we were preparing a discussion paper to help the committee in its work.

Eessentially, the government is saying that Parliament will assume its responsibilities. We will ask the public to participate in the committee's work, to examine possible solutions and the positions that we must take as a society.

I also said, since we were engaged in a consultation process, that I wanted to make sure that all options were kept open, which is the reason for the appeals. There are also legal considerations that come into play.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NS]

Madam Speaker, one aspect of the throne speech which was severely lacking was resources for those people who uphold the laws of Canada.

Right now we are short about 1,600 RCMP officers across the country. There is a very good chance that within three to five years we could be short 3,000 to 5,000 members through attrition and retirement. What is the cabinet or the government doing to address that serious issue?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Madam Speaker, I wonder where the hon. member was when the government tabled its last budget.

There were the events of September 11. The member knows as well what major steps have been taken by the government in terms of legislation, but we have done more than that. Look at the additional funding the government has provided the RCMP. We are talking about a considerable amount of money. As well, look at the additional funding that we have provided the customs organization.

We talk about protecting our society and having the resources needed in order to achieve that goal. We have to make sure that as well as protecting our society we are able to respect the values we have developed as Canadians. We have to totally assume our mandate and protect our society. We have enough resources.

Once again I invite the hon. member to look at the last budget tabled by the government.

[Philip Mayfield, Canadian Alliance, Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate the minister for participating in the debate today. It is always a pleasure.

My question for the minister relates to his concern for children. I have heard no response to the report of the Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access. When might the House expect to hear a response from the government on that report? It was extremely anguishing to listen to parents and the legal profession talk about this issue.

I would very much like to hear the government's response. Would the minister tell us when it is coming?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Madam Speaker, first I thank very much the members of the committee. They did fantastic work which will be very useful in order to take the necessary steps to reform, if I may use that word, the Divorce Act.

When we look at the Divorce Act we always take positions based on the best interests of children. It is key to our nation. At the same time we have been looking at custody and access. We have been talking a lot about those issues. We have heard from people across Canada. Shortly we will come forward with some amendments with regard to the Divorce Act.

At the same time we are looking at the notion of services, to get involved and help families that are facing crises. The notion of services support is as important as any reform we as the government may bring forward on the Divorce Act.

[James Moore, Canadian Alliance, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my colleague from Nanaimo--Cowichan.

I am pleased to rise in the debate on the Speech from the Throne. I am particularly pleased that my colleague from Richmond is in the House given that he was elected on a platform to represent Canadian Alliance policies. I would like to hear his views on how he is advancing transportation reform on the government side, particularly given that one of the largest airports in Canada happens to be in his riding, yet we see no action from the Liberals on it.

Transportation is not just about moving people and products; it is about building a nation. Most Canadians know that by land area Canada is the second largest country on Earth, but I want to put that size into a different perspective.

Our 3.8 million square miles is roughly 52% bigger than the Roman empire was at its peak in 120 AD. The Romans knew what we should not forget, which is that to maintain effective control over such a vast territory, an efficient transportation system is necessary to facilitate the movement of people and goods and to build unity. Fundamentally the Romans understood that allowing people to visit each other and trade with each other would bind the empire together with a greater force than any army could ever muster. The system they built still inspires us 19 centuries later.

The need to bind a vast land together dominated the minds of the fathers of our Confederation. If we read the various terms of union we will see requirements to provide ferry service to link the four founding provinces by rail or in the case of British Columbia “to connect the seaboard of British Columbia with the railway system of Canada within 10 years from the date of the union”. This is in article 11 of B.C.'s terms of union of 1871.

More recent federal governments have also understood the need to bind the country together. In 1937 Parliament created Air Canada as a national instrument for providing air service. It was done so largely so Canadians could fly across Canada without having to fly through the United States. It was about building Canada and uniting Canada together. The federal government alone set up the airline to build major airports across Canada.

In 1956 the United States passed the interstate highway act and began building the world class highway network that we know today. Canada, desperate not to be left behind, decided to build a national highway network as well. Under the slogan “Finish the drive by '65”, the federal government offered to pay 50% of the cost of building the 7,300 kilometre long Trans-Canada highway. It is important to note that the federal government of the day paid 50% of the cost of building the Trans-Canada highway a full decade before the first dime of gas taxes was ever levied against Canadian travellers.

We need to think about why former federal governments built a national railway, a national air system and a national highway system. These were not exclusively exercises to spur temporary job creation projects in pockets of the country. These were necessary steps in linking our cities and towns and joining our provinces and uniting a vast sprawling country.

Previous governments understood the crucial role of nation building, but this government does not. Rather than enhance what we have or even maintain what was built by previous governments, the current Liberal regime sees our national infrastructure as a source of tax revenue. It taxes gasoline while ignoring its role in helping provinces maintain our national highway.

In the case of British Columbia for example, the federal government has collected roughly $4.7 billion in fuel taxes from motorists in the last decade. However it has returned a mere $30 million to Victoria to be spent on the province's roads, including the Trans-Canada highway which is in desperate need of upgrading particularly between Salmon Arm and the Alberta border where a number of Canadians have died because of the poor shape of the road.

The federal government taxes air passengers $24 whether they board in Toronto where passengers are screened for security, or whether they board at Vancouver's south terminal where there is no passenger screening whatsoever.

The government was warned by airlines and consumer groups that air passenger taxes, which are now up to 41% of the base price of an airfare ticket, would discourage airline passengers and result in service cuts from air carriers. We have heard that passenger numbers are down in Regina by up to 52% and in Saskatoon they are down by 42%.

We also know that Air Canada Jazz is going to cease service to St. Leonard, New Brunswick; Yarmouth, Nova Scotia; and Stephenville, Newfoundland; and reduce service to Goose Bay, Deer Lake, Wabush and St. John's. WestJet's service between Edmonton and Calgary is down 20%.

The government knows that fewer passengers are flying. It knows this for two reasons: one, because day in and day out in the House the Canadian Alliance has been telling it; and two, because its air tax is bringing in $11 million a month less in revenue than it forecasted. What the Liberals failed to understand when they put the air tax in place is that when they tax something, they get less of it. They have taxed to the point where fewer Canadians are flying, small air carriers are struggling and cutting capacity and as a result, the expected revenues are not rolling in.

This is a failure to understand the basics of economics by the Liberal government. In economics there are two ways of forecasting a policy change vis-à-vis economics and tax policy. The first is called a static analysis which assumes that a tax increase will not result in a change in the behaviour of consumers with regard to the product being taxed. The second is a dynamic analysis which takes into account the change in people's behaviour when we raise the cost to consumers to engage in that behaviour.

In 1970 MIT Professor Paul Samuelson won the Nobel Prize in economic sciences for his development of the static and dynamic economic theory. It is unfortunate that the former finance minister in his final budget failed to learn this lesson before he implemented the $24 tax on Canadians.

At the same time that the government taxes passengers it tells small airports there will have to be a new five minute emergency response time and then fails to provide any financial assistance for them to get there. The very idea that the federal government might have a role to ensure that national air infrastructure is maintained is outrageous to the government. Airports and the airline industry to the government are seen as nothing more than something to tax and suck off of.

This mindless way of managing airports and airlines has resulted in the bizarre situation where one airport, Vancouver International Airport, pays 57.6% of all the property taxes and airport taxes received by the federal Liberal government. Even to the most casual observer this hardly seems fair.

The member for Richmond is still in the House. The Vancouver International Airport is in his constituency. He crossed from this side of the House to the government side and sits on the Liberal side. Not once in the House have I ever heard the member for Richmond defending the Vancouver International Airport and the way in which it is being hammered by the federal government for the property taxes that it pays.

I listened carefully to the throne speech and did not hear a word about the airline industry or airports, or any commitment to review the industry stifling $24 air tax. I did however hear a vague commitment to fund infrastructure and I hope that it will include highways.

Just as it is important for the government to continue nation building policies of earlier regimes, it is crucial that the government recognize the nature of our country and the need to work with, rather than against, provinces in funding highways both within the provinces and within cities. I encourage the government to form a fifty-fifty infrastructure partnership with the provinces so that major projects enjoying the support of both levels of government may proceed.

If this should be unacceptable or undoable, or if the government cannot show the leadership, I propose that the government eliminate all taxes on gasoline and hand over the tax room to the provinces that rightly maintain, engineer and build roads in their provinces.

The provinces are spending the money they receive from fuel taxes on road and urban transport. Canadians from coast to coast are calling on the government to follow suit; to either partner with the provinces or give them more room to tax gasoline. They will spend it on the roads that are in the best interest of those provinces and those cities. Provinces and cities know it is in their best interest in a drastically better way than any group of bureaucrats sitting in air-conditioned offices in downtown Ottawa.

Like a drunk waking up after the night before, the throne speech was long on rhetoric and short on specifics. There is still time to ensure that the infrastructure program respects provincial jurisdiction. However if the government wants to continue to build this nation, as those who came before us did, it must address the crucial problems that I have outlined.

In 1867 Canadians travelled across Canada by rail and the government of the day built the railway. One hundred years later Canadians travelled across Canada by car and the government of the day helped build the highways. Now as we take our first steps in the new millennium Canadians are travelling across our vast nation by air and the government is taxing them and imposing new demands on airports in a way that not only fails to bind Canadians together but divides us by costs.

Nearly two millennia ago the Roman Caesars understood the need to make it easier for citizens to travel across that empire. I hope that if our government is serious about national unity, it will take a few pages from history and build an infrastructure network that will truly unite us into the future.

I look forward to hearing from the member for Richmond on how he is defending his constituency and this important airport and how the government is ripping off his constituents.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NS]

Madam Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague on two things. When members cross the floor they should quit, run in a byelection and then allow the constituents of their riding to decide whether or not they should fly under another political banner.

The member is correct about that reprehensible $24 airport surtax. He is a very astute student about Atlantic Canada, and I know his party is working hard there. The Government of Canada takes $60 million a year out of the Atlantic Canada economy in the security tax and only puts $10 million back in. My big problem besides that it is a lot of money is that it is going into port security, not airport security. Air travellers of the country are paying for security in other areas.

Does the hon. member agree with that sentiment? I would also like him to elaborate a bit more on that.

[James Moore, Canadian Alliance, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comment from my colleague and I agree with what he said.

I should also mention that there are some issues where it is actually very telling. We have a political party that is on the centre right, the Canadian Alliance, and a political party that is on the intellectual left, which is the NDP. We hear rumblings from backbenchers on the Liberal side in the hallways, and the hon. member and I are completely united on this issue, as well as his colleague from Churchill, Manitoba, who has been fighting with me on the subject. We have political parties that are on ideological opposite sides of the fence and yet united in such a unified voice against a public policy. It shows crystal clear that public policy is not serving Canadians well, no matter what region we are from.

The impact this is having on Atlantic Canada is crystal clear, as the member mentioned, in terms of the airports themselves being closed down and cutting back capacity. Every single red cent that is raised from the $24 air security tax does not go to air security. It goes into general revenue. The government then decides how much to cut out of general revenue and give to airport security. It is a complete rip-off.

The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, CATSA, the organization which was just created by the government to manage airport and airline security, still does not have a permanent chairman of its board of directors and it is over a year since September 11. The government has been collecting the air tax since April 1 of this year from my constituents and the constituents of the member for Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore. It is a complete rip-off.

I raised this issue at a committee meeting. The legislation that put in place the $24 air security tax had a list of airports that were to be taxed on this. I suggested that certain small airports that would be impacted most by this air tax be taken off that list. One of the airports on that list was the airport in Miramichi, New Brunswick. Miramichi does not have daily jet service. In fact the airport at Miramichi is dead.

I asked the members on the Liberal side if they would consider taking this airport off the list, considering the fact that the airport was in dead. The Liberals said that if it was dead, then, yes, they could take it off the list because it would not impact the bottom line. And they took it off the list. However, they amended my motion to take Miramichi airport off the list and said that if that airport came back to life and if it did have daily jet service again, then they reserve the right to put the $24 air tax back in place. Only if an airport dies, loses its jet service and is of no service to the community whatsoever will the government get off its back and give it a tax cut.

That is the kind of mindless air tax policy that we get from the Liberal government. That is the very policy that the former finance minister, now campaigning for the leadership of that party and the leadership of this country, put in his final budget. He did no impact assessment whatsoever of the air tax on the economy. He did no consultation whatsoever with the House of Commons finance committee. He did no consultation whatsoever with small communities such as where the member for Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore comes from and the airports that his community is dependent on. He did no studies whatsoever on this air tax.

Now he is campaigning for the leadership of this country, talking about democratic deficits, when he ignored committees and ignored members of the House, and talking about representing regions and being a fiscal conservative. He did not walk the walk when he was in the House. He talked it, he did not walk it. Now he says he wants to be Prime Minister to do more of it.

What he did in the past was a shame. He hurt small communities, he hurt air service and he did not unite Canada in the way that we need to through transportation infrastructure.

[David Anderson, Canadian Alliance, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Madam Speaker, I come from Saskatchewan and proud to be from there.

Over the last 10 years we have tried to get funding out of the federal government to pave the Trans-Canada Highway in Saskatchewan. We received absolutely no help. The government now apparently is beginning to put funding into highways in other areas. I would like the member to comment on the lack of vision he has seen from the government in terms of highway funding and on the inability of the government to treat Canadians equitably.

He mentioned the former finance minister who is the person who denied us access to highway funding. I would like the member's comments on that as well.

[James Moore, Canadian Alliance, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Madam Speaker, my colleague is quite right. Provinces are getting ripped off, and in a dramatic way, because there is not an equitable means of distributing the gas tax dollars. There is no question about that. Saskatchewan has been hit hard.

During the summer the government was floating the idea of twinning the Trans-Canada Highway. It was not in the throne speech. Our position on that, if it ever comes up, is that if the government does decide to go down the road of twinning the Trans-Canada Highway we support it where it is needed and where it makes sense. However, we are not in favour of twinning the Trans-Canada Highway as a legacy project and as a state of symbolism.

Again, 99% of the roads and highways in Canada are engineered, built and maintained by the provinces. They are the ones who are responsible for it. Half the taxes that people pay at the pump are taxes to the federal government. The federal government is not giving it back to the provinces to maintain those roads. Then we hear the Liberals saying that they are going to twin the Trans-Canada Highway under their rules, under their engineering, and we are going to get it if we name it the Jean Chrétien memorial highway.

[Reed Elley, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is indeed a pleasure for me to rise on behalf of my constituents of Nanaimo--Cowichan on Vancouver Island to thank them for electing me to the House of Commons so that I might speak on their behalf in reply to the Speech from the Throne.

Typically the Speech from the Throne sets out the new vision that the government has for the country, but this week's Speech from the Throne offers no vision, no plan, no details and no price tags. Indeed, most of what was in the Speech from the Throne was recycled from past Liberal agendas.

The legacy for the Prime Minister will be that he had nine years of majority government and in the last months of his reign he has still failed to complete election promises from 1993. That is nine years and yet he could not successfully fulfil his original mandate.

I am the official opposition senior critic for labour. I listened intently for the government's direction in this particular area. The Speech from the Throne had 81 words concerning labour that really said absolutely nothing. This is what the Speech from the Throne had to say about labour:

The economy of the 21st century will need workers who are lifelong learners, who can respond and adapt to change. Canada’s labour market programs must be transformed to meet this challenge. To this end, the government will work with Canadians, provinces, sector councils, labour organizations and learning institutions to create the skills and learning architecture that Canada needs, and to promote workplace learning. This will include building our knowledge and reporting to Canadians about what is working and what is not.

That is about the worst doublespeak I have ever heard in my life. Of course workers must improve and maintain their skills. That is not something new. The government has already attempted to address this particular issue with programs such as the one called “Knowledge Matters: Skills and Learning for Canadians” which they foisted upon an unsuspecting public in the last few years. With this in mind, why did the Prime Minister see fit to make grandiose statements about programs that already exist?

Here is another statement, “reporting to Canadians about what is working and what is not.” That is another scratch our head statement. Perhaps this comes about because the government has had so many failed programs that it wanted to acknowledge future failures in advance. I do not know.

What is completely missing from the Speech from the Throne with regard to labour is probably one of the most serious problems that will face this country in the next few years and that is the enormous shortfall of labourers in the workforce itself. With the current shortfall of skilled workers and the pending mass retirement of baby boomers from our existing workforce, Canada will soon be in serious trouble. We need professional skilled tradespeople, technicians/technologists and management people in almost every area of our economic and public life. Canada's birth rate is decreasing and it is now lower than our retirement rate.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business there are approximately 265,000 jobs that are currently vacant in the small and medium sized business sector. Of these, 185,000 jobs have been open for four months or more. As the economy improves, labour shortage is expected to increase. That is a challenge for government and business. However there was nothing in the throne speech to tell us what the vision of the government is on this particular problem.

The government likes to talk about expanding the economy, but almost 40% of Canadian companies recently surveyed by the Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters Canada said their difficulty in finding skilled workers has become a serious constraint on their own expansion. Without the ability for the backbone of our economy, the small business sector, to expand our economy, it will not continue to grow.

Much of the baby boom generation has already reached the early retirement age of 55. The Canadian Council on Social Development predicts that a swift mass retirement could set in as soon as the year 2006. The effects on pensions and health care will be severe. What are some of the solutions that the government should be talking about? What is the vision that it has for Canadians on this particular issue?

One of the most significant factors concerns the place of immigrants in our labour market. According to the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, as a whole, immigrants fair relatively better in the labour market. Immigrants have a lower proportion of unemployment and a higher proportion are employed full time and covered by job pension plans. On average, immigrant employees work more hours at higher wages resulting in higher annual earnings.

However, and this is important, according to Michelle Goldberg, research analyst with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, only 25% of Canadian immigrants work in their chosen professions. This is most often related to the language barrier along with the fact that only one-third of Canadian immigrants received prior information on professional licensing and the Canadian job market before they actually came to this country. Of these two issues, the language barrier is more easily overcome but we have serious problems with our immigration system as it relates to workers and their chosen professions and the huge labour force problem that we will have very soon. It is estimated that by the year 2016, the annual rate of immigration will be required to average 585,000 immigrants a year in order to meet our labour needs.

What does that say to immigration policy? What is the vision of the government as it integrates immigration and the labour shortage? There is nothing in the throne speech that even attempts to address this problem. This is the problem of the government as a whole. It does not give vision. It is not proactive. It is reactive.

Let us look at the aboriginal problem in terms of unemployment. Unemployment rates among aboriginals are shockingly high, sometimes 80% to 90% on reserves across the country. Here we have a huge, largely untapped labour resource right before our very eyes. How will the government motivate, educate and encourage young aboriginals and encourage them to become a part of the mainstream labour force? This is another area of government life that has to be integrated into the final solution of the labour shortage that is facing this country but did we hear anything in the throne speech about this? Not a bit.

I could go on and on about labour issues but there are a few other things that I thought should have been introduced through the Speech from the Throne and were not talked about hardly at all.

In my own riding of Nanaimo—Cowichan, softwood lumber is a huge concern. I have stated previously in the House that thousands of jobs are dependent upon the softwood industry. The Minister for International Trade and his secretary of state just do not seem to get it. Individuals and their families, businesses and in fact entire communities are being wiped out by the lack of a softwood lumber deal with the United States. The official opposition has talked about this problem since I arrived in the House in 1997.

If the government had been effectively dealing with this problem when we brought it to its attention, I truly believe that we would not be in the fix that we are in today. Now we sit without an agreement, mills are closing and real people are unemployed and hurting financially and the Minister for International Trade is still not close to an agreement on this file. That is shameful.

It also find it ironic that the government is attempting to implement a code of ethics. After what happened in the House in question period today, I just shake my head.

[An hon. member]

It's a joke.

[Reed Elley, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Yes, it is a joke.

The Canadian Alliance has been championing democratic reform for 15 years, not just when facing a backbench revolt or a leadership race. Let me remind the government that Canadians are still awaiting the fulfillment of the Liberals' 1993 promise of an independent ethics commissioner who reports directly to Parliament.

When the government can actually follow through and complete its first promise on electoral reform, people out there will start taking it seriously. Until then, it is empty rhetoric. People are getting sick and tired of the government and they have been voting with their feet; away from the ballot box. In the year 2000, 40% of the people in this country did not even bother vote because they were sick and tired of politicians who do not keep their promises.

As a Canadian Alliance government in waiting we will continue to push for true democratic reform initiatives in the House. It should have been talked about in the throne speech far more than it was and the action has to come, not just talk but action.

I believe that most Canadians view the Speech from the Throne as a colossal waste of time. We need to have a government that does not just talk but truly walks the talk.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NS]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member talked about the lack of details in the throne speech. According to the Solicitor General we have to wait for the details until he gets the details. It is quite obvious that when the Liberal government gives us more details then we will have the details. If he can figure out what I just said, he is a better man than I am.

When the hon. member talked about labour he forgot one very important element, the fishermen in his riding and what the federal government has done to the commercial fisheries on the west coast. I would like to give him the opportunity to stand up for a couple of minutes and explain to the House how the Liberal government has, through its Department of Fisheries and Oceans, brought devastation to the fishermen and their families in coastal communities on the west coast .

[Reed Elley, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Madam Speaker, as I said, I could go on and on about the problems in the labour field. Certainly the devastation of the fisheries on the west coast is something that has been a repeat of what occurred on the east coast. One would think that the government would get it right. Instead, it continues to make the same mistakes right across the country.

In my riding of Nanaimo--Cowichan, boats are in dry dock. There has been a buy back program. People who used to be in the fishing industry are no longer there because the government simply said that there were too many people fishing and that it had to do something about the stocks so it bought back their boats and their licences.

Along with that, some promises were made that we would get stocks back if we made a concerted effort to conserve the stocks, and no one was against that, but we wanted to make sure that the stocks came back.

For my hon. colleague's illumination, this year we had a huge return on the sockeye salmon run. One would think the government would then say to the fishermen that because it had been somewhat successful in bringing back the stocks that the fishermen could actually go out there and fish.

Fishermen have phoned me to ask if I, as their MP, could do something so that they could at least get back out there and have a few more days to actually fish. There was no way. The government let one opening come up and it allowed the fishermen to get back out there but most of the fishermen on the west coast were only allowed to catch between 20% and 25% of their quota even though there were fish going by them all the time.

What has happened is that now DFO is up on the Adams River zapping fish because there were so many that got by because they did not count properly. Is that conservation? Is that allowing people to have jobs and a livelihood? That is the result of Liberal government intervention in an industry that I think it views as a sunset industry. What a shame.

[Dick Harris, Canadian Alliance, Prince George—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Madam Speaker, my colleague from Nanaimo--Cowichan has certainly outlined the chronology of corruption that has been created by the Liberal government since 1993.

He spoke about the new proposed ethics package. I have to ask him this. Can he believe the audacity of the Prime Minister, who has been caught in scandal after scandal, even scandals created by his own hand on the back of a napkin, and the corruption that as gone on in the government, to come here in whatever state of mind and ask the backbenchers of his own party and opposition MPs, who have virtually no decision-making power in this Parliament, to now submit their assets and liabilities and their spouses' as well? This is hypocrisy. Does my hon. colleague not agree with that?

[The Acting Speaker (Ms. Bakopanos)]

I will allow the hon. member to answer even though there is no time left.