Debates of Nov. 18th, 2002

National Defence

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as I have just explained, the government has invested $7.7 billion over five years, including $1.2 billion for the military alone. The CF-18s performed admirably in Kosovo and elsewhere. They are fighting planes which do very well. They are in the process of a modernization program, which is well underway, so Canadians can rest assured that those CF-18s will be there when we need them.

Terrorism

[Stockwell Day, Canadian Alliance, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have now been informed that the bin Laden tape threatening Canada is authentic. We also know that bin Laden's al-Qaeda meets with Hezbollah to plot strikes on the western hemisphere.

Bin Laden in effect could use Hezbollah, which operates legally in Canada, as a launch pad to carry out his threatened attack on our country.

Why will the government not protect Canadians from bin Laden's Hezbollah buddies and simply outlaw them in Canada now?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, first let us be clear. We do not need to have these entities on a list for CSIS to do its job. We have already announced, as I informed the member before, seven entities on a list and we are doing more accurate work before we announce other entities for the list.

[Stockwell Day, Canadian Alliance, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we now have more evidence that Hezbollah is operating in Canada. Canadian Hezbollah recruit, Fawzi Ayoub, is reported to have masterminded the terrorist killings of 12 Israelis on Friday.

Hezbollah's leaders have declared Canada an enemy. The group meets with al-Qaeda to plot strikes on the western hemisphere, and now Ayoub's case shows the group is actively recruiting within our borders.

What tragedy will have to take place in this country before this government will do, as our allies have done in their countries, and outlaw, put on a list, this group of terrorists?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I already informed the member we do not need to have people on a list for CSIS to do its job. However in terms of doing our analysis of what organization or entity should be on the list, we do not base our information on the last statement by the member opposite or on the last headline in a newspaper. We base it on actual credible information so that we are very clear, when we put the list in place, that we are definitive that they should in fact be on the list.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, according to a study by the Queens University Institute of Intergovernmental Relations for the Romanow Commission, the federal government lacks the administrative ability to manage the health care system as well as Quebec and the provinces are doing.

In order to ensure optimum health care delivery, can the Prime Minister assure us that his government will respect the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces over health, as the Institute recommends?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, let me first assure the hon. member that we are fully aware that the provinces have primary jurisdiction over health care and are the primary deliverers of health care. In fact, they have all been working very hard, especially since the accord of 2000, agreed to by the Prime Minister and the premiers, to renew our health care system and to ensure that we have accessible high quality health care available to all Canadians. We will continue to work in that spirit of collaboration and partnership.

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

Mr. Speaker, the study by the Queens University Institute of Intergovernmental Relations also stresses that any attempt by the federal government to interfere in areas under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces would be ill advised.

Instead of eyeing the jurisdictions of others, will the federal government leave the administration of the health care system to Quebec and the provinces, and provide them with the financial means to take action by once again providing the necessary funding for care, which is all it is responsible for doing and indeed all it is required to do?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, let me reiterate that the provinces are the primary deliverers of health care in this country and we respect that jurisdiction and work closely with them.

Let me also reassure the hon. member that a number of members of the government, including the Minister of Finance and myself, have said that if new money is required for the health care system, which it clearly appears to be, the Government of Canada will be there to do its fair share.

Kyoto Protocol

[Bob Mills, Canadian Alliance, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the next joint ministers meeting to develop a made in Canada alternative to Kyoto is scheduled for this Thursday. The current federal plan is nothing more than a powder-puff PowerPoint presentation with which provinces want nothing to do. The provinces have 12 conditions to which they are asking the federal government to agree.

Will the environment minister agree to all 12 conditions put forward by the provinces?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the very day that these 12 principles were put forward I indicated that 9 were acceptable but that 3 were ambiguous or were capable of more than one meaning. We have asked for clarification on those. We are awaiting that clarification. I certainly hope we will get it and I certainly hope the meeting will take place on Thursday.

[Bob Mills, Canadian Alliance, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has refused to meet with the premiers on Kyoto. Now the environment minister is turning his back on the provinces. All they want are assurances that this ill-conceived deal will not destroy their economies. They want this minister to promise, before they agree to meet him, that he will look at those 12 points.

Will the environment minister agree to incorporate the ideas of the provinces into the Kyoto plan before it is brought before the House?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has not accurately described some of the 12 principles upon which we have differing views. For example, regarding the words “incorporate appropriate federally funded mitigation of the adverse impacts of climate change initiatives”, we are not quite sure exactly how far that goes and whether that includes the federal government paying for every climate change initiative or not.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, according to the author of the health study who presented his findings to the Romanow commission, the provinces are very aware of the coordination problems between the various elements in the health care system, they are trying to remedy the situation, and the arrival of a new player is only making matters worse.

Should the federal government not clearly state that it got the message, that same message we try to get across each time the health issue is raised, and put the question to rest about whether or not it plans to meddle in health care?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I do not really understand the premise of the hon. member's question. Health care has always been a collaborative partnership in this country. All the premiers agree that the Canada Health Act and the five principles of the act are a federal responsibility in terms of their enforcement.

We work in partnership with the provinces. We acknowledge that the provinces have primary jurisdiction over health care. In fact, the September accord of 2000 is no better indication than anyone could have that we do truly view this as a collaboration and a partnership, and one in which we work together to ensure all Canadian have high quality health care.

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. minister claims that she does not understand the premise of my question, which is the following.

In the Queen's University report, Mr. Lazar noted that the federal government was not equipped to get directly involved in health care, saying:

It does not have the administrative or bureaucratic capacity to organize the system as well as the provinces, whose jurisdiction it is.

Following this strong endorsement of what the Bloc Quebecois has been saying, should the signal not be given right away that the federal government got the message and will honour its traditional responsibility of properly financing the health care system, period?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member fundamentally misunderstands the role of the Government of Canada if he thinks that it is only to provide funding. It is our responsibility to provide leadership in a number of roles, including the enforcement of the five principles of the Canada Health Act.

However, if the hon. member is suggesting that the provinces are the primary deliverers of health care and deal and struggle with the challenges of delivery on a day to day basis, they do and we are very respectful of that.

Kyoto Protocol

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

Mr. Speaker, the Vienna convention and the standard practice of past Canadian governments requires that the government introduce and pass all implementation legislation before moving to formal ratification of an international treaty.

Will the government follow customary procedure and not ratify the Kyoto accord until all federal and provincial implementation legislation is passed?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member's inexperience perhaps has led him to not understand exactly what takes place in the case ratification. He has wildly exaggerated the work that is done prior to ratification.

I can assure him that we fully intend to have details and give a very good picture of what the costs will be and what the impact will be for every sector of the economy and for every part of the country before ratification takes place.

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

We would like to see that tabled, Mr. Speaker. Convention, from past Canadian governments and from the Vienna convention, is that ratification requires all implementation to be passed beforehand.

The government House leader confirmed last week the legislation to implement the Kyoto accord would not be tabled until next year.

Why is the government not following the standard practice of treaty ratification with respect to the Kyoto accord?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Once again, Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has mischaracterized the standard practice for treaty ratification.

I can assure him that we will follow the standard practice for treaty ratification. I can assure him also that I know of no country on earth which has done more to try to anticipate the cost to the economy, the cost to any sector of the economy and the cost to any region of the country of ratification of Kyoto than Canada.

Justice

[Sarkis Assadourian, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Solicitor General. Following the recent meeting of federal and provincial justice ministers, could the minister tell the House what the proposals for a national sex offender registry will do in terms of increasing public safety in Canada?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Brampton Centre for his question and his concern about public safety.

We got good representation from the ministers at the meeting we held with federal-provincial-territorial ministers in Calgary. We presented to them our proposals for sexual offender registration. I am pleased to report that we had a very good consensus from the ministers. We look forward in the coming weeks to bringing the legislation forward to the House.

Health

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in the resounding municipal election result in Vancouver on Saturday the voters made it crystal clear that they support Larry Campbell's straightforward and compassionate approach to saving lives and dealing with the drug crisis.

If the Minister of Health needed any more evidence that the public is solidly behind safe injection sites, she only has to look at the landslide victory COPE candidates.

Will the Minister of Health act now to be part of the solution, to ensure that safe injection sites are set up in the new year? Treatment does not begin with dead bodies.

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member is probably aware, the federal government has been working with provincial and territorial colleagues for some time in relation to the possible development of safe injection sites. My department is in the process of finalizing draft guidelines which will be discussed by stakeholders in the coming were weeks. These guidelines will form the basis for a local community if it so chooses to make an application for a safe injection site.

It is not for me to presume, but in light of the election results in Vancouver I take it that the new mayor and his council might be interested in pursuing it.