Debates of Dec. 10th, 2002

Human Rights

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today we commemorate, and indeed celebrate, the 54th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the cornerstone of the International Bill of Human Rights, the international Magna Carta of human rights. It emerged as source and inspiration for the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the first generation of rights, the fundamental freedoms of conscience and religion, of freedom of expression and association, that are the lifeblood of a democracy, and the right to life, liberty and security of the person, which are the cornerstones of human dignity.

It is the source and inspiration for the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which has come to be known as the second generation of human rights, and which are increasingly not just aspirational but justiciable, not just hortatory but obligatory.

It is the source and inspiration for solidarity rights, the right to peace, the right to environment and the right to development, and perhaps most important, to the indivisibility of human rights, to the interdependence between rights, and to the celebration of human rights as a statement not only of who we are but what we aspire to be.

Kyoto Protocol

[Norman E. Doyle, Progressive Conservative, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, today we vote on the Kyoto protocol, an international effort to combat greenhouse gases and global warming.

Canadians want us to take action on global warming. However, Canada is a federal country and successful implementation of the Kyoto protocol depends heavily on provincial involvement. This requires painstaking consultations and negotiations between the federal government and the provinces, just like the previous PC government did successfully on the implementation of an international acid rain treaty.

Instead, in an attempt to leave a legacy, the Prime Minister dropped a fast track Kyoto ratification process on the provinces without warning, and a federal-provincial brawl has ensued.

Kyoto is supposed to be the solution to a problem, but with the way the government has handled the matter, it has become the problem. As legacies go, Canada, Canadians and our planet deserve better.

Literacy

[Robert Bertrand, Liberal, Pontiac—Gatineau—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today about two literacy projects in the riding of Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, sponsored by the National Literacy Secretariat.

The Ardoise du Bas-Richelieu organization of Sorel-Tracy received $18,000 for its “Journal Alpha Pop l'Ardoise” project. The goal is to produce a newspaper for people with low literacy levels in order to encourage them to take basic literacy training. They plan on producing six of these newspapers.

In Nicolet, the Alpha-Nicolet organization was awarded $14,000 for its “Établissement d'un partenariat: phase 1” project. Through this project, the organization plans to educate parents of students at Curé-Brassard elementary school about their role in preventing illiteracy.

In supporting these two literacy projects in the riding of Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, the Government of Canada is making good on its commitment to work in partnership to further raise the awareness of Quebeckers—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Medicine Hat.

Operation Christmas Child

[Monte Solberg, Canadian Alliance, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last year at this time I was preparing to join a team of Samaritan's Purse aid workers to help them distribute humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan through Operation Christmas Child. It was a great experience.

Every year, schools, churches and community groups around the world are called upon to fill shoeboxes with gifts for the world's poorest children. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has distributed 18.5 million shoeboxes to needy children in 120 countries.

Today in New York, U2's Bono will join Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham in filling the world's largest airplane with gift shoeboxes to send to kids in Africa who are suffering from HIV-AIDS.

We have so much to be thankful for in Canada. I urge my colleagues and all Canadians to consider helping this wonderful organization through donations and prayers. More can be found out about Samaritan's Purse at www.samaritanspurse.org, and I wish to say God bless and Merry Christmas.

Kyoto Protocol

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

Mr. Speaker, today the Prime Minister is recklessly pushing forward with ratification of his Kyoto legacy. He will be committing Canada to massive CO

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reductions without a clear and complete plan for these made in Japan targets.

The Prime Minister said that he will retire in February 2004. I have a very straightforward question. Could the Prime Minister tell the House, by February 2004, what interim targets will the government have met for Kyoto and how much will those measures cost?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud that Parliament will vote to ratify Kyoto this afternoon. It is in the interests of future generations that we move on that file and that we respect our international obligations.

It also is in the interests of all sectors of the economy to know exactly what they will have to do now, not wait six or seven years from now and face a wall. They will know exactly what kind of obligation they will have and what kind of help the provincial and federal governments will provide for everybody in these cases.

However we will meet the target and future generations will be happy with the actions of Parliament today.

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

Mr. Speaker, I asked the Prime Minister what he would achieve in a year and, typically, he has a grand scheme. He has no plan on issue after issue. That is his real legacy to this country.

He has no clear plan and no real targets for his reckless made in Japan commitments, but nevertheless, the Kyoto protocol itself requires an interim progress report to the United Nations panel on climate change by 2005.

Could the Prime Minister tell us his government's intention? What are the interim targets it intends to meet by 2005 and how much will those measures cost?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, at this moment we are dealing with the ratification. We have had over the last few weeks very good discussion with the private sector and the provinces and we have made a lot of progress.

I am sure Canada will meet interim targets like general targets in 2005 and 2012 because Canadian people keep their word.

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

Mr. Speaker, it would be nice if the Prime Minister had some idea of what those were.

I have a supplementary question for the Prime Minister. This government is ignoring the provinces' objections to the imprudent ratification of Kyoto. The Prime Minister has not yet met with his provincial counterparts concerning his incomplete plan to respect his “made in Japan” commitments, and he needs the provinces to do so.

When is the Prime Minister going to meet with the provincial premiers to discuss how Canada is going to comply with its obligations?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there have been hundreds of ministerial meetings since 1993 on both Kyoto and Rio. The time had come to act. We have made much progress.

I myself have had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the oil and gas industry, and they are asking us for something definite. If they do not have that, they will not be able to succeed. Companies like BP and Shell have succeeded in meeting their obligations at no cost to themselves. I am sure other companies in Canada can do the same. Canadians are, I am sure, not going to have any problem meeting the Kyoto objectives by 2012.

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

Mr. Speaker, the natural resources minister said that the government will put a $15 per tonne cap on the price that industry will have pay for CO

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emissions.

The minister has taken care of large industry emitters but he expects a family of four, the seniors on fixed incomes, the single moms and students to pick up the tab. What will that tab be?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition said that he does not support a cap and that we should not give certainty to the industry. The opposition now says that we are subsidizing.

The member should make it clear. What is the position of the Alliance Party? Does it think we should deal with security or not? He should stand up and put his position so all Canadians will know

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

Mr. Speaker, the government would not be ratifying this today if in fact it had looked at the cost of implementing this whole thing.

The reality is that the government has already blown $1.6 billion promoting Kyoto. Since 1998 CO

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emissions have gone up.

Now, after the HRDC disaster, the ad contract scandal and the billion dollar gun registry fiasco, the government has the gall to ask us to simply trust it with billions of dollars for Kyoto. What will Kyoto cost?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the discussions that took place surrounding budget 2000, action plan 2000, plus budget 2001, indicated very clearly where these measures would be and what their costs would be.

In no way are these costs that the hon. member talked about, the $1.6 billion, related exclusively to promoting Kyoto. They are in fact designed to make sure that we in good time achieve our Kyoto targets and ramp up effectively and without dislocation to the 2008-12 period.

Government Contracts

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, faced with allegation after allegation of irregularities in the granting of sponsorships, the Minister of Public Works is trying to buy time instead of getting to the bottom of the matter. To protect government members involved in these affairs, the minister is talking about referring a number of files to the RCMP, a strategy that the government used to cover up another scandal, the HRDC scandal, on the eve of the last election campaign.

Will the Prime Minister finally agree that only an independent public inquiry can ensure full disclosure about the sponsorship scandal, including the role played by certain ministers?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have asked the Auditor General to investigate. She has reported to the minister. The Bloc Quebecois suggested that files be referred to the police whenever there was an indication of wrongdoing. That is precisely what we have done. With both the Auditor General and the RCMP involved, I would say that we have all the angles well covered.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, not all the angles are covered. The Prime Minister is not calling a public inquiry because he is feeling the heat. He knows full well that his close, long-time friend, Jacques Corriveau, personally contacted the office of the former Minister of Public Works and the office of the Minister of Justice on behalf of Polygone, a firm that greatly benefited from the scandals. However, Mr. Corriveau is not even registered as a lobbyist, although he is lobbying.

Will the Prime Minister admit that his greatest fear is that close scrutiny of the sponsorship scandal as part of an independent public inquiry could lead back to him?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, to the contrary, this has been the subject of an internal audit by my department. It has been the subject of a review by Treasury Board. It has been subject to a file by file review by my department and a public summary report. It has been the subject of time verification audits.

As the Prime Minister has said, wherever there is an indication of activity that raises legal questions, those are referred immediately to the RCMP.

[Robert Lanctôt, Bloc, Châteauguay, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what is needed is not an internal audit but a public inquiry.

Last week, we demanded that the Minister of Public Works release the names of all firms awarded advertising or communication contracts under the firearms program. We requested that information several days ago.

I would therefore like the minister to tell us today whether he can provide us with this information, which is available to him alone at present.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. gentleman can specify exactly what information he is looking for, I would be happy to respond to that. To date we have already published a long list of contractual arrangements with the various firms over a number of years. They involve several hundred transactions. If the hon. gentleman would be specific, I would be happy to answer the question.

[Robert Lanctôt, Bloc, Châteauguay, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am talking about the firearms scandal. We have requested information about it in recent days.

This is precisely why a public inquiry is needed. The Minister of Public Works is acting like former minister Gagliano. We are given dribs and drabs of information, or none at all.

Will the minister admit that only a public inquiry would satisfy the public and help us understand to what extent the government and its ministers are involved in all these scandals?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, in terms of the management issues, the value for money issues, the proper government framework and administrative issues, there is no more public forum, as we know, than the Auditor General. When legal issues are raised there is no more proper investigation than the RCMP. Both of those are already underway.

Health

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

Since Romanow tabled his recommendations, the government has been characterizing his report as just one among many.

The Romanow commission delivered a comprehensive, evidenced based prescription for Canada's health care future. Romanow exposed the dangers of allowing profit seeking corporations to cherry pick from our public health care system.

Will the government now cherry pick from Romanow's recommendations or will the Prime Minister today stand in his place and endorse the Romanow report as the blueprint for Canada's health care future?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I asked Mr. Romanow to do a job and I thanked him for doing a good job. We have received all the reports, like the report from the Senate and some provincial reports.

The Minister of Health met with her colleagues last Friday to discuss priorities. They have looked at all the files. I will be meeting with the first ministers at the end of January.

I can give a guarantee to the hon. member that we intend to maintain the five conditions of the Canada Health Act and improve on it if possible.