Debates of Feb. 19th, 2002

Foreign Affairs

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will recall that he played a constructive role in the debates at the committee when we examined the application of sanctions against Iraq. An all party committee of the House sought to ensure that those sanctions would be effective in punishing the evil regime of Saddam Hussein and not punish innocent people in that country.

I can assure the member we will continue to work through the United Nations Security Council to make sure that does work. We will sharpen sanctions. We will make sure that they apply to the evildoers in the world and not the general population.

Softwood Lumber

[Bev Desjarlais, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the trade minister knows we are not going to get a negotiated settlement in the softwood lumber dispute unless we sell out to U.S. economic terrorism. This means we have to look at interim measures to help our industry survive while the WTO process plays out.

The Export Development Corporation plan to help Canadian lumber companies is not working because most do not qualify for loans. The Liberal government just refused to relax EDC rules so more companies can qualify. The government has refused to provide an emergency aid package for laid off workers. Will the government at least follow the advice of the B.C. lumber trade council and pursue a suspension agreement on countervailing duties?

[Pat O'Brien, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, there were about three questions there.

Let me deal with the idea of a suspension agreement. That is an option that can be considered. There is wide consultation taking place right now with the provinces and with the stakeholders to weigh the possibility of such a suspension agreement.

The government remains very strongly committed to our two track policy: the discussions with the United States which are going on in Ottawa today and pursuing every legal option at the WTO.

Canadian Currency

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Finance said in the House that Canadian currency will continue to be printed in Canada, yet he avoided addressing the specific issue of whether the banknotes will be produced on Canadian paper.

Will the minister assure the House and all Canadians that Canadian currency will continue to be produced by Canadian workers on Canadian paper made from Canadian trees?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, at the present time all Canadian banknotes are produced on Canadian paper. The new $5 and $10 notes are on Canadian paper. I also said that the Bank of Canada, to counter counterfeiting, is looking at technologies all around the world.

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the minister yesterday cited security issues in the reasons why a foreign company was being considered to manufacture banknote paper for Canadian currency. However Spexel, the Canadian company that has manufactured our banknote paper for 70 years, uses the same technology used by Americans to produce the U.S. dollar.

If the Spexel process is secure enough for the U.S. dollar, why is it not secure enough for Canada?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned before, the Bank of Canada is simply looking at technologies around the world.

While I am on my feet, I certainly would like to congratulate the member for Beauharnois--Salaberry who has been very active on this file. He ensured that we met with officials of the company, and I would like to congratulate him on his continued interest in the file.

Government Loans

[Charlie Penson, Canadian Alliance, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation today issued another damning report to the government. It revealed gross mismanagement of $1.7 billion by Technology Partnerships Canada. The federation raised 17 critical questions about TPC in a letter to the industry minister.

The questions deal with suspect loan approvals, lack of accountability, March madness spending and the issue of a pathetic repayment rate.

Will the Minister of Industry assure Canadians that he will provide answers to these serious questions raised by the taxpayers association?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, it is regrettable that the association did not speak to us in advance. We would have corrected many of the errors it made this morning and provided it with the facts, which include that in 1999 the auditor general took a very substantial look at the Technology Partnerships Canada program and concluded that due diligence was done in relation to all of the investments made.

The auditor general looked again last year at the Technology Partnerships Canada program and again found that it was well managed.

These are investments made for the good of Canadians. They spur innovation in the economy, and we shall continue to make those investments.

[Charlie Penson, Canadian Alliance, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure how effective speaking to the federation would be. It had to go through the access to information channels to get what it got. It found out that at least three TPC projects worth $149 million were announced before being approved. These projects required cabinet approval.

The tactic appears to have broken treasury board guidelines and the Financial Administration Act. It sounds like another Enron insider trading deal in the making.

Could the minister tell the House if the funding had not been approved by cabinet when the projects were announced? It appears that way. Was the timing simply designed to boost shareholder prices of those companies?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the only Enron conduct is by the opposition, taking nothing and leveraging it into something which it is not.

There was not a single investment that was made without cabinet approval. The federation is wrong about that. If it had bothered to check with us, we could have saved it the embarrassment of making that error.

Canada Lands Company

[Ghislain Lebel, Bloc, Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the former vice president and director general of the Canada Lands Company, Michel Couillard, stated in a letter filed in court that he had been under unbearable pressure from former minister Gagliano and his chief of staff, Jean-Marc Bard, to extend some of their friends' contracts, including that of Robert Charest.

Will the Deputy Prime Minister tell us what Robert Charest's duties and functions were at the Canada Lands Company?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Crown Corporations]

Mr. Speaker, there is nothing new about the allegations contained in the letter produced by Mr. Couillard.

It is important to understand that Michel Couillard himself pleaded guilty in a case before the courts and that the letter was in no way linked to the issue of Mr. Couillard.

[Ghislain Lebel, Bloc, Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, will the Deputy Prime Minister acknowledge that Robert Charest was hired by the Canada Lands Company at the insistence of Alfonso Gagliano and the Liberal Party of Canada, as a favour to Jean Charest, who had become the leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Crown Corporations]

Mr. Speaker, I know that it is the Bloc Quebecois' practice to try to run election campaigns for their head office from here in Ottawa, but this is going a bit far.

Infrastructure

[Ken Epp, Canadian Alliance, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's big city mayors came to Ottawa to discuss their financial plight. The Minister of Transport acknowledged the crisis and admitted that the infrastructure funds of the last number of years were not the answer to long term, stable funding for the cities. The Minister of Finance on the other hand rebuked the Minister of Transport and offered no new solutions.

Why is the finance minister pitting the cities of Canada against the provinces of Canada?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all of my colleagues who met with the mayors yesterday, I have to say that the meetings were excellent and very informative. The discussions went very well. There is no doubt that our cities do require a new deal. They are in the front line of most of our social programs and they have shown tremendous initiative.

As a result of our meetings yesterday, there is no doubt about the commitment of the Government of Canada to furthering the social fabric of the country, especially as it is handled by our major cities and our smaller cities.

[Ken Epp, Canadian Alliance, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it seems to me this is a case of the Minister of Transport writing a cheque that the Minister of Finance minister will not cash. Canadians are taxed to death and they expect the three levels of government to work together so that services are provided efficiently.

Does the finance minister or anyone in this government have any vision or any plan for addressing this issue?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker, and that was in fact the reason behind our meetings yesterday. I congratulate the Minister of Transport on an excellent meeting with his municipal counterparts who laid out a series of plans.

I would like to congratulate the Minister of the Environment. The fact is that doubling the green infrastructure fund shows this government's commitment to getting behind our cities as they clean up our air and the water we drink.

Canadian Wheat Board

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, on February 15 the United States trade representative, Mr. Zoellick, announced that the United States would once again subject the Canadian Wheat Board to more harassment through the WTO by exploring anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases.

The United States has previously lost several challenges to the Canadian Wheat Board, and instead of this challenge it should look where the real problem is, that being United States trade policy that drives wheat prices down around the world.

What will the minister responsible for the wheat board do to protect the interests of farmers, and challenge the United States which has challenged us?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, there was a lot of hype and hyperbole from the U.S. trade representative in his comments last week about the Canadian Wheat Board. However in the end, after a 16 month investigation by the U.S. international trade commission, the Americans could find no violation of any trade agreement and they imposed no specific trade remedy because they had in fact no basis in law or in policy to do so.

In 9 such proceedings over the past 12 years, the score so far is 9 to 0 for Canada.

Border Security

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

Mr. Speaker, right now 45% of Canada's 147 land border crossings are not wired to the Canadian Police Information Centre computer system. In other words, there is no way to quickly check licence plates coming into Canada at 66 of our land border points.

If the government is really serious about protecting Canadian sovereignty and Canadian citizens, how can it tolerate this serious security breach?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, we are continually working with our counterparts around the world to ensure that we have appropriate measures in place at the border.

My hon. colleague brought up CPIC, the best database system in the world for policing in this country and is an envy to police forces around the world. We will ensure that information is available at the borders.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government got its fiscal house in order by cutting provincial transfer payments, which went towards such things as health, education and income maintenance. This has had the effect of reducing its contribution to only 14 ¢ on every health dollar.

Will the minister agree that the government would do much better to put money back into the health care system rather than add to the number of national standards and play for time with the Romanow commission, which is just for show?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows very well that his figures are all wrong.

Transfer payments to the provinces are at an all time high; this includes the Canada health and social transfer and equalization payments. They are at an all time high, showing our determination to protect Canada's health care system.