Debates of Feb. 22nd, 2002

Economic Development

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on October 31, the former Minister of National Revenue told the House that an independent study had recommended to carry on with the South Shore Technobase, as if there were no problem.

However, Price Waterhouse is much less optimistic than the minister and, in October 2000, it recommended a six month exemption period to develop a recovery plan for Technobase.

Now, one and a half years later, will the Secretary of State responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the regions of Quebec admit that Technobase still does not have a recovery plan and that no loans to create jobs have been granted since April 2001?

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, with its two funds of $7 million, Technobase has created over 600 jobs and there is $3 million still available.

CED, Canada Economic Development, will continue to do the necessary work to help the region's economic development.

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in addition to not having helped any new business since April 2001,the CEO of Technobase, Clément Joly, admitted on Wednesday that the corporation no longer has analysts to assess the viability of projects, something which does not bode well for the future.

Will the parliamentary secretary recognize that Technobase has no plan and that it does not have the expertise to ensure that new job creating projects are launched on the former St. Hubert military base?

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Economic Development is now working with Technobase to review the projects that will be proposed. There are $3 million left in the envelope and we will continue to support economic development.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Indeed, Mr. Speaker, regarding this $3 million, the chief executive officer of the Technobase, Clément Joly, also announced on Wednesday that this $3 million left over from the $6 million allocated to the organization for technological development was transferred to Canada Economic Development, which will analyze the files from now on.

What this means is that the Technobase has no business plan, no analysts, and no funds for job creation.

Will the secretary of state finally admit that instead of relying on an empty shell run by a notorious Liberal, it would be better to let stakeholders from the area take over the Saint-Hubert base development project?

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Economic Development will now be managing the fund and you have proof of all of the work that is being done in Quebec to continue to support economic development in the region.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, will the secretary of state finally admit that the only reason the Liberal government is bothering to keep the Technobase alive artificially, is because its CEO is Clément Joly, a former Liberal Party of Canada fundraiser, a hack who receives $300 an hour to direct an agency that no longer does anything to create jobs on the south shore of Montreal?

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Economic Development has already decided to end its contribution to the Technobase's operations and will continue to work with the fund.

The Environment

[Lorne Nystrom, NDP, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment.

The Alberta minister of the environment said it will cost between $23 billion and $40 billion to deal with the fallout from Kyoto. These are exaggerated numbers. They are way out of line and the minister knows that.

Why does the minister not repudiate those numbers? Why has he not stood up for the farmers of western Canada and for other people affected and put the real facts on the table?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, as is the case with so many opposition questions, the hon. member has essentially answered his own question with respect to the comments of the hon. minister from Alberta.

Let me simply say that we are having an ongoing process with the provinces, the territories and other interested people such as business people and ordinary Canadians to make sure we do have the figures that are clear. Therefore when a decision on ratification is taken, Canadians will know what the burden might be. We will make sure at that time that the burden is spread equally and is not unfair to any one region of the country.

[Lorne Nystrom, NDP, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has had five years to put the facts on the table. He has been sitting there wringing his hands for five years. He is the minister. I am not the minister. Let us have the facts on the table. I want to know the specifics today.

There was a drought on the prairies last year. The agriculture committee is in Saskatchewan this week. They are predicting a drought next year in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta.

What will the cost be to the prairie farmers? How many billions of dollars will global warming cost the prairie farmers and other people affected? Please answer that specific question.

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, surprisingly perhaps the hon. member did not hear but I answered that question with reference to the drought earlier this week in answer to a question from the Alliance.

I pointed out that there are serious costs to prairie farmers. There are serious costs to northerners. There are serious costs to Canadians who had an ice storm here and floods in Manitoba and in the Saguenay region. There are serious costs resulting from those extreme weather situations arising out of the global warming problem.

I answered the question earlier. I urge the hon. member to wait until--

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Cumberland--Colchester.

Softwood Lumber

[Bill Casey, Progressive Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister for International Trade broke one of the basic rules of negotiating and that is, united we stand, divided we fall.

The last meeting of all softwood lumber stakeholders was on May 20 last year. Despite repeated requests by the opposition and the stakeholders, the minister has refused to arrange a meeting for almost a year. Meanwhile our case, our jobs and our industry are all going down the drain.

When will the minister finally call a meeting of all the stakeholders and establish a truly united Canadian position?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure where my colleague has been but the Minister for International Trade is in daily contact with the provinces and the industry. There have been extensive briefings right across the country. Even when he is away doing his job with team Canada he is in daily contact on this important file.

I do not know where my colleague comes up with the idea that there has not been extensive consultation. I would have thought he would have been aware of that given the number of briefings we have offered to the opposition critics.

[Val Meredith, Canadian Alliance, South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the last meeting was in May last year so I do not know where this guy is coming from.

Canadians know that the only winners in the softwood lumber dispute are a coalition of wealthy American timber owners, inefficient lumber companies and their lawyers who all benefit from the high lumber prices. However, most Americans are still unaware that they as consumers are being gouged by artificially high lumber prices for the benefit of the coalition.

Now that the American coalition has lost its largest financial contributor, will the government take the--

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Trade.

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

Mr. Speaker, there was so much the member did not say but I think where she was trying to go was to ask if we are trying to educate the American public.

The hon. member is nodding in the affirmative. She ought to know that our embassy has been very active for several years in lobbying members of congress.

There is a most impressive advocacy campaign in softwood lumber going on south of the border to educate American consumers that they are being ripped off to subsidize the uncompetitive American softwood lumber industry.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Brian Pallister, Canadian Alliance, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians need to know that the Immigration and Refugee Board is not allowing more terrorists like Ahmed Ressam to operate in this country. Yesterday the immigration minister arrogantly refused to answer questions about this serious matter calling them stupid. Since the minister responsible is obviously not, can the Deputy Prime Minister offer Canadians some assurances that their security will not be put at risk by IRB corruption?

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

Mr. Speaker, obviously we take the issue of security for Canadians very seriously. We also take very seriously the allegations of inappropriate behaviour on the part of members of the board. These in fact are under investigation.

[Brian Pallister, Canadian Alliance, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that answer.

Yesterday the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration contended that Liberal IRB appointments are made on the basis of merit and competence, yet we know that department has been a dumping ground for Liberals.

Yves Bourbonnais, who is at the centre of this corruption investigation and a Liberal appointment, was a disbarred lawyer convicted of committing fraud against the government.

Can the Deputy Prime Minister tell us, is that the sort of confidence Canadians can expect from the government's appointments?

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

Mr. Speaker, the matter is under investigation. I will not say any more about it.

Kyoto Protocol

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

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois has learned that at his ministerial meeting last Wednesday night, the Minister of the Environment saw preliminary studies with respect to the options available to him for meeting the Kyoto objectives.

In the interests of transparency, does the Minister of the Environment intend to share the results of these preliminary studies with the members of this House, and table a copy of them at the earliest opportunity?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, there are several studies. There are the ones saying that it will cost the Canadian economy nothing to attain the goal of 6% less than the 1990 level. There are others, such as the one the minister from Alberta proposed yesterday, which say that the cost will be very high. There are many differing views on these two positions.

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

Mr. Speaker, what we are asking the minister to do is share with the House the studies he saw on Wednesday. That is what we would like.

With the federal-provincial conference in Victoria coming up on February 25 and 26, if the minister is serious about wanting to ensure a broad debate on the Kyoto issues, will he agree that one of the ways he could do that would be to immediately table in the House the analyses he now has in his possession?