Debates of Feb. 4th, 2002

Immigration

[Paul Forseth, Canadian Alliance, New Westminster—Coquitlam—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, once again the lax Liberal administration has compromised Canada's security.

The RCMP is investigating thefts in at least five immigration offices of hundreds of blank IMM 1000 documents which are used to let people into Canada.

In spite of all the flurry about security, the country is still rather vulnerable. This is just one more sad story reminding us once again that Liberals cannot manage.

As a minimum, has the immigration department informed the U.S. and other foreign governments of the serial numbers of the stolen documents?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, what is sorry is the kind of question the member has just asked. making people think there are some links. We have to be very careful about that. That can be dangerous. We have to be very careful.

There is nothing new under the sun. That was the same article in May 2000 from another media. We did what we had to do at the time. Not only is there ongoing research but at the same time we act, and the new card for permanent residents is an answer to make sure that everything is okay.

[Paul Forseth, Canadian Alliance, New Westminster—Coquitlam—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the track record of Liberal failure is long: stolen documents, stolen computer information. It just should not happen. Not only do we have an entire tour of missing Tunisians wandering around the country, we have stolen documents. The government cannot even security check its own embassy people let alone the thousands tumbling over the barricades.

Will the minister stop hiding behind investigations and reviews and just simply tell Canadians what concrete actions his government has taken to make our immigration document system secure?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, rather than reading his question, the member should try listening to the answers.

Things have been done since 1999. Not only have we introduced concrete measures, such as adding a position to protect all the documents in diplomatic missions, but we have also changed the procedures.

The minister who preceded me announced that for security reasons we would be replacing the IMM 1000 with a permanent resident card. With the kind of information to be included, we are once again proving that we as a government are fulfilling our responsibilities.

Foreign Affairs

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has violated international agreements by handing over prisoners taken in Afghanistan to the United States without having concluded a clear agreement regarding the status of these prisoners.

Can the Minister of National Defence tell us what the fact that Canada has become a country that no longer respects the provisions of international law will mean for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that we do respect international law. That is the cornerstone of how we are conducting ourselves in this campaign. We respect international law and we respect Canadian law. The United States, to which we have turned over these prisoners, has given us assurances that it respects international law and will operate consistent with the Geneva conventions.

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if Canadian soldiers were taken prisoner, how could we demand that international law be respected in their regard when Canada does not respect it for prisoners taken in Afghanistan?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has to remember that there is a difference in the Geneva conventions between those who are prisoners of war, those who are part of a military, versus those who are unlawful combatants, the terrorists. It is the terrorists whom the United States is interested in keeping, and only the terrorists, to account for what happened on September 11.

We operate in accordance with those laws. The United States will operate in accordance with those laws. We expect anybody else to as well.

The Economy

[Jason Kenney, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday an economist from Export Development Canada boasted about the benefits of having a weak Canadian dollar against the Mexican peso.

Mr. Poloz said that the fact that our currency is down 11% against the peso helps our exports to Mexico.

My question is for the Minister of Finance. Why does Export Development Canada support a weak dollar? Will the minister finally admit that this is his government's policy?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the economist in question was surely giving his opinion. He is entitled to his opinion.

What I just said, and I am repeating what the Prime Minister and the Governor of the Bank of Canada have said repeatedly, is that the direction taken by the loonie does not really reflect the strength of the Canadian economy.

In New York, when we gave participants the facts, namely our competitive position, exports, growth and job creation, they were very impressed.

[Jason Kenney, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it seems that this weekend the Prime Minister found a new culprit for the falling loonie under his watch. He said that the international currency markets keep fleeing our dollar because “we're so humble...We're not braggers naturally”.

It seems that the Prime Minister is not nearly humble enough, because in a poll published today Canadian CEOs give this government a failing grade for its mismanagement of the currency, which has lost 20% of its value under his watch.

If this government has done such a great job with the currency, then why are Canadian CEOs giving it a failing grade for its mismanagement of the loonie?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, a Canadian Federation of Independent Business survey of small businesses concluded that business confidence is rising. It said that there are going to be 250,000 net jobs created this year, 81% of the jobs effectively full time. It expects growth in all of the provinces. The fact is that if small business has confidence in the Canadian economy, why can the Alliance not have it?

Veterans Affairs

[David Price, Liberal, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Veterans Affairs.

Yesterday our Canadian troops landed in Kandahar. I commend them for the service they are providing on behalf of all Canadians and, for that matter, the world.

I ask the minister, what will the government do upon the return of our brave men and women to ensure that they are all well taken care of?

[Rey D. Pagtakhan, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, first may I join my colleague in commending our troops in Kandahar. They are doing a splendid job.

Let me assure him and all colleagues in the House that any member of the Canadian Forces who suffers illness or injury as a result of service in Afghanistan will receive all appropriate disability pension and health coverage benefits.

Indeed, Canada as a nation can take pride that we take care of our veterans when they incur illness or injury as a result of service, whether in peace time or in special duty areas.

Foreign Affairs

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

One week ago his colleague, the Minister of National Defence, said, with respect to the prisoners taken in Afghanistan, “They have every right, though, for a tribunal to determine whether in fact they have status as a prisoner of war or have status as an unlawful combatant. Canada stands by that determination process in accordance with international law”.

One week later the United States has still not set in place any tribunals. I want to ask the minister, will Canada refuse to turn over any prisoners to the Americans until they have given us an assurance that these tribunals will be established? Or will we show total contempt for the law under the Geneva conventions and simply let George Bush run Canadian foreign and defence policy?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we have had the assurances of the United States government. We continue to seek them because all of the Geneva conventions were written at an earlier time. Not all of them are easily applicable to the conditions that exist today, but certainly the only interest the United States has is keeping the terrorists, not keeping anyone who is a prisoner of war. It has sent numerous people back already to the Afghan government or to governments of other countries from which they originated.

The United States just wants to keep those who are responsible for the September 11 attacks: the al-Qaeda terrorists.

Immigration

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on the matter of missing documents at immigration offices in Canada, which may have resulted in a serious breach of our border security.

The memo in question actually refers to the fact that inadequate departmental staffing and resourcing have contributed to this problem.

I ask the minister of immigration if he will commit now to stop scapegoating refugees and legal immigrants as potential terrorists and turn his immediate attention to providing the full resources needed to keep his own department from becoming the greatest threat to Canadian security.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. colleague already has the assurance that we have to work with more resources. In fact that is what we did in the last budget regarding security, but at the same time we are in a very important process to make sure that everyone will do their proper duties. I can assure my colleague of that.

National Defence

[Jay Hill, Canadian Alliance, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have been contacted directly by a member of the Princess Pats who said that he fears for the lives of the troops under his command because they are wearing improper uniforms. Put simply, he does not want to notify next of kin that a soldier's death was due to the colour of the camouflage.

This is not a minor issue as the minister asserts. The confidence of the troops and their mission have been undermined because of the government's continued underfunding of our military.

When will the minister of defence make the lives of our soldiers a priority and get them the proper equipment to do their jobs?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Forces commanders are quite satisfied with the uniforms they have. I understand that even some of the Americans noted on the weekend how much better they are in terms of night operations.

It is not a question of funding. We want to make sure that whatever our troops need in that operation they will have it.

The commanders are happy with the uniforms they do have.

[Jay Hill, Canadian Alliance, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the commanders may be but the soldiers who are putting their lives on the line are concerned they might have to fight during the day, not just at night.

The truth is that last month Canadians were embarrassed to learn that the government sold our stock of desert camouflage uniforms just as our troops learned that they would be needing them.

Now the government asserts that they were not sold, that they were given to the JTF soldiers, but apparently not to the three shown on the front page of the Globe and Mail a few weeks ago.

Why has the minister not undertaken an emergency procurement of desert uniforms for our frontline combat soldiers?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we discussed that matter with the chief of defence staff and with the other commanders. They did not feel that was necessary. They were quite satisfied with what they had. In fact, I visited with the troops in Edmonton just before they left. They were quite satisfied with the combat uniforms they had.

Arts and Culture

[Cheryl Gallant, Canadian Alliance, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, patronage is no laughing matter. First the Prime Minister's friend Jean Carle was hired by the Business Development Bank for being a good Liberal. Then he was paid $150,000 to quit his job with the bank and stay quiet about his role in the Grand-Mère loan scandal. Now it has been reported that just after the Just for Laughs Festival secured $1.7 million of taxpayer money, Jean Carle was given a job with the struggling company.

How much are Canadian taxpayers going to have to shell out to keep the Prime Minister's friends quiet?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member in her question is suggesting that Mr. Jean Carle influenced the music and cultural fest, Just for Laughs Festival, in getting money two months before he even showed up on the job. I ask her rhetorically how he did that, by osmosis? He was not even there.

[Cheryl Gallant, Canadian Alliance, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the hon. member is back on this side of the House, he can start asking questions.

An access to information request shows that Jean Carle might not have been qualified for the job at the Business Development Bank, but he got the job--