Debates of March 11th, 2002

Softwood Lumber

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am always talking about softwood lumber with President Bush. He knows much about it because I keep telling him that they want our oil and our gas, and if we were to stop, they would need to buy a lot of softwood lumber to heat their homes. He found it quite funny.

Terrorism

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

Mr. Speaker, today marks six months since the September 11 attack on North America, but the government has shamefully neglected to offer any memorial to the two dozen Canadians who were killed in that terrorist attack.

Could the Prime Minister explain why the government has failed to honour fellow Canadians who lost their lives on September 11?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian people have expressed clearly to the families the sorrows that we all share because of the death of these people.

I went to New York City and had the occasion to meet with the families of many of the victims. The question of having a special monument erected for them at this moment has not been contemplated. There are other tragedies that occur from time to time. Perhaps he can suggest that we look into that, but I do not feel it is absolutely necessary to have a monument built for that occasion.

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

Mr. Speaker, some real action from the government would have been a fitting memorial also, but the government has failed to do that.

We know that our ports have been infiltrated by organized crime. Last week the U.S. state department condemned our lax immigration laws. The RCMP and CSIS are not talking to one another. Now we understand that the RCMP and customs are not communicating.

With all these failures, how can the government make any claim to have learned any lessons from September 11?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in the old days when he had some clout in his party, the hon. member was more serious than that.

I just want to say that he is ignoring, for example, that we have 4,000 soldiers who are working very diligently at this time in Afghanistan. He will know that we were very diligent in passing two bills in the House of Commons, and they were delayed by the opposition. Otherwise the bills would have been passed earlier. We have invested $7.5 billion of resources to ensure that we have a more secure border and better security.

Taxation

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this year's surplus figures, like those from previous years, demonstrate eloquently how the federal government is collecting too much money for its responsibilities, whereas the provincial governments, which are responsible for dealing with the challenges presented by health care and education, do not have access to a large enough tax field.

Will the Minister of Finance confirm whether or not he intends to put the issue of the fiscal imbalance on the agenda at the next conference of finance ministers, in April?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Quebecois wants to use the conference board's projections to prove their case.

When we look at the projections for the next five years, the projected surplus for each year is less than our reserves for prudence. So, how can the member say that there is a fiscal imbalance even using the PQ's projections?

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, given public opinion, the minister will not be able to hold this position much longer.

Does he not understand that it is unacceptable for him to collect too much of taxpayers' money when it is the provinces that are bearing the rising costs of health and education?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, all I can ask is that if the member's argument is valid, how is it that it is not borne out by her own projections, by the projections of the conference board?

Groupaction Marketing

[Rahim Jaffer, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Groupaction Marketing Ltd. gave the Liberals $70,000 in exchange for a contract worth over half a million dollars for a sham report on visibility which the government has lost.

This is the same government which tells us we are missing the point when we ask it to cut some of the fat, to stop buying Quebecers with visibility and little else, to end the patronage.

With this report now missing, this government has shown us that it is missing the point. When will it stop being dishonest with taxpayers?

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

Mr. Speaker, the two reports in question were indeed prepared. In the case of one of them, supporting documentation was given to a journalist who requested it.

As for the final report, I agree with the member that it is unacceptable that the report is not available today, three years after it was prepared.

That having been said, the member is telling us nothing new. This issue was raised in May 2001. He is therefore telling us nothing new.

[Rahim Jaffer, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, do you know what is not new is the fact that the government loves patronage and there are some big returns. Groupaction gave $70,000 to the Liberal coffers and received two contracts of over $1 million for analytical reports. That is not a bad investment. The only record left of the reports is a list of cultural events that any smart 13 year old could have put together in a good night of Internet searching.

The Liberals say that there is no red tape to cut, no money for the military and no further tax cut or debt reduction, and then we see this kind of pork. When will the government stop acting like patronage junkies, clean up its act and table this report?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not know who is being overpaid to write these lines but it is not going to do the hon. member any good. He should stick with the facts.

Two reports have been prepared. I indicated to the hon. member that the final report prepared three years ago was no longer available. The supporting documents were. They were made available to the reporter who in fact made the inquiry. If the hon. member would stop heckling and listen to the answer, he would then know what he is talking about.

Middle East

[Yves Rocheleau, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the written speech that he was supposed to deliver to the Canada-Israel Committee, the Minister of Foreign Affairs wrote, and I quote, “incursions into refugee camps only seem to exacerbate the situation and continuing settlement activity undermines Palestinian hopes, prejudicing the prospects for a fair-minded peace”.

Will the minister explain why he omitted this passage from his final text?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is not my practice to comment on speeches that I have not given.

However, I can assure the hon. member that this government's policy has always been to pursue peace with all parties in the Middle East, and that we are good and loyal friends to Israel, as the President of Israel said during his trip. We will always try our best to work for peace in the Middle East.

[Yves Rocheleau, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the minister that this is the text that was given to journalists.

Back when he was chairing the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, the minister hoped to have Palestinian and Israeli parliamentarians come to Canada in order to find a solution to the enduring conflict in the Middle East.

Now that he is the minister and has much greater means, does he intend to follow up on this project which he was working on only a few months ago?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as the member is very much aware, this project, which is a project entertained by a number of members of this House, is still in place.

It is a goal of our government, and of parliamentarians from all parties, to have participants from the Middle East come to Canada to discuss peace.

Research and Development

[Rob Merrifield, Canadian Alliance, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, critical decisions about human life should be made by parliament, but last week the Canadian Institutes of Health Research decided to push ahead with taxpayer funded research on human embryos. Parliament, not unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, should be making these decisions. Instead the minister has chosen to hide behind elected bureaucrats to do her dirty work.

Will the minister show some leadership and today table a bill so Canadians can be heard on these life and death matters?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member is fully aware, when I appeared before the Standing Committee on Health two weeks ago, in response to a question asked by him I indicated that the government would be tabling legislation in relation to assisted human reproduction no later than May 10 of this year. Let me reassure the hon. member that if the guidelines produced by the CIHR last week are in any way in conflict or inconsistent with that legislation they will be changed.

[Rob Merrifield, Canadian Alliance, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Health carefully reviewed the draft legislation and made recommendations. The new CIHR rules contradict the standing committee's report but the minister has praised the new rules and thus has shown her contempt for parliament. It is not the first time for this minister.

Will the minister suspend the CIHR rules until federal legislation is in place?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, this came up last week in response to the production of the CIHR guidelines. They are certainly consistent with the draft legislation that my predecessor put before the House. They are generally consistent with the work of the Standing Committee on Health in relation to this area. As I have indicated, I will be coming forward no later than May 10 with legislation in relation to this area of importance to all Canadians.

Immigration

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, last week the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration was in Manitoba to conduct a broad based community consultation. Would the minister please advise the House of the outcome of the Manitoba meetings?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. After discussions with the hon. Becky Barrett, Manitoba's minister of labour responsible for immigration, we are happy to announce to the House today that the provincial immigrant nominee program will be increased from 750 to 1,000 cases.

We have also discussed the possibility of pilot projects to encourage Francophone immigration in Franco-Manitoban communities, as well as a comprehensive immigration strategy for the west.

I would like to pay tribute to the people of Manitoba for their great contribution. Today's announcement is a direct consequence of what we can accomplish together.

The Environment

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—St. Clair, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a new study by the University of Toronto has uncovered clinical evidence directly linking air pollution to heart attacks. Those findings follow a study published last week by the American Medical Association linking air pollution to lung cancer and heart disease. Despite the growing evidence of harmful effects of greenhouse emissions and air pollution, the federal government's proposed clean air quality standard is only half that of the U.S., and in fact it continues to waffle on Kyoto.

Will the government today take immediate actions to toughen our air pollution standards to at least meet those of the U.S. and perhaps even think of making them a little stronger?

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, the government works in collaboration with the provinces and international governments to strengthen our emission standards. Emissions on sulphur will, as of July of this year, be among the most stringent in the world, and we will continue to work with proposals such as Kyoto to improve greenhouse emissions.