Debates of April 18th, 2002

Government Expenditures

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

Mr. Speaker, the rules do provide for it when there is only one known supplier. Believe it or not there is only one known supplier of a Bombardier Challenger jet, and I hate to surprise the member, but that is Bombardier. They are the only people who produce it so we bought it from that firm, a Canadian firm with proud Canadian workers producing an excellent, world class Canadian product.

[Gerry Ritz, Canadian Alliance, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, nobody is concerned about the quality of the Challengers. What we are concerned about is the quality of the contract. In 1986 while in opposition, again the Minister of Public Works and Government Services said “Sole source contracts can only be given where there is a pressing emergency in which a delay would be injurious to the public interest”.

Now that he is on the government side, will he just admit that his department has broken all the rules to purchase two Challenger jets from his friends at Bombardier? It is a kind of sneaky subsidy thing. When will he just cancel the order?

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

Mr. Speaker, at the risk of repeating what the hon. member should know already, the rules provide for it when there is only one known supplier of a product. There is only one known supplier of Challengers. I have gone through that.

Second, there are only four aircraft in the fleet now and there will only be four afterward. Obviously we will not be having five different makes of jets. For continuity in terms of the fleet, we will get the same kind of plane. Of course it is the only Canadian made plane. As I said before, we will not buy a foreign made plane for Canadian heads of state or the head of government. No other country would do that either.

Guaranteed Income Supplement

[Marcel Gagnon, Bloc, Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after having denied that the problem exists, Liberal members are now joining the Bloc Quebecois in inviting seniors to apply for the guaranteed income supplement for which they are eligible.

If the government really wishes to treat seniors fairly, what is it waiting for to grant full retroactivity for what they were denied through the government's error?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, making sure that seniors have access to benefits to which they are eligible is a priority for the government. That is why recently we have been increasing our outreach in community groups. We have been advertising in local newspapers. Indeed, we are very glad that members of parliament too are reminding their citizens of the important guaranteed income supplement.

It is an important piece of a pension structure that really has improved the circumstances for Canadian seniors and we want to ensure that all seniors who are eligible have access to the benefit.

[Marcel Gagnon, Bloc, Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it would have been nice if this had been done eight years ago.

Why is the government limiting retroactivity for the guaranteed income supplement to 11 months, when it is prepared to go back much further when it comes to collecting money from taxpayers?

Will the Liberal members from Quebec join me again in forcing the government to treat senior citizens fairly, and allow full retroactivity?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is right that there has always been a provision for retroactivity in the guaranteed income supplement. If the hon. member is so interested and concerned about retroactivity, is he talking to his colleagues in the government of Quebec and asking them why there is no retroactive provision in social assistance for that province, for example, and for this very important housing benefit?

Auditor General's Report

[John Williams, Canadian Alliance, St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, let me quote the auditor general when she was speaking about a specific contractor last Tuesday. She said:

He also determined the level of funding requirements and got the Department's approval...In effect, he was allowed to set his own terms and to act as if he had full authority to represent the government.

We have heard how the minister of public works in opposition criticized the government at that time for the way it handled contracts. Let me ask him this now, in spite of his earlier comments. Why does he now use taxpayer money to reward his Liberal friends?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have absolutely no idea to what the hon. member is referring. Perhaps he could inform the House to which contract he is referring.

I can tell him that 92% of the contracts are awarded on a competitive basis. That is higher than any other jurisdiction. The aim is to have every contract, where it can be done, done in a competitive way. It is the principle by which I administer my affairs. If he does know to what issue he is referring, perhaps he could tell the rest of us.

[John Williams, Canadian Alliance, St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I guess he did not read the auditor general's report. It is at paragraph 8.19. The auditor general also said that Health Canada and Public Works and Government Services did not follow the government contracting rules and regulations when it spent over $25 million on the Canada Health network website. Although the website was developed, there was no assurance that the best value was received. The assets purchased were underused and over claims were made.

My question to the minister of public works is this. Why does he continue to stonewall and tell us that we are getting value for money when obviously the Canadian taxpayer is getting taken to the cleaners?

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

Mr. Speaker, on the last issue that was raised, the allegation of overpayment, my department informs me, and this is something that occurred some time ago, that there is no evidence of overpayment.

In regard to the advance contract award notice for the contract of InnovAction, no challenges were received for that one. In the case of the Global Exchange contract, if that is what he is referring to, there was one challenge but it was withdrawn. In the case of the advance contract award for Devlin Multimedia, two challenges were received but they were both rejected because the firms did not indicate that they could provide the service.

Canadian Coast Guard

[Joe McGuire, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Speaker, members of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary have been providing essential search and rescue support for the coast guard and for Canadians for over 24 years. These volunteers are often the first to arrive in response to distress calls on the water.

What action has the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans taken to ensure this outstanding non-profit organization can continue to help save lives?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Egmont for this excellent question. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is very proud to be associated with 4,600 volunteer members of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary. Each year working side by side with Canadian coast guard officers they save over 200 lives across the country.

Today I was pleased to sign a five year contribution agreement which will provide $22.5 million to cover the costs to the auxiliary of search and rescue operations, education, training, insurance and out of pocket expenses. We thank these volunteer people very much.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, given the waffling by the government on its commitment to ratify Kyoto and given that the Liberal chair of the Senate environment committee has raised concerns about the motives of Liberal leadership candidates being influenced by donations from anti-Kyoto industry lobbyists, will the government commit to ratify Kyoto and reassure Canadians that ministers of the government will not be bought off by industry backers to scuttle Kyoto?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps I could repeat in English what I said earlier in French and quote the position of the federal Government of Canada put forward in the House two days ago, and that is “We plan on doing everything we can to ratify the Kyoto protocol...”. That is a quote. The second quote is “We will not make any decision without taking into consideration the views of the provinces and the private sector”, and third, “...we would work to ratify it”, the protocol, “in 2002”. Those are quotes from the leader of the government. That is the position of the Government of Canada.

Airline Industry

[Bev Desjarlais, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance will not review the impact of the government's security tax on air travellers for six months. This week the Tourism Industry Association of Canada held an emergency air travel issues forum. Many said six months is too long to wait. By then it will be too late to undo the damage this new GST will inflict on our tourism industry over the crucial summer months.

For the sake of our $54 billion tourism industry and the half million jobs that go with it, will the Minister of Finance immediately review the government's security tax with the affected stakeholders, not just the officials who advised him to impose the tax with no analysis of its impact?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport has in the House and on many occasions outlined the many series of measures and the large investments the Government of Canada is putting in across the entire airline support system. Those are moneys that are very important under the circumstances within which we live today. Under those circumstances, it is only fair that those who benefit from those services should in fact pay for them.

Justice

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

Mr. Speaker, this week marked the 20th anniversary of the charter, yet fundamental questions remain about the rights of our most vulnerable citizens, children.

The Sharpe case in British Columbia gave broad interpretation to the defence of artistic merit, leaving children vulnerable. Any material that exploits or degrades children through images or writing is offensive to Canadian community standards. All forms of sexual depiction of children are corrosive and detrimental to their development.

Will the Minister of Justice act responsibly and quickly by instructing his legion of lawyers to draft legislation to eliminate the artistic merit exception that leaves children open to abuse?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is referring to a very sensitive issue. We all know that the government is committed to protecting children in Canada.

Of course I cannot comment on the question of the Sharpe case since it is still before the courts at this point in time. I would like to tell the member that the charter of rights is a cornerstone in the country. The provision we have in the criminal code is being looked at in order to make sure that we find a balance, but also to make sure that we protect the children of our country. The Department of Justice is looking into the matter.

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

Mr. Speaker, we would like to see the Minister of Justice showcase some of that pluck and passion he gave us yesterday. The minister and the government have a responsibility to exhibit leadership and courage on behalf of children. The government must consider all the options available to act on the victimization of children. It is not the fault of the courts when parliament abdicates its responsibilities due to lack of courage or initiative on the part of the government.

Along with drafting tougher legislation and a commitment for resources and police and protection workers, will the minister encourage the British Columbia attorney general to appeal the Sharpe decision? Will the federal government seek intervener status in that case?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, we will see what will happen on the Sharpe question. Of course I cannot comment on that specific case for reasons that are obvious.

Of course the government is very committed. We are actively involved in the matter. Bill C-15A will give us another tool in order to make sure that we will keep protecting our children. As I said last week, the Department of Justice is actively looking into it with other members of parliament who are working on the file.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

[Rob Merrifield, Canadian Alliance, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the president of the CIHR said that he had met with the Minister of Health at the end of January and he told her of his plan to fund research on human embryos before legislation was passed. When she did not object, he went ahead with the plan.

The minister colluded with the president to make a mockery of parliament and the standing committee. Why did the minister do it?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

In fact, Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, Dr. Bernstein is head of an arm's length granting council in the country. Dr. Bernstein, out of courtesy, gave me a heads-up that in fact the council's consultation process was completed and that it would be proceeding with the publication of its guidelines.

In fact, I would have been very concerned had Dr. Bernstein not given me that heads-up.

[Rob Merrifield, Canadian Alliance, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister should have told the president to back off. She showed her own disrespect and low regard for parliament by allowing an undemocratic institution to effectively pass laws on sensitive moral issues, which she herself has a responsibility to introduce.

Will the minister cancel all funds for research on human embryos, including that of Genome Canada, until parliament passes legislation?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated, the government will be introducing legislation as it relates to assisted human reproduction on or before May 10.

Genome Canada is an arm's length organization that reports through the Minister of Industry to parliament, just as the CIHR is an arm's length institution that reports to parliament through me.

I find it a bit disturbing that this is the member who talks so often about the lack of guidelines in this country as it relates to things like stem cell research. In fact, the CIHR has filled an important void at this point, a void that ultimately will be filled by legislation.