Debates of April 19th, 2002

Child Abuse

[Larry Spencer, Canadian Alliance, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's low age of sexual consent at 14, coupled with the government's failure to protect children from sexual predators, has resulted in Canada potentially becoming a preferred destination for sexual predators to prey on innocent Canadian children.

The damage to children due to the proliferation of child pornography and the exploitation of young girls and boys through sexual abuse and prostitution has been incalculable. The need to protect innocent and vulnerable children from pimps and other adult sexual predators is a matter of the highest priority.

I urge the government to send a direct and clear message to Canadians that it will no longer stand for the abuse of innocent children by sexual predators and immediately introduce legislation to better protect children from sexual abuse.

Racism

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday a group of students occupied my constituency office after entering on the pretext that they were constituents looking for assistance. When it turned out they wanted to protest Canadian foreign policy in the Middle East, which my staff was prepared to discuss, they rejected discussion, proceeded to occupy the office, told my staff to leave for their own security, refused to leave when the police arrived and were subsequently charged with trespass.

It is ironic than when we are commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms people choose not to exercise their right to speak and give expression to their grievance but choose to enter under false pretenses, illegally occupy an MP's office, intimidate employees and effectively assault the very values that underlie a free and democratic society.

I say this because I am increasingly concerned about the importation of hatred from the mideast conflict. After September 11 many of us spoke out and continue to speak out against the singling out of any visible minority, particularly Muslims, for discriminatory treatment but we must now sound the alarm about the increasing anti-Semitic assaults on Jews and Jewish institutions and threats of “death to the Jews” at public demonstrations.

We have to make it clear that racism and hate against any individual or group has no place in our society.

National Defence

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to offer condolences on behalf of the New Democratic Party and, I am sure, of all parliamentarians on the deaths of Corporal Ainsworth Dyer, Private Nathan Smith, Private Richard Green and Sergeant Marc Léger.

As a representative from Nova Scotia where two of those brave men came from I also offer condolences to the families and friends of all military personnel who suffered through this terrific and unfortunate tragedy. I also want to say on behalf of our party and the people of Nova Scotia how proud we are of the Governor General of Canada and her husband John Ralston Saul for breaking their itinerary so quickly to be with the troops who were injured and those who have fallen.

Again on behalf of all Nova Scotians and on behalf of all of us we offer our prayers to the injured. We offer our heartfelt prayers and condolences to the families and their friends. We also offer our support to the government to ensure adequate resources are put in place to help communities and families deal with this tragic incident.

May God bless their memory, and God bless our troops in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world.

National Volunteer Week

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, April 21 through April 27 is National Volunteer Week.

Every day, hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world give generously of their time to improve the well-being of their fellow citizens. We thank them.

Volunteerism is each and every one of those little gestures which illuminates not just the life of the person who receives it, but also the person who makes it.

Volunteerism too is the unseen work done by many people, the bulk of them women, who have not hesitated to become involved in their communities.

Let us hope that some day there will be open recognition of their indispensable contribution to the economic and social development of the communities in which we live.

Bravo, all you men and women of Quebec, and the world over, who contribute to lending a more human face to our society. Bravo, and thank you, for the joie de vivre you contribute to us all.

Let us all find time to give a few hours as volunteers and to contribute to the expansion of the volunteer sector.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, this week Canadians celebrated the 20th anniversary of the charter of rights and freedoms. Our nation has been built on the premise that with diversity comes strength. Never before has it been so important for all Canadians to remember this.

With the tragic events occurring in the Middle East and with tensions running high elsewhere, Canadians and indeed people from around the world must take a moment to reflect on the power of peace and mutual respect.

Canadians have a long tradition of showing the world how countries with a diverse population can live in peace and harmony. All Canadians should be proud of this tradition and continue to strengthen the ties of friendship and community that have made our country a beacon of peace through justice around the world.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday our colleagues in the other place released the latest chapter in their study on the state of our health care system. Their conclusion is simple and straightforward: As presently funded and structured our health care system is not sustainable. If funding problems are not addressed and serious reforms are not introduced the system will continue to fail Canadians.

Thankfully, our colleagues did not stop there. Rather than dance around the difficult issues they have provided the government with concrete options to save our health care system. First, it must provide stable, predictable, multi-year funding, something for which my party has been calling for some time. Second, it must make the system more transparent and accountable by separating the roles of funder, provider and evaluator of health care services. Third, it must enhance the quality of services by creating competition within our publicly insured system.

It is time to end the charade. The government can choose to delay reforms and hide behind the Romanow commission indefinitely, or it can act now on the sensible recommendations found in this report. Everyone knows the system is broken. It is time for the government to fix it and fix it now.

Ethnic Tolerance

[Jacques Saada, Liberal, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, you have no doubt noticed that all of our members' statements today are on the subject of rejecting intolerance in Canada.

My message is directed specifically to this minute minority that does not seem to understand the very foundations of democracy in Canada, where differences of opinion never justify reprehensible acts, be it a racial slur or violence.

There is no point in praising the merits of multiculturalism if we do not reject intolerance in our actions.

It is to be expected that there will be some differences of opinion in a democracy. In Canada, we may have even stronger reactions to certain problems in other parts of the world because they sometimes affect our family, our friends or our roots abroad.

The resulting divergent opinions must be respected, as is the case with those who express these opinions. We must reject, together, the actions of these few who are attacking our society through their unacceptable behaviour.

Age of Consent

[Darrel Stinson, Canadian Alliance, Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is about time the justice minister did the right thing and raised the legal age of sexual consent. Fourteen year old children are too young to drive. They are too young to consume alcohol, smoke or even vote. Yet the justice minister irresponsibly agrees to not change the laws that allow our 14 year olds to consent to sexual relations.

The sexual exploitation of our nation's children by adults should one of the government's top priorities. At the very least, the minister should increase the legal age of consent to 16. This would in part help protect our children from sexual exploitation.

A 1999 department of justice paper states that the present age of consent is too low to provide effective protection for children from sexual exploitation by adults. Additionally, last year both the provincial justice ministers and the Canadian Police Association passed resolutions calling on the federal government to raise the age of consent for sexual activity to at least 16 years of age.

Where is the justice minister on this issue?

National Defence

[John Reynolds, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we are usually quite partisan at this time but I want to put that aside, if only briefly, and commend the government for the action it has taken in dealing with the deaths of our soldiers in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, the Canadian Alliance and Canadians want this matter duly investigated and action taken to ensure that similar circumstances do not lead to needless deaths again.

Can the Deputy Prime Minister give Canadians an update on the nature and scope of the investigation into these deaths?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the national investigation service of the Canadian forces is presently on site in Afghanistan gathering evidence and information as part of its investigation. A similar unit of the United States military is also there doing the same thing at the same time.

Meanwhile yesterday I announced that a board of inquiry will be established. It will be chaired by the former chief of the defence staff, retired General Maurice Baril. We want to get all of the information. We want to get a thorough investigation of this matter so we can get the answers as to what happened and what we can do to prevent these kind of things from happening again.

[John Reynolds, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is pleasant to know that the U.S. partners have been co-operative and forthright about their role in this terrible instance.

Can the defence minister assure Canadians that the Americans have pledged to give our investigators full access to their records and personnel in order to properly investigate this matter?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the evening before last, I received a call from secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld. He assured me of their full co-operation in this matter. They have also indicated that they would put a position for a Canadian on their inquiry team. I expect that there will be this kind of sharing of information and co-operation to the highest degree possible so that both countries can find the answers to the questions that bewilder us at this time about what happened and how we can reduce these kinds of incidents in future.

[John Reynolds, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure all Canadians are happy that General Baril is part of the investigation. We have the greatest respect for him. Canadians want to make sure that all questions are answered.

Can the defence minister tell us roughly when the investigation is expected to end? Will he assure Canadians that the results of General Baril's investigation will be made fully public?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, yes, I will be meeting with General Baril today to discuss the terms of reference and the procedure to follow in this matter.

One of the things we will discuss is to be as open and as transparent as we possibly can be with regular updates so that the families and all Canadians, including members of the House, will know how this matter is progressing.

There are Privacy Act considerations and operational security considerations that have to be taken into account. I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, it is our aim to maximize the transparency and openness of this entire process.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Edmonton area armed forces base is actually in my riding. As their member of parliament, it is with great sadness that I rise today to inquire after the care for our injured soldiers.

Can the defence minister update Canadians on the status of our soldiers who were injured in Afghanistan on Wednesday night?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question.

There are eight soldiers who have been injured. Two of them suffered minor injuries and have stayed with the battle group in Kandahar. Six of them have been transported to the medical facility in Ramstein, Germany. As has been mentioned, Her Excellency the Governor General is there and has greeted them.

The two who were in the most critical condition have improved. There have been operations involved in both cases and they are in stable condition. All six are in stable condition and are expected to recover. A number of them, perhaps as many as four, will be coming back to Canada very shortly.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is great to hear that optimistic report.

All members of parliament from Edmonton know military families. I am sure that all of us from the Edmonton area on both sides of the House have lost constituents or know someone who has been touched by this loss. The families of those who were killed are foremost in our minds.

Can the defence minister explain what special efforts are being made to keep the families informed about the progress of the investigation?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in response to the question of the hon. Leader of the Opposition, we want to be as transparent and open about this as possible. While past boards of inquiry usually only reported when they were finished, in recent times on other boards of inquiry we have used a system where there are periodic reports so that updates can be given as the process goes along.

I hope this will not be a very lengthy process, a matter of weeks as opposed to months, but until we get into it and see what the challenges are, we cannot be sure of that. We want to give updates and progress reports to keep people informed.

Bilingualism

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

Mr. Speaker, implementing bilingualism in Canada continues to pose serious problems, particularly within the federal public service management, where close to one third of bilingual positions are still being held by unilingual anglophones.

Will the President of the Treasury Board agree that these figures eloquently confirm the government's lack of will to implement its bilingualism policy and to serve francophone minorities in their language?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, the government is as firm as ever when it comes to the Official Languages Act: the federal public service must meet certain standards to be able to provide services in both languages, and also to allow federal public servants to work in the language of their choice.

It is true that we have set higher standards for senior managers. They still have one year to meet these standards. While I cannot anticipate the results, I firmly hope that all senior managers will comply with the new standard.

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

Mr. Speaker, 20 years after the charter was adopted, the equality between the two official languages remains a problem, as the Commissioner of Official Languages, Dyane Adam, pointed out yesterday when she stated that real equality has yet to be achieved, that it is still an unfinished project.

What does the government have to say about its lack of action, its lack of will in an issue where Canada's francophones are still the ones being shortchanged?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I should mention to the hon. member that, in recent years, many efforts have been made to improve this whole area of service in both official languages, and to ensure the equitable participation of anglophones and francophones.

There are still some problems, but they are not limited to francophones exclusively. For example, just look at the participation of anglophone federal employees in Quebec. Some progress is in order there as well.

I can assure the House that all efforts will be made to achieve our objectives in the coming months.

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, the President of the Treasury Board again said that 32% of federal public service managers were still not bilingual, that they had one year left to become bilingual, and that some of them would not succeed in doing so.

Will the President of the Treasury Board tell us what she plans on doing with managers who do not meet the linguistic requirements of their position by the March 31 deadline?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, as a matter of fact, the Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages discussed the matter this week. I hope that all senior managers will reach this standard, which is now higher.

If some of them fail to meet it—and there is still one year left—we are in the process of looking into measures that could be taken in their case.

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, will the President of the Treasury Board give us an assurance that positions with a bilingual designation will not be changed to unilingual positions, and that the March 21, 2003 deadline will be respected, once and for all?