Debates of May 29th, 2002

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Canadians are deeply concerned about the fact that India and Pakistan are on the brink of war, possibly nuclear war, over Kashmir. In 1948 and 1949 the United Nations supported a referendum to allow the people of Kashmir to determine their own future.

I ask the minister this. Does Canada continue to support the principle of self-determination for the Kashmiri people and will we call on India to finally accept this political solution to avoid a disastrous war with Pakistan?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the House that the government shares the concern of the hon. member regarding the situation in India and Pakistan. The Prime Minister personally spoke to President Musharraf on the weekend. He also spoke to the prime minister of India. We are doing everything we can along with our colleagues at the NATO meeting, which we were at yesterday, and in the international community to ask these two parties to draw back from the brink of what could be a nuclear war.

I do not think it would be appropriate for us now to interfere in the fight between them. What we need to do is stop the rhetoric and stop the potential of this tremendous violence.

Minister of Immigration

[André Bachand, Progressive Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian politics is in mourning. The voice of the federal Liberals in Quebec has been silenced. The member for Bourassa, the minister of immigration, after having put his foot in his mouth, no longer opens it at all.

A radio personality, vice-president of Polygone and buddy of Groupe Everest, this communicator with close connections to communications firms, is no longer communicative.

We are a tenacious bunch, however, so here is my question. Can the minister tell us whether a minister is lying if he deliberately mispeaks in answering a question? Yes or no?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think this question deserves an answer.

Aboriginal Affairs

[John Herron, Progressive Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of Indian affairs said that, based on a report seven years ago, he made changes in first nations water quality, yet the Walkerton report said that it was unacceptable and disturbing that 83 reserves across Canada currently had contaminated water systems. The member for Toronto—Danforth, who held a water roundtable on a reserve, echoed the recommendations of the roundtable of the Conservative Party that the federal government must act to protect the drinking water for first nations.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Why is the government not acting to ensure that all Canadians, particularly on reserves where they have exclusive jurisdiction, have access to safe drinking water?

[Bob Nault, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I imagine the member was away when I answered this question just a few days ago.

The reality of it is that since 1995, when we first did our own report between the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Health Canada, we put forward a plan to deal with all the insufficient plants on reserves. Through that process we went from about 140 plants that were inefficient down to 22. We are working on the last 22. In that time period, we have put an extra $500 million into the system and we continue to put over $140 million a year into upgrading those processes.

Having said that, I will be coming forward very shortly with an announcement to improve the system even further.

Government Contracts

[John Reynolds, Canadian Alliance, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday's revelation that the Liberal Party's ties to Groupe Everest now reach into the Prime Minister's Office is a cause for concern. We now know that Groupe Everest received an untendered contract to place an ad for the Prime Minister's Canada Day message. We hear from the public works minister that other contracts have been referred to the RCMP.

I would ask the public works minister this. How many more contracts have been referred to the RCMP by either his office or the auditor general and will he freeze all discretionary advertising until the auditor general completes her investigation?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. gentleman knows, the auditor general herself has made certain references to the RCMP. My officials have undertaken to refer any other matters that come to their attention to the RCMP. The advice I have, and I say this very sincerely to the hon. gentleman, from legal advisers is that for me or for anyone else to comment on the number or on the course of those investigations could do exactly what both he and I would not want to do, and that is foul up the investigation.

Therefore, I ask him to bear with me and assure him that any way in which I can be transparent in this matter I most certainly will be.

[John Reynolds, Canadian Alliance, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we appreciate him being transparent. I think any lawyer would tell us the number of more contracts that have gone. We announced publicly that three contracts went. I think Canadians would like to know how many more and as quickly as possible. As soon as he can get us that information, Canadians will believe it.

After all of this is done, will he clear the air now, because he said he would look into this the other day, and allow all parliamentarians to look at all the contracts that are sitting in the files so we can review them as the opposition?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, on the first part of the question, I will seek specific legal advice on whether the releasing of numbers would present a difficulty in the investigation. I will answer that question for the hon. gentleman just as soon as I can.

On the second part of the question, the files in this matter are being reviewed back until I believe it is 1997 by my officials. As he knows, there is also a full scale inquiry being made by the auditor general. I believe between those two processes, the internal one and the external one, all--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Beauport—Montmorency—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île-d'Orléans.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Côte-De- Beaupré—Île-D'Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, firms that are cozy with the Liberal party are being awarded contracts for which they are being paid commissions twice over. Lost reports are being paid for twice, the same report is being used three times, rather than once, and yesterday in Toronto, even the Deputy Prime Minister said that the Prime Minister's behaviour in the Business Development Bank of Canada affair had offended Canadians.

Does the Prime Minister not think that all of the necessary ingredients have finally come together to warrant an independent public inquiry?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, what the member said and what the Deputy Prime Minister said are not the same thing.

He said that at the present time, we are working to establish a code. We will soon be tabling in the House a code to guide relations between members, ministers and crown corporations.

Right now, in response to the opposition in particular, we have asked the auditor general to conduct a review. That is what she is doing at this time and she is an officer of the House of Commons.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Côte-De- Beaupré—Île-D'Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Alfonso Gagliano is now in Denmark, the second minister of public works has returned to his old position, the former Secretary of State for Amateur Sport has lost his memory, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts is not being allowed to hear any witnesses, and Groupaction, Groupe Everest and Communications Coffin have now been followed by Via Rail and Lafleur Communications. The latest revelation is the Minster of Justice's salmon fishing jaunts.

Does the Prime Minister not feel that things are starting to add up and that a public inquiry is more necessary than ever?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I said that the auditor general was looking into it.

However, what I have noticed and what I find unfortunate, because people are watching us, is that for 17 days, members of the opposition, who have had the opportunity to ask questions of the government, have not asked about agriculture, softwood lumber, Kyoto or the environment.

The public agrees with what we are doing. So, their only recourse is to try to ruin reputations.

Ethics

[Stephen Harper, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I want to get clarification on something the Prime Minister said earlier in question period. We want to get to the bottom of the ethical standards of the Prime Minister and the government.

Is it really his position that a minister of the crown has not only the right but the responsibility to directly lobby officials or agencies under his direct supervision to get favours for friends or family members? Is that really his position?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, a minister, a member of the cabinet is a member of parliament and a minister is responsible for his province. He has the duty to pass requests that come into his office to any agency in the government. It is for the agency to say yes or no.

In that case, if there was lobbying, and there was no lobbying, it was a transmission of a request. The request did not receive a favourable answer because the commissioner reported to him, when they discussed it, that the RCMP had decided it did not have the funds to proceed with the request.

[Stephen Harper, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the responsibility of ministers of the crown is to act in the interests of all Canadians, not as private lobbyists.

I have a second question. For days members from all parties have been asking the minister of immigration to clarify statements he made as a minister of the crown contradicting himself on whether he stayed at the Boulay chalet.

I am asking the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister to stop stonewalling on this and allow the minister of immigration to answer this question. Why did he contradict himself?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, a minister replies to questions about his ministry. It is a rule of the House of Commons.

Talking about stonewalling, when will he give us the names of the people who contributed to his campaign? When will he tell us who was funding the National Citizens' Coalition? Attacking every politician, never revealing his salary and never giving the source of the funds, all is completely hidden when it is the case of that party across. It is unbelievable that they have double standards like that.

Status of Women

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

Mr. Speaker, on a different topic, my question is for the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women.

Today the Quebec Council on the Status of Women made public its research on prostitution and the trafficking of women.

Could the secretary of state tell the House what the federal government is doing to address what is a very serious issue?

[Jean Augustine, Liberal, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) (Status of Women)]

Mr. Speaker, I want to take the opportunity to thank to my colleague for giving me the opportunity to answer the first question in my new role.

Canada is committed to preventing and combating the trafficking of women. On May 14 we signed the United Nations protocol to prevent, suppress and punish traffic in persons, especially women and children. The Status of Women has put in a lot of work with communities with responses to that very negative issue.

G-8 Summit

[Myron Thompson, Canadian Alliance, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday the government released its compensation package for those affected by the G-8 summit. I have a document in my possession from a prominent insurance company in Canada in which it states that since September 11 it will no longer cover acts of terrorism.

Surely the minister agrees that the violence at G-8 summits in the past goes well beyond vandalism and is considered terrorism. Does the minister have a plan for those who will be denied private insurance coverage due to acts of terrorism?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, of course we have a process in place to make sure that for any damage that takes place and is directly involved with the G-8, people are compensated.

[Myron Thompson, Canadian Alliance, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have gone over this compensation package and it is very apparent that the claims decisions are discretionary, subjective and in the hands of government bureaucrats.

Will the minister give a definition of extraordinary costs for an individual? Will a person's house be covered or just the broken windows? Will a person's car be covered? What about bodily harm?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague is probably aware, we dealt with the province of Alberta to make sure that we came up with an appropriate agreement before everything was agreed to, to have the G-8 in Kananaskis. We have the agreement of the city of Calgary and the province of Alberta and the G-8 will be a very successful and safe event.