Debates of June 14th, 2002

Regional Development

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, through all the actions that we have taken and that we are continuing to take, we are working on developing potential projects to help Murdochville's recovery. We will continue to do so, and we on this side of the House care about this issue. Instead of criticizing, members opposite should propose initiatives to help Murdochville's recovery.

Agriculture

[David Anderson, Canadian Alliance, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister for International Trade said:

We have been working with many countries around the world that precisely object to the U.S. farm bill...We will continue to work with our partners to see whether the farm bill in its present shape respects the WTO obligations.

The reality is that so far the government has accomplished nothing. There is no action plan. There is no analysis. There is no strategy. The government has known the details of the U.S. farm bill for months.

It has the slightest opening, as the parliamentary secretary just mentioned. How long will it take for the government to make up its mind on whether it is going to challenge the U.S. at the WTO and NAFTA?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is extremely short on knowledge of what has happened.

The farm bill was just put in place a very few weeks ago. The United States has not even yet notified the WTO on how it is going to apply the farm bill. The analysis is taking place on the potential, the ways in which they are so doing. They have not yet put in place the implementation and we certainly cannot take people to court or take them to the WTO until they have taken an action on which we can base that appeal.

[David Anderson, Canadian Alliance, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian farmers and western Canadians in particular are used to being flipped off by these Liberals. First, one of their prime ministers flipped western Canadians the bird, and now the Prime Minister wants to flip a coin to decide agricultural funding.

Grain producers are sick and tired of being treated with absolutely no respect by the government. They do not deserve to pay the price for a cabinet meltdown.

When will the government begin to deal seriously with its own agricultural and trade failures?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I will give an example to the hon. member on how the federal government supports agriculture, for example in the province of Saskatchewan. Last year the federal government invested in agriculture in Saskatchewan moneys equivalent to 33% of the gross domestic agricultural product in that province. The provincial government invested 13%.

The federal government invested two and a half times more in the agricultural industry in the province of Saskatchewan than his own province did. That shows where the federal government is.

Ethics

[Judi Longfield, Liberal, Whitby—Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on June 11 the government released its ethics and integrity package.

Could the government House leader tell Canadians what actions have been taken to begin implementation of the measures announced by the Prime Minister?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, since the release of the Prime Minister's excellent ethics and integrity package, with which we are all familiar, notice of a motion for the creation of a special committee has been put on the order of the House.

Consultations have been taking place between other political parties in order to establish a code of conduct for parliamentarians. We are looking forward to all party co-operation. I have also written to all House leaders seeking their views on measures touching electoral financing and political parties.

Finally, I intend to consult during the summer months with academics, provincial ethics counsellors and others so that we can be fully ready with the implementation--

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Crowfoot.

National Security

[Kevin Sorenson, Canadian Alliance, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, CSIS failed to locate and identify Ahmed Ressam. Now we learn that it erased more than 200 tapes of intercepted conversations of Air India bombing suspect Talwinder Singh Parmar.

For the solicitor general, how can Canadians feel safe given the numerous breaches in security and the repeated errors by CSIS?

[Lynn Myers, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that CSIS and the RCMP work very, very hard in this country to ensure that these matters are well in hand.

We on this side of the House continue to support them in these very important areas.

I would suggest that the opposition do likewise.

[Kevin Sorenson, Canadian Alliance, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we know that CSIS and the RCMP work hard. The problem is with this government and the level of resources it has made to them with the drastic cutbacks. CSIS and RCMP are starved for resources. The paltry dollars that have been allocated to CSIS and to the RCMP are simply not enough to effectively staff our police and intelligence forces.

I ask the acting prime minister, when will adequate dollars be allocated so that Canada can effectively fight the war on terrorism?

[Lynn Myers, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, we need not take any lessons from the opposition over there in terms of CSIS and the RCMP. We have added additional tools and additional resources, millions and millions of dollars, to CSIS and the RCMP, so that they can effectively carry on their work. That is precisely what Canadians expect of them.

I suggest that the opposition should applaud CSIS and should applaud the RCMP and make sure that they too support what is in the best interests of Canada. It is time for the opposition to stand up for Canada for a change.

Guaranteed Income Supplement

[Marcel Gagnon, Bloc, Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, every day numerous scandals break that prove that the government is pillaging public funds for the benefit of its cronies. In the meantime, the most disadvantaged of our seniors have been deprived, over the past eight years, of $3.2 billion in guaranteed income supplement payments.

Does the minister intend to set this right by giving these seniors full retroactivity? Do we have to go through Polygone to get our money?

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of public works has laid out his decisive action plan to deal with the matters that have been raised by the House. If there are administrative problems, they will be corrected. If there are overpayments, they will be recovered. If there are legal questions, they will be referred to the appropriate authorities.

Biotechnology

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week the Bio 2002 International Conference & Exhibition was held in Toronto. Canada is one of many countries with a strong biotechnology industry and we are engaged in significant research. We need to retain our competitive edge, however.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health inform the House on the steps the government is taking to ensure that Canada retains a lead role in biotechnology R and D?

[Jeannot Castonguay, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is very much aware of the importance of research. It is committed to ensuring that talented researchers have the resources and training they need.

This is why the Minister of Health announced earlier this week $88 million in funding to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to train Canada's future health and biotechnology researchers.

I believe that this investment will help consolidate Canada's position in the biotechnology industry as the second largest in the world, a position which should be a source of pride to us all.

National Defence

[Peter Goldring, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Centre-East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the inescapable optics are that a delayed ombudsman report could be edited and co-authored by the minister and possibly even the Prime Minister. By delaying the report, the minister is playing hide and seek with our military and with our public's confidence.

The report's integrity and transparency are seriously at risk. Will the ombudsman report be released now, before parliament rises for the summer and before public confidence in the report's integrity has expired?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the notion that I would amend a report is utter nonsense. As I explained yesterday, I simply wanted time to read it. I have instructed my department to indicate the actions it is taking to deal with these matters. I will have a report from the department on Monday. My plan is to table the report in the House on Tuesday of next week, before the House rises, unless the opposition changes its mind.

Shipping

[Gérard Asselin, Bloc, Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the drop in shipping traffic on the St. Lawrence River is worrying shipowners and their clients. The shipping industry has come up with a proposal for a long term agreement with the coast guard regarding service fees.

Why is the government not responding seriously to the shipping industry's proposal, in order to encourage Quebec's regional economic development?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, all of the fees will be examined by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and myself. The situation facing the industry on the St. Lawrence River is very serious.

I would like to assure the hon. member that the government is concerned about the situation and that we will act.

Fisheries

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

Mr. Speaker, last week the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans released a unanimous report outlining its concerns and offering recommendations on foreign overfishing off the 200 mile limit of the Flemish Cap and the nose and tail of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Instead of waiting for a response from the government, the fisheries minister, in such a flippant manner, completely disregarded the report and even admitted that he had not read the report.

My question for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is this. Why would he so blatantly and in such a callous manner disregard the report when he has not even read it?

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

Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank the members of the fisheries committee for the outstanding job that they continually do. I have nothing but the greatest of respect for chairman of the committee, the member for Malpeque, and even the member for Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore.

I have not responded to the committee's report yet. I will in due course and in full fashion. However I did state to the press my position and the government's position on the unilateral imposition of custodial management, the same position that I have outlined in the House many times and when it was even of interest to the member of the Conservative Party during the byelections in Newfoundland.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, what a flippant, dismissive minister we have there. My question is for the Minister of National Defence. There has been a continuing stream of evidence and inquiry into depleted uranium exposure suffered by soldiers who served in the gulf and various peacekeeping missions abroad.

Captain Terry Riordon's official cause of death was recorded as gulf war syndrome. Other men, like Leading Seaman Perry Holloway, and their spouses continue to struggle daily with the symptoms of a system that frustrates and fails to treat them.

Will the Minister of National Defence and DVA please address this tragic situation and guarantee coverage of all the costs of bone biopsies and treatment for the presence of depleted uranium for exposed Canadian soldiers?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I will definitely look into this case today and get back to the member. In general however, as I said earlier today, it is deeply embedded in the culture of the military to put the safety of its fighting forces first.

Over the past several years, under the influence of my predecessor, the human condition of the armed forces was his top priority. As a consequence we have put large additional resources into taking care of our military and treating stress disorders.

First Nations Governance Act

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

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-61, an act respecting leadership selection, administration and accountability of Indian bands, and to make related amendments to other acts.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)