Debates of June 14th, 2002

Governors General of Canada

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend Governor General Adrienne Clarkson will celebrate 50 years of Canadian governors general with a concert at Rideau Hall. It was 50 years ago that the Right Hon. Vincent Massey became the first Canadian born governor general.

This concert is to celebrate the accomplishments of Canadians over the last 50 years. Twenty-five thousand people are expected for the concert called “Live From Rideau Hall”. For two hours crowds will be thrilled by over 16 Canadian musical acts from across the musical spectrum, from Stompin' Tom Connors to the National Arts Centre orchestra.

I encourage Canadians who will be in the national capital region this weekend to attend the concert and to celebrate the variety and excellence of Canadian artists.

La Soirée du hockey

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, francophone Canadians watched the last broadcast of La Soirée du hockey on the CBC's French television network.

It is now francophones who are in the penalty box, but they are there for an indeterminate period of time.

It is truly outrageous that a public corporation can no longer continue a quasi-cultural tradition that goes back 50 years.

In my riding, hundreds of homes will be deprived of an evening that had become a family ritual. With their low income, these families will never be able to afford cable and will be unable to continue to support their favourite team.

I urge the Minister of Canadian Heritage to step in to get this decision overturned and ensure that francophones will not be once again the big losers because of this decision.

Wharf Maintenance

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I never would have thought that a region of Quebec could be the object of such contempt on the part of the federal government.

Yesterday, the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord and Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Transport—a department whose negligence resulted in the Les Basques ferry season being put on hold—dared to say that workers and tourists would able to take the ferries in Rivière-du-Loup and Rimouski, without showing any concern for the devastating impact on the regional economy of Les Basques and Les Escoumins of the Department of Transport's incompetence.

Yet, 52 municipalities in the riding of Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques warned the department, over a year ago, that the wharves would be dangerous if the minister did not have them repaired.

The federal government must accept the Quebec government proposal and transfer the wharves to the municipalities, pay for the repairs and let stakeholders clean up the mess created by Ottawa.

War Veterans

[David Pratt, Liberal, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today more than 200 veterans from the province of New Brunswick will be honoured for their role in liberating the Dutch from Nazi occupation during World War II.

In presentation ceremonies being held in Fredericton and Sussex, the Dutch government, with the assistance of the Royal Canadian Legion, will present these Canadian war heroes with a medal appropriately entitled the “Thank you Canada” medal. In an effort to present these medals to every Canadian who served in Holland, the Dutch government is planning five more ceremonies around New Brunswick before mid-July.

Canada has a long and proud military history. Whenever called upon, the Canadian forces has served with distinction, pride and honour. In 1945 thousands of Canadian soldiers fought for freedom from tyranny and today more than 50 years later the Dutch government is saying thanks to our Canadian veterans.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, the quality of our health care system is a top priority for Canadians. The system is subject to all sorts of pressures, not the least of which is the ability to get new drugs that are capable of saving lives to market.

Canadians are concerned about the government's lack of responsibility on a number of fronts. There has been no shortage of examples of late where we have seen the government spend money without having the necessary safeguards in place.

These two elements combined lead to a clear lack of responsibility when it comes time to approve new drugs.

More specifically, there is within Health Canada a complete review and approval process for drug registration so that these drugs can be marketed and made available to those who really need them. While the approval period is supposed to be 345 days, in fact, it is 714 days, one year more than in the United States.

We need answers. That is why the minister must table an annual report to parliament containing the number of drugs that were approved, the periods required for approval and explanations for any delays. This is a matter of health for all Canadians.

Cardiovascular Disease Awareness Month

[Jeannot Castonguay, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, June is Cardiovascular Disease Awareness Month.

Every year, some 50,000 Canadians die or suffer a severe disability as a result of this disease. Cardiovascular disease is the greatest cause of extended disability among adults and leads to close to 17,000 hospitalizations every year.

The direct annual cost related to cardiovascular disease is approximately $2.7 billion, including hospital care, drugs, medical consultations and research. There are also enormous indirect costs, such as the loss of productivity due to death or short or long term disability.

We are proud of the work done by through the Canadian Stroke Network, and by others to encourage Canadians to adopt a healthier lifestyle. All of us can, and should, call on all of society to invest in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Agriculture

[Kevin Sorenson, Canadian Alliance, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as the proceedings in the House wind down for the summer, many MPs will return home for a well deserved break from the daily grind in Ottawa. Although I am looking forward to the next few months in my riding, I dread witnessing the despair and loss of hope given the serious drought in my constituency.

Provost, Consort, Wainwright, Camrose, Stettler, Hanna, Drumheller and Oyen, as well as other parts of central Alberta have had no rain prompting many constituents like Kurt and Lynn Cole to write. They said:

--depression is written on people's faces as they are forced to sell their cattle and as they consider what they are going to do about their land that is drying and blowing away... intelligent hard working people simply cannot compete...there just is no release. As we sit and listen to you guys in parliament...our dear neighbour has taken his cattle that's been in his family for two generations to market.

For the sake of my constituents and all Canadian farmers, I beg the government to do something to restore hope and to address this serious and devastating situation.

The government should do more than flip a coin with the hopes of farmers: heads, government wins; tails, farmers lose.

Kyoto Protocol

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a study done by the Pembina Institute for the Canadian Climate Action Network and released yesterday concluded, on the strength of several studies done throughout the world on the economic impact of the Kyoto protocol, that ratifying the protocol was certain to be cost-effective.

The research indicates that environmental pressure stimulates innovation, improves the competitiveness of businesses and encourages the development of several industrial sectors.

The study follows on the heels of a recent report by the David Suzuki Foundation, which concluded that ratifying the Kyoto protocol would produce net job gains and competitive advantages for Canada.

In the meantime, the federal government is refusing to ratify the protocol, is launching a new series of consultations, and is dragging its feet.

Let us remember that after the European Union ratified the protocol, Japan recently announced that it had done likewise. It is time for Canada to realize that signing the Kyoto protocol will have not just environmental benefits, but economic ones as well.

I therefore urge the Prime Minister to keep his promise, to join forces with the coalition formed by the Bloc Quebecois, and to ratify the Kyoto protocol as quickly as possible.

Government Contracts

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am sad to report we have another one of these ad scams again. This time it is Polygone. We will probably remember this one as Polygone, money gone. This time this crew was paid twice for a fishing show of which it only had one show.

I would like to ask the Minister of Public Works and Government Services this. Is this another one that will go to the RCMP?

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

Mr. Speaker, all files with respect to Polygone projects are under review. On this allegation, which has to do with the potential of double payment for some advertising work, a preliminary inquiry, and I stress the word preliminary, shows that the work appears to be both separate and incremental. Nevertheless the review is ongoing as promised.

In addition, as I previously said, my predecessor already acted on this matter to eliminate such advertising as an eligible activity for the future under the sponsorship programs, and I have suspended all sponsorship activities with the firm.

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are frankly sick of this ethical mess. Let us kind of review. What is the RCMP total now? One, Groupaction with missing reports; two, Communication Coffin; three, VIA Rail cheque delivered for Lafleur; four, street safety CD-Rom; and five, Polygone missing show.

How many RCMP investigations will it take before the minister recognizes the ethical mess that he is in?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have been asked by the Prime Minister to deal with certain issues within Communication Canada and within Public Works Canada.

A variety of steps have been taken, including a departmental review by my department, a complete examination which will begin shortly by the auditor general, police references when there is any legal question that arises, an overall examination of governance issues and management framework issues by the treasury board and of course the work of the public accounts committee.

Action is moving forward on all fronts.

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, literally every day another ad scam is revealed. Canadians will probably never know how many RCMP investigations have been ordered but this is what they do know. They know that the government has smeared the ethical reputation of the country.

When will we get a public inquiry so that Canadians do not have to face this water torture of ad scam sleaze?

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

Mr. Speaker, in the appropriate course of events it is important for public officials to do their jobs. In this case the auditor general will be conducting an examination across government having to do with all advertising sponsorships and polling. In the meantime, when there are any matters that require appropriate investigation by police authorities, the references to the police occur automatically.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Canadian Alliance, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is time for the minister to put an end to the corruption. The drip, drip, drip of ad scams is torturing taxpayers. He has tried valiantly to reassure us that he has the matter under control but the evidence mounts that it is not.

It is time to take a bold step. Will the minister convince us he is serious by ordering a government-wide freeze and get taxpayers out of this needless advertising racket entirely?

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

Mr. Speaker, on the second day that I was minister in this portfolio, I indicated that there was a freeze on future sponsorship activities until I was in a position to examine the criteria for the programs and examine if all the projects were in compliance with those criteria. That review by me, which began immediately upon my taking office, has been proceeding.

In the meantime there have been representations from virtually every party in the House to find a means to restart the programs so the community organizations are not disadvantaged.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Canadian Alliance, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the sponsorship program has been exposed as a kickback scam. The Prime Minister blames the bureaucrats. The officials blame the minister. The auditor general blames everyone, and the number of RCMP investigations keeps mounting. Canadians deserve better.

At some point there will be a public inquiry into all this. Why will the minister not admit that it is necessary and set one up right now?

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

Mr. Speaker, my job is to identify where errors have been made in the past and to ensure that those errors are not repeated in the future. Accordingly a whole series of activities have been undertaken, as I have outlined to the House over and over again.

What I am encouraged about is not the harangue that comes from the opposition, but the daily comments that I have received from Canadians from coast to coast to coast saying that this file is being properly handled.

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

Mr. Speaker, in Winnipeg recently, the Prime Minister admitted that several million dollars might perhaps have been stolen in the sponsorship scandal. Last evening the PM attempted to minimize the situation by stating that a few mistakes have been made.

How can the Prime Minister pass off so lightly all the scandals that are piling up, when the taxpayers' money is being pillaged and handed out to the cronies of the Liberal regime?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's treatment of this matter has been anything but light. He has indicated in this House and publicly that where there are mistakes in administration, they will be corrected; where there are overpayments, they will be recovered; and if there is any trace of illegal activity, that will be investigated and prosecuted. That is not light treatment.

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

Mr. Speaker, the government's strategy is to protect itself by making light of what went on or by referring the cases to the RCMP one by one.

However, what the public has figured out is that the government is trying at all costs to avoid having to explain what really went on.

Does the Minister of Public Works and Government Services understand, as the scandals pile up, that the least the government can do is to cast light on all of this by referring the sponsorship program to an independent and public inquiry?

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

Mr. Speaker, again I fail to see how referring matters to the RCMP is trivializing the subject matter. We are investigating the situation internally from a departmental point of view. We are pursuing our obligations with respect to the auditor general. Police inquiries are underway. The treasury board is doing its job with respect to governance and management, and of course the public accounts committee is doing its job too. On all fronts this matter is being properly pursued.

[Ghislain Lebel, Bloc, Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder when the minister is going to realize that the population needs a government with a moral stand.

Once again yesterday, new cases were reported by CBC and there will be more to follow next week.

Why will the minister not admit that, at the stage we are at now, it is absolutely imperative that there be a public inquiry, that one must be ordered and set up immediately?

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

Mr. Speaker, for the reasons that have been explained in the House before, there are a number of investigations and inquiries already fully underway.

My department is examining all those files between the period of 1997 to 2000 yet again. The Prime Minister has charged the President of the Treasury Board to review the governance and management framework. That work is underway.

The auditor general has indicated that she will conduct a government wide audit with respect to all advertising sponsorships completely independently. Of course there is also the work of the police where that is necessary.

[Ghislain Lebel, Bloc, Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the real problem is that the entire strategy put in place by the Prime Minister prior to the 2000 election was a cover-up, so that the system could continue to function as it has from the start.

Now that the government has had the lid taken off its strategy, is it not time for a public inquiry, an honest one this time, to be set up in order to bring right out into the open the buddy system that holds this party together?