Debates of June 14th, 2002

Government Contracts

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

Mr. Speaker, obviously in connection with the sponsorship program some very serious mistakes were made. The government started the process of identifying those mistakes in the year 2000 with an internal audit that was ordered by the deputy minister of public works.

Ever since that time corrective action has been taken to further identify the problems and to make sure they do not happen again.

My mandate is to make sure the issues are resolved and that the program functions on a proper basis that respects the public trust.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is talking about mistakes when there are criminal investigations underway in some of the cases. My supplementary question for him is about the performance bonuses.

Given the devastating conclusions in the 2000 report and the fact that the problems are far from being solved, can the minister assure us that those in charge of the program, including Pierre Tremblay, did not receive bonuses for 2000-2001 and subsequently?

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

Mr. Speaker, all appropriate studies and inquiries are underway, both internally and externally, by my department, by treasury board, by the auditor general, by the police where appropriate and even by the public accounts committee of the House.

Canadians can be assured that this matter will be thoroughly ventilated.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Maurice Vellacott, Canadian Alliance, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, is it not strange that in the very same week the Prime Minister announces his new, nine years in the making, ethics package he also announces plans to force first nations to govern more ethically?

Aboriginal Canadians do not have guaranteed voting rights, mandatory access to information and equal protection under the secrecy act.

Would the Prime Minister set aside the spin and the buzzwords and answer a simple question? Does this legislation guarantee aboriginal people the right to vote in band elections?

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

Mr. Speaker, if the member waits for another 20 minutes or so he will get his answer.

[Maurice Vellacott, Canadian Alliance, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I thought the minister might have an idea what it contained by this point in the day.

The Canadian Alliance and aboriginal people are concerned about poverty, health care, crime and economic development issues. An aboriginal single mom with three young children to feed has higher priorities than bureaucratic downloading.

Why has the government failed to address these fundamental issues, tinkering with perception and ignoring the real problems?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think it is fair to say that over the last eight and a half years that the government has been in power the department of Indian affairs and the programs that go to first nations citizens have never been cut. They have always been increased because we recognize the importance of building on that particular initiative of quality of life for first nations citizens.

Municipalities

[Hélène Scherrer, Liberal, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there have been a number of discussions recently on the future of municipalities and the fact that the Government of Canada was not paying much attention to them.

Given that cities represent the vitality of our country, will the Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister tell the House what the government plans on doing to assist municipalities?

[Steve Mahoney, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Crown Corporations]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question.

While the opposition simply continues to throw mud, the government is breaking ground. We have had three major infrastructure programs since elected totalling over $6 billion: strategic highway investments, $600 million; affordable housing, $680 million; money for homeless, $752 million; cultural spaces Canada, $80 million; and green municipal investments, $250 million. Are we helping cities? You bet we are.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Dick Proctor, NDP, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, first nations people from across Canada are gathering in Ottawa today because they want positive and progressive changes to their lives and their communities and oppose the minister's heavy-handed first nations governance initiative that has proven to be so divisive.

In light of this widespread opposition, why will the minister not agree to delay the tabling of this governance act and instead take the summer to repair the considerable damage his “my way or the highway” approach has created?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am confident that once the leadership of first nations and the citizens and the NDP get a chance to read the bill they will see that the improvements we are making are good for people in Canada.

[Dick Proctor, NDP, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, 13 months ago this Indian affairs minister promised that his department's consultative process on this initiative would reach every aboriginal person in Canada.

It has proven to be 99% wrong in the province of Manitoba, where only 1% of the aboriginal population in that province has participated.

What assurances could the minister give today to skeptical first nations people and ourselves that this top down initiative will in no way jeopardize the current framework agreement?

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

First, Mr. Speaker, some 3% of first nations citizens who wanted to participate in consultations did. If we factor that into something like health care across Canada, that would work out to a million people who would participate in consultations on health care. I think that is a lot of people participating in consultation.

Having said that, let me say that there are also going to be consultations in the second phase when the bill is introduced, as it will go to committee before second reading. I think that will give aboriginal people an opportunity to make input and give us their suggestions on improving the bill. That is a good process.

Canadian Heritage

[Bill Casey, Progressive Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister of heritage.

The Acadian village of Beaubassin was established in 1650 and then burned down in 1750. The English then established a village and a fort on a nearby site. Recently the exact site of Beaubassin was confirmed, including 40 foundations of the original Acadian village.

A local historical society requires financial assistance to acquire and protect this valuable piece of property that reflects English, French and our native history. Does the government, in principle, support the preservation of this property and will it help financially?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank the hon. member for his question. In fact, he has been very active on this file. As he knows, it is a file that we certainly support in principle and we want to work with him on to see come to fruition.

I would like to point out in the context of this file that the direct expenditures of the Government of Canada for culture in communities across the country have gone up by 20% over the last three years. I think it is really important that we respond to the communities, not just in the capital cities across the country, but communities wherever they are.

I want to congratulate the Beaubassin historical society for its incredible initiative in this area.

National Defence

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, a report today says that one-third of the missions of a Sea King helicopter in the Arabian Sea were cancelled due to mechanical breakdowns.

The defence minister has said “Because of their age, they do need more maintenance than otherwise”. It sounds like he is talking about the Prime Minister, not helicopters.

Why is the government replacing 20 year old low maintenance jets for the high maintenance sultan of Shawinigan and sending 40 year old broken down helicopters into active duty in the war against terrorism?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, it is certainly true that older helicopters need more maintenance than younger helicopters.

This maintenance, however, is being carried out with the result that safety is not an issue. In my short time at defence I know the culture of the place is such that safety always comes first. We are working actively as we speak to get these new helicopters ordered as soon as possible, but it is a complicated process.

Softwood Lumber

[John Duncan, Canadian Alliance, Vancouver Island North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Pope & Talbot company has been running successful sawmills in B.C. for 30 years. Between 1996 and 2001, the trade minister unfairly and consistently downsized its softwood lumber export quotas. The only remedy available to the company was under NAFTA chapter 11. The NAFTA judgment was scathing about government actions and awarded the company $700,000.

Since the NAFTA ruling, the company has expressed ongoing concern about harassment. When is the minister going to stop this vindictive behaviour?

[Pat O'Brien, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the award to Pope & Talbot was a very small percentage of the money it had asked for. The reality is that the government has taken the appropriate action in this case. Considering that this was a very small percentage of the award that was asked for by Pope & Talbot, I think the judgment speaks for itself.

[John Duncan, Canadian Alliance, Vancouver Island North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that is poor logic. It is not the cost; it is what this government did.

When it comes to the U.S. farm bill, the government is not keeping its promise to farmers to launch a WTO-NAFTA challenge, but when it comes to maintaining confidentiality of the minister's harassment and intimidation of a B.C. sawmiller, the government is prepared to launch appeals ad nauseam.

When will the minister stop harassing a good corporate citizen?

[Pat O'Brien, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, of course that is a silly comment for the hon. member to make.

The reality is that the government will take whatever action it considers necessary to protect the interests of the softwood lumber industry, as he refers to that, and if he is talking about the U.S. farm bill, we are prepared to work with our Cairns partners. Just as soon as there is the slightest opening that this farm bill may contravene the WTO obligations of the United States, the government will act.

Regional Development

[Jocelyne Girard-Bujold, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Pabok said that the government knew 11 months before the official announcement by Noranda that Murdochville's smelter, Mines Gaspé, would shut down.

The federal government did not even deign to pass this information on to the Quebec government or to the mayor of Murdochville.

Does the secretary of state for regional development not find it unacceptable and irresponsible that the government should keep to itself information that was critical to the fate of a whole town, since this resulted in missed opportunities to preserve the future—

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. secretary of state.

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

Mr. Speaker, it must be remembered that following the closure of the mine, in 1999, there were already rumours that the smelter might shut down.

In view of this, we took action and we have since invested $500,000 to help Murdochville's recovery.

We created a $35 million special program for the Gaspé and we set up a regional branch in the region with a staff of 13 to help Murdochville's recovery.

[Jocelyne Girard-Bujold, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Pabok knew 11 months ago what would happen.

Therefore, does the minister not agree that this way of doing things is irresponsible and that the federal government does not care about the development of the Gaspé?