House of Commons Hansard #210 of the 37th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was report.
Gerald Keddy Progressive Conservative South Shore, NS
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister of agriculture. Peninsula Farm, Canada's smallest yogurt maker--
Gerald Keddy Progressive Conservative South Shore, NS
This is not a good story.
Canada's smallest yogurt maker has been shut down by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Sonia and Gordon, the owner-operators of Peninsula Farm, have used the same yogurt making techniques for 26 years, yet now they are told they do not meet CFIA standards.
What is the minister doing to ensure that this small agricultural business, which employs 43 people, is not forced to close its doors?
Lyle Vanclief LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Speaker, the primary concern of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is the safety of the product that is produced in the Canadian food process. As of April 1 of this year dairy processors were informed that they had to meet the standards of the Canada Agricultural Products Act and the dairy products regulations of Canada. They were told they had to meet them.
In an inspection on June 4 of this year the particular establishment that is being referred to had not yet done that. If they provide the documentation and, if necessary, the action plan to meet those standards to ensure the safety of their products, they will certainly be able to continue to process.
Cheryl Gallant Canadian Alliance Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Mr. Speaker, look at the record. For weeks we have been asking questions on behalf of angry, disappointed and frankly puzzled Canadians. Many times the response from the Prime Minister or the minister is to attack us. In a real court of law, this behaviour would be considered in contempt.
Is not the reason the government is deflecting the questions in this manner that it does not want Canadians to know how it really does business?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, in the nearly four weeks since I was appointed to this portfolio on May 26, I have tried my very best to provide full and complete answers, not only to members of the opposition but also to the Canadian public. I must say that I am very grateful for the many, many expressions of support and encouragement that I have received from Canadians.
Cheryl Gallant Canadian Alliance Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Mr. Speaker, deny, deflect, detract, dodge: that is all we are hearing. Every tactic to avoid answering the question has been used, the government is so desperate to hide and cover up.
The U of O study documents that the Liberal government is in fact meddling in the auditing process, which is adding to this culture of corruption. Why not simply clear the air and have a public, independent, judicial inquiry now?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, I am surprised at the reference to meddling in the audit procedure. It was in fact the deputy minister of public works who on his own initiative launched an internal audit in the year 2000 that exposed and revealed the difficulties in the sponsorship program. It was the Auditor General of Canada, a very independent officer of parliament, who said that the work of the internal audit department of public works was in fact courageous and excellent.
Marcel Gagnon Bloc Champlain, QC
Mr. Speaker, while the government is reluctant to go after millions of dollars in overpayments to friends of the party, more than 270,000 seniors are being done out of the guaranteed income supplement to which they are entitled.
Quebec's human rights commission is categorical, calling for nothing less than full retroactivity.
Does the Minister of Human Resources Development intend to meet this demand?
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows full well that the department is working aggressively to identify those Canadian seniors who are eligible for the guaranteed income supplement.
I am happy to say that as a result of a new approach and a new relationship with the department of revenue we have been able to identify those seniors who may be eligible. We have sent them a very simple form, which they have returned to the department. In very short order they will be receiving this very important benefit.
Marcel Gagnon Bloc Champlain, QC
Mr. Speaker, the hon. minister forgets that the guaranteed income supplement problem was caused by the negligence of her department for over eight years, and nothing has been done to correct it.
Does the minister intend to make amends and pay back the money owing the most vulnerable members of society?
Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we have had a consistent approach of ensuring that Canadian seniors do know about the programs that are there for them.
I have just itemized one particular new advancement in our relationship with seniors. We are working at the community level with other organizations to make sure seniors are aware of these programs.
I am surprised the hon. member presents his question in such a fashion. Rather, at home he was scaring seniors, suggesting that the Government of Canada would not make sure that these programs would be there for them and I would ask him to apologize for that very dastardly tactic.
Myron Thompson Canadian Alliance Wild Rose, AB
Mr. Speaker, we know of quite a few messy contracts flowing out of the government ad scam: $1.6 million in triple billed Groupaction reports; $116,000 of Coffin Communications missing reports; the $112,000 Lafleur Communications cheque delivery fee; a street safety CD-ROM; $330,000 to Groupe Polygone for a missing fishing show and then a double payment for the missing fishing show; and gun registry ads that no one asked for and no one can find.
This is a clear pattern of abuse. Why will the minister not agree that the tentacles of Liberal corruption can only be exposed through a full, independent, public, judicial inquiry now?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, surely in terms of matters related to financial propriety the very best authority is the auditor general. She herself, using all of the powers available to her under her legislation, has indicated that she will be conducting a government-wide examination of everything having to do with advertising and sponsorships. Surely in matters related to legal issues, the best authority is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
We are engaging the services of both.
Myron Thompson Canadian Alliance Wild Rose, AB
Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the auditor general and the police will do their work, but we need more than that. Canadians deserve more than that.
The Prime Minister pretends he is accountable in the House. He said we could even ask any questions we want. The only trouble is he never answers them. He says we can use access to information, but the trouble with that is we have to wait two years before we get a response.
This is all simply evidence of cover-up and denial. Why not simply have an independent, public, judicial inquiry and give Canadians the truth and the facts?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, the foundation document in this matter was the internal audit. That was posted in October of the year 2000 on the Internet, together with the action plan to indicate how the errors disclosed in the audit would in fact be corrected. There has also been a running tally on the Internet of the actions taken to implement the recommendations of the internal audit.
This has been a very transparent process, fully exposed through the rules of transparency that apply to parliament, including the Access to Information Act, which has been very useful.
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism. This country has always been proud of its diverse nature. Since September 11 we are worried that the tolerance for other cultures has taken quite a shock.
On this 30th anniversary of adopting a multicultural policy, could the minister tell us what we are doing to promote the understanding that we need?
Jean Augustine LiberalSecretary of State (Multiculturalism) (Status of Women)
Mr. Speaker, as we all know, multiculturalism connects Canadians to one another, builds bridges between us as Canadians and also acknowledges our differences.
Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the multiculturalism policy, we want to reaffirm our diverse heritage and see that diverse heritage as our strength.
In the coming years we are looking at enhancing contact and interaction between Canadians and supporting capacity building initiatives in communities.
Rob Anders Canadian Alliance Calgary West, AB
Mr. Speaker, it is obvious to most Canadians that when the former minister of public works was shipped off to Denmark it was to get him out of the reach of the police, the auditor general, the opposition and all these embarrassing questions. This was an admission from the Prime Minister that the jig was up and the star witness needed to be put under wraps.
Now with the government refusing to answer questions, refusing to appoint an ethics commissioner and refusing a full inquiry, what other conclusion can Canadians come to?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, we have done a tally on the questions with regard to this matter and I think the hon. gentleman would find that over the last four weeks, not including five hours in the committee of the whole, we have answered more questions with respect to the department of public works than at any period of time before in history.
Rob Anders Canadian Alliance Calgary West, AB
Mr. Speaker, and yet the public servants are afraid.
The evidence keeps piling up that the government is determined to keep its cash for contracts scheme going. Just prior to the last election when the department auditors found all kinds of problems with ads and sponsorships, the Prime Minister could have stopped it all but he chose not to. Instead the department and the PMO met with five ad bosses trying to keep the gravy trains running on time.
Why did the government turn a blind eye to the five finger discount by the five firms right out of the taxpayer's pocket?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, the audit was conducted in the year 2000. The report was released in the latter part of the summer, the early part of the fall. It was posted on the Internet in October. Reports about it appeared in the Globe and Mail the very next day.
An action plan was developed by the appropriate officials to implement the recommendations that came from the audit report. Through the rest of that year and the year 2001 the implementation action was in fact taken. In the spring of this year we sent the auditors back in to confirm that the action had been taken.
Pierre Paquette Bloc Joliette, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Quebecois has made known its plan to help out workers and companies that have fallen victim to the softwood lumber dispute of three months ago.
The main point in this plan is the extension by five weeks of the employment insurance benefits to the workers and loan guarantees to the companies.
While the Quebec premier is in Ottawa to seek solutions to this crisis, will the government at last announce a true plan to assist the softwood lumber industry and its workers as promptly as possible?
Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister for International Trade
Mr. Speaker, the government already has programs in place for short term worker assistance.
The Minister of Human Resources Development has announced that $13 million would be allocated to assistance and services to B.C. softwood lumber workers.
The Minister of Natural Resources has announced a $30 million program for the wood export program; $30 million to support R and D; $15 million for the value-added research initiative for wood products; and $20 million for combating U.S. protectionism—