Debates of Feb. 18th, 2003

Haiti

[Denis Paradis, Liberal, Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa) (Francophonie)]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is very concerned by the situation in Haiti. There are 8.5 million people living in extreme poverty and misery.

With regard to the Francophonie, we have the Bamako Declaration, and within the Organization of American States, we have the charter. These two instruments apply Canadian values, values of democracy, human rights and good governance, values that do not seem to be part of the Haitian vocabulary.

Canada is calling on the international community to support the Organization of American States, so that we may come to the help of the Haitian people.

Life Insurance Companies

[Lorne Nystrom, NDP, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

The $7.3 billion merger of Great West Life and Canada Life will create the largest life insurance company in this country, with assets of over $150 billion. That may seem attractive to shareholders, but my concern is for the 21,000 people who work in those companies, including 900 who work in Regina.

This merger requires the approval of the Minister of Finance. Will the minister assess the merger in terms of job losses as he would for banks and make a condition of his approval the job security of all Canadian employees?

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Competition Bureau will review it. OSFI will review it. I understand from the president of the company that there may be no foreseeable job loss. In fact, jobs may go up, particularly in the City of Regina. Therefore, until all the details are on the table, at this point it looks very positive.

Persons with Disabilities

[Wendy Lill, NDP, Dartmouth, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I want to find out how well the Minister of Finance has listened to Canadians with disabilities.

Thousands of letters, a committee report and a unanimous vote of the House called on the minister to do three things: amend the Income Tax act to allow for broader access to the disability tax credit; streamline its application process; and, finally, re-examine all tax measures relating to Canadians with disabilities, especially looking to make the disability tax credit refundable for those with no or low incomes.

Has he done these things? Has he listened?

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the member will get her answer in about an hour and fifteen minutes.

Ethics

[Loyola Hearn, Progressive Conservative, St. John's West, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the government's guidelines on blind trust stipulate that the peekaboo practice can occur only in exceptional circumstances where an extraordinary corporate event is likely to materially affect the assets. That means that the transaction between Canada Steamship Lines and the Indonesian company must have been exceptional or extraordinary.

Did the then minister absent himself from all cabinet discussions on the APEC summit, on the Asian market meltdown or other issues that might have affected the exceptional circumstances--

[The Speaker]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of finance of the day followed all the guidelines very strictly during the term he was minister.

National Security

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

Mr. Speaker, after September 11, the Prime Minister announced that the finance minister would now be in charge of coordinating the nation's security. However last week Transport Canada was advertising for an intelligence analyst to coordinate intelligence among various agencies.

Yesterday the Solicitor General said that he was in charge of national security.

Who really is responsible for the nation's security today? Who is coordinating all the departments involved? When will Canadians be updated?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister is the chair of a committee that these ministers sit on. We work as a team on this side.

Foreign Affairs

[Keith Martin, Canadian Alliance, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the expulsion of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth expires next month unless the suspension is renewed.

Given the fact that people are still being tortured and murdered by Mugabe's thugs, and that the economy and social structure of that country continues to be torn apart by Mugabe's actions, will the Minister of Foreign Affairs support the continued expulsion of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth, yes or no?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly regard, with great preoccupation, the problems in Zimbabwe, as does the hon. member. We have been following this extremely closely. We continue to urge on President Mugabe to change the conditions in his country.

We recognize that there are serious problems in that country but we remain in contact with our colleagues, Mr. Obasanjo, Mr. Mbeki, and Mr. Howard, the Prime Minister of Australia, to see if we can work something through with the troika before we make any precipitous steps.

This is a matter that concerns us greatly but we want to work through it in a way that recognizes the best interests of the people of Zimbabwe. This is not an easy political decision to make.

[Keith Martin, Canadian Alliance, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, half the population in that country is dying. This is the same non-answer that the government has been giving for a year.

My question is simple. No one is coming to the defence of the innocent people of that country, who are dying in torture centres and who are being murdered. Half the population is being starved to death. It is that simple. This country is a member of the Commonwealth. Will the government stand up in the defence of these people's lives? Will it ask for the continued expulsion of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth? Yes or no.

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I said to the hon. member and as the government has recognized in the House, we are very preoccupied by the status and the state of the people of Zimbabwe.

I ask the hon. member to work with me and to work with the government to take responsible decisions that are in the best interests of the people of Zimbabwe.

We are working with the Commonwealth. We will continue to do this. The Prime Minister follows this very carefully with his colleagues. We will take the right decision at the right time in the interests of the people of Zimbabwe and in the interests of making sure that the Commonwealth disciplines Zimbabwe in the right way.

Health

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a few years ago Health Canada promised to improve the drug approval process. The drug safety review process now takes 717 days and as a result, patients here have to wait for access to new treatments that are already available elsewhere.

Can the minister explain why, eight years later, Health Canada still has not reached its objective of conducting new drug reviews within 365 days?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that hon. member has raised this question, because I am sure he read the Speech from the Throne, where in fact the government made a very important commitment in relation to smart regulation.

In fact, we understand the challenge in relation to drug approval times. We are reviewing and in fact are in consultations now to determine how we can put in place a renewed drug approval process that meets the needs of all Canadians.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the innovative pharmaceutical industry spends $40 million a year in drug review fees. Does the minister believe that she is able to meet the review deadlines and, if not, should Health Canada not reimburse the review fees for lack of efficiency?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we are looking at all aspects of our drug approval process. We are looking at the time it takes. We are comparing those approval times with other countries' standards. We are working with the private sector, including drug companies.

We take this very seriously, which is why in fact this was an important commitment made in the Speech from the Throne.

International Cooperation

[Deepak Obhrai, Canadian Alliance, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned that the budget today will increase foreign aid. Without stringent controls, we know from past experience that money can find its way into terrorists' hands.

Will the minister assure Canadians that no foreign aid money will find its way into terrorists' hands?

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, I think we will have to wait until this afternoon to see what the budget has to say about dollars, but I can assure the hon. member that indeed we work with reputable organizations and institutions around the world. We do not fund terrorist organizations. We thoroughly vet the organizations and we have reviewed the companies and the organizations that we are working with.

[Deepak Obhrai, Canadian Alliance, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, recent correspondence from Len Good, the president of CIDA, talks of aid money going to China for years to come. This is a country that least needs foreign aid. Projected aid to China and India will almost equal the increase of foreign aid in the budget.

On the one hand they increase aid saying the poor need it, and on the other hand they blatantly waste it by funnelling to countries that do not need it. Why?

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the hon. member knows that one-fifth of the world's absolute poor live in China. The mandate of my department is to reduce poverty through sustainable development.

Around the world we are working with countries where there are poor people. We are working on human rights issues in China, which I believe are very important to most members of the House, and we will continue to work with the absolute poor in China.

Foreign Affairs

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval West, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. One year ago on February 23, senator Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped and is still being held hostage by Colombian guerillas.

Given that this situation concerns a large number of Canadians, we would like the Minister of Foreign Affairs to advise us of his intentions with regard to diplomatic efforts to bring about the release of Ms. Betancourt.

Second, is he prepared to support a motion of members of this House seeking the immediate release of Ms. Betancourt?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question. I am very concerned about Ms. Betancourt's situation. This morning, I spoke to the Colombian foreign affairs minister. Last night, I met with Ms. Betancourt's daughter. It is a tragedy that people are taken hostage for political reasons in this world.

I believe that if the House were to adopt a motion condemning such activity, it would send the message to FARC that the world condemns this type of activity and that Canadians want Ms. Betancourt and all the other hostages to be released—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands.