Debates of Feb. 21st, 2003

Trade

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, in the member's preamble she forgot to mention that the Prime Minister received a standing ovation from the audience in Chicago. It is because of members like her who are part of the blame Canada club that Americans have the wrong impression of the important partnership and good relationship Canada has with the United States. If she really wanted to be helpful, she might start talking about the facts.

Employment Insurance

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, among the many leaks orchestrated by the Minister of Finance before he brought down his budget, his promise to review management of the EI fund fizzled.

In announcing consultations to set the premium rate, the minister is only repeating his predecessor's broken promise from September 2000.

This time, will these consultations lead to something other than the government funnelling off $45 billion from the EI fund at the expense of workers and employers?

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

Mr. Speaker, this gives me an opportunity to again indicate that the minister has announced that premiums for next year will be $1.98, down from $2.10, for the tenth consecutive year in a row.

I also would point out to the member, yes, there will be consultations. The minister has indicated very clearly where he would like to see this go. It is very important. The EI is coming down and it is coming down in the direction that we want to see and that Canadians want to see.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is all well and good for the parliamentary secretary to say that the government has cut the premiums, but over the next year, the minister will again take $3 billion from the pockets of workers and employers.

When will the minister and the government stop dipping into the EI fund, establish a premium rate that corresponds to needs and create an independent EI fund that is managed by employers and workers?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance announced that there will be a process put in place. The minister has made his intentions very clear.

This member, I hope, will be part of the process and part of the solution, instead of continually getting up and criticizing the fact that we are obviously moving in the right direction, continually going down for 10 years, which I cannot say was the previous government's approach. It was continually going up.

Softwood Lumber

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

Mr. Speaker, U.S. car buyers have filed an antitrust class action lawsuit against Canadian and U.S. automakers, alleging collusion to raise prices only in the U.S.

U.S. consumers have expressed similar concerns that the Canada-U.S. softwood discussions will lead to agreement to increase softwood lumber prices only in the U.S.

What is the Minister of Trade doing during the current talks in Washington to ensure that Canadian forest stakeholders and his own department are not involved in violations of U.S. antitrust law?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, clearly this is a very important dimension to the discussions that are taking place right now.

The chief executive officers of our softwood lumber industry are in Washington because, as a government, we want to work closely with them and consult with them.

What we are trying to do in the present negotiations with Mr. Aldonas is identify a resolution to the present dispute. This will be done by correcting and improving our forestry management practices and eliminating the countervailing and antidumping duties that is being applied to our softwood lumber in the United States right now.

Persons with Disabilities

[Reed Elley, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last November the House unanimously agreed to a supply day motion that called for the Minister of Finance to act on the disability tax credit

I have heard from the disability community that they are sick and tired of coming to Ottawa with hat in hand for over 10 years to beg the government to create a level playing field for Canadians with disabilities and getting virtually nothing.

The minister promised wide consultation before he initiated new DTC regulations. That has not been done and he is bringing them in through the back door.

When will he get it right, complete the full consultation process and do what he promised Canadians who are disabled he would do?

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister has responded in a positive manner. It is not as restrictive as what was originally proposed. The government has set aside $25 million for 2003-04, in addition to $80 million for 2004-05 in terms of tax assistance for persons with disabilities.

We are in the business of providing assistance for people with disabilities, and the member knows that.

Human Resources Development

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

Mr. Speaker, we saw, with the release of the 2001 census, that each region of Canada is at risk of facing serious massive shortages in skilled labour by the year 2011. Increasingly, Canadian employers are relying on highly skilled, sincerely motivated immigrants to help address the very serious shortages.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration tell the House what moneys were allocated in budget 2003 and to what initiatives they would apply?

[Sarkis Assadourian, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the department, along with HRDC, will receive $41.4 million over the next two years. This money will be invested in the following projects: $6.6 million over two years to launch a fast track system which would provide skilled workers with permanent job offers in Canada; $3.8 million to attract social workers across communities in Canada; $8 million to facilitate the study of processing permits for foreign students; and $10 million to deliver labour market language training for new workers.

Foreign Affairs

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the government's hypocrisy is breathtaking when it comes to addressing so-called hypothetical questions.

Asked what Canada will do if Bush succeeds in bullying the UN into mandating war against Iraq, the Prime Minister says “count Canada in”, but asked what Canada will do if Bush launches an attack on Iraq without a UN mandate, the Prime Minister dismisses the question as hypothetical. He simply will not answer.

Why the double standard?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is an approach that is seeking to get the best possible results through the United Nations system and to keep the United States operating within the Security Council, which it has done up to date, with the encouragement of Canada, Great Britain, other allies of the United States, and even countries as disparate as Russia and France.

We all have an interest in making sure that the Security Council system works and the inspection system works. That is the objective of Canada, that has been our consistent objective and we will stay there.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, double standards never get good results.

After 1.2 million Iraqi deaths, the gulf war goes on killing 12 years later. Iraqi citizens, especially children, remain highly vulnerable. International humanitarian agencies predict a horrendous human catastrophe if Bush unleashes the military assault that he has in mind, assaults on civilians and assaults on infrastructure.

Why has Canada not concentrated its efforts on ramping up humanitarian preparation in Iraq, instead of ramping up military preparedness for a war that the government says it does not want?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons we have been consistently working for peace is precisely because we do recognize the dangers that war will bring to the very troubled country of Iraq.

We also recognize that the long term stability of that region requires the disarmament of Saddam Hussein, which is why we have had a balanced policy regarding both of these.

My colleague, the Minister for International Cooperation, has been active with her colleagues to make sure that the United Nations and other international agencies will be there in the case of humanitarian need. Canada will be responsible for its humanitarian requirements. It always has been in the past and will be in the future.

Heritage Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, the Empress of Ireland artifacts committee is attempting to save over 400 artifacts and 500 archival pieces which came from that ship when it sank in the St. Lawrence on May 29, 1914. If a deal is not struck before the March 1, 2003 deadline, these artifacts will be sold to an American purchaser in the United States.

Will the minister give her assurance that these precious artifacts will not be lost to Canada?

[Carole-Marie Allard, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I will take note of the question and get a response for my hon. colleague as soon as possible, by the next oral question period.

Firearms Registry

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, when I asked the Minister of Justice when he planned to table his action plan on the gun registry, he refused to answer. We now know that he has scheduled a press conference for 1 p.m. today, supposedly to transfer the failed registry to the office of the Solicitor General.

Will the new minister actually deal with the registry's problems, or can we expect more Liberal window dressing?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is the second time in only a few weeks that we have had an instance on the floor of the House where members have been given a document under embargo and before the embargo has expired it is being raised in question period.

This is despicable. The hon. member should know that this is wrong. It goes against all our rules which we are all called upon to respect.

[Andy Burton, Canadian Alliance, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we know the government's billion dollar failed firearm registry has done nothing to curb crime or improve public safety in Canada. A majority of Canadians, 53% according to a recent poll, agree with the Canadian Alliance position and are calling on the government to scrap the failed registry. The registry is not even supported by most frontline police officers.

Why will the minister not cut his losses, scrap the registry today and instead direct the money toward more police officers on the street?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House know that when we are talking about gun control we are talking about public safety.

The member referred to some polls. We have some polls as well and those polls show strong support from the Canadian population on the question of gun control and therefore public safety.

When the hon. members are saying that they would like to scrap the gun control program that we have, which part of it: the licensing stage, which has been a success; or the registration stage, which has been a success?

We are talking about six million firearms that have been registered. The screening process in order to have access to the registration--

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Surrey North.

The Budget

[Chuck Cadman, Canadian Alliance, Surrey North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the budget has virtually nothing for justice or law enforcement. Marijuana grow ops, which fuel organized crime, are epidemic in British Columbia and Ontario. Police cannot even keep up. Provinces do not have the resources to meet the demands imposed by Ottawa in the new Youth Criminal Justice Act. There is nothing in the budget.

Canadians were stunned last month when police revealed the magnitude of the child pornography problem. Again, there is nothing in the budget.

There is nothing for illicit drugs, nothing for youth justice and nothing for sexually exploited kids. Why?

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am just amazed by that question. If the hon. member would look at the bills that we have in front of the House, he would understand that with regard to the question of the protection of our children this is our top priority.

We have Bill C-20 in the House. If the opposition members would stop playing cheap politics they would support the government to make sure that we proceed with that bill as soon as we can to give police forces the additional tools to better protect our children.

Disability Tax Credit

[Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral, Bloc, Laval Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during my recent tour of Quebec, meeting with mobility impaired individuals, I became aware of how urgent their needs are. The funds available to assist them are inadequate to say the least, and will remain so, judging by the latest federal budget.

How can the Minister of Finance justify the fact that these additional funds for the disabled are being made available only after unacceptable restrictions to the disability tax credit, which clearly run counter to the motion adopted unanimously in this House on November 20, 2002?