Debates of March 26th, 2003

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

If that is what was said, it is completely reprehensible. I was not aware of it. If it was said, I reprimand that. I do not think that is acceptable to use language like that.

Iraq

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is refusing to tell us where the Canadian soldiers integrated with American and British battalions are, apparently for security reasons.

Has the Canadian military been participating in such exchanges with other armies for a long time? What countries are we exchanging soldiers with? Has Canada already participated in other conflicts, without the public's knowledge, in the course of such exchanges?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, that is a good question. I can inform the House that, in fact, Canada has been participating in exchanges such as these for decades with our NATO allies, Australia, Great Britain, the United States and so on. We have done this with our allies because, when Canada takes part in military operations, it is always with our allies. Such exchanges are essential to improving the way we work with our allies. That is what we are doing now, as we have been doing for decades.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister of Defence for confirming that such exchanges have existed for decades.

Now, could he inform us if Canadian soldiers happened to participate, for example, in the Vietnam War, which took place not so long ago, when such exchanges existed? If we are in Iraq, a war we do not agree with, I imagine that, for the same reasons, we must have been in Vietnam and just never knew it.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, what I do know for sure is that our soldiers, who are participating in the current exchange with the Americans, are not seeing direct combat. They do not have the right to use force, except in self-defence. They are providing logistical support. There are 31 soldiers there. This is the information I have and can share with you at this time.

Canada-U.S. Relations

[James Rajotte, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci said that the Prime Minister and senior Liberals appeared to be tacitly endorsing anti-Americanism by rebuking Alberta Premier Klein for publicly backing the U.S. action while failing to discipline the Minister of Natural Resources for his remarks.

This Prime Minister threatens to expel members of his own caucus for possibly voting against the firearms registry but takes absolutely no action against the anti-Americanism that is harming our trade and our security.

Why does the Prime Minister refuse to take any action whatsoever against the anti-Americanism coming from his own caucus?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, they must be running out of questions because they are asking the same question that was asked yesterday.

Yesterday I said that at the caucus last week I invited all members of my caucus and I said that outside of the caucus too that they should moderate their rhetoric, that we had a disagreement about going into the war, but we are with the Americans in the other war, the war against terrorism.

We have been there more than anybody else and we will be going with thousands of people in the summer. We are helping them, but on the question of Iraq, we said a year ago that if they did not have the consent of--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Edmonton Southwest.

[James Rajotte, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, any so-called comments that the Prime Minister made actually had no effect because the Minister of Natural Resources said it on the very same day. Obviously he has no control over his own caucus or he does not actually mean what he is saying here in the House today.

The fact is the government's anti-Americanism has created a diplomatic mess that has put our trade and our security at risk. Eighty-six per cent of our exports go to the U.S. and 23% of the U.S. exports come to us. Clearly we as a nation are more dependent on U.S. goodwill than it is on our goodwill.

Why is the Prime Minister putting our jobs and our security at risk by tolerating anti-Americanism in his cabinet and in his caucus?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have the sense when we are listening to these members of Parliament that they are not in Canada. We are a independent country. We have the right to disagree with our neighbours. It is what we have done. We have done it in good faith. We have done it since a year ago. Our position has always been very clear, expressed here in the House, in the nation and to the Americans.

On the war against terrorism, as I said, I gave the list of the occasions since September 11 that we have been with them, but in this case we talked about the approval of the UN and we told them very clearly that the Canadian troops were not to be on the ground.

Agriculture

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for some time now, the Bloc Quebecois has been pointing out that farmers disagree with the structure of the income stabilization program proposed by the Minister of Agriculture.

Now the Chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture has indicated in a letter to the minister that he is amazed at the degree of unanimity among farmers in demanding that implementation of new programs be postponed.

When will the minister take off his blinkers and realize that we are right in demanding that this be put off for a year?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, since December 31 of last year there has not been a disaster program in place for Canadian farmers. We all know that it is necessary. The funding is there for that. The work has been there to develop that. I have made it very clear from the start that we have time in order to do that.

We will continue to work with the provinces and the industry to make sure we have a very good disaster and stabilization program that will treat every farmer in Canada in similar circumstances exactly the same way.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the letter from the Chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture also invites the Minister of Agriculture not to repeat the error made with the disaster relief program.

Does the minister plan to bow to the wisdom of his Liberal colleagues, who are telling him that new programs need to be put off for a year?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think anyone is saying that there should not be a program for this year. I know that all of the opposition members and the industry from coast to coast said very clearly in the past that the programs we had in the past were not as good as they should be and they wanted them fixed. They wanted them improved and that is exactly what we are going to do.

Iraq

[Rahim Jaffer, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government has known that the aid money would be needed for some time and only today will it announce help. The government continues to play games with the lives of innocent Iraqis by announcing an aid package, but then stands by the decision not to help the coalition in its efforts to deliver this aid. The government would have been a bit more credible with the announcement if it had not voted against the Canadian Alliance motion on humanitarian aid yesterday. How does the Prime Minister expect this aid to do any good when it continues to refuse to work with the coalition in delivering it?

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said, we are announcing today that the Government of Canada will be contributing $100 million in aid to help the vulnerable people of Iraq. Very clearly, we have already provided $5.6 million to a contingency planning fund to work through different multilateral organizations that have plans to deliver humanitarian assistance. We are going to be working with those organizations to ensure that our dollars go to providing the food, the health care and the water needed for the people of Iraq.

[Rahim Jaffer, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, shame on the government for not being on the ground helping that aid get in.

Yesterday the Liberals shot down the Canadian Alliance motion calling upon the government to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Iraq. The coalition is going to be responsible for moving billions of dollars of food, medicine and other aid into Iraq and once again the Prime Minister has abandoned our allies.

Will the Prime Minister finally admit that the only reason this aid will get to the Iraqi people is because of the work of our traditional allies?

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, the member's accusations are absolutely false. The government has been working very actively for a number of months on humanitarian assistance and how we could get that humanitarian assistance into Iraq.

Very clearly, I told the House and I have told everyone who has asked about the $5.6 million in contingency planning. Very clearly, the $100 million we are allocating today will be going through different UN and other multilateral organizations that have a footprint on the ground and that can deliver the food, the water and the health and security needs that are needed in Iraq.

Insurance Industry

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister responsible for financial institutions. All Canadians have noted the rapid escalation of insurance costs in recent years. Farmers, school bus operators, charities and others have been particularly hard hit. The insurance for a community hall in a hamlet in my riding has risen from $250 to $2,500, with a reduction in the coverage involved.

Will the minister launch an inquiry into the insurance industry so that rate increases can be explained to the public?

[Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member would know, in Canada the provinces regulate the market and business conduct of property and casualty insurance companies, including the manner in which they establish insurance premiums. Therefore, the decision to undertake inquiries into the cost of property and casualty insurance would appropriately fall to each of the provinces.

Health

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. The minister knows that Health Canada officials have now confirmed that it is okay for a private company to charge $2,500 for PET scans for heart patients, but not for cancer. This means that the rich can buy access to clinical trials and it is an assault on the foundations of medicare.

Instead of denying access to this important diagnostic test, will the minister ban companies from charging for clinical trials? Will she clearly include these medically necessary diagnostic services under the Canada Health Act, as Roy Romanow has recommended?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is very important to clarify the situation that the hon. member is referring to, which has arisen in Ontario. I think there has been some confusion in relation to this particular situation involving PET scanning. The pharmaceuticals that are used in PET scanning require Health Canada authorization. In the case in question, Health Canada determined that the Mississauga operation is conducting a clinical trial that poses a risk to patients. Under Health Canada direction this clinic has suspended operations.

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it may have suspended operations, but it still said it is okay to charge $2,500 for access to these clinical trials.

My supplementary is for the same minister. Three years ago, 15 year old Vanessa Young died because she was not warned about serious risks from a drug called Prepulsid. Now there is another drug being peddled in Canada by Janssen-Ortho, Eprex, which is still on the market despite grave risks with subcutaneous use by anemia patients with kidney disease. Why will the minister not join many other countries in Europe and Australia in contraindicating this dangerous use of Eprex in Canada? Will it take another death before the minister finally acts?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, as the hon. member should know, my department some months ago created a new marketed health products directorate at Health Canada to increase surveillance, and especially post-market surveillance, in relation to adverse reactions and medication incidents. In fact, one of the reasons we did this was to ensure that we can in the future, working with physicians and others, avoid the kind of tragedy that befell Vanessa Young and her family.

Iraq

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

Mr. Speaker, unlike Liberal Senator Laurier LaPierre, who said yesterday, “Screw the Americans”, the Prime Minister insists that he is interested in the reconstruction of Iraq. Nonetheless, we are still waiting for the Canadian plan to rebuild what the war will have destroyed. Kofi Annan will meet with Prime Minister Tony Blair tomorrow to discuss the British plan.

Has the Prime Minister requested a meeting? Does he have a plan to propose to the UN or is he going to wait again for someone else to show leadership in this issue?