House of Commons Hansard #88 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was embryonic.
Grant Hill Canadian Alliance Macleod, AB
Mr. Speaker, it seems to me we have been hearing that same answer now for weeks. I cannot imagine if this is that straightforward a problem why we do not have the report. I certainly hope it is not because we are just about to go for a break. That report would not be released during that break time now would it? What is the holdup?
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, let me assure the hon. member that the review has absolutely nothing to do with break week or no break week.
What I feel that I have an obligation to do is make sure that I am in possession of all the facts. Once I am confident of that, as I have said before, the review will be made available.
Stéphane Bergeron Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
Mr. Speaker, last summer the Canadian International Trade Tribunal published the results of its inquiry into the injury caused to the Canadian steel industry. Recognizing that there has been injury for five of the product categories being studied, it recommended the imposition of tariff rate quotas for four of them.
Since the injury was primarily due to price and not only to volume, will the Minister of Finance recognize that the imposition of tariff rate quotas will not solve the problem and that only the application of tariffs of at least 30% will enable the Canadian steel industry to confront the massive influx of foreign products into our markets?
John Manley LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, since the report was received, we have been working closely with the companies and with the steel industry. It must be understood that the industry is opposed to imposing a tariff on imports from the United States. That could create a problem with the WTO, as we have seen this week regarding the tariffs imposed by the United States. Therefore, we must certainly find a way to solve this problem, but we must consider the tribunal's decision and the options available to us.
Stéphane Bergeron Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
Mr. Speaker, as the minister pointed out, last year the United States decided to exempt Canada from the safeguards that had been applied to protect the U.S. market from massive importation of steel from abroad. In this way, the U.S. recognized that the North American steel markets are fully integrated.
Does the government intend to exclude the United States from the application of any measures whatsoever intended to protect our market and our industry?
John Manley LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, perhaps now we all can see why it is so complicated. Unfortunately, the tribunal determined that the problem was with all imports, even those from the U.S. Thus, in order to do exactly as the tribunal asked, and what the industry has asked for, we must exclude the United States. That is based on a determination in Canada that is entirely different from the one in the United States, and it could cause us problems with the WTO.
Monte Solberg Canadian Alliance Medicine Hat, AB
Mr. Speaker, according to the customs minister, our customs agents are little more than bank tellers. They are authorized to collect money for the government, but if a security threat comes to our border, she expects them to call 911, dive under their desks and wait for the police to arrive.
When will the minister reverse this dangerous policy and make customs agents a proper security force and give them peace officer status?
Elinor Caplan LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to tell the member opposite that in fact customs officers are doing a fine job. They have been given advice from the commissioner of the RCMP and an independent job hazard analysis has determined that firearms are not required. Whenever they need police assistance, we have a very good relationship with local police and the RCMP. I can tell the member that is the appropriate policy.
Monte Solberg Canadian Alliance Medicine Hat, AB
Mr. Speaker, our first line of defence at the border should not be, “Have a nice day, eh”. It gets worse. This week the minister said the CCRA's security role at our borders is not protection, it is facilitation.
Is it really the minister's policy to want to facilitate murderers, drug traffickers and would be terrorists as they try to enter Canada?
Elinor Caplan LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, nothing in the member's preamble is true. In fact, we have said very clearly that customs officers who are on the front line in the primary inspection at our ports, land borders and airports do an excellent job in identifying individuals and goods which are inadmissible to Canada. They have an excellent record in doing that. We should all be very proud of them.
I have said that on a continuous basis and I would ask the member to stand up and acknowledge that.
Peter Adams Liberal Peterborough, ON
Mr. Speaker, there is great concern about the spread of SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome. We now have over 200 cases across Canada and the greater Toronto area has been most affected.
Could the Minister of Health please give us her assurances that her department is providing assistance to Ontario? Does she have any medical or scientific information regarding who may be susceptible to SARS?
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, let me reassure the hon. member first of all that provincial and local authorities, most notably in Toronto, are taking all reasonable steps to control the spread of SARS. We are working closely with Ontario on many fronts, including providing supplies as requested, such as X-ray machines and masks. We have 13 epidemiologists now on the ground in Toronto integrated into Toronto's public health effort.
I want to reassure everyone that the risk to the general population in Canada, including Toronto, remains low. Transmission in Toronto is only occurring through close contact with family and health care workers, which means we have no community transmission. The spread of SARS is not linked to any geographic region--
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Mr. Speaker, increasingly the Liberals use the excuse of national security to keep facts from the public. The latest is hiding key reports to show how the Chalk River nuclear facility may be polluting the Ottawa River.
A senior official of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission told a public hearing that information that could be made public is being withheld, all under the excuse of security.
Does the Minister of the Environment not agree that a radioactive Ottawa River is about security? What about the people who use the river? Will the minister make that report public? It is their right, it is their report.
Herb Dhaliwal LiberalMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. member and all members of the House that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission does its job to ensure that we protect all Canadians. When there are any leaks of this sort they are made public so the public is aware.
I do not accept the allegations that the hon. member has put forward, but if he has information that he wants to put forward that I can provide to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, I certainly would be willing to do that.
Lorne Nystrom NDP Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.
Yesterday an American court ruled that Visa and MasterCard owed their cardholders some $800 million U.S. for hiding surcharges on foreign exchange transactions. We have checked and the same hidden surcharges gouge Canadian cardholders too. The surcharge is usually between 1.5% and 1.8%.
I believe it is time the Liberals stood up to these credit card companies against their hidden charges. Will the minister today stand and say that what these companies are doing is wrong, and tell us what he will do about it?
John Manley LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of the issue. I will be happy to look into it as requested by the member.
Elsie Wayne Progressive Conservative Saint John, NB
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, commenting on Canada's contribution to rebuilding Iraq, the defence minister told reporters “we have people that can teach policemen, help train armies”. That is welcome news if Canada has made those kinds of offers.
Will the Minister of National Defence advise the House to whom specifically he has offered Canada's services in training Iraqi police and military personnel?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, yes, when I was asked by reporters about this situation I said, quoting the Prime Minister, that Canada was always there to help in such cases, and I gave a number of examples where help might be provided. One of those examples was training police, another was in the area of governance and another was in the area of training armies, which we have also done effectively in the past. Those are some of the areas in which Canada may choose to provide aid.
Rick Borotsik Progressive Conservative Brandon—Souris, MB
Mr. Speaker, farmers expected the Minister of Agriculture to have a safety net package in place by April 1, almost two weeks ago, yet it was only a week ago that the minister hired two consulting firms to analyze this program and tell him how wonderful it was, while at the same time directing these same consultants not to consider a proposal raised by farmers.
Why is the minister afraid to allow a third party consultant to compare the Canadian Federation of Agriculture's proposal with his own?
Lyle Vanclief LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Speaker, the member should get his facts straight and read the letter that I sent back to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture approving the third party participants in this, that it approved as well, and also agreeing to analyze and to review the information it provided to me on March 28 of this year at 6 o.clock in the afternoon, three days before the end of the present federal-provincial agreement that ran out on April 1.
Scott Reid Canadian Alliance Lanark—Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, anti-American comments by Liberal MPs are hurting the Canadian tourist industry.
The president of the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies says that he has received calls from agents informing him that the unrelenting anti-Americanism of the Liberals has affected up to one-third of their business. He says that Americans are phoning and cancelling their trips because they feel that Americans are not wanted here. This is striking particularly hard at Canada's summer festivals in cities like Stratford which depend on U.S. visitors.
How can the government refuse to disown these anti-American slurs of its own MPs when these are hurting Canadian jobs?
John Manley LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, I am astounded to hear this from a member of a party whose leader went on Fox television to repeat some of these things that we have all said we regret. I am astounded to hear it from a member of a party whose foreign affairs critic decided to write a letter--
Tourist IndustryOral Question Period
The Speaker
Order, please. My recollection is that the question came from the Canadian Alliance Party. The Deputy Prime Minister is trying to answer but it seems there is objection from that particular group to hear the answer. This cannot be correct. The hon. Deputy Prime Minister has the floor. All hon. members will want to hear the answer.