Debates of April 11th, 2003

Fisheries

[Georges Farrah, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I am taken aback by the hon. member's comments. He said that the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans did nothing for the Pacific coast, yet he himself congratulated the minister on the hake fishery issue, among others. We need no lesson from anyone. The west coast seal hunt is undoubtedly a very important issue. But before making a final decision, we must consider carefully all the implications.

Cartagena Protocol

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the secretary of the convention on biodiversity, speaking about the Cartagena protocol on biosafety, said, “Ratification is certainly one thing we are entitled to expect from Canada, since it hosts the secretariat of the convention on biodiversity”.

Does the federal government realize that, by delaying ratification of the Cartagena protocol—even when the secretariat that implements it is located in Canada—it is sending a very poor message to the international community?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that the protocol is very important. But before signing, before ratification, we must have the support of Canadian industry and particularly the agricultural sector. I am convinced that he will agree with me that we will soon be in a position to make a final decision. But first we must undertake the necessary consultations to get industry's support.

Arts and Culture

[Eugène Bellemare, Liberal, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, thousands of Canadians and hundreds of artists converged in Ottawa for the Juno Awards to celebrate Canada's music recording industry and the country's best musical talent.

My question is for the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Can she explain the Canadian government's role in making this strong and vibrant cultural industry a success?

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

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to congratulate all the artists and volunteers who helped make last weekend a success in Ottawa. Canada is the second largest producer of musical talent in the world, and clearly the government has played an essential role. The Canada Music Fund has gone from $2 million to $28 million this year, and, since 1993, we have been awarded 16 diamond, 561 platinum and 455 gold albums.

Canadian Forces

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday the Minister of National Defence told the defence committee that Canada's deployment to Afghanistan will be delayed to August or September. When the minister first made the announcement in February, senior military officers either resigned or told reporters that Canada would need NATO's help to honour the commitment.

Has the deployment been delayed because the minister has been unable to secure enough support from other NATO countries? If not, what is the reason for this latest mistake by the minister?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, it is not a mistake and it is not a delay. We had the approximate date and we are coming in at the next rotation. Whether it is August or July remains to be seen. There is absolutely no delay. We are coming in on schedule at the time of the start of the next rotation.

Second, NATO is there and we want NATO to be there to ensure continuity of the missions to support Afghanistan in future years. That is the reason for our support for NATO. In no way does it reflect a diminution of Canada's enthusiastic commitment.

Housing

[Peter Goldring, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Centre-East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, $753 million has been spent over three years to help the homeless. The homeless counts are up 60% and no homes have been built. The member for Mississauga West has specifically stated in the House that he does not support homes for single persons. Yet the Prime Minister appoints him for CMHC's housing.

Several homeless singles have died this past winter--and the Liberals applaud--on Canada's streets for want of a clean, warm, and affordable room. How many more homeless singles will die next winter waiting for a government and a minister of housing who cares about housing?

[Claudette Bradshaw, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, this week the hon. member stood and made a statement in the House that with $775 million we had two shelter beds in Edmonton.

Let me clarify this. In his riding, not all of Edmonton but his riding, there are 97 shelter spaces, 75 room and board accommodations, 31 group homes, 129 apartments, and 18 townhouses, duplexes and fourplexes.

Shipping

[Gérard Asselin, Bloc, Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, over a month ago, the government made public its vision for the future of Canada's marine transportation network. On the one hand, it is expressing a desire to focus on improving services and partnerships with the private sector. On the other, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is adopting a confrontational technique with shipping companies in connection with St. Lawrence dredging fees.

Will the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans stop this harassment, which is likely to endanger the St. Lawrence shipping industry?

[Georges Farrah, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, as you are aware, there has been a user-pay agreement in place since 1997 in connection with dredging of the St. Lawrence. At the present time, we are involved in discussions and negotiations with the parties involved.

I can tell you that what these people want in particular is a long term agreement so that they will be able to predict costs and thus be more competitive.

We are taking all of the information under advisement and when the negotiations are over we will be in a position to announce our decision.

Finance

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—St. Clair, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.

Yesterday we asked about a court ruling in the United States that ordered Visa and MasterCard to repay their cardholders $800 million U.S. because they were gouging them with hidden foreign exchange charges. The size of that surcharge is 1.8%. Its value to MasterCard: priceless.

Yesterday the minister said he did not know about the details. Hopefully he now does. What will he do to protect Canadian cardholders from these hidden charges?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, under Canadian law it is required that federally regulated financial institutions disclose “the nature and amount of any non-interest charges”. Provinces have similar requirements.

Under the federal system we have created the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada in order to deal with any complaints about such matters. I can assure the member that I will ask the agency to determine whether such is the situation in Canada.

House of Commons

[The Deputy Speaker]

I have the honour to lay upon the table the report on plans and priorities for 2003-04 of the House of Commons administration.

Government Response to Petitions

[Alan Tonks, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to eight petitions.

Criminal Code

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

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and other Acts.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Clifford Lincoln, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association OSCE to the second winter session of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly held in Vienna, Austria on February 20 and 21, 2003.

Committees of the House

[Joe Comuzzi, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Transport entitled “An Industry in Crisis: Safeguarding the Viability of the Canadian Airline Industry”.

I would like to thank the committee members who worked so diligently on this file. I particularly thank the clerk of the committee and his staff for working through the night in order that I could table this document today.

The are four recommendations contained in the report so I will read them:

Recommendation No. 1:The federal government wind-up the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority and establish a multi-modal Transportation Security Authority. The operating costs of this Authority, as well as expenses associated with providing safety and security, should be funded out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund. This Authority should report annually to Parliament on the state of transportation security within Canada.

Recommendation No. 2: The federal government eliminate the Air Travellers Security Charge.

Recommendation No. 3: The federal government suspend rental payments by airports for a two-year period and the airports shall pass the rental savings to air carriers.

Recommendation No. 4: The federal government, for a two-year period, reduce by 50% the federal aviation fuel excise tax rate.

When we return from the break, we will be analyzing the NavCan situation and how HRDC can assist with those people in the airline industry who will be subject to the problems that they are all facing.

In closing, I know that this crosses between the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Finance. I have taken the liberty of forwarding a copy of this document to the Prime Minister asking him, since this industry is in crisis, that he act--

[The Deputy Speaker]

Order, please. Petitions.

Petitions

[Clifford Lincoln, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a set of petitions presented by many Canadians in my riding and across Canada indicating that the codes pertaining to the current child pornography law have not been applied in a way which makes it clear that sexual exploitation of children will always be met with swift punishment.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to protect our children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that all materials which promote or glorify pedophilia or sado-masochistic activities involving children be outlawed.

[Clifford Lincoln, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have another set of petitions signed by many citizens from various parts of Canada stating that Canadians support ethical stem cell research which has already shown encouraging potential to provide cures and therapies for illnesses and diseases, and that non-embryonic stem cells which are also known as adult stem cells, have shown significant research progress without the immune rejection or ethical problems associated with embryonic stem cells.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to focus its legislative support on adult stem cell research to find the cures and therapies necessary to treat the illnesses and diseases of suffering Canadians.

[Kevin Sorenson, Canadian Alliance, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the privilege to present to the House a petition signed by concerned constituents from my riding of Crowfoot, more specifically individuals from areas of Stettler, Alix, Erskine and Morrin.

The petitioners call upon the government to pass legislation to recognize the institution of marriage in federal law as being that of the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

I agree with the sentiments expressed in the attached petition and I take a great deal of pleasure to introduce this to the House.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Alan Tonks, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 167 will be answered today.

Question No. 167

[Grant Hill, Canadian Alliance, Macleod, AB]

With respect to the Ethics Counsellor: ( a ) how many times did he formally meet with the Minister of Finance from February 1, 1994 to June 1, 2002; ( b ) what were the dates, subject matter and location of these meetings?

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister]

The ethics counsellor has met with the former Minister of Finance on many occasions between the period February 1, 1994 to June 2002. All of these meetings with the former minister were in relation to his compliance arrangements under the conflict of interest and post-employment code for public office holders. The dates and locations of such encounters, as well as the subject matter at such meetings are considered to be personal information which is protected under the provisions of the Privacy Act.