House of Commons Hansard #91 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was airports.

Topics

IndustryOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Etobicoke Centre Ontario

Liberal

Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank all members of that committee for the work they did on that subject. I am very grateful for the report, a very complete report. What I liked most about it is that the committee was prepared to take on this tough issue and to challenge the status quo and accepted notions. I am very grateful for its advice.

As for the response, I know the committee would want me to take as much care with its report as its members put into preparing it. I am going to do exactly that. I am going to speak to the people who are involved, discuss it with my caucus and cabinet colleagues and respond at the appropriate time.

IndustryOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

James Rajotte Canadian Alliance Edmonton Southwest, AB

Mr. Speaker, the results of this study should be known to the minister because it was he himself who asked the committee to study it. He should be prepared to be as bold as all the industry colleagues who recommended that.

The telecommunications and broadcasting industries are very supportive of this report. The government and the cabinet are the only groups that are divided and delaying on this issue, so my question for the Prime Minister is simple. Who in the cabinet is responsible for this issue, the industry minister or the heritage minister?

IndustryOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Etobicoke Centre Ontario

Liberal

Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, the member is overlooking the fact that apart from dealing with foreign ownership, the committee also recommended a wholesale review of the mandate of the Department of Industry and the CRTC. If he does not think we should take some time to consider its recommendations, I do not think he is being fair to the committee and its very important report.

Employment insuranceOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Monique Guay Bloc Laurentides, QC

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the legal challenge on the use of the employment insurance fund surpluses, the federal prosecutor has pointed out that the Parliament of Canada has “full powers of taxation”.

What the federal government has always denied, what we have known forever, and what its prosecutor has just confirmed in yesterday's comments is that employment insurance is no longer a type of insurance, but has become nothing more than a tax. Is the government finally prepared to admit this?

Employment insuranceOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Ottawa South Ontario

Liberal

John Manley LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

No, Mr. Speaker, but it is a program. Even in the budget we brought down in February, we announced that we were going to try to set the employment insurance rates so that costs are more or less equalized, which was the intention of this program.

Employment insuranceOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Monique Guay Bloc Laurentides, QC

Mr. Speaker, the same prosecutor also said that the fact that the system may be more or less generous is a political matter; it is not a matter for the courts but for Parliament.

Is the government finally going to admit that it has deliberately transformed the employment insurance program into a tax, and not only that, but a very unfair tax into the bargain?

Employment insuranceOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Ottawa South Ontario

Liberal

John Manley LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, I believe that what we are trying to do is to develop a program that meets the basic needs of the unemployed, and also ties the level of premiums paid by employers and employees to the benefits paid out by the program.

That is exactly what the auditor general suggested and that is what we are doing.

FisheriesOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Gary Lunn Canadian Alliance Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans stood up yesterday and stated that his first plan of action in setting up a seal exclusion zone would be to, and I quote, “ask” the seals “to leave”. He makes a mockery of the plight of the east coast cod fishermen and factory workers.

The minister is quick to make announcements regarding the cod closure. Could he please advise the House of exactly how he plans to exclude the seals?

FisheriesOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

West Nova Nova Scotia

Liberal

Robert Thibault LiberalMinister of Fisheries and Oceans

Mr. Speaker, what I have indicated in St. John's and again in Quebec is that we would be investing $6 million in working in research, working with the provinces and working with the industry to delineate what these zones should be and what would be the best technologies, the best methods and best tools to effectively have seal exclusion from the most critical areas.

FisheriesOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Gary Lunn Canadian Alliance Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, once again the minister is demonstrating that he is not interested in the advice of scientists. If he were, he would have listened when they urged him not to shut down the whole fishery. But it does not take a scientist to know that seals are pretty good swimmers.

The minister has done a bang-up job excluding the fishermen, but he cannot tell us how he plans to exclude the seals. If the minister has a plan, let us see it. Or does he believe seals are more important than people?

FisheriesOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

West Nova Nova Scotia

Liberal

Robert Thibault LiberalMinister of Fisheries and Oceans

Mr. Speaker, I will take this opportunity to correct the member. I recognize that he is erring in believing that I did not take the advice of scientists: I did not take the advice of people who were recommending that I not follow scientific advice. I precisely followed the advice that suggested the fishery at any level was not sustainable, that it should be closed and that we should take additional measures, like no dragging areas, like seal exclusion areas, and like action on caplin. That is precisely the advice I followed.

Canadian HeritageOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC

Mr. Speaker, in answer to my question about the $25 million in cuts to the Canadian Television Fund, the Minister of Canadian Heritage said that the private sector has increased its contribution and that, consequently, no impact would be felt.

However, outside the House, the Liberal leadership candidate has led us to believe that she is aware that the $25 million cut would be felt.

Canadian HeritageOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Hamilton East Ontario

Liberal

Sheila Copps LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, the government knew that Radio-Canada's budget was increasing despite the cuts. This means that, in French, most of the projects approved are Radio-Canada's, and this creates an imbalance in the system.

For this reason we have asked all the fund partners to try to find a solution to ensure a balance between the independent producers and all the television stations.

Canadian HeritageOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC

Mr. Speaker, that is not what the minister is telling us when speaking as a Liberal leadership candidate.

Who in this government should we believe? The Minister of Finance, who says that $75 million is better than nothing, or the Minister of Canadian Heritage, when she says that she is going to fight to restore this funding? Which of them should we believe? The Minister of Finance or the Minister of Canadian Heritage?

Canadian HeritageOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Hamilton East Ontario

Liberal

Sheila Copps LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, we are working together to find solutions because we know quite well that creating jobs in this sector is important for Canada.

Government ContractsOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Grant Hill Canadian Alliance Macleod, AB

Mr. Speaker, the former health minister hired Joanne Meyer under suspicious circumstances to work on aboriginal health. We waited for weeks for a report from the current health minister to explain why. That report did not explain it at all. Let me give her an opportunity to answer to the House today.

Why was Joanne Meyer not hired directly rather than through an auto restoration firm in Winnipeg?

Government ContractsOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Edmonton West Alberta

Liberal

Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I promised the hon. member and others in the House that we would collect the facts in relation to this situation and we did that. We have provided those facts. I think the evidence is clear.

We indicated the contractual relationships that were entered into. There were some questions that needed to be addressed in relation to Treasury Board procedures. However we were very forthcoming in setting forth also the processes that we had put in place in the department to ensure everyone was aware of Treasury Board contractual procedures.

Government ContractsOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Grant Hill Canadian Alliance Macleod, AB

Mr. Speaker, the report was forthcoming all right. Per diem rates were broken, Treasury Board guidelines were ignored, $560,000 worth of taxpayer money were put on the line and two companies were used to hide the identity of this employee.

My question stands. Why was Joanne Meyer not hired directly under her own name rather than these other companies? What is the minister over there trying to hide?

Government ContractsOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Edmonton West Alberta

Liberal

Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I think it is amazingly inappropriate for the hon. member to impugn the motives or integrity of either the former minister of health or the employee in question.

We have investigated these contracts. The facts are there. The contracts are outlined. The amounts of the contracts are outlined. We have in fact put in place revised contractual procedures within our department to ensure that everyone is aware of and proceeds in accordance with Treasury Board guidelines.

Human Resources Development CanadaOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Walt Lastewka Liberal St. Catharines, ON

Mr. Speaker, as you know, this is National Volunteer Week. Between 1982 and 1990, the Government of Canada recognized the contribution of Canadian volunteers. Last year the Minister of Human Resources Development launched the Thérèse Casgrain Volunteer Award to recognize the valuable work of Canadian volunteers.

Could the minister inform the House on the status of this award and who the recipients will be this year?

Human Resources Development CanadaOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Brant Ontario

Liberal

Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to pay tribute to this year's two recipients of the Thérèse Casgrain Volunteer Award.

Margaret MacGee of London, Ontario is a founding member of the Ontario Block Parent program, which has helped to make communities safer for over 30 years.

Desmond Dyllon of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador has helped provide aid to thousands of victims of disaster situations through is work with the Canadian Red Cross.

Thanks to the exceptional contribution of volunteers like them, Canada is one of the best countries in the world.

Aboriginal AffairsOral Question Period

April 29th, 2003 / 2:40 p.m.

NDP

Bev Desjarlais NDP Churchill, MB

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development bragged about his so-called consultation on Bill C-7. The fact is that out of 89 individuals and 175 organizations appearing before the standing committee on the FNGA, only 10 were in favour of the bill, and that includes the minister and his officials.

The minister ignored this consultation and ignored the thousands of protesters across the country yesterday whose signs of FNGA NFG clearly showed that first nations leaders and members do not want this legislation.

The minister says that the status quo is unacceptable. That status quo was a Canadian government plan. Why is the minister--

Aboriginal AffairsOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

Aboriginal AffairsOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Kenora—Rainy River Ontario

Liberal

Bob Nault LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday and I will repeat today, this is way too important to trivialize the work that we are trying to achieve on behalf of first nations people.

It is safe to say that we all agree that the status quo is not sustainable. We have to find ways to work with aboriginal people to improve their fundamental governance structures which will also help to improve their economic opportunities. That is the mission of the government and should be the mission of all members of Parliament in the House.

Health and SafetyOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

NDP

Dick Proctor NDP Palliser, SK

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to emergencies and disasters, firefighters are always among the first responders, and the level of training they have will, to a great extent, determine the level of danger for the population.

In the 1990s American firefighters developed a highly successful training the trainer program for hazardous materials, including weapons of mass destruction, and biological and nuclear hazards. Canadian firefighters want to import the program but await an answer.

I ask the minister responsible for emergency preparedness when his government will provide the modest half million dollars necessary for Canadian firefighters to participate in this hazardous training program.