Debates of May 8th, 2003

Fisheries

[Stephen Harper, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, what is weird is an 18 month departure period in which somebody else becomes the de facto prime minister and the government does less than usual.

Let me change the subject to an important issue that has come up today as a consequence of the government's mismanagement. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador apparently has introduced legislation calling for the renegotiation of its terms of union, its terms of Confederation. It apparently wants a joint management of the fishing industry, something that we in this party have long been open to. We believe that offshore resources like Newfoundland has should be subject to similar rights that provinces like Alberta have.

Is the government prepared to sit down and discuss these demands with the government of Newfoundland?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, no constitutional amendment will bring back the fish and will do nothing for the communities. What is important is to work as good partners to help the communities facing this difficult event. Anyway, a constitutional amendment about fisheries cannot be bilateral; it would need to have seven provinces and 50% of the population.

The Environment

[James Moore, Canadian Alliance, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on March 6 last year, the merchant vessel Atlas , a Canada Steamship Lines ship, deliberately dumped oil overboard causing a 22 mile long slick 80 miles off the coast of Halifax. This was caught on video if the Liberals have any doubt about it. Transport Canada says that Canada Steamship Lines' Atlas has a history of non-compliance with regard to environmental legislation.

If the government is serious about protecting the environment, why does it allow Canada Steamship Lines to get away with this? Is it perhaps because Canada Steamship Lines is owned by the Martin family?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, all infractions of the legislation in question and the regulations under that legislation are pursued by Environment Canada, by Transport Canada, by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, by the Department of National Defence. As appropriate we insist on applying the law in these cases because we understand the consequences of not doing so.

[James Moore, Canadian Alliance, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, about Canada Steamship Lines Transport Canada says “the offender obtained significant material gain”, profits, “by choosing not to properly maintain pollution prevention equipment on board a Canada Steamship Lines' Atlas ”.

Why is it that after a decade in power the government does absolutely nothing to stop the mass polluting, tax dodging, un-Canadian behaviour of Canada Steamship Lines and the member for LaSalle--Émard?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the unparliamentary language of the member opposite who asked the question is regrettable. I can point out to him, however, that when he quotes government documents about the issue, it is pretty clear the government is taking it seriously and is in fact applying the law.

Fisheries

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, because of the federal government's disastrous management of the fisheries, thousands of plant workers in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, whose employment insurance benefits ran out over a month ago, are left with nothing, there being no cod or crab to process.

Since the government is responsible for the collapse of the fisheries, and since the employment insurance fund surplus stands at $45 billion, will it use these funds from contributors to improve the program and assist the plant workers of the North Shore, the Gaspé Peninsula, the Magdalen Islands and the Atlantic region?

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, when the moratorium on the stocks was announced, a $50 million short-term assistance program for these communities was also announced, as was a desire to hold discussions on long-term economic development. The minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada is doing an excellent job here.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Bernard Lord and Nathalie Normandeau, a Quebec cabinet minister, both said today that this is the federal government's fault and responsibility. The federal government must act. This is what Natalie Normandeau said during a press conference, when she asked, “When will the federal government assume its responsibilities? When will it support Emploi-Québec?” The federal government is doing nothing and is letting everyone suffer. That is what she said. Does the minister have anything to respond?

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that the federal government is responsible for taking steps to protect our resources, and it is true that it has agreed to create a short-term assistance program for these communities, when the resources collapsed. It is also true that there are agreements with the provinces related to the provision of services by HRDC. I am convinced that the Departments of Human Resources Development Canada and Economic Development Canada will do an excellent job.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government has been accumulating enormous surpluses in the employment insurance fund for eight years now. The fund now stands at $45 billion, all ready for a rainy day it would seem.

When the North Shore fishery workers find themselves with nothing, with no more cod or crab to catch or process, and no hope of any other means of livelihood, that is a rainy day.

Will the government admit that the time has come to use the surplus in the employment insurance fund to provide special assistance to the people of that region?

[Diane St-Jacques, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to state that the government is greatly concerned by the situation of the fishery workers and that the employment insurance program is operating well, overall. It is there to meet the needs of workers who lose their jobs temporarily.

As has been stated on numerous occasions, workers can count on the assistance of our government. This is why the department is working in conjunction with ACOA and the provinces to find solutions to the problems being experienced by fishers.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the situation on the Lower North Shore is a really exceptional one, because fishery zone 13 is closed completely, thus doing away with all employment in that sector.

Will the government admit that this exceptional situation demands an exceptional solution, and that the EI fund with its $45 billion surplus must be used to save these people from abject poverty?

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, there are some things hon. members must realize. First, there is no surplus in the EI fund. Second, we are transferring $600 million for manpower training to Quebec, and will be working in collaboration with the new government, which is greatly concerned with supporting employers and employees in these regions. The $14 million we will be injecting into short-term measures will be enhanced by consultations with a view to establishing long-term measures. We are going to be working with fishers, ship's crews and plant workers in order to provide assistance.

Health

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for getting the House properly worked up before my question.

My question is for the Minister of Health. It has to do with the fact that the deadline for the national health council that Roy Romanow recommended has expired. Mr. Romanow has expressed concern. We in the NDP share that concern.

I am not able to ask a question of the provisional government at Earnscliffe, so I thought I might ask the Minister of Health what is going on. When will we be getting a national health council like Roy Romanow recommended?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we are working on the development of the health council but as the hon. member is aware, over these number of weeks provincial colleagues, in particular my provincial colleague from the Province of Ontario, have been dealing with the outbreak of SARS. A collaborative decision was made to postpone ministerial discussions around the health council until such time as we were confident that the control and containment measures around SARS were working and we could move forward in terms of helping Toronto deal with the economic fallout from the outbreak of SARS.

Taxation

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, while I am talking about the unconstitutional provisional government, I would like to follow up on the question asked by the hon. member about Canada Steamship Lines and the record of that company with respect to pollution, a question for the Minister of the Environment.

Does he think it is appropriate that when a company like Canada Steamship Lines is fined for environmental violations it is able to deduct those fines from its income tax? Does he not think that reduces the deterrence effect of such fines and would he be prepared to recommend changes in that regime?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite should know, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled some time ago. That ruling is under review by the Department of Finance because we want to ensure that everyone pays their fair share of taxes.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister used to have conversations with homeless people who did not exist. Now, on missile defence, his position is that he is studying very carefully a proposal he has never received. Let us coax out a little more of the truth.

The U.S. plan involves the deployment of ground-based interceptors and the upgrade of early warning radar. The Americans have already requested the U.K. and Denmark to upgrade radar on their territory.

Has the government received either a formal request or an informal suggestion that Canada should upgrade early warning radar or allow ground-based interceptors on our territory?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal caucus is engaged in a very open and useful discussion of this issue. As characterized on television earlier this morning by the member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, the situation can be described as a debate rather than a split within the Liberal caucus. This is a transparent, open, intellectually stimulating process, and I would commend it to the leader of the fifth party to carry out in his own party.

[Elsie Wayne, Progressive Conservative, Saint John, NB]

Mr. Speaker, we now know that Eurocopter had special influence on the Prime Minister's Office through Ambassador Chrétien.

Did any other company competing for the contract to replace our Sea Kings seek to exercise similar influence on the Department of National Defence through the PMO? If so, will the Prime Minister agree to table in the House all relevant documentation concerning this representation?

If not, could the Prime Minister explain why our ambassador to France has become the ambassador for Eurocopter?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, without accepting any of the many premises in that question, I would remind the House that the contract is based on a statement of requirements, which was specified in 1999 with the full agreement of the military leadership, and that is the bible, that is sacrosanct in terms of acquiring the right helicopter.

All the companies involved in the process, including the one mentioned by the hon. member, have made representations to the government in terms of the detailed specifications to carry out the statement of requirements. However the statement of requirements has not changed one iota and will not change.

[Gerry Ritz, Canadian Alliance, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has turned the urgent need to replace our 40 year old Sea King helicopters into 10 years of national disgrace.

The Liberals bent over backwards to address specious complaints by the French government that our military's requirements were too stringent, so the government lowered them.

Our new French allies have now rejected the successful $4 billion bid for aircraft engines by Montreal's Pratt & Whitney for blatantly political reasons of their own.

Will the Liberal government admit that its willingness to dumb down the replacement requirements to keep the French happy has backfired?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the government will admit no such thing because it is not true.

I guess I cannot blame the hon. member for not anticipating the question preceding, but it is the same question. As I have just explained, the government has adhered religiously to the statement of requirements delivered in 1999. We have heard representations from every company that might be in the bidding process. We have made adjustments to ensure that we get the helicopter faster and at lower risk.

We are deeply committed to carrying out that process as fast as possible.

[Gerry Ritz, Canadian Alliance, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the continued assertions by ministers over there that the 10 years that they have wasted searching for the politically correct helicopter are sounding more foolish all the time. The minister just proved that again.

We all know the requirements were constantly manipulated; bundled, debundled, rebundled, bungled, rebungled. We now know the procurement process was shanghaied by the Prime Minister with the help of his nephew, the Ambassador to France.

Could the minister of public works guarantee that Canadian taxpayers will not be saddled with another mess that he and his government have made?