Debates of May 8th, 2003

National Defence

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, again I accept none of that because it is largely untrue.

Except he did mention the word rebundling which gives me the opportunity to explain once again to the House that the government did take the step to move from two contracts to one contract. As a result, the entire industry agrees that this is a positive move in the sense that we will get the right helicopter faster than otherwise, at lower risk.

We are seized with the issue to get the right helicopter at the best price as soon as possible.

Fisheries

[Ghislain Fournier, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the people in my riding on the Lower North Shore are crying for help. All that they had left, their fishery, is now completely off limits. They need help. I presented the minister with a seal processing project with Tamasu, which is only waiting on a supply guarantee.

What is the minister waiting for to confirm this supply guarantee?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member gave us a recommendation, a letter, yesterday. We received it. We will evaluate it and officials from my office will contact the company to see what is possible.

We will look at it favourably, but we cannot make any decision without considering all of the elements, all of the other communities and the sealing industry.

[Ghislain Fournier, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the situation is critical. My constituents are desperate, as am I. I spoke with the minister about this project on May 1. He told me he was looking at the idea. We spoke again on May 5; he told me again that he was looking at it.

Today is May 8; what does it take? A decision needs to be made. What does he have to say to my constituents? If he does not care, if he wants to shut down the Lower North Shore, he should say so.

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

Mr. Speaker, the member gave us a letter with the name of the company for the first time yesterday. We will contact them. We will look into the idea and see if there is a possibility of going ahead without posing any risks to the rest of the industry, if we can allocate quotas to one specific company for a short term and give it the chance to compete with the others, but allocations are normally given to sealers, not companies.

Firearms Registry

[Garry Breitkreuz, Canadian Alliance, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, a former head of the Canadian Firearms Centre, at the public accounts committee yesterday, said that no one was fired or demoted because of the firearms fiasco. This is contrary to what the Prime Minister told the media, and I quote:

Some people have been demoted; some lost their jobs in the process. It's not the same people who are in charge today.

The reason the same people are not in charge is because they have all been promoted, not demoted. Does the Prime Minister regret making this statement?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I know the hon. member for Yorkton—Melville likes to stick with the past. The government has moved on since those days. We have moved on and we have moved progressively on. In fact, we have passed legislation in the House that will create more efficiencies in the system.

I would think that the member should be looking at helping us to move that program forward in the country and have gun owners come into the system so that we have safer streets.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Canadian Alliance, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the best thing the government could do to move on is scrap Bill C-68.

Yesterday the Solicitor General told the House that his billion dollar gun registry does not even track the addresses of 131,000 criminals who have been prohibited from owning firearms by the courts.

The Solicitor General said that this information on the most dangerous people in Canada with firearms was not necessary for the management of the program and, therefore, was not authorized by the Privacy Act.

Could anyone on that side of the House please explain why these criminals are protected by the Privacy Act, but two million law-abiding firearm owners are not?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as usual the member's facts are not quite on target. The fact of the matter is that in the month of December 2002 there were 325 actual police investigations using the services and information databases of the Canadian firearms program. Those investigations went some distance in terms of using the registry to find illegal weapons, to find stolen weapons and to make our communities safer. Will the hon. member start to get with the program?

Softwood Lumber

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago the federal government announced a $2 million program to help out the Lac-Saint-Jean—Saguenay region, which has been a victim of the softwood lumber crisis.

My question for the Secretary of State is this: why is it that the program in question has such absolutely ridiculous criteria that it cannot be used by the Coopérative de solidarité Multi-ressources du Québec, where 135 employees are at risk because of the cash-flow situation, and why is Dolbeau-Mistassini, in the heart of the Lac-Saint-Jean—Saguenay forestry sector, not eligible according to these criteria?

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

Mr. Speaker, the program we established was intended to help communities, since we could not help businesses. We do not want to be accused by the Americans of subsidizing business, which is one of the points of contention in the present dispute.

Still, for a particular case like that, I will have a look at it with our Lac-Saint-Jean—Saguenay office and see what we can do. I will come back with an answer to this.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister. I hope he will look into the situation and at the same time I would like to ask him one question.

Is the federal government not capable of understanding that when one announces assistance programs in a region and then allows public servants to set criteria that have nothing to do with reality on the ground, we end up with illogical situations like this one? I will also ask him to review his criteria and get busy supporting the economy and the people who have been thrown out of work, rather than announcing programs that apply to some imaginary region.

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

Mr. Speaker, I can tell the House that we have a professional public service, working in good faith on behalf of the entire population and in cooperation with the government and with the hon. members on this side of the House.

There already have been 53 projects accepted and steps have been taken. Of these, 11 have been implemented and we shall continue working to help the people in the regions as we have always done.

Canada Elections Act

[Vic Toews, Canadian Alliance, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, voters in Perth--Middlesex are outraged that a convicted murderer will be voting in the byelection this Monday. The minister promised Canadians six months ago that he would review the decision to give prisoners the right to vote. On October 31 he said, “We will review the decision in great detail and respond to the House”.

Will the minister tell Canadians why after six months he has failed to make any report to Parliament on this important issue and why he continues to support equal rights for murderers?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I answered this question yesterday, but evidently the hon. member was not listening too attentively so let me repeat it. First, I indicated last fall that the government would be looking at the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in order to respond. That review was done by officials of the government.

After that was completed, I personally wrote to the Chair of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. I was informed that in fact the hon. member across and others have not yet made any contribution to that process. I said--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Provencher.

[Vic Toews, Canadian Alliance, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has shown no leadership after promising to show leadership and the Liberal government has shown no leadership in protecting the safety and security of Canadians. The Liberals refuse to overturn a court ruling giving convicted murderers the right to vote and they refuse to close their own legal loopholes that allow child pornography. There is no excuse for this Liberal government sacrificing the safety of our children.

Will the Prime Minister pledge today that he will end the right of murderers to vote and impose a zero tolerance policy for child pornography?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member refers to the issue of inmate voting as one of public security. This is absolute and utter nonsense, as he will be aware. This question is a desperate attempt by a party running a distant third in the electoral district of Perth--Middlesex to try to salvage something next Monday. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for the rest of the world, it will not work.

Trade

[Walt Lastewka, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, exports account for 41% of Canada's GDP. One in four jobs in Canada is linked to trade. Current events such as SARS, the U.S. deficit and the increasing Canadian dollar all have an impact on imports and exports. Would the Minister for International Trade please provide the House with an overview of Canada's state of trade?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, today I was pleased to table the fourth annual report on Canada's state of trade, with 2002 marking the eleventh consecutive year of economic growth, the longest and most stable expansion of the post-war era. Canada performed well despite the lacklustre economic performances of most of our major trading partners. Services trade was the bright spot in Canadian exports, registering an increase of $1.6 billion. As we move forward, I am convinced that momentum will pick up and we will approach 2004 with renewed economic and trade confidence.

Foreign Affairs

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the defence minister, the guy who will not buy helicopters that work but has no problem buying a star wars system that does not. The government now says that NMD is not about weaponizing space, that Rumsfeld has abandoned his passion for putting weapons in space. Talk about head in the clouds.

To assure Canadians who are worried about where the government is headed on star wars, could the minister name in the course of human history the new weapon that did not expand?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure I fully understood the question, but as my colleague the Minister of Foreign Affairs has indicated several times, Canada is firmly opposed to the weaponization of space and that policy will not change one little bit. Canada remains firmly opposed to weaponization of space, whether or not we enter into negotiations with the United States on missile defence. Our opposition to weaponization of space is entirely non-negotiable.

Fisheries

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans continues to insist that he is too busy in Ottawa to go to Shippagan where there is a serious crisis affecting the fishing industry.

It is true that running from one reception to another, including one for the Liberal leadership candidate and member for LaSalle—Émard, is very important. The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has very mixed up priorities.

My question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. Will the Liberal candidate for LaSalle—Émard have to hold a fundraiser in Shippagan to get the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to go there, in order to finally resolve the fisheries crisis?

[The Speaker]

It is not clear that this question relates to government business. Therefore, in my opinion, it is out of order.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.