Debates of May 9th, 2003

Information Management

[Tony Tirabassi, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to report to the House that indeed a new policy on the management of government information came into effect on May 1. The policy responds to some of the concerns of the Information Commissioner by outlining the responsibility of all government employees to ensure that the management of information is done in both an effective and efficient manner.

As well, the policy promotes the management of information in a privacy-protective manner that supports informed decision making and the delivery of high quality programs, services and information through a variety of channels, and in both official languages.

Trade

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, trade challenges from south of the border are threatening more Canadian jobs. The latest U.S. call for tariffs terrifies blueberry pickers and processors. They know what has happened to softwood lumber. They know what has happened to our wheat farmers.

If duties are imposed on our blueberries, jobs will be wiped out in Nova Scotia, Quebec and other provinces. Some aboriginal communities already struggling will be devastated.

What action has the government taken to ensure that the blueberry industry does not get the raspberry?

[Murray Calder, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, it is premature right now to speculate if the U.S. industry will petition for a trade remedy case against blueberries from Canada. Such investigations require formal petitions containing evidence if injury is due to dumping and/or subsidization. We are not aware of any such evidence so far.

Foreign Affairs

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, that was some defence of our blueberry industry.

Yesterday Bush managed to keep a straight face when he went after Iran for violating arms control treaties. When Bush does not like an arms control treaty, he does not violate it, he just tears it up. That is what he did with the ABM treaty so he could plow ahead with star wars.

Would the defence minister explain why it is okay for some people to abandon arms control treaties and others not?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, it seems this morning that the NDP wants us to move slower on ballistic missile defence, while the Canadian Alliance seems to want us to move faster on ballistic missile defence.

This leads me to conclude that probably we are moving at about the right speed.

[Loyola Hearn, Progressive Conservative, St. John's West, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence said that Canada needed to decide on missile defence in 100 days. Whose deadline is it?

The House is about to close. In five weeks we will go on summer break and the Prime Minister is whistling past the graveyard; no proposals, no ideas, no consensus and no time.

Will he set up a House of Commons committee on missile defence before it is too late? Will he let Parliament do the work his government has ignored?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, in the first place, I am informed that four opposition days remain before the end of the session. I have not seen any opposition party rushing with alacrity to seize on this opportunity for a debate in Parliament. I would inform them once again, if they are not already aware, that these opportunities exist and they are there for the opposition parties to use.

Meanwhile, on this side of the House, as I have said more than once, we are engaged in an exciting, vigorous debate on the topic.

Fisheries

[Loyola Hearn, Progressive Conservative, St. John's West, NL]

Mr. Speaker, earlier the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs said that he could not accede to the Newfoundland government's request because the stocks were in such terrible shape that the government had to impose a moratorium.

Let me say to the minister that the stocks are in such bad shape because the government would not listen to the people who know how to manage them.

I ask the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans this. While we argue about constitutional jurisdiction, will he set up a management committee with the provinces to discuss proper management of the resource so those affected can have some say in managing the resource as they know how to do?

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to say to the hon. member that a bit more than 10 years ago the premier was a Liberal for Newfoundland and Labrador and the federal minister was a Tory.

What was said was that Premier Wells blamed Ottawa for mismanaging the fishery, although neither he nor the other three Atlantic premiers had ever urged the federal government to reduce allowed catches. On the contrary, the provinces kept pushing for higher overall quotas and a larger share of the total.

The Government of Canada--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Edmonton Southwest.

Technology Partnerships Canada

[James Rajotte, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, hardly a week goes by without the industry minister doling out taxpayer dollars to some Liberal MP's riding through Technology Partnerships Canada. The minister calls them investments and says that they will be repaid in full. That is simply not true. To date, since 1996, less than 2% of those loans have been repaid.

Why is the minister continuing to mislead the House and Canadians about this program?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, since 1996, Technology Partnerships Canada has created or maintained 43,000 jobs in Canada.

Because of the $2 billion we have invested, over $8 billion of private sector funding has been leveraged. This is the way Canada will encourage the development of emerging sectors of the economy. This is the way we stay competitive with the rest of the world.

I urge the member to look at the facts and see the value of this program.

Taxation

[Charlie Penson, Canadian Alliance, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. congress is proposing changes to the Bush tax plan that could seriously hurt Canadian business. It would only restrict dividend tax reduction to domestic companies. This would leave hundreds of Canadian companies, such as Nortel, Canadian Pacific, TELUS and many others, that have offices in the United States out in the cold.

My question is for the Minister of Finance. Has the Minister of Finance made the appropriate calls to his counterpart in the United States to tell him this is simply wrong?

[Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member can rest assured that the government is quite confident with its tax plan which is very competitive as we operate within the North American economic space. Our corporate tax rates, by the time we implement the plan, will be 6.6% below the Americans. It is clear to me that the tax plan that the government has put in place is working well for Canadians.

The Liberal Government

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Côte-De- Beaupré—Île-D'Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, every day there is more evidence of this government's lack of ideas. Whether it is the softwood lumber crisis, the situation with the crab and cod fishers or the fish plant workers, this government is paralyzed not only by its inaction but also by this endless leadership campaign.

Does the government realize that it is indecent not to use the means at its disposal to take action, and that it cannot continue for much longer to hold the population hostage with the excuse of a leadership campaign?

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

Mr. Speaker, in reality, the situation is very different. We are dealing with Bill C-28 concerning the budget, the bills on national security, the national library and archives, human resources development, public safety, as I have said, election financing, first nations governance, and so on. We have a very full legislative agenda. Getting one of these bills passed requires the cooperation of hon. members, particularly the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Côte-De- Beaupré—Île-D'Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, does the government think it is democratic that we should have to go on being unable to ask questions of the person who is really pulling the strings and paralyzing the government via other members and ministers?

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

Mr. Speaker, it may be frustrating that the members for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot and Winnipeg Centre are filibustering in the parliamentary committee, but I would not say that the member in question has paralyzed Parliament. He might well like to take credit for so doing but it is not true. The government is working very well and has a good legislative agenda. The results of this show clearly in the economy, the Canadian public and the popularity of the Liberals.

The Economy

[Lynne Yelich, Canadian Alliance, Blackstrap, SK]

Mr. Speaker, an April poll conducted by the Canada West Foundation showed that 71% of Saskatchewan respondents think their province does not get the respect it deserves.

During a recent stop in Saskatoon a well known cabinet minister and Liberal leadership hopeful said that the government is the country's largest employer and landlord. She said that she would actually start bringing national institutions to Saskatchewan.

Could it be the government is finally admitting Saskatchewan has been overlooked in the national picture?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the record shows that Saskatchewan takes its place among all the provinces in a country that together has the fastest growing economy in the G-7, has a record that is unmatched in the western world in the creation of jobs over the last number of years, and is moving into emerging sectors of the economy.

One thinks of investments in Saskatchewan like the light source project in Saskatoon which is making a remarkable difference in science. Together and in partnership with Saskatchewan the government is moving forward in the best interests of all Canadians.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Brian Pallister, Canadian Alliance, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Indian affairs minister with his customary intellectual vigour described the 633 Indian chiefs of this country as self-serving bullies. The chiefs replied saying that it takes one to know one. The INAC minister went on to claim that 1.5 million aboriginal Canadians would support his bill, but they were scaredy-cats and afraid of the chiefs.

Why then is the minister advancing this intellectually flawed bill which would hand more power to chiefs, enforcement officers--

[The Speaker]

The hon. Secretary of State.

[Stephen Owen, Liberal, Secretary of State (Western Economic Diversification) (Indian Affairs and Northern Development)]

Mr. Speaker, the legislation the hon. member refers to is proceeding through committee. It is being changed along the way. Canadians are expressing their concerns and support for it in their own way. They have done that through consultations and presentations to the committee. They will continue to do that, some in protest and some in support.

This is one aspect of the government's comprehensive support for aboriginal people in this country, including more than $2.2 billion added to aboriginal spending in the last budget.

Canadian Heritage

[Robert Bertrand, Liberal, Pontiac—Gatineau—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, culture and the arts are the soul of our communities, and the source of their vitality. Yesterday, the Minister of Canadian Heritage unveiled the names of the much-awaited cultural capitals of Canada for 2003, at a news conference in Vancouver.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage please elaborate on this important announcement for the benefit of our colleagues?

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

Mr. Speaker, there are no limits to the creativity of the Department of Canadian Heritage. In 2002, we launched the cultural capitals of Canada program and we are now ready to announce the winning communities: Caraquet in New Brunswick, Red Deer in Alberta, Rivière-du-Loup in Quebec, Thunder Bay in Ontario and Vancouver in British Columbia.

These cities will be awarded between $250,000 and $500,000 to support specific activities. We congratulate them for their activities in the field of the arts and culture.