Debates of Sept. 17th, 2003

Voyageur Colonial Pension Fund

[Chuck Strahl, Canadian Alliance, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this is more than just a casual contact between offices. The former minister's tire tracks are all over this file. Karl Littler, the minister's Ontario campaign organizer, attended meetings on this issue. The deputy superintendent contacted the minister's office directly and spoke to the minister's staff. OSFI went so far as to write communication packages to selected members of Parliament over there at their request. They are supposed to be there to protect the pensioners, not the minister's reputation.

Why is the ministerial staff and the Superintendent of Financial Institutions working the back rooms instead of working to protect the working guy's pension plan?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is independent with respect to the evaluation and the functioning of the fund, as well as with respect to any action, corrective or otherwise, that needs to be taken with respect to the fund.

I think that the hon. member has done nothing, nor has his colleague, except to try to cast aspersions based on nothing, all sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Taxation

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the current Prime Minister of Canada revealed his successor's game plan by suggesting that Ottawa get even more heavily involved in social housing, early childhood and education, all of which fall under the jurisdiction of Quebec.

Quebec's intergovernmental affairs minister, Benoît Pelletier, feels that such action by the federal government would just be one more illustration of fiscal imbalance.

Can the Minister of Finance tell us whether he intends to heed this warning by the Quebec minister, or will he instead follow the path laid out by the father of fiscal imbalance, the former finance minister and future prime minister, who claims there is no such thing as fiscal imbalance?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the hon. member that, in connection with affordable housing, Quebec was one of the first provinces to sign the agreement. That was under the previous government. In all areas to which he has referred, we have managed to play our role while fully respecting provincial jurisdiction. This is one of the strengths of our great federation, which will remain united.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. member that those comments were made by Quebec's intergovernmental affairs minister, Benoît Pelletier, a Liberal. I am merely reporting them.

Will the Minister of Finance bow to the opinion of his predecessor, the father of fiscal imbalance, and invade the municipal level, or will he instead respect this area of jurisdiction as being solely that of Quebec and the provinces?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is certain that Quebec's present intergovernmental affairs minister will ensure that his areas of jurisdiction are respected, and that he will cooperate with the Government of Canada, because we are all working to build the same country—quite a change from the situation in the past. This is a favourable sign for the coming federal election.

Voyageur Colonial Pension Fund

[Deborah Grey, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the member for LaSalle—Émard is on a bumpy road to 24 Sussex.

Voyageur Colonial bus lines, in which he had a 50% share, shortchanged its employees' pension fund by $2.4 million. Meanwhile, the member across the way received a windfall of a pension surplus from Canada Steamship Lines for $82.5 million.

You can call me a “Greyhound” if you like, Mr. Speaker, but I want to know, when will these people be compensated for their fair share of what is owed them?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am a little surprised that the hon. member is showing so much interest in pensions. I thought she had put that behind her.

The integrity of federally regulated pensions are the responsibility of an independent federal agent in the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. In this case, OSFI conducted itself in the appropriate fashion to do its utmost in order to protect the integrity of that fund.

[Deborah Grey, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that is nonsense. These bus drivers deserve a pension and the government just laughs them off.

Here is a little riddle. Let us try this one on. When is an audit not quite an audit? When it is altered by OSFI of course, Mr. Speaker. It had no business letting minister's staff in on these meetings and then tinkering with an official audit. But it is just another Liberal scandal. Hardly anyone notices it is happening.

Voyageur's bus drivers and employees got nothing more than a ticket to ride. When will the government stand up and announce new investigations and get to the bottom of this and help these drivers?

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

Mr. Speaker, OSFI operates on an independent basis. It has done so and will continue to do so. It is independent from the government and it conducts its investigations based on information which is readily available and accessible to them.

The Francophonie

[Christian Jobin, Liberal, Lévis-Et-Chutes-De-La-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa and the Francophonie attended the Francophonie ministerial conference on the information society, which was held in Morocco on September 4 and 5.

Will the secretary of state report to the House on the results of this conference?

[Denis Paradis, Liberal, Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa) (Francophonie)]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to congratulate the new member for Lévis-et-Chutes-de-la-Chaudière on his great interest in Francophonie issues.

The purpose of the ministerial conference was to lay the groundwork for the World Summit on Information Society that will take place in Geneva in December.

Naturally, I took the opportunity to promote Canadian information technology initiatives and to demonstrate Canada's leadership in that field.

I also took the opportunity to announce that we will be helping young French-speaking Canadians and Africans participate in that summit.

International Aid

[Deepak Obhrai, Canadian Alliance, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal approach to foreign aid centres around giving money to friends and supporters.

The Canadian Labour Congress received $2.1 million in foreign aid, roughly the same amount as the Christian Children's Fund of Canada, UNICEF Canada, Oxfam and Aga Khan Foundation. These genuine NGOs, unlike the Canadian Labour Congress, have solid track records for helping the poor.

Will the minister tell Canadians today that foreign aid dollars will be used to fight poverty and not be given away to Liberal friends and cronies?

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the hon. member has not read CIDA's policy statement on strengthening aid effectiveness. The document shows how Canada is concentrating its aid efforts and has taken the aid program in a new direction.

Our partners are essential, as the hon. member must know. In delivering Canada's aid they go through a very scrupulous process to receive money and to be partners, and we work with all of them to ensure we affect and help the poor.

[Deepak Obhrai, Canadian Alliance, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, CIDA has a limited amount of money to meet the UN millennium goals. Squandering hard earned Canadian taxpayer dollars to support friends of the Liberals is just plain wrong. Foreign aid should go to NGOs that will alleviate poverty and promote economic growth.

Yet the Liberals continue to aid their friends instead of helping those who really need it. Why?

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Minister for International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the hon. member would want the House to know that the press release that he sent out reflects only a small portion of the contributions that CIDA makes to a number of organizations. For example, we give 10 times the figure that is in the hon. member's press release to the international Red Cross organization. We would like to have all the facts on the table when we are talking about Canada's foreign aid program.

Cartagena Protocol

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

Mr. Speaker, the Cartagena protocol on biosafety has come into force without Canada, which means that Canada is not part of the international consensus on GMO control. If it wants to take part in the first implementation meeting scheduled for February 23 to 27, 2004, in Kuala Lumpur, Canada must ratify the protocol by November 22.

Does the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food realize that unless it ratifies the Cartagena protocol, Canada will not be able to defend its interests on the international scene and is sending the message that trade is more important than the protection of public health?

[David Anderson, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, no decision has been taken on ratification because we are still engaged in consultation with stakeholders, particularly stakeholders in the agricultural sector. That said, the Government of Canada and certainly most of the stakeholders support the objectives of the protocol and we hope a decision can be taken in short order.

Health

[Janko Peric, Liberal, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. A landmark national survey found that depression affects as many Canadians as diabetes and heart disease. Mental illness costs our health care system $5 billion and our economy $13 billion a year. What steps is the government taking to address the alarming findings of this study?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member raises an important issue, one that should concern all levels of government and non-governmental organizations that work with those who are mentally ill.

Indeed, Health Canada participated in a fact finding project which resulted in the first ever statistical overview of mental illness in Canada. We are now working with other government departments to ensure that its recommendations are implemented. In addition, the CIHR has funded over $60 million worth of research in relation to mental health, neurosciences and addiction across our country.

This is a very important issue and one which we need to work on together.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker]

I would like to draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of the Hon. Christian Mejdahl, Speaker of the Folketing of the Royal Danish Kingdom.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

Business of the House

[The Speaker]

It is my duty, pursuant to Standing Order 81(14), to inform the House that the motion to be considered tomorrow during consideration of the business of supply is as follows:

That, in the opinion of this House, in order to ensure tax equity, the government should terminate Canada's tax convention with Barbados, a tax haven, which enables wealthy Canadian taxpayers and companies to avoid their tax obligations, and should play a leadership role at the international level in activities to eliminate tax havens.

This motion standing in the name of the hon. member for Joliette is votable. Copies of the motion are available at the Table.

Privacy Commissioner

[The Speaker]

I have the honour to lay upon the Table the 2002-03 report of the Privacy Commissioner. This report is deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.

Government Response to Petitions

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 20 petitions.