Debates of Sept. 19th, 2003

Infrastructure

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, it has been the government's policy to invest rather heavily in urban infrastructure over the last number of years. My colleague, the member for Etobicoke Centre, also from Toronto, is leading the effort with Infrastructure Canada. I think we have done a very commendable job.

The Prime Minister reiterated his commitment in a speech given earlier this week. I have no doubt that this commitment to the urban agenda will continue once we have a new Liberal leader.

Transportation

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

Mr. Speaker, the member for LaSalle—Émard is also associated with a certain kind of continentalism. In that same context, I wonder if the Minister of Transport is aware of this internal memo within the Canadian National Railway which now prohibits employees from using any language that has the word Canadian in it. They can say CN, but they cannot say Canadian National. They cannot say Canadian National Railway. They cannot say Canadian National Railroad.

I wonder if the Minister of Transport would undertake to look into this and communicate to CN, or to the Canadian National Railway, that using the word Canadian--

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Transport.

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I am unaware of the contents of this e-mail, but I have such great respect for my colleague from the NDP, having been in the House with him for many years, that I assume what he says is accurate.

If that is the case, it is not only totally unacceptable, it is obscene, and I will go directly to the chair and the president of Canadian National Railway. This is a great Canadian institution, one of the best railways in North America, and we should not apologize for being Canadian.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Diane Ablonczy, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there is no end to Liberal waste of money taxed from struggling Canadian families. From the billion dollar HRDC boondoggle to fake advertising contracts to lavish expense accounts, Liberals keep pouring our money down the drain.

The latest boondoggle is a biometric scan of all Canadians to force everyone to carry a national ID card.

The privacy commissioner says it will cost $5 billion just to kick-start the registry. Why does the government not use the $5 billion to keep foreign criminals from coming into Canada?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is completely unacceptable to say such things today. While the Privacy Commissioner mentioned $5 billion, first, there have been no cost studies on the possible use of this kind of document.

The important thing is that Canadians have the right to debate where society is heading. We have decided to have an open debate. The planet is shrinking; other countries are doing this and it is important to find a typically Canadian solution. Therefore, whether we have ID cards or not, there must be a debate.

[Diane Ablonczy, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, every day the Liberals let people without proper documents, or even with no documents at all, simply walk into Canada. The Auditor General says the Liberals have allowed thousands and thousands to stay illegally in this country. The minister actually refused to cooperate with police to make sure 59 known foreign criminals could be removed.

The government says it does not have money for better screening or better removals. So why does it suddenly have $5 billion for a new national ID card registry?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, first of all I think it is pretty accurate to say that on this side of the House we decided to have a real debate. We feel that because of what is going on all over the country it is great to have that kind of debate. I truly believe that Canadians should have that kind of debate.

We have not talked about any cuts right now and with regard to what the member mentioned about security, security is our number one priority. We have said since the beginning that everything we have to do we are doing. If the member does not agree with it, that is her problem.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, the aspiring prime minister and hon. member for LaSalle—Émard identified education and municipalities among his future priorities, two areas under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. Instead of seeking to infringe upon other jurisdictions, the father of fiscal imbalance would be better off cleaning up his own mess.

If the government recognizes that education and municipal affairs are priorities, should it not then transfer to Quebec and the provinces the funds it cut from them, so they can meet their own obligations?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I said a few moments ago, the infrastructure program of the federal government has done a remarkable job in building Canadian cities. We can invest in cities without intruding on provincial jurisdiction and I think this is something that will be followed as time goes on.

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

Mr. Speaker, by saying that he wants to invest in education, health and municipalities, the father of fiscal imbalance, the hon. member for LaSalle—Émard and future prime minister, is proving that there really is such an imbalance. If there is a surplus to invest, it is because cuts were made somewhere, and he was the one responsible for those cuts.

Consequently, does the Minister of Finance not believe that the best way to ensure future investments would be to give the money directly to those responsible for providing the services, meaning Quebec and the provinces?

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, when this government inherited a $42.5 billion deficit the Bloc never mentioned fiscal imbalance. Now that we have recorded six balanced budgets or better, suddenly the Bloc talks about a fiscal imbalance.

I would like to point out that the IMF has just announced that Canada will be one of the top performers in the world in 2003-04 because of the fundamental principles that this government has adhered to with regard to the economy. For that we should be hearing kudos from that side, not the nonsense we often hear.

Voyageur Colonial Pension Fund

[Rahim Jaffer, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party's Prince Charming cheated Voyageur bus drivers out of millions of dollars. OSFI, which is supposed to be a regulatory body and is supposed to protect employees, answered the minister directly. Political pressure was applied and the drivers lost up to 30% of their pension.

Why did OSFI not do anything in a case that saw the biggest pension losses in the history of Canada?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I have already answered that question.

[Rahim Jaffer, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we are giving the government the chance to remove the cloud of suspicion from their heads, to remove the cloud of suspicion from the former finance minister. They refuse to do so. In doing so, they have stiffed hundreds of Canadians out of millions of dollars.

How can they live with themselves? How can they sleep at night? I do not understand it. How are Canadians supposed to trust a Liberal government that allowed the former finance minister to shortchange the average person out of their pensions?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I should inform the hon. member that I, and I am sure my colleagues on this side of the House, sleep very well at night, knowing that we give the country a very good government. That very good government will continue with the new Liberal leader.

When the hon. member starts talking about heads in the clouds, it is obvious the Alliance members have their heads in the clouds because they are so afraid of a change of leadership that they are willing to attack the integrity of one of the members of the House.

Taxation

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, citing difficulties accessing venture capital, yesterday the former finance minister suggested that pension funds should be tapped into, as they are in the U.S. We all know what that means.

Rather than putting workers' pension funds at risk, as the former finance minister did with Voyageur, does the government not think it would be better to recoup the money lost to tax havens and invest it in the economy?

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, again, the member knows that the responsibility of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is to oversee all pension funds. This government does not comment on specific cases.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the first budget tabled by the Liberals after they came into power in 1993, the former finance minister said, “Certain Canadian corporations are not paying an appropriate level of tax. Accordingly, we are taking measures to prevent Canadian-based companies from using foreign affiliates to avoid paying Canadian taxes”.

Indeed, measures were taken, but rather to promote tax avoidance and the use of tax havens, particularly the one where the former finance minister had interests.

What is the government waiting for to implement the measures announced nine years ago?

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as the House knows, predicting the Canadian tax base is the number one concern of this government. Obviously we monitor it on an ongoing basis. The member, rather than making cheap innuendoes against the member for LaSalle—Émard, should be talking about the fact that we have a competitive rate internationally. There are 1,700 companies in the one jurisdiction this member talked about yesterday. The fact is, we continue to update our treaties we have with those countries. We have 79. I would suggest that is an ongoing activity of this government.

Foreign Affairs

[Myron Thompson, Canadian Alliance, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP review committee concluded that the RCMP failed to properly investigate allegations of widespread corruption at the Canadian High Commission in Hong Kong. This resulted in Asian organized crime figures entering Canada.

What is at issue is whether or not the RCMP deliberately failed to investigate incidents that suggested a fraud ring was operating in the Hong Kong mission.

Will the minister immediately convene a public inquiry so Canadians can have an answer to this very disturbing question?

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as the member across the way knows very well, our RCMP is well respected in this country. There is an ongoing internal disciplinary hearing. We will not comment in order to ensure that it is fair.

In terms of foreign affairs, we work closely through the RCMP to ensure that any threat to national security is properly investigated.

[Myron Thompson, Canadian Alliance, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the external review committee concluded, and I quote, “For reasons that are not entirely clear, the Force has consistently demonstrated a reluctance to investigate the activities of locally engaged staff at the Mission”.

This government has repeatedly refused to deal with this situation. Again, will the Solicitor General arrange a public inquiry to dispel any misconceptions that the RCMP deliberately failed to do its job and determine who has been pressuring it to drop this case?

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I find it amazing that the member across the way would cast aspersions on a police force, a law enforcement agency like the RCMP which is well respected here in Canada by ordinary Canadians and across the world.

This country, this government and our national law enforcement agency takes seriously any threats to national security and our force properly investigates when there is reason to believe that there is a threat to national security.

The Environment

[Charles Caccia, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment. With great foresight, the British government has adopted a reduction target for carbon dioxide emissions of 60% by the year 2050. Could the minister inform the House as to whether a similar and needed target will be set by the Canadian government so as to repair the climate and reduce the increasing damage to Canada's economy caused by climate change?