Debates of Sept. 26th, 2003

Canadian Wheat Board

[David Anderson, Canadian Alliance, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, each year the federal government guarantees the initial price of grain sold by western Canadian farmers. Each grade and pool of grain has a separate account. The Canadian Wheat Board is then supposed to market that grain at a higher price. This did not happen last year. In 2002-03 we had a complete marketing disaster. Canadian taxpayers are left on the hook for any shortfalls.

My question for the minister is, how many of the pool accounts are in deficit and what is the total amount of that deficit?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the accounting work for the last crop year is not yet completed. When that accounting work is completed, all of the information will be made public in the normal manner.

[David Anderson, Canadian Alliance, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it does not add up. We are three months past the end of the crop year and farmers still do not know what their final 2002-03 prices are.

Farmers are actually beginning to suspect that this year's crop and this year's money is being used to finance last year's deficit and last year's marketing failure.

I am going to ask the minister this, has the Canadian Wheat Board been illegally using this year's grain sales to bring last year's pool accounts out of the hole?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman clearly does not know the rules that apply to the Canadian Wheat Board, the accounting practices of the Wheat Board, the manner in which one crop year is brought to an end, and how the marketing of a new crop year is undertaken. All of that is clearly within the rules that are established under the Canadian Wheat Board Act and the regulations.

In terms of the day-to-day administration, that is the responsibility of the duly elected directors of the Canadian Wheat Board.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this past March, the Minister of Canadian Heritage told us that, following on the $25 million cut to the Canadian Television Fund, the government would be investing in the CBC this year instead of the public sector television fund.

How then can the Minister of Canadian Heritage explain the $10 million in cuts that have been announced, in light of her expressed intent to invest in the CBC?

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

Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that the government has always held the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in high esteem, and its budgets prove this. We have given close to $1 billion to the CBC annually. In the past two years, there has been an additional $60 million. This year, we decided on an additional $50 million.

We do, of course, expect this corporation, which has an independent executive and board of governors, to make the best administrative decisions and to fully respect its employees' rights.

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary's convoluted answers satisfy neither the public nor the employees of the CBC. Her government must provide a real answer.

After the recommendations by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage regarding the need for stable funding for the coming years, after the promises made by the heritage minister this past March, what real explanation can there be for this further $10 million cut?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is simple. At the present time, a reallocation process is under way, as announced by the Minister of Finance in the last budget. This process affects the CBC, as it does all other agencies under the responsibility of Canadian Heritage.

Softwood Lumber

[Andy Burton, Canadian Alliance, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on May 15 I asked the Minister of Natural Resources how much longer communities must wait to receive assistance through the softwood lumber aid package and the minister waffled. Here we are, five months later, and communities and workers in my riding are still waiting.

Why is the government so insensitive to the needs of small communities affected by this dispute? Where is the money?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as I responded yesterday, and I think the hon. member should take the time to study the file, we announced $3.5 million to support communities under the community adjustment program.

Obviously his colleague who asked the question yesterday did not even know that in his own riding we put in $310,000 to support the community and his colleague was up asking questions again.

The same hon. member should take the time to read the information so he knows the good work that is being done by WED through this fund to support communities right across British Columbia.

[Andy Burton, Canadian Alliance, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that is a lousy 3% of the total that the government announced in the past. Announcements do not cut it. They do not put bread and butter on the table of displaced workers.

Yesterday, yes, my colleague from Nanaimo asked a similar question, but basically received more waffling. The fact of the matter is very little assistance has gone to softwood lumber dependent communities.

So I ask again, why has the government failed to assist workers who have been drastically affected by the softwood lumber dispute? Why is it that the Liberals make an awful lot of announcements but do not keep very many promises?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, once again this hon. member should take the time to study the figures. The amount of money that was allocated toward British Columbia was $50 million. Out of that $50 million, we have announced $3.5 million. Over the weeks and months ahead, there will be more money announced.

In fact, we have 1,100 applications of excellent projects throughout the Province of British Columbia to support those communities that have been hurt hardest by the duties that we are working very hard with the Americans to remove.

But the hon. member should stand--

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Oakville.

Health

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on September 4 ministers of health committed to move ahead with work to create a health council, a key component of the 2003 first ministers' accord on health care renewal.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health update the House on what steps are being taken by the federal government to set up and to name members to this new health council?

[Jeannot Castonguay, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question, which is certainly an important one for all Canadians.

I am pleased to inform the House and all Canadians that the Minister of Health announced yesterday that the Government of Canada is inviting the public to submit the names of potential candidates for expert and public representatives on the council. People can submit their suggestions via Health Canada's website or in writing.

The creation of the Health Council clearly reflects this government's commitment to enhance, for the public, transparency and accountability in the Canadian health care system.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have in my hand a Fisheries and Oceans Canada member of Parliament inquiry form. It states:

All staff are required to report contacts with members of Parliament, senators or their representatives within 24 hours of contact.

I find this a bit puzzling. No other government department has it. It amounts to nothing less than intimidation of DFO officials.

The question is simple. Does the minister not trust his department or is he deliberately trying to keep information from Parliament?

[Georges Farrah, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I am having difficulty following the hon. member's reasoning. Our staff is not forbidden from talking to members of Parliament. Our goal is simply to ensure good service. By keeping the minister abreast of the kind of questions being asked, we want to ensure that our employees provide members with excellent answers.

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, half the time that a member of Parliament who represents the coastal area in Canada calls DFO, he is calling for a simple question such as when is the clam season going to open. It is not really complicated.

Let us take a look at the facts. The combined budget of DFO and the Coast Guard has shrunk by $44 million, forcing the elimination of search and rescue helicopters and other services. Is this why the minister has placed the gag order on his department? Why else would he apply pressure to control what DFO officers and employees are saying to members of Parliament?

[Georges Farrah, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat what I said. I think there would be a problem if the minister did not allow employees to talk to members of Parliament. If that were the case, I could see that this would be a problem. But in this instance, all we are doing is ensuring that members are properly informed about our files and how their files are being handled. I do not see any problem with that.

Electoral System

[Lorne Nystrom, NDP, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister.

As he is aware, his own member of Parliament, who is the Liberal leader in Ontario, supports a referendum on changing the voting system, just like the Ontario NDP favours changing the voting system. Yet we have heard all week from the government why it does not like the idea of proportional representation. However, that is not the question. The question is whether or not the citizens of this country like proportional representation.

My question for the Deputy Prime Minister is, will the Liberal Party support the NDP motion next week which will call for a national referendum on changing our voting system?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is the identical question that was asked yesterday.

The hon. member is putting forward to us a proposition that MPs without constituents are better than MPs representing constituencies. I happen to think that members representing Canadians are better than those who are not elected to represent constituencies.

The member is entitled to his point of view. I think we are entitled to have Canadians represented in Parliament by people from their own community, by one of their own. It is a fundamental principle.

Foreign Affairs

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Solicitor General.

Today is the first anniversary of the United States' arrest and deportation to Syria of Maher Arar.

Yesterday the RCMP assistant commissioner stonewalled in committee and refused to say what information the RCMP had passed on to the United States about Arar.

Will the minister now answer that question? Will he stand up for this Canadian citizen and confirm that Canada has absolutely no evidence linking Maher Arar to terrorism?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, first of all I reject the allegation of the member that the RCMP stonewalled at committee. They did not.

The RCMP in fact laid out the facts, and the facts are these: The RCMP were not involved in the decision by the United States' authority to arrest and deport Mr. Arar. Nor was the RCMP involved in making suggestions to the Americans that Mr. Arar be deported to Syria.

Those are the facts and the member should understand that. Those are the facts and I cannot say more than that.

Canada Customs and Revenue Agency

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for customs has kept Canadians in the dark about the Liberals' hollow border policy. Documents obtained by my office from CCRA prove that the minister is complicit in concealing the real facts.

For example, when asked in committee last May how many alleged criminals were fleeing past customs officers, she replied, “Just a few dozen people a year”. The documents peg that number at 176.

Did the minister know this real number when she testified, or is it just incompetence?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I have been always open, forthcoming and giving information to the member, to committees and to all Canadians as I have answered questions in the House.

The member should know that he is creating an absolute wrong impression when he talks about our customs officers on the front lines who have the tools, the dedication, the competence to do the job to ensure that Canada is on the leading edge of customs in the world. We work very closely with the Americans. I am proud of what we do. They have the tools. We have hired an additional 450 since September 11.