Debates of Sept. 26th, 2003

Member for LaSalle—Émard

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

Mr. Speaker, the new Liberal leader is not really new. He has a record.

He wrote the red book of broken promises: the promise to eliminate the GST, broken; the promise of an independent ethics counsellor, broken; and the promise of a sex offenders registry, broken. In 1999 he voted for marriage and just the other day he voted against it.

He claims he will end the democratic deficit but he blocks attempts by rivals to sign up new party members.

He is not a good manager. He inherited a robust economy which was none of his doing. He fudged the books by cutting health care and education transfers to the provinces and blamed them. He signed the cheques for the out of control billion dollar gun registry. He overcharged working Canadians by $45 billion on their EI premiums.

Only by Liberal standards would this be called good management.

Sports

[Sarkis Assadourian, Liberal, Brampton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise in the House and congratulate a constituent in my riding of Brampton Centre, Ms. Alecia Brown, who won the bronze medal at the Pan-American junior track and field championships in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Alecia is a student at Central Peel Secondary School and a member of the Brampton Track and Field Club. She earned the bronze medal for running the second leg of Canada's 4x400 metre relay.

I urge my fellow members to join me in congratulating Ms. Alecia Brown and wishing her success in her studies and in her promising career in track and field.

Newfoundland and Labrador

[Rex Barnes, Progressive Conservative, Gander—Grand Falls, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I have been recently informed that HRDC has decided to stop certain funding to zonal boards in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The labour market development agreement between the provincial and the federal governments expires in early October. This program has provided rural areas of the province with the expertise to develop longstanding employment so that rural areas are financially feasible.

The prime minister in waiting is promising new deals for cities. One has to wonder who will pay this price. People in rural areas know now who will be paying the price.

Eliminating funding from these zonal boards by changing the regulations for the labour market development program, the Liberal government is hurting the development of rural areas in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Police and Peace Officers

[Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral, Bloc, Laval Centre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, next Sunday on Parliament Hill thousands of police and peace officers will pay homage to their colleagues who have died in the line of duty.

In the past year alone, six police and peace officers paid with their lives to ensure the safety and security of members of their communities.

On behalf of the Bloc Quebecois and speaking personally as well, I would like to tell the family of Sûreté du Québec corporal Antonio Arsenault of Laval, and all the families who have lost a loved one over the years, how much we share their sorrow.

Police and Peace Officers National Memorial Day gives us an opportunity to express our thanks and recognition of the supreme sacrifice made by all these men and women.

In such circumstances, the comfort words can provide is small. Know, however, that we stand beside you, in heartfelt solidarity.

Carnegie Medal

[John Harvard, Liberal, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB]

Mr. Speaker, today three Canadians are going to receive the Carnegie medal in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This prestigious medal is awarded to individuals who risk their lives to rescue other people from danger.

One recipient is George Haas, a farmer from Langenburg, Saskatchewan. Mr. Haas rescued two men when their truck overturned and became trapped in an ice covered pond, almost losing his own life in the process.

The second Canadian hero is William Gibb, who helped to break up a robbery in a store in Toronto and was stabbed and wounded in the struggle.

The third outstanding Canadian is Markham Bunnah from Calgary. He is being recognized for saving a man from the icy waters of the Bow River.

The Carnegie medal is inspired by rescue stories and was started in the United States in 1904.

These outstanding people and their selfless and brave actions illustrate how ordinary Canadians are capable of extraordinary feats when circumstances call for it.

On behalf of the House I would like to congratulate all three Canadian recipients of the Carnegie medal, true life heroes.

Carol Shields

[Wendy Lill, NDP, Dartmouth, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Carol Shields, one of Canada's most loved writers, passed away this summer, leaving her husband Donald, her family, and thousands who counted themselves friends.

With her insight into human nature, Carol cut through pretension and lit up ordinary lives and brought dignity to them.

She began writing at 41 after her five children were in school and then wrote nine novels, many short stories, poetry and plays. Her books, such as The Stone Diaries , Larry's Party and Unless , won many prizes, including the Pulitzer, the Governor General's award and the Order of Canada.

Life in all of its complications was her material. When she was diagnosed with cancer it became just another part of life to understand, like child bearing, sex or choosing curtain fabric. In her last years, she brought together women from across the country in the book project called Dropped Threads .

Gay and straight, young and old, those dealing with loss, illness, joy, great love, memories, hopes and violence: in the midst of the stress in our lives today she got us talking to one another again and listening.

We thank you for that gift, Carol. We will keep the faith.

Crime Prevention

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Fredericton Sexual Assault Crisis Centre has launched a new training project to teach women and girls about personal security and assertiveness.

Called the Empowerment Project, the program will train rape crisis centre staff and others in how to instruct women and girls to avoid and fend off sexual assault.

This project was supported by the National Crime Prevention Strategy, the New Brunswick Department of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Foundation. It will be used throughout Canada and some parts of the United States.

Frederictonians and indeed all Canadians should be proud of the program's creator, Mary Whiteside-Lantz, as well as Lorraine Whalley and her team at the Fredericton Sexual Assault Crisis Centre for this important work, work that will make a difference in the lives of women and girls throughout North America.

Beef Industry

[Ken Epp, Canadian Alliance, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, you would not believe how incredibly difficult this summer has been for the farmers. The closing of the U.S. border to the export of our beef is devastating the industry.

I am sure that the agriculture minister, the finance minister and both prime ministers have a total incapacity to understand the meaning of losing 85% or 90% of their income.

I have a large number of people in my riding who depend on the beef industry. I think of the Andersons, who operate a major feedlot and who are expecting their fourth child. Producing high quality beef is their livelihood and it is evaporating.

There are hundreds like them and this government seems to have no concern for them at all.

Imagine: these Liberals voted against an opposition motion to send a high level delegation to Washington and to make an extraordinary effort to reopen the border. Maybe the motion confused them, because it referred to the Prime Minister and right now we do not have one.

Telecommunications

[Gurbax Malhi, Liberal, Bramalea—Gore—Malton—Springdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this morning cabinet tabled its response to the recommendations made by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology in its latest report entitled, “Opening Canadian Telecommunications to the World”. The endorsement by the government of the committee's recommendations is yet another example of hard work by parliamentarians.

This past April, the standing committee tabled a report in Parliament on Canada's foreign investment restrictions applicable to telecommunications common carriers. The mandate of the committee was to solicit views on Canada's foreign direct investment restrictions.

The recommendations contained in this report will help to improve investment and innovation in the Canadian telecommunications sector, provide better services to consumers and achieve the government's telecommunications policy goals.

This process is a perfect example of the way in which individual members really can make a difference on public policy.

Agriculture

[Carol Skelton, Canadian Alliance, Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK]

Mr. Speaker, we have been asking the government for months about a marketing strategy for Canadian beef.

Public trust must be restored. Where is the public ad campaign to promote the beef industry and what is the government's plan?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows very well that through the work of the government and the industry it is being demonstrated very clearly that the Canadian beef product is completely safe. It has been recognized by other countries in the world by opening their borders in ways that have never happened before as far as receiving product from a BSE country goes.

That has also been recognized in the numbers. Canadian consumers purchased 62% more beef in July of this year than last year and 72% more in August than they did last year. The beef is moving and we just need to continue to work--

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar.

[Carol Skelton, Canadian Alliance, Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK]

Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent answer from the member whose government gives millions to millionaires and pennies to seniors.

Other livestock industries are being affected by the BSE scare: sheep, bison and cervids. Borders and markets must be opened and kept open for these Canadian products as well. Where is the government's plan for marketing alternative livestock?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, when the markets in the United States opened and when the markets in Mexico were opened those markets were opened in the very same way for the other ruminants, for all the other ruminants, as they have been for beef. The hon. member knows that. I am sure she read the press release. I am sure she read the information that is out there.

It is the science, it is the record of the Canadian beef industry and it is the work of our processing plants and the work of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that have had recognition given to Canada that has not been given to any other country in the world. We will keep building on that.

[Carol Skelton, Canadian Alliance, Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian livestock industry is going to change its name to Bombardier.

Canadian producers know that until our borders open to year round access to American feeder cattle the American border will remain closed to ours. This has been an issue for 10 years. Will the government agree to reverse its position and get all the borders open?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member fails to realize, so I will remind her and others again, that no other countries have had the borders opened such as we have. Unfortunately, we had a cow back in May with BSE, which puts us in the category that we are now a BSE country. Other countries in the world usually do not import products from countries that had a case of BSE, but our track record, our science and the work that has been done, that has been the strategy, and it is working.

Citizenship and Immigration

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

Mr. Speaker, the immigration minister just gets more bizarre, trying to dodge the bullet for allowing the unbridled growth of bogus visa schools.

Now his office says not to worry. When visa officers see a dubious acceptance letter they investigate and even visit the school themselves.

That is really strange, because student visas are processed at missions abroad.

Would the minister care to explain how an officer in Beijing or New Delhi can personally visit and check out a bogus school operating in Canada?

[Sarkis Assadourian, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows very well that we take each and every application for student visas very seriously. They have to go through the examination and a security check and medical check. Further, we check every document we receive from the school. If the school provides false documents we make sure we investigate that.

I would also like to remind the member that certification of the schools is under provincial jurisdiction. We do not look at the school certificate. Provincial governments provide the certificate for bona fide schools.

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

Mr. Speaker, that is complete nonsense. It is up to the government to decide how it processes its applications.

What our officers abroad say is that they are ordered to accept any and all student visa applications unless they absolutely know that a school does not exist. That is pretty hard to know from the other side of the planet.

They have appealed to Ottawa to shut down bogus visa schools. They have even given the minister a list of the worst offenders. Yet unbelievably the minister has done absolutely nothing to stop this rip-off of foreign students, to plug a security loophole.

Why have the Liberals not cleaned up these bogus visa schools?

[Sarkis Assadourian, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, education is a provincial jurisdiction. If the hon. member is proposing that we go into the provincial jurisdiction, she should make that very clear to us. If she gives us a letter from the minister of education in Alberta telling us to get involved in education in Alberta, we probably would consider it.

Health

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in February, the Prime Minister committed to providing Quebec and the provinces with $2 billion for health. But the government has been trying to renege on its commitment ever since, using the SARS and mad cow crises, the power blackout and even the forest fires in British Columbia as an excuse.

Should the surplus not be as expected, will the Minister of Finance commit to using the contingency reserve—after all a contingency reserve is for contingencies—to ensure that the $2 billion for health is actually provided to Quebec and the provinces as promised, instead of focusing exclusively on the debt?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to make clear what was specifically promised in January in terms of the health accord.

The Government of Canada committed, and I quote, “to provide up to an additional $2.0 billion for health for the provinces and territories at the end of fiscal year 2003-04, if the Minister of Finance determines during the month of January 2004 that there will be a sufficient surplus above the normal Contingency Reserve to permit such an investment”.

That is what we committed to do and what we are going to do.

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance seems to be drawing inspiration for his priorities from his new leader: pay down the debt at all cost, and the heck with health.

Given that health care is first and foremost in the minds of people, should the surplus not materialize, will the Minister of Finance set debt repayment, which happens to be his new leader's priority, aside just a tad and use his contingency reserve to ensure the sick that the $2 billion earmarked for health will be provided to Quebec and the provinces, no matter what?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is a switch. The Bloc Quebecois always complained that the surpluses were too high. Now, it is noticing that they are lower, but keeps asking for money just the same.

The greatest threat to our health care system, in my view, is the current debt load. We must therefore, with the help of the population, make an effort to reduce the debt so that future generations can afford a health care system.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance knows full well that the debt to GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the G7. This is no excuse.

When it comes to interfering in provincial jurisdictions to impose unnecessary structures, the federal government is always willing and able. However, when the time comes to provide money promised for public health care, then the government is elusive and tries to escape its obligations.

Will the Minister of Finance stop being elusive and commit to immediately paying the $2 billion promised to Quebec and the provinces for public health care?