House of Commons Hansard #129 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was information.
John Duncan Canadian Alliance Vancouver Island North, BC
Mr. Speaker, the immigration minister must answer why Chinese citizens were betrayed by his officials and became subject to torture or worse by Chinese police.
These residents of China provided evidence in the Lai immigration hearing in Vancouver through a Canadian lawyer. The minister's officials promised confidentiality to protect them. Unbelievably, the minister turned around and betrayed the identity of these trusting witnesses.
Why does the minister's word mean nothing?
Denis Coderre LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, I would rather not say anything than engage in personal attacks. When matters are before the courts or when a procedure is under way, it is certainly not the place of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to make public the details of the procedure.
John Duncan Canadian Alliance Vancouver Island North, BC
Mr. Speaker, the minister has put people's lives at risk and now he is hiding behind a pending court decision, but the issue of the betrayal of Tao Mi and others by the Canadian government is completely separate from the issues before the court.
I am simply asking why the minister betrayed Tao Mi and other witnesses in absolute breach of undertakings by his department. What is the minister now going to do to protect Tao Mi and other Chinese witnesses?
Denis Coderre LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, my answer is pretty clear. When it is pending in court and when there is a process, we on this side of the House believe in the state of the law. I am not going to comment any further and I am not going to get involved in those kinds of personal attacks.
Diane Bourgeois Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC
Mr. Speaker, despite the policy and regulations in effect in the public service, psychological harassment remains a reality. Studies show that 21% of public servants are still subject to harassment. In fact, this figure may even be higher than 30%.
What concrete steps does the President of the Treasury Board intend to take in order to end psychological harassment affecting 21% of public servants?
Lucienne Robillard LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board
Mr. Speaker, in the Public Service of Canada, we have a policy of prevention, a policy against harassment. Following a survey of public service employees, we have had to revise that policy.
Now, along with bargaining agents and union representatives, we have embarked on a period of training and raising awareness, all across the public service, in order to reach the goal of completely eradicating harassment in the Public Service of Canada.
Walt Lastewka Liberal St. Catharines, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women. Today Statistics Canada released the first ever ethnic diversity survey in Canada. Could the Secretary of State tell the House how this survey will better inform public policy for Canada?
Jean Augustine LiberalSecretary of State (Multiculturalism) (Status of Women)
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his interest and also I thank all those who have noticed that today we did something that is a milestone in the history of our country, that is, a study of ethnicity in Canada. It will provide us with groundbreaking research about Canadians, especially ethnocultural communities. It tells us about their cultural heritage, their family background, their knowledge, their use of language and their economic activities.
This survey will help to us to understand the effects of people's backgrounds on their participation in Canadian society and how ethnicity and diversity affect--
Joe Comartin NDP Windsor—St. Clair, ON
Mr. Speaker, as early as tomorrow the cabinet may be asked to make a decision to commit $2.3 billion to the ITER nuclear fusion project, a project that will not create any new energy for at least 30 years. ITER will in fact be a huge net energy user for decades to come.
For the finance minister, why, if the government has billions of taxpayer dollars to spare on a project with no tangible benefits to Canadians, will the minister not scrap the ITER subsidies and redirect the money, which appears to be available, toward cost-effective, clean and safe renewable energy programs?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Natural Resources is looking carefully at this proposal and has consulted broadly with affected communities. Obviously it presents an opportunity for important long term scientific research, but it has to be examined very carefully because it is a major financial commitment. The government will continue studying it and come to a conclusion when all the facts are at hand.
Rick Casson Canadian Alliance Lethbridge, AB
Mr. Speaker, every day the crisis in Canada's cattle industry deepens, pulling down more and more Canadian families.
The U.S. border is still closed to all trade in cattle and open to only a small fraction of the beef industry. One of the issues stopping progress on getting the U.S. border open to our Canadian cattle is the refusal of this government to open our borders to U.S. cattle.
The industry is calling for action, the Canadian Cattlemen's Association is calling for action, and the minister has even promised some action.
What steps has the minister taken to eliminate this hurdle to open trade in cattle?
Lyle Vanclief LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency along with the Ministry of Health and the industry continue to review the situation the member is asking about. It is a risk assessment based on health and the concern about disease coming into Canada from the United States. We have had some pilot projects on this. We will continue to monitor it and continue the risk assessment.
I also want to remind the member that he should be thanking the government for getting the border open to the extent that we have. We have now had 27 million pounds of Canadian meat and beef move into the United States already in the month of September.
Pauline Picard Bloc Drummond, QC
Mr. Speaker, on October 1, the interim measures put in place by the federal government during the implementation of the new employment insurance regulations will expire for the Gaspé Peninsula, North Shore and Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean regions. Without these transitional measures, hundreds of seasonal workers will no longer be eligible for benefits.
Will the Minister of Human Resources Development admit that the negative effects of this government's cuts to employment insurance must be alleviated? These transitional measures must be extended to take into consideration the socio-economic context experienced by these regions, where seasonal workers—
Claudette Bradshaw LiberalMinister of Labour
Mr. Speaker, as a native New Brunswicker, I am aware of the need for HRDC to make a decision. I want to tell the House and Canadians, especially those in Quebec and New Brunswick, that discussions are underway and that a decision will be made soon.
Presence in GalleryOral Question Period
The Speaker
I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the Honourable Tyronne Fernando, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
Presence in GalleryOral Question Period
The Speaker
I would also like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the Honourable David Lokyan, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia.
Presence in GalleryOral Question Period
The Speaker
I should also advise hon. members that today in the Ladies' Gallery we have several Special Olympians, coaches and managers who participated in the 2003 Summer Special Olympic World Games held in Dublin, Ireland. On behalf of all hon. members, I would like to recognize and applaud their efforts.
We are all very proud of all that you have done.
Presence in GalleryOral Question Period
The Speaker
The Chair has notice of a question of privilege. The hon. member for Fraser Valley will be putting the question to the House.
Chuck Strahl Canadian Alliance Fraser Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a question of privilege regarding the release of the Public Service Commission report on the behaviour of the former privacy commissioner, which was released today at 1 p.m.
Members were to be briefed on the report in a lockup at noon and members of the media were briefed one hour earlier at 11 a.m.
I have two points. First, the report should have been tabled in the House before it was released to the public. Second, members should have been briefed before the media was.
The Public Service Employment Act, subsection 47(2), which deals with reporting to Parliament, states:
The Minister designated by the Governor in Council under subsection (1) shall cause the report and statement referred to in that subsection to be laid before Parliament within fifteen days after the receipt by the Minister thereof or, if Parliament is not then sitting, on any of the first fifteen days next thereafter that either House of Parliament is sitting.
While that section refers to the annual report, I would argue that all reports should be tabled first in the House of Commons before being released to the media and the public, particularly when they involve an officer of Parliament and a former officer of Parliament.
To do anything else is an insult and an affront to the House. Parliament appointed the former privacy commissioner and any report involving his activity while he served Parliament should be tabled in Parliament before being released to the public.
On March 15, 2001, the Speaker ruled on a question of privilege regarding an incident whereby the media was briefed on a bill before the members of Parliament.
In your ruling on that matter, Mr. Speaker, you said:
In preparing legislation, the government may wish to hold extensive consultation and such consultation may be held entirely at the government's discretion. However, with respect to material to be placed before parliament, the House must take precedence....The convention of the confidentiality of bills on notice is necessary, not only so that members themselves may be well informed, but also because of the pre-eminent role which the House plays and must play in the legislative affairs of the nation.... To deny...information concerning business that is about to come before the House, while at the same time providing such information to media that will likely be questioning members about that business, is a situation that the Chair cannot condone.
In this case we also have material to be placed before Parliament. It contains information about a former officer and may very well have an impact on our future role in appointing the next privacy commissioner. The contents of the report should have been tabled in Parliament and members should have been briefed before the media was.
Not having that before us here today means that as we exit this place even now, while media have been briefed and we have not yet seen the report, we will be trying to answer questions on something the media has been briefed on and we have not even seen yet.
If you find, Mr. Speaker, that this is a prima facie question of privilege, I am prepared to move the appropriate motion.
PrivilegeOral Question Period
The Speaker
The Chair thanks the hon. member for Fraser Valley for his assistance. My immediate concern is that I note the member did not quote the section of an act pursuant to which this report would be required to be tabled in Parliament. I will be looking at this issue as part of my consideration of the matter. Certainly if the hon. member is able to glean any information in that regard, I would appreciate hearing from him, either here in the House or he can communicate directly the name of the statute and the section on which he relied.
Certainly I will be looking into that aspect of the matter, because tablings in the House are normally done pursuant to requirements laid out in an act of Parliament or a direct order of the House. I do not think he is suggesting there was an order of the House in regard to this matter, but we will be looking to see if there is a section of an act of Parliament that requires this particular tabling. Any assistance he can provide the Chair in that regard would be appreciated. I will certainly be looking into the matter. I thank the hon. member and I will take the matter under advisement.