Debates of Oct. 18th, 2004

Agriculture

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. trade dispute is very unfortunate. We have an integrated market in North America and once again the Americans have taken punitive action against our hog producers who can compete with the best in the world. We are going to stand behind them and fight this anti-dumping action with all the resources we have.

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the last hog trade dispute with the U.S. lasted 15 years. The industry cannot afford yet another lengthy trade dispute. According to the chairman of the Manitoba pork council and I quote:

The duties announced today will have a profound effect upon the nation’s swine exporters.

Why has the government done nothing to prevent this protectionist action from happening in the first place?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, would that we could stop in advance the United States from taking trade actions against us. We have seen in many cases how it has taken actions against us, such as on softwood lumber. We have continually won these actions in the NAFTA and the WTO. We will continue to do this on behalf of our great hog producers.

Refugees

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in July, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration asked churches to stop giving sanctuary to refugees under threat of deportation. At the end of September, she repeated her request and at the same time announced that consultations would be held on the reform of the refugee status determination process.

What steps does the minister intend to take in order to make the refugee process more humane?

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate the critic from the Bloc. I look forward to working with her as we move forward on a variety of these issues.

As I have indicated before, we will be initiating in the very near future a variety of issues to do with refugee reform. In particular, on the issue of the churches that she raised, I have had various meetings with the churches. We will continue to work together to ensure that we give protection to the people that need it the most.

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, religious leaders joined other stakeholders, including the Bloc Québécois, in calling upon the government to take action to establish an appeal system for refugee claimants.

We are near the end of 2004 and we have been waiting for two years for the refugee appeals section to be established; when, at last, will refugee claimants be able to count on an appeal system that will treat them fairly and justly?

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, Canada is renowned throughout the world for having a very strong, effective and fair process for refugees. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure that the process is fair and that diligence is present all the time for all of the applicants.

Broadcasting Industry

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Clarington—Scugog—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when faced with a tough issue like RAI TV, the heritage minister hides behind the independence of the CRTC. The minister says that Canadians and the Italian foreign affairs minister will have to wait for the CRTC's arm's length decision. However, the foreign affairs minister promised to deliver full access to RAI TV within a few months.

Who speaks for the government and is the CRTC an independent body or not?

[Liza Frulla, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, before a foreign service such as RAI International may be distributed by Canadian cable or satellite operators, the approval must be given by the CRTC. The CRTC is currently reviewing its policy on the distribution of non-Canadian satellite services in Canada. We look forward to the report of the CRTC's review.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Clarington—Scugog—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, many Liberal candidates promised to bring RAI TV to Canada in order to get elected. Last week the foreign affairs minister promised his Italian counterpart that RAI would be delivered within months.

Is it now the government's plan to use political interference to deliver on its election promise and deliver RAI TV to Canadians?

[Liza Frulla, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, we understand the Italian community wants RAI. A report was prepared by a panel on third language public television services. It provided some interesting recommendations which we are reviewing along with the CRTC.

The CRTC is an independent body. We are looking forward to its review of its policy.

The Environment

[Denis Paradis, Liberal, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment. This morning in Montreal, before the Canadian Wind Energy Association, the Minister of the Environment and his colleague the Minister of Natural Resources announced a world premiere, an atlas of unequaled high resolution wind statistics.

Can the Minister of the Environment explain the importance of this announcement for all Canadians and tell us whether the winds are favourable?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Wind Energy Atlas , unveiled today and developed by our scientists, will help in placing wind generators exactly where they need to be for maximum efficiency. It is proof that Canada's wind energy potential is the best in the world.

This is great news for our environment, for Kyoto and our climate change strategy, for regional economies and job creation strategies, and for our overall competitiveness in the sustainable economy.

Canada Post

[Brian Pallister, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, since when does a minister investigate himself? Is there not some lack of transparency if the minister responsible for National Revenue and Canada Post investigate the reckless spending of André Ouellet? That is a bit like having taxpayers verify their own income tax returns.

When will the minister responsible order a public inquiry into this?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, as I said some months ago, Mr. Ouellet has resigned and, as I said more recently, there have been two new developments.

The first of these is that the chairman of the board has again called for him to produce receipts. The second is that I have informed the House that the authorities at National Revenue are looking at the expenditures relating to the office of the President of Canada Post.

[Brian Pallister, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Ouellet spent $2 million on entertainment in just five years. That is about $1,500 for every working day and the minister's actions are not adequate. He says there is an audit underway, but it will not be a value for money audit. It will not be made public. Why not? Because the minister is in a position of conflict.

The fact is that the Minister of National Revenue is also the minister in charge of Canada Post. How can he pretend to be objective when he is both the auditor and the audited? How can he pretend to be objective when he is auditing himself?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I can only characterize that line of thinking as somewhat far-fetched.

The point of the matter is that as minister responsible for Canada Post, I have been informed by Canada Post that an audit by the Canada Revenue Agency is about to take place surrounding the expenses of the office of the president over the last several years.

As minister responsible for revenue, privacy and income tax regulations prevent me from saying anything publicly about any audit, whether it is Mr. Ouellet or the hon. member, or anyone else.

Tourism Industry

[Robert Bouchard, Bloc, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region has been benefiting from the program to extend the tourist season since 2002. The agreement terminating December 10 is essential to the development of the region. In all, 180 jobs and 35 businesses depend on it.

Can the minister give us assurance today that this program that is so vital to the region of Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean will be renewed for another two-year period?

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for raising this point. This was a pilot project, and we need to wait for the results. After that, decisions will be made on whether or not to continue it.

Gasoline Prices

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry.

In 2002 the industry committee proposed to bring amendments to the Competition Act in order to, among other things, level the playing field for independent gasoline retailers.

In view of the high gasoline prices to consumers right now, would the minister tell us what he intends to do to protect this vital sector of the industry to ensure that multinationals are not gouging consumers anymore than they are already?

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, my department is reviewing possible revisions to the Competition Act. On May 4 of this year the Competition Bureau commenced an investigation into gasoline pricing in Canada.

It will, among other things, assess whether there has been a conspiracy to fix prices, and whether in fact there has been predatory pricing practices on the part of major oil companies. When that report is complete, the Competition Bureau will take appropriate action.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker]

I would like to draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Longin Hieronim Pastusiak, President of the Senate of the Republic of Poland.

[The Speaker spoke in Polish]

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker]

I would also like to draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of the Hon. Michael de Jong, Minister of Forests for British Columbia.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!