Debates of Oct. 21st, 2004

Natural Resources

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in mid-July the Great Lakes provincial and state governments released proposed agreements on diversion of Great Lakes waters. Under the agreement, these states will be able to unilaterally divert water from the Great Lakes without any veto from Canadians.

These agreements override treaty arrangements between Canada and the United States that go back 100 years. The legal framework between our countries make it absolutely clear that it is the federal government's responsibility to control the flow of water in the Great Lakes basin.

My question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Will he today, to this House, declare the government's opposition to these agreements and to the further diversion of water out of the Great Lakes basin?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the proposed annex does not affect Canadian and U.S. obligations under the boundary waters treaty. It does not affect levels and flows of the Great Lakes.

We are assessing whether the proposed agreements can be implemented in a manner consistent with the treaty, in consultation with the U.S. government, Ontario and Quebec. The Council of Great Lakes Governors has said that it would welcome comments from the Government of Canada after the October 18 deadline.

Sponsorship Program

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

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

On the same day that Canada has slipped to historic lows on the government corruption index, we have learned that the sponsorship program involved weekly calls between the minister's office and Liberal connected ad firms.

Now it seems that the very evening Gagliano was stuffing his bags for Denmark his staff was stuffing the shredder with papers documenting political influence and the awarding of sponsorships.

The Prime Minister has already overseen two cabinet shuffles. What assurances can he give this House that ministers are not routinely shredding evidence of their political influence over contracts?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, as the member pointed out, on that study we were actually an 8.5 out of 10 in terms of ethics, and beyond that we were well ahead of the United States which was tied with Belgium at 17.

Beyond that, on this very important question in terms of providing information as it ought to be provided, our department and our government has cooperated fully with the public accounts committee and with Justice Gomery. We have provided information responses commensurate with our legal authority and consistent with the laws of the land. In fact, we have provided over 10 million pages of documents of information, including cabinet confidences.

Broadcasting

[Rahim Jaffer, Conservative, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, besides the two ministers, we learned today that Ruth Thorkelson, from the PMO, met with the chairman of the CRTC on the eve of the hearings concerning CHOI FM.

What was the Prime Minister's advisor doing at the office of the chairman of the CRTC?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what Ms. Thorkelson was doing was to ascertain transparency to have more—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The right hon. Prime Minister has the floor.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Ms. Thorkelson was talking with agency heads to ensure greater transparency in the appointment process.

That is why she met with him. They did not talk about any specific file.

[Rahim Jaffer, Conservative, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, we know that Michel Decary, from Ms. Scherrer's office, also met with the chairman of the CRTC.

What explains this frantic shuffle between political authorities and the chairman of a so-called independent tribunal over this short period?

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

Mr. Speaker, we said last week, and repeated it yesterday: the CRTC is and will always be independent and it is one of the best systems of the sort in the world. France, Germany and Australia have modelled their systems on our broadcasting system and on the CRTC per se.

There is nothing wrong with administrators meeting with agency heads just to discuss their needs.

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

Mr. Speaker, last spring important decisions were before the CRTC. During that same period the former minister of heritage, the former industry minister, the Clerk of the Privy Council and the Prime Minister's deputy chief of staff, Ruth Thorkelson, met with the chair of the CRTC. Liberal candidates then campaigned and made promises about CRTC decisions not yet taken.

Why were there so many meetings with the CRTC by ministers and senior officials if not to influence their outcome?

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the House knows that the CRTC is an independent body. The government takes pride in ensuring that it operates independently. There are numerous times when senior officials meet with senior officials of these agencies to talk about broad policy issues.

I understand that was the purpose of those discussions, not to discuss any specific issue that was before the agency.

Softwood Lumber

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we believe in supporting our softwood lumber industry, but rewarding Liberal friends is no way to do it.

The Prime Minister's deputy chief of staff, Ruth Thorkelson, got a $15,000 contract from the trade department, the same department she was lobbying.

What is more, André Albinati left the trade minister's office to become an Earnscliffe lobbyist. Only a week later, $800,000 followed him to the Prime Minister's favourite lobby firm.

Why are the Prime Minister's cronies making big bucks at the expense of our softwood lumber industry?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the softwood lumber industry is absolutely critical to the economic future of Canada, $11 billion, and $7 billion in sales to the United States. It affects 250,000 employees in 350 communities across Canada. We entered into an advocacy campaign that was industry led and I will continue to support that to my dying day.

The Environment

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the former Minister of the Environment has been loudly criticizing the Prime Minister's lack of leadership in the greenhouse gas reduction program and accusing some ministers of acting like lobbyists for the industry.

Faced with such serious accusations from the former environment minister, how can the Prime Minister expect us to believe him when he says he takes Canada's Kyoto commitment seriously?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. I understand the frustration felt by the hon. member for Victoria, my predecessor in the environment portfolio. The fact is that we are facing enormous challenges in environmental issues and that is why the Government of Canada must change its working methods and develop new models with the Canadian people.

I can assure you that, from this perspective, the Minister of Natural Resources is green, the Minister of Finance is green, the Minister of Public Works and Government Services is green, and as for myself, I am a minister for a sustainable Canadian economy, and for success. That is what we ask of the Prime Minister of Canada and all Canadians.

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, is the refusal of the Minister of the Environment to produce a plan and debate it explained by the fact that he is held hostage by his own colleagues, who are acting like industry lobbyists within cabinet? That is the fact.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, that is not the fact at all. The fact is that the Government of Canada intends to work hard, according to a solid plan of action. This plan will commit all members on this side of the House so that Canada may be a champion in the battle against the harmful effects of climate change and putting our country in the forefront of sustainable economies.

Natural Resources

[Norman Doyle, Conservative, St. John's North, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised, and his promises are recorded on tape, to give Newfoundland and Labrador 100% of the revenues from offshore development without any clawback. These revenues include all royalties, corporate income tax and revenues from the offshore revenue fund. To date, the provincial government has received nothing in writing.

Will the Minister of Natural Resources tell us why the government is dragging its feet on this deal? Why do we not have a deal yet?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, work is ongoing very vigorously. As late as last evening I was in a conversation with Minister Sullivan in Newfoundland, as I was earlier in the day yesterday with Minister Clarke in Nova Scotia. The work is being pursued very diligently by the two provinces as well as by the Government of Canada. We hope we will achieve a successful result.

[Loyola Hearn, Conservative, St. John's South, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Natural Resources said that the Prime Minister gave him the job of working out the deal.

However, at the recent meeting of health care ministers, the Prime Minister promised the premier of Newfoundland that a deal would be delivered before October 26, six days from now.

Will the Prime Minister live up to his promise and deliver the deal, the whole deal and nothing but the deal, by October 26?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, both the Prime Minister and I indicated to Premier Williams and to Mr. Sullivan that we would pursue this matter with great diligence and that we wanted to see a conclusion by the 26th if at all possible. We continue to work toward that objective.

I must say that I have had nothing but goodwill from Minister Sullivan. I have had great cooperation from the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Fisheries on this side of the House in pursuing a successful conclusion to this. I hope that we will all be able to celebrate a very happy result.

Foreign Affairs

[Carolyn Parrish, Liberal, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

According to John Ibbitson of the Globe and Mail , a large body of officials at Foreign Affairs and CIDA are convinced that Canada is about to sacrifice its hard won reputation as an honest broker in the Middle East, a reputation established by Lester B. Pearson in the 1956 Suez crisis.

Is the cabinet considering a change in policy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. Canada's longstanding Middle East policy is focused on the goal of peace, security and the well-being of Israelis, Palestinians and the other people of the region. It has been endorsed by successive governments over decades.

Canada has been a staunch friend and ally of Israel since 1948. We take Israel's security concerns very seriously. Our policy in the Middle East reflects our support and concerns, and remains unchanged. Canada's policy remains anchored in our support for international law and our desire to play a constructive role toward peace in the region.