Debates of Oct. 27th, 2004

National Defence

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the House and the hon. member that I am not hiding behind the navy when I tell him I have discussed these matters with the navy. It may surprise the hon. member to know it is actually the navy that sails these ships. I know that is a surprise to him.

The navy has told me that it is constantly concerned with the security of its ships and the security of its personnel. It has taken precautions. The navy changes equipment when it has to be changed. The navy has moved when it has had to move and will continue to do so. The navy's primary preoccupation is for the safety of its ships, its fleet and its men. I will continue to support it.

Official Languages

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister responsible for Official Languages.

Can the minister tell us what progress the Government of Canada has made in implementing the official languages action plan?

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Honoré–Mercier for his question and I congratulate him on his election as chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages. I assure him and all of the other committee members of my complete cooperation.

As far as health and early childhood are concerned, the public service action plan is moving along very well. The pace will have to be picked up a bit in other areas. This afternoon we will have the opportunity to hear directly from representatives of the official language minority communities, when they come to give testimony before a number of ministers during the second round of ministerial consultations, as set out in the official plan.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the commissioner of the environment said that when it comes to wild salmon stocks, the government avoids its responsibilities. There is no environmental review of the aquaculture industry, no evaluation of the salmon hatchery program, and no plan for allocating catch levels. The environment minister and cabinet are sanctioning the extinction of the Cultus and Sakinaw Lake salmon by denying them any protection.

Will the minister tell us today when this shortsighted decision will be reversed?

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of meeting with the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development on Tuesday morning to discuss these matters with her. I certainly take these concerns seriously.

I can tell the House that in fact the wild salmon policy will be released in a matter of weeks. Following that, there will be consultations this winter to determine the final impact of that policy.

Commercial Bankruptcies

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, every year there are nearly 10,000 commercial bankruptcies in this country leaving employees owed nearly $2 billion in back wages, benefits and pension contributions. The bankruptcy laws in this country are stacked against working people. They rank dead last in terms of priority as to who gets paid with the remaining assets of a bankrupt company. Today Canadian workers have launched a nationwide campaign to reverse this injustice.

Will the Minister of Finance agree with me that the bankruptcy laws in this country need to be changed to put the interests of working Canadians first in priority, not last?

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that the hon. member understands how important bankruptcy laws are to the transformation of the Canadian economy and to achieve a high level of competitiveness. They play a very important role.

We are reviewing those laws and we will be paying close attention to the rights of workers and making sure that there is the right balance between the rights of workers in the CCAA and bankruptcy action and those of other creditors.

Tobacco Industry

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

Mr. Speaker, three years ago the premier of British Columbia filed a lawsuit against the tobacco industry. He claimed that mild and light cigarette labels were misleading. Last week the former premier of British Columbia, the current health minister, sided with Imperial Tobacco and asked that a new deal dealing with the same issue be thrown out of the B.C. courts. This is blatant hypocrisy.

Why did the minister sue big tobacco three years ago and then side with it last week?

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Order. How is the hon. member for Charleswood St. James—Assiniboia going to ask a supplementary question if he cannot hear the answer to the first one? There is so much noise we cannot hear the Minister of Health. He has the floor. We will hear the minister.

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this issue is before the courts. I want to tell the members opposite that we are not there of our own accord. It is Imperial Tobacco that brought us there. We need to make sure that we stand four square behind the public concern against tobacco damage.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

It is before the courts because you put it there.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member will want to address his remarks to the Chair.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I think the minister has been smoking some of that wacky tobacky. As a New Democrat he is against big tobacco; as a Liberal he is supporting big tobacco in the courts. This is mind-boggling.

I ask the former 2001 NDP premier of British Columbia who is now the 2004 Liberal Minister of Health, why the change of heart? Is it the change of teams?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

From all the accolades it is easy to tell that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, who has the floor, is very popular, but he is the one who is now going to have the right to speak.

[Paul MacKlin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government does not side with Imperial Tobacco in any way, shape or form. We as a government have made great strides in talking about the harms that tobacco produces. We are out there working with youth convincing them not to participate in tobacco.

The reality in this particular case is that we were brought into the court case in order to defend our position and we are going to do that.

Agriculture

[Belinda Stronach, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of International Trade.

Yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food told the House that the Japanese consider the beef markets of Canada and the United States to be a single integrated North American marketplace. The Japanese obviously understand what we have known all along: the Canadian and American beef and cattle industries are far ahead of the government's ability to regulate them.

If the Japanese get it, why has the government failed to convince the Americans that the industry is integrated and that the border closure hurts both countries?

[Andy Mitchell, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, the Japanese understand the integrated marketplace. We make that point with the Americans. In fact, that is in part why they partially opened the border to meat from cattle under 30 months of age.

We continue to work with the Americans to reopen the border. On September 10 we made a very significant announcement that would allow us to reposition the industry to be profitable with or without a border opening.

[Belinda Stronach, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is great that the U.S. is making progress in its trade disputes. Our cattlemen, farmers and truckers find it especially galling that the U.S. can cut beef deals with other countries far away but not with Canada.

As I have asked before, would the minister publish a record of all interventions with the Americans on BSE, past, present and future so that Canadians can judge the government's efforts?

[Andy Mitchell, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I would suspect that such a record would be a very long document. We have been working diligently with the Americans to see the border reopen. That is why we have a partial reopening. It is why we were able to sign an agreement with China last week.

The hon. member, when talking about what is happening in Asia, conveniently forgets about the agreement we signed. I do not understand why she ignores the positive and simply talks about the negative. It is simply what that party does all the time.

Foreign Affairs

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the decision made yesterday by the Knesset to withdraw from the Gaza Strip is good news, on two conditions: first, Israel must leave the Gaza Strip for good, so that a port and an airport can then be built, and the borders with Egypt reopened; second, negotiations to create a Palestinian state must resume using the 1967 borders.

Will the Minister of Foreign Affairs do his utmost to make this happen?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the decision made by Israel to pull out of the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank can only be good news. We are of course very pleased with it. Indeed, yesterday's vote is a positive measure.

We will continue to support the peace process. Canada has long supported the creation of two states that would live peacefully side by side.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, ever since the days of Lester B. Pearson, Canada has had a balanced position regarding the painful Israeli-Palestinian conflict and promoted the creation of two viable states, in compliance with the resolutions of the Security Council.

Could the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell us or confirm whether this is still the position of the current Canadian government? Recently, we have had cause to wonder about this.