Debates of Nov. 18th, 2004

Jean Lemieux

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at the Salon du livre in Paris, in March 2005, author Jean Lemieux will officially receive the Prix littéraire Association France-Québec/Philippe-Rossillon for his novel On finit toujours par payer , published in Quebec by Les éditions de la courte échelle in 2003.

His novels for teens and his first two novels for adults, La lune rouge and La marche du fou , have been translated into a number of languages and won him high praise from both critics and the public. The author has sold the film rights for adaptations of both La lune rouge and On finit toujours par payer .

Mr. Lemieux is the seventh Quebecker to win this literary award. I want to salute his talents as a writer, which have also earned him the 2004 Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada and a place on the 2003 short list for the Prix Saint-Pacôme for detective novels, also for the same novel.

Congratulations to Jean Lemieux, a proud ambassador of Quebec's culture and literature.

Canada-U.S. Relations

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

Mr. Speaker,

Winter is coming, Christmas is near, The anti-American carollers cheer, Damning those Yankees with all that they've got, Carolin', carolin'; Perish the thought.

The carollers sing out the simplest of tunes,All Yankees are brutish, warmongering loonsNever thinking that they're the best friends that we've got,Carolin', carolin'; Perish the thought.

Their soldiers, their firemen, had husbands and wives,They stood up for freedom, they paid with their lives,But the anti-Americans have already forgot,Carolin', carolin'; Perish the thought.

Canadian farmers cannot sell their beef,Too much is their cattle, abundant their grief,But the Liberal relief plan is let them smoke pot,Carolin', carolin'; Perish the thought.

What the carollers chant is unwise and untrue,To quiet them a piece of duct tape would do.But the Prime Minister needs all the friends that he's got.Except carolin', carolin'; Perish the thought.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned that the Vermont environment commission has authorized the Coventry landfill expansion project and that it could even receive waste from other U.S. states.

The Coventry site is only metres away from the Black River, the largest tributary of Lake Memphremagog. This expansion raises great concern about the water quality of the lake. Hon. members must keep in mind that the drinking water of more than 150,000 people in Magog and Sherbrooke comes from that lake.

When it comes to the environment, we need to be extremely cautious, as future generations will have to live with what we do. This may be an American site, but it affects both sides of the border.

I therefore call for the matter to be referred to the International Joint Commission for its recommendations.

We must take no chances. There is too much at stake.

National Defence

[Guy Côté, Bloc, Portneuf, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during the summer months, the Val-Cartier base has 6,000 career military personnel, 1,500 civilian employees, 1,800 reservists and 2,550 cadets working there. The base therefore produces a major economic spinoff, including $26 million in procurements and $340 million in payroll.

Close to 1,800 military personnel stationed there have been deployed to Afghanistan, Bosnia or Haiti, where they have played an essential role in reconstruction or peace keeping in some of the most volatile places in the world. Today most of them are back home.

I wish to pay tribute to the men and women of the 430th Tactical Helicopter Squadron, the Reconnaissance Squadron Group and the 3rd battalion of the 22nd Regiment. Despite the dangers inherent in their work , they contributed to restoring stability to these regions so that present and future generations may live there in peace.

Alfonso Gagliano

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, according to a report in today's New York Daily News , the FBI has linked former Liberal minister Alfonso Gagliano with the Bonanno crime family. According to the report, he was a “made” member of this criminal organization in the 1990s.

My question is very simple. When did the government find out about this?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have not seen the report. That being said, these are very serious allegations. I think such allegations should not be repeated or accepted until the facts are known.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I agree that we should gather the facts. The allegations are in the New York Daily News . According to FBI documents, they link former Liberal cabinet minister and ambassador Alfonso Gagliano to organized crime. The report claims that in the 1990s he was a “made” member of the Brooklyn based Bonanno crime family.

My question is simple. Since Mr. Gagliano was in cabinet and ambassador during this period, was the government aware of this information and when did it become aware of these allegations?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, again, I have not seen the report and was not aware of the allegations until this morning in fact. Let me simply say that these are very serious allegations and everyone should be very careful about accepting or repeating such allegations.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, let me ask about a different set of allegations according to a report in the Toronto Star today. The Prime Minister's communications director has been aware for some time of the immigration minister's ethical lapses, including having dubious applicants for ministerial permits work on her election campaigns.

My question for the Prime Minister is simple. Given that there is obviously an ethical cloud here and this is under investigation, will the Prime Minister require the immigration minister to step aside until the investigation is completed?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when my office hears of allegations or rumours that are being made, it is obviously its responsibility, in all due diligence, to make inquiries. That is exactly what was done. We received assurances that no improprieties had taken place.

I would simply point out that one of the reasons we in the House wanted to have an independent ethics commissioner was precisely to deal with these issues. The minister herself has referred this matter to the ethics commissioner and he should be allowed to conclude his inquiries.

Alfonso Gagliano

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the New York Daily News obtained FBI documents that state that a Mafia capo turned informant has identified former Liberal cabinet minister Alfonso Gagliano as a “made” member of the Bonanno crime family. As well, the newspaper reports that top Bonanno gangsters travelled to Montreal in the 1990s where Mr. Gagliano was introduced as a “made” member of the family.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Has the RCMP ever raised questions at any time about Mr. Gagliano's appointment to cabinet in 1994?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has indicated, these are very serious allegations and I think we all need to be very careful in repeating those allegations. If the hon. member is asking about RCMP operational matters, as he is fully aware, we do not comment on the operations of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is a very serious matter. In fact, the newspaper reports that Gagliano was identified as a long time soldier in the Bonanno crime family by Frank Lino, a former Mafia capo turned informer. Prior to his appointment as ambassador to Denmark, Mr. Gagliano filled a number of Liberal cabinet positions until the year 2002.

Again my question for the government, for the Prime Minister, for the minister responsible is, what steps did the Privy Council Office and the Department of the Solicitor General take to ensure that proper security clearances were obtained prior to Mr. Gagliano being admitted to cabinet?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, I have no intention of commenting on these allegations. If the hon. member is asking about the operational activities of the RCMP, I suggest that the hon. member more appropriately direct his question to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Aerospace Industry

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec Aerospace Association, the FTQ, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal and the Conseil duPatronat du Québec are unanimous, saying “We do not have the luxury of timeto wait”. The federal government must act quickly on a national aerospace policy.

Does the Prime Minister realize that without an immediate plan, Bell Helicopter, Pratt & Whitney, Bombardier and the entire aerospace industry concentrated in Quebec will not be able to prosper and grow?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc must know that we have a successful aerospace industry because of this government's industrial policies.

I can assure him that it is our intention to continue. As we well know, this is a sector in which Canada is among the best in the world and it is the government's intention to maintain the structures and policies that will see it continue.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the lack of growth is due to the lack of plan at the moment. Moreover, there is a significant problem with Bombardier regarding the development of a new aircraft. Quebec has 5,000 jobs at stake.

Instead of waiting, could the government not say to Bombardier, “We will help you on condition that you invest in Quebec”? This is exactly the kind of deal the Liberals offered to Ford and GM in the middle of the election campaign, for renovations at their Oakville and Oshawa plants. The companies were told, “Here is $500 million if you will invest here”. Let them do the same thing for Bombardier.

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know that I met last night with representatives from the entire aerospace industry from across this country, including the president of Bombardier. They are very happy with the work we are doing. They are contributing to it. These hon. members are playing politics with the jobs of people in the aerospace industry.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Rivière-Du-Loup—Montmagny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat, in the middle of the election campaign, the Liberal government made a quick deal in Ontario, putting on the table a specific offer for $500 million in support for the automotive industry, including $300 million for Ford and GM, provided they upgrade their facilities in Oakville and Oshawa.

Will the federal government do the same for Bombardier in Quebec and make a cash offer with specific conditions? Will it treat Bombardier, a Quebec based company, the same way as the American GM and Ford companies?

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the automotive strategy and the aerospace strategy are going in tandem. They are both going at the same pace. We will be there. We will do it in the context of a national strategy. We will not do it in the context of playing politics with the local situation and the workers in Quebec.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Rivière-Du-Loup—Montmagny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as stakeholders from Quebec indicated this morning, it is urgent that the federal government take the necessary steps to encourage Bombardier to develop its new aircraft in Quebec rather than in the United States, among other places.

Does the government not understand the concern in Quebec that Bombardier might decide to develop its new aircraft in the United States, given that even Onex, a firm very close to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Transport, has already indicated an interest in buying Boeing facilities in Wichita, Kansas?

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, having been in the business sector, I can tell the House that nothing would send me packing my bags to the U.S. faster than a government made up of those people.

Securities Industry

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this may shock the finance minister, but we know the United States has good ideas and bad ones. Ideas should be judged on merit, not on source. George Bush's star wars is bad. The United States has good housing programs, better than the Liberals and a good environmental record, better than the Liberals. Unlike the Liberals, the United States has toughened its corporate accounting program.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Years after the United States cracked down on corporate accounting--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

The hon. member's time has expired, but I do not know how anybody can hear the question with all this noise. I see that the government House leader, who might want to respond to the question, could not hear a thing. There is too much noise in the House. The hon. member for Winnipeg North has the floor and I will give her another 15 seconds to finish her question, which will take away from someone else's question.