Debates of Nov. 3rd, 2004

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been very responsible in dealing with the United States administration. We have been developing extremely strong links with the Bush administration, and we will be quite pleased to continue to work very closely with them. We would like the opposition members to contribute as well in their relationships with Congress and the senate and contribute to the interests and the values of Canadians.

Working with the United States is teamwork. All of us, the government and members of Parliament on all sides should be involved in promoting our interests on BSE, on softwood and on our values.

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as usual, the minister did not answer the question. Critical issues such as mad cow, softwood lumber and the missile defence shield are very important to Canada. Why did the Prime Minister allow his ministers and MPs to establish our position through their ill-advised indiscretions? Why?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our government will continue to work in close cooperation with the administration that the Americans have chosen, the Bush administration. We will continue to work in close cooperation with that administration, and I urge all members of the House and of the Senate to do the same.

In Washington, it is common knowledge that the administration, along with Congress and the Senate, will discuss the missile defence shield issue. Earlier, the NDP leader referred to it and tried to turn it into a partisan issue. However, in the United States, both Senator Kerry and President Bush support the North American missile defence shield. This is not a partisan issue, but—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Laval.

Social Programs

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last month's agreement on parental leave was described by federal and Quebec spokespersons alike as a historic agreement. All that was left to finalize was the financial aspect.

Could the minister tell the House what, all of a sudden, is stopping him from signing this historic agreement as soon as possible?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will answer as I did yesterday. Negotiations are continuing. The minister is pleased with the progress. My officials and those from Quebec are still there to deal with the obstacles. We are working on achieving a satisfactory solution.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on the eve of the last election, it was a done deal; the only thing missing was the figures.

How can the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development explain that, six months later, he is still negotiating the terms of this agreement?

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

Mr. Speaker, I can repeat what I said before. Obviously, the members of the Bloc are having difficulty hearing. I will add that, in negotiations, results are expected after everything has been discussed with all involved.

It should also be pointed out that Quebec's economy has progressed considerably. Perhaps my hon. colleagues do not want to hear this, but unemployment has dropped sharply. The unemployment rate currently stands at 8.3%.

Taxation

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec has received $1.2 billion too much in equalization payments, and has to pay it back. Saskatchewan has received $590 million too much. I have one very simple question for the Minister of Finance.

Since Quebec is being made to repay this overpayment over several years, is Saskatchewan going to do the same and how long will it take?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. gentleman is referring to two different situations in two different fiscal years, I am happy to tell him that as we move into the new regime for equalization, there are two years of transition. Over those two years of transition, Quebec will receive approximately $9 billion and Saskatchewan will receive some $600 million.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will ask my question again. It is a very simple one. The answer ought to be simple as well. Quebec received $1.2 billion too much in equalization payments and has to pay it back. Saskatchewan received $590 million too much.

So this is my question to the minister: Is Saskatchewan going to be paying it back, like Quebec, and over what length of time? A simple question, requiring an equally simple answer.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I totally reject the politics of grievance and blame that are reflected on the floor of the House of Commons by the Bloc.

The fact of the matter is both Quebec and Saskatchewan benefit from the transitional arrangements. Quebec benefits under floor number one. Saskatchewan benefits under floor number two. Different provinces across the country benefit in different ways. The gross benefit to the province of Quebec is larger than the gross benefit to Saskatchewan.

Trade

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

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

The importance of Congress to the resolution of the BSE crisis, softwood and other trade problems with the U.S. is evident to all of us. Americans have now chosen representatives in both the house and the senate. There are at least eight brand new senators and various new representatives from border states like New York, Washington, Michigan and Illinois.

When will the minister travel to their home states to meet with these new players to make Canada's case right from the start?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I totally accept the premise of the question from the hon. member.

It is absolutely critical that we as parliamentarians have close contact with our American counterparts, including the new members of Congress because these files are vital to our future. I welcome the efforts of the hon. member opposite and her colleagues working with us on this side of the House to establish those strong links with those new members of congress.

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. The Republican Party has secured the presidency, both houses of congress and a majority of the state governors.

The Minister of the Environment and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence proclaimed their support for the other party. That party did not win. Given this outcome, they have compromised their ability to manage key issues of national importance with the United States.

What is the Prime Minister going to do to fix this problem in the name of Canada's national interests?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this government has made it absolutely clear that the Prime Minister and all of us are absolutely pleased to work with the Bush administration. We have done so in the past. We have developed good, strong working relationships. Americans have been very divided themselves on the choice they have had to make. They themselves were quite split. They made a choice and we are absolutely going to work with them constructively. However, on our side of the House, we do it in the interests of Canada. That is the difference between us.

Agriculture

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

Mr. Speaker, day after day, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food keeps trying to sell us on the merits of his meagre program announced on September 10. Yet it contains nothing to remedy the great harm done to dairy producers, nothing to reduce the huge surplus numbers of cull cattle, nothing concrete to open up the border.

How long will it take before we see any real slaughter facilities in the east and in the west?

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

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that the announcement of September 10 does contain within it components to build new slaughter capacity that can deal with culled animals as well. There is a managing older animals program that is part of the announcement of September 10.

As I have said on several occasions, we feel it is absolutely essential to deal with the cull animals coming out of dairy operations. I have made a commitment to work with various political leaders on this with the industry and we are working toward a specific solution in that respect.

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

Mr. Speaker, 532 days have passed and the border is still closed to Canadian livestock. All the while members of the Liberal government have given insult to our most important trading partner. Now they have alienated themselves from the new Bush administration by expressing their support for John Kerry.

How does the agriculture minister plan to get the border reopened to our livestock in light of the damaged relations that his government has created?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is quite the contrary. Over the last while we have had over 150 individual interventions with our American counterparts specifically designed to deal with the BSE issue.

I have met with the minister once personally. Twice we have had in-depth discussions about this. All members on this side of the aisle have been dealing with the Americans aggressively to get the border opened. That is what we have been doing and that is what we will continue to do.

[David Smith, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the cattle farmers in the riding of Pontiac are experiencing serious problems in making their operations cost effective, as are their counterparts in the rest of Canada. One of their main problems is not being able to slaughter cattle locally.

My question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Would it be possible to have our own abattoirs and to sell our meat locally at a price that would allow the farmers of the Pontiac to make a living?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member makes a very important point and that is the need to increase slaughter capacity. That is why we did two very important things on September 10. One was to create a pool of money, a loan loss reserve, to help in the financing of new slaughter capacity. The other was to provide additional resources to the CFIA so it could effectively provide the regulatory framework so that these new slaughter capacities could be brought on line.

Sponsorship Program

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the former top bureaucrat in charge of the sponsorship scandal testified today about the extent of his political influence in the Liberal government. Chuck Guité said he had a direct relationship all the way to Gagliano's office and the PMO. He was able to order up a raise, a promotion, and when he wanted to leave, these same people convinced him to stay.

Does the minister concede that Mr. Guité should have been fired, not given a raise?

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

Mr. Speaker, I know the hon. member is part of a party that actually does respect the independence of the judiciary. I would urge him to speak with his colleagues and his party's leadership about that because his question is actually inconsistent with the general theory of judicial independence. I know that when he really thinks about it, he will want to wait for Justice Gomery's report to have the whole truth so that all members of Parliament and all Canadians can benefit from that truth as we move forward.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are tired of hearing this broken mantra everyday, that they cannot answer. You have answers to give to the people of Canada. We are going to continue pursuing you until you give them.

Chuck Guité--