House of Commons Hansard #35 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was finance.
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated many weeks ago in response to representations from members of the Liberal government caucus, this issue will be dealt with. It will be dealt with before the end of this year.
I am pleased to tell the House that the solutions we are looking at, beyond the simplistic notions that some in the opposition have espoused, could in fact extend to increasing the value of our support to the apparel and textile industry very substantially.
Jim Prentice Conservative Calgary North Centre, AB
Mr. Speaker, the government's refusal to act on northern deregulation threatens the Mackenzie Valley pipeline.
The current scheme in the north has been called both complex and unpredictable. As a result, confusing regulations imperil the pipeline along with progress for aboriginals and the environment.
In September the government's own smart regulation adviser lambasted the government. The regulatory framework in the north is broken. That is the fault of the government.
Why is the government threatening the Mackenzie Valley pipeline and the health of the environment by refusing to respond?
Andy Scott LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise the House that even last Friday we spent all day with the industries from the north working on these various issues. I am working together with the President of the Treasury Board on smart regulations specifically to deal with the regulatory regime in the north for the Mackenzie Valley pipeline.
Lloyd St. Amand Liberal Brant, ON
Mr. Speaker, the United States of America is by far our largest trading partner. Nearly $1.8 billion in two-way trade crosses the Canada-U.S. border every day. Eighty-six per cent of our exports are to the U.S. and 96% of our trade with the U.S. is dispute free, but trade irritants from softwood lumber to Byrd continue to dominate the headlines.
What is the trade minister going to do further our trade relationship with the United States?
Jim Peterson LiberalMinister of International Trade
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Brant for this very important question.
In addition to our enhanced representation initiative, as I announced in Miami on November 15, I will be leading frequent advocacy delegations to the United States in order to meet with senators, congressmen, governors and other key decision makers.
I want at this time to invite members from all parties to join with us in enhancing the person to person relationships that we have to build with key American decision makers.
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, I would like to present some cold, hard numbers to the minister. The number of litres spilled from the Terra Nova rig last week was 165,000. The size of the oil slick, which has been caused by that spill, is nine kilometres long by one kilometre wide. The number of seabirds that will be killed by that pollution is 10,000.
Seven years ago a panel told the government how difficult it would be to clean up a spill like this. The numbers are in. Will the government confirm not to take such a tragic route on the west coast of British Columbia?
R. John Efford LiberalMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, if we followed the direction of the hon. member, we would not transport any oil or gas by any means whatsoever in Canada. Let us put some context into what happened.
This is the first oil spill off Newfoundland and Labrador. Over 500 million barrels of oil have been pumped and shipped to the United States and into Canada for further processing. Precautions are taken. We will learn from what happened and put further precautions in place.
The hon. member mentioned 10,000 birds. That is not factual.
Bev Desjarlais NDP Churchill, MB
Mr. Speaker, the government has devoted millions in resources, not to help aboriginal people, but to deny them justice. In spite of great sounding rhetoric by the Prime Minister and others in cabinet, there appears to be no mandate for resolving land and compensation claims.
How does the finance minister justify spending millions, if not billions, on lawyers just to delay land claims and other settlements?
Andy Scott LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, it is quite the contrary. Even as we speak a number of settlements are very close to coming to conclusion. In the provinces of Quebec and British Columbia and in the north, many claims are coming to a resolution. The hon. member is not correct in saying that we are not making progress.
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Canada Health Act specifically excludes members of the RCMP from paying health care premiums.
Why is the Minister of Health allowing the province of Ontario to tax RCMP officers in Ontario with health care insurance premiums?
Ujjal Dosanjh LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, we will vigorously enforce the Canada Health Act whenever there is need. What the provinces do within their own jurisdictions is up to them. That is an issue I would be happy to take up with the province.
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Canada Health Act specifically excludes members of the Canadian armed forces from paying health care premiums. Why is the Minister of Health allowing the province of Ontario to tax members of the Canadian armed forces in Ontario, making them pay health care insurance premiums?
Ujjal Dosanjh LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, I am pleasantly surprised that side of the House supports the intention and the purposes of the Canada Health Act. This is news to me.
Vic Toews Conservative Provencher, MB
Mr. Speaker, in 1996 the Liberal government changed the law to allow violent criminals such as rapists and child molesters to serve their sentences at home. As a result, victims are being re-victimized by these Liberal laws. For example, a judge recently sentenced a 47 year old man to two years of house arrest after a jury found him guilty of sexual assault against a minor.
When will the minister finally commit to eliminating house arrest for violent criminals?
Irwin Cotler LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, our whole approach with respect to sentencing is based on the principle of proportionality. That is what the courts adjudicate upon with respect to these sentences.
Brian Pallister Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Mr. Speaker, it never rains but it pours at the Post Office. Auditors are condemning the awarding of contracts, relatives must come out of the closet and the price of postage stamps is going up a notch.
How does the Minister of National Revenue explain that increase? Is it due to Liberal mismanagement, waste, corruption, or remnants of André Ouellet's policy?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member ought to know that for some time now the price of postage stamps has been limited to two-thirds of the increase in the consumer price index.
Canada Post is also a commercial corporation and some of its activities are not subject to regulation. However, on the crucial matter of Canadian postage, it is regulated and does not go up as fast as the rate of inflation.
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Mr. Speaker, as regards the program to facilitate the entry of exotic dancers, does the immigration minister justify her eagerness by a shortage of so-called skilled labour in Canada's nude dancer bars?
How could the minister, who is herself a woman, show such lack of judgment and critical sense by issuing permits to women, so that they could work in an environment where women are all too often dominated and exploited, an environment where organized crime is thriving?
Judy Sgro LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear on this. Citizenship and Immigration Canada does not have a program to facilitate the entrance of exotic dancers.
HRSDC, under its temporary foreign worker program, has a variety of categories for agricultural workers, entertainers, buskers and a variety of other things that are identified by industries in Canada as being important to them. My understanding is that in the next short while there will be an announcement by my colleague at HRSD on other changes that will be made on these different programs.
Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
Mr. Speaker, instead, the immigration minister should restore the refugee appeal division to avoid absurd decisions such as those made by two members of the IRB regarding the Nafaa brothers, who were born in the same refugee camp in southern Lebanon.
How can the minister explain that a single reality results in two diametrically opposed decisions, namely refugee status determination in one case, and deportation in the other?
Judy Sgro LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, the Immigration and Refugee Board is a quasi-judicial board, independent of anyone else. It reviews these cases on a case by case basis. It makes its decisions, and it will stand by them.
Dave MacKenzie Conservative Oxford, ON
Mr. Speaker, on February 19, 2004 the Minister of National Defence announced that Canadian Forces members who took part in chemical warfare testing would be compensated for their injuries. Our inquiries reveal that 20 applicants who should be entitled to the compensation have been disqualified because the members did not have a legal will at the time of their death.
This is clearly unfair and unjust. What legal reason would there be to exclude the estates of these honourable Canadian Forces volunteers from receiving this compensation?
Bill Graham LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak to the 20 individuals to whom the member refers because I do not know their individual cases. Clearly, to receive the benefit of this program, one has to demonstrate that one fits within the definition of the program.
I have to assure the members of the House that the military and the government have made sure that members involved in and exposed to this hazard during the second world war are compensated. A $20,000 payment on an individual basis is being made.
If the member has specific complaints about specific problems, I would be happy to look into individual cases to make sure justice is--
Ted Menzies Conservative Macleod, AB
Mr. Speaker, last week we heard that the Chinese government was in discussions to acquire Calgary based Husky Energy, but Canada is still sending $55 million a year in aid money to China.
My constituents are outraged, and aid is still going to China like a Liberal staffer to a peeler joint. I ask the CIDA minister again today, in light of this new show of China's economic power, how does she justify sending foreign aid to China?