Debates of March 11th, 2004

Equalization

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this summer, after the election. Now is when we want to know what the government intends to do. Today, the Bloc Quebecois brought before the House a motion calling on the government to commit to investing half of the surplus for this fiscal year, in addition to the $2 billion already promised.

Does the Prime Minister not realize that, if it is true that health is a priority for him, investing this money would be a concrete, significant and absolutely essential gesture?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, it is rather interesting to hear this from the Bloc Quebecois, when it has just voted against equalization, 45% of which goes to Quebec. This is hypocritical to say the least.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Papineau—Saint-Denis, QC]

What interests us on this side is realizing that the long term sustainability of health care depends on a commitment to both reform and funding.

Our government is determined to work with the provinces on the funding issue, naturally, which will help to achieve the necessary reforms.

However, I see that voting against equalization has pained them.

Gasoline Prices

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the report by the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, tabled in November last year, recommended the creation of a petroleum monitoring agency. The government has until April 5 to respond.

Does the Minister of Industry intend to follow up on the committee's recommendation and will she make a commitment to announce her decision before an election is called?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, at present, the government is thoroughly examining the recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology. I am certain that the government's response will be forthcoming quite soon. My colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources, will be able to explain exactly what is happening in this matter.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has denounced the democratic deficit many times and has said that he wanted to enhance the role of MPs. This is a fine occasion to do something about this.

Having swept aside the Competition Act, does the government intend to seize the opportunity presented by the committee and create this petroleum monitoring agency that would give consumers a tool to keep oil companies in line?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, it is very clear that this is an important issue for the majority of Canada's consumers and businesses. It is also clear that, using the various mechanisms in place, our government has followed this situation very closely.

Now we have the report from the parliamentary committee; I can assure the members of this House that we are going to take the committee's recommendations very seriously and that the government will announce its response soon.

Sponsorship Program

[Vic Toews, Canadian Alliance, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the government has always said that the breaking of the advertising rules was in response to the results of the October 1995 Quebec sovereignty referendum.

Today public accounts heard that the authorization to break the rules happened in November 1994, a year before the referendum.

Will the Prime Minister now admit that the real reason for breaking all the contracting rules was to funnel taxpayer money into the Liberal Party?

[Stephen Owen, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, no, the government will certainly not admit that. What we have is a situation of some money that has gone astray and we have processes in place to track it, to hold people responsible and to recover the money where appropriate.

The processes are in place. It is coming out at public accounts. We have a public inquiry coming up. There are police investigations going on. Those hon. members are very welcome to take part in all of those processes.

[Vic Toews, Canadian Alliance, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, today public accounts heard that former Liberal minister, David Dingwall, now the president of Canada's Mint, authorized the breaking of advertising rules in 1994, that the normal rules and regulations did not apply to advertising contracts. We have heard that there was a direct pipeline between those who broke the rules and that former minister's office. First Gagliano and now Dingwall. Which other ministers had their hands in the dirt?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member may be aware, Mr. Dingwall, the former minister of public works, has indicated that he will be happy to appear before the public accounts committee and answer any questions it may have.

It is my understanding that next week the public accounts committee will be calling a number of former ministers of public works and, it is my understanding, Mr. Dingwall is one of those former ministers.

[Leon Benoit, Canadian Alliance, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the list of scandals grows and here is yet another one. Allan Cutler testified today that he believes documents were cleansed before the 1996 external audit of ad scam.

Who tampered with these documents and what does this government have to hide?

[Stephen Owen, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is referring to issues I assume are before the public accounts committee. The public accounts committee has not reported. It has not finished its deliberations. It is in place for a very serious purpose. Let it do its work and we will all be better informed.

[Leon Benoit, Canadian Alliance, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government will hide behind anything it can to keep the truth from Canadians and that is not acceptable.

Tampering with documents is a very serious issue and Mr. Cutler was an honourable and respected public servant. This government has refused to listen to him for the past 10 years but it had to listen today. He indicated that either someone tampered with the documents used for the 1996 external audit of ad scam or the audit itself was fixed. Which was it?

[Stephen Owen, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the hon. member knows that this government only came into existence on December 12, 2003. Apart from that, I am sure that the--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. I realize hon. members are trying to assist the minister in his answer but the minister seems to have in mind what he will say and we have to be able to hear it. He has the floor and I am sure he appreciates the assistance, but the Chair does not because the Chair cannot hear the answer. We have to be able to hear the answer. A little order, please.

The Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

[Stephen Owen, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is speaking of events before the public accounts committee and I am not sure if it is appropriate—and you, Mr. Speaker, are the expert on this of course—to make reference in the House to a parliamentary committee that is in process.

In any event, the process is underway. The government has given a clear indication that whistleblower legislation, which is about to be introduced in the House, will be retroactive, making it appropriate and possible for Mr. Cutler to come before the committee.

Justice

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, known pedophile Robin Sharpe has stated publicly that Bill C-12 would actually be of benefit to him.

Now the opposition in response is intentionally putting up roadblocks to the passage of Bill C-12.

Would the Minister of Justice tell the House whether Sharpe is right? Would Bill C-12 benefit him?

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, if Bill C-12 passes, we will have one of the strongest pieces of child protection legislation of any democracy in the world, which includes stronger child pornography provisions, a special category to protect against sexual exploitation, tougher sentencing provisions and measures to protect children.

I want to ask the opposition--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The Minister of Justice has the floor. We have to be able to hear the minister's answer. We do not know the answer yet.

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if the opposition cares about the protecting of children, it will join us in the passage of this legislation.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Musquodoboit Valley—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the real scandal in the country is the government's treatment of our Coast Guard and our marine habitat.

The commissioner for aquaculture, Yves Bastien, has made recommendations to the minister that aquaculture be exempt from the habitat and pollution provisions of the Fisheries Act. This is simply outrageous.

We are asking the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to categorically reject the recommendations of the commissioner of aquaculture and to ask for Mr. Yves Bastien's immediate resignation from the department.