Debates of March 30th, 2004

National Security

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, if it will help the hon. member, I can inform him that as of February of this year, the passport office began to input lost and stolen passport data directly into the RCMP database, thereby enabling law enforcement officials and authorized government departments and agencies to have 24/7 access to lost and stolen passport data.

An agreement to provide this information to front line officers is now in place and we will make sure that everybody has the information that is necessary to ensure our passports are properly monitored.

Airport Security

[Bill Casey, Progressive Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, a couple of days ago, when the Deputy Prime Minister made a speech to the Canadian Club of Ottawa, she said that security at airports had been enhanced. She went on to say that CSIS, the RCMP and other agencies were continuing to share relevant information on a timely basis.

However the Auditor General blew her out of the water. The Auditor General totally disagreed with her today when she said that thousands of employees at airports have not passed examinations and they could possibly have criminal associations because examinations were not done. She also said that there was not sufficient sharing of information.

Why is the Deputy Prime Minister trying to mislead everybody?

[Tony Valeri, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly appreciate the Auditor General's report, but let me clarify some of what the hon. member has said.

Over the past few months, we have in fact put together some programs to ensure our commitment to enhancing our security system, such as new programs to screen non-passengers and a new agreement between Transport Canada and the RCMP to share sensitive law enforcement information, which responds directly to the Auditor General's report.

[Bill Casey, Progressive Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, that does not respond to my question.

Moving right along, the government has chosen to focus its security efforts on cyber security intelligence and border protection. Meanwhile, ports like Montreal and Halifax see the priorities as completely different. The ports need funds now to establish uniform security coordination with U.S. ports. They need funds now for waterside security.

If the government wants to get value for the money, why does it not listen to the port officials and put the money where it is really needed?

[Tony Valeri, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, aside from the rhetoric, the member does actually put out a concern that we in fact have been dealing with in respect to port authorities. They have made their interventions. If the hon. member looks to the budget and the $605 million envelope that deals with security, he will see marine security as part of that $605 million.

In fact, what we will do is go forward and assist the ports to meet the security challenges in the future, to meet the international standard, which Canada will meet as of July 1.

Taxation

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec Minister of Finance, who will be bringing down his budget this afternoon, has already stated his intent some weeks ago to wage a merciless battle against tax loopholes, including the use of such things as tax havens in Barbados.

As the Quebec Minister of Finance is expressing a desire to do something about these dubious practices, how can the federal government explain its failure to include in its own budget any measures to eliminate tax evasion via Barbados, something a number of Canadian companies are merrily taking advantage of?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, the Department of Finance has started a process in concert with officials within the Government of Canada and also in cooperation with other countries around the world to determine the appropriate way in order to deal with the activities of international business corporations.

It is obviously an objective to ensure that Canadians can succeed internationally. At the same time, we want to make sure that our tax system is perfectly fair and equitable for all concerned.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I trust that, this time, it is not a 39 point process.

In an anti-tax evasion context, how can the federal government justify the fact that the Foreign Affairs website boasts that what it terms Canadian investments in Barbados totalled $18 billion in 2001 and enabled 2,000 companies to pay no Canadian taxes?

This is all the result of the revised tax convention that was renewed by the present Prime Minister during his time as finance minister. Does this seem fair to the taxpayers who are obliged to pay all their taxes in Canada?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman continues to distort the record. Every step taken by this Prime Minister when he was Minister of Finance was aimed at closing the international loopholes. That is the record. That is the truth.

Health

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at the same time the Prime Minister is shamefully holding Quebec and the provinces hostage by imposing conditions on health are funding, the Auditor General is telling us that the medical devices for which the federal Department of Health is responsible are not safe.

Before unilaterally dictating his priorities for health to the provinces and Quebec, should the Minister of Health not instead follow the advice of the Auditor General and ensure that the medical devices for which he is responsible are safe?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, allow me first to say that our government intends to work with the provinces to find ways to strengthen our health care system for the long term. That is how we see things. We will have to work in partnership to find lasting solutions.

With respect to the Auditor General's report, of course we accept her recommendations on the use of certain medical devices. We have already started making these corrections, which are absolutely necessary. We appreciate the work of the Auditor General on this matter.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the report shows that safety inspections of medical devices are compromised because Health Canada has assigned only 58 inspectors to this task when it needs 97.

How can the federal government impose its way of doing things on Quebec and the provinces when it cannot even provide the right number of inspectors to allow Health Canada to do its work properly?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we have absolutely no intention of telling the provinces what to do. We intend to treat them as partners when it comes to health.

The Canada Health Act requires us to have a health system that meets Canadians' expectations and reflects Canadian values. We know that this is important to Canadians and the provincial governments as well.

We are currently working on the Prime Minister's very firm commitment to hold another federal-provincial conference this summer. We want a plan with lasting solutions made in cooperation with the provinces.

Sponsorship Program

[Vic Toews, Canadian Alliance, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal fix is in at the public accounts committee. Last week, following the instructions of the Prime Minister, the Liberal majority on the committee defeated a Conservative motion calling for a release of the Gagliano papers.

Is the Prime Minister now trying to cover up the sponsorship scandal because the only thing at the bottom of this scandal is more evidence of Liberal sleaze?

[Jacques Saada, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister responsible for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, I reject outright the allegations made by my colleague as to the intervention of the Prime Minister. It simply is not the truth, so I cannot say anything else. It is simply not true.

As far as the work of the committee is concerned, members know full well the committee is the master of what it does, and it is not for us to go against the rules of the House. They have been set to be observed by everyone, including the opposition, notwithstanding their reluctance to do so.

[Vic Toews, Canadian Alliance, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, last week the Liberal vice-chair of the public accounts committee said that the committee may not be able to find out the truth of who was responsible for the millions of dollars taken by Liberal-friendly advertising firms.

Rather than trying hard to find out the truth, the Liberal majority is pushing forward with a whitewashed report to bury their connections with the sponsorship scandal. How can the committee find out the truth when the Liberal majority keeps on burying it?

[Jacques Saada, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister responsible for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, it is the other side which prevented the work of the committee to develop as quickly as we wanted it. It is the other side which is resisting the calls for an interim report. It is the other side which has politicized the debate so much in the committee that they have lost credibility in the process.

It is their problem, not our problem.

[Jason Kenney, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is the government's own judicial inquiry which will not even start hearings for six months.

The Prime Minister said he was going to get to the bottom of this come hell or high water. What a joke. The public inquiry will not start for six months. The Liberal majority on the committee is trying to jam through a whitewash report before we have even heard any testimony about where the stolen millions went, before we have even heard from Chuck Guité.

Why is the Prime Minister breaking his promise? Why is he pushing for a whitewash report before we know the truth about Liberal corruption?

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

Mr. Speaker, internal audits, forensic audits, Auditor General's reports, RCMP referrals, the public accounts committee, a public judicial inquiry: if anyone is rushing to judgment here it is the supposedly independent chairman of the public accounts committee, who seems to have already come to the conclusion that people should go to jail.

I think we should hear the evidence, consider it carefully, analyze it and then come to conclusions. Let us not rush to conclusions and let us not make wild accusations in this--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Calgary Southeast.

[Jason Kenney, Canadian Alliance, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, none of those reviews and none of those inquiries will report the truth to the Canadian people before this Prime Minister wants to go to the polls without getting to the bottom of this scandal. That is the problem.

We want to know the truth. Why is the Liberal government shutting down the public accounts committee before we have even heard from Chuck Guité, before we have heard from anyone from the crown corporations and before we have heard from anyone from the PMO? Why the cover-up?

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

I think, Mr. Speaker, that the only thing that is covered up to this stage in the public accounts committee is the testimony of Chuck Guité, which the chairman has not agreed to release. If he wants to get things moving, let us hear these witnesses more quickly. Let us release that evidence that was given in confidence, which Mr. Guité says now can be released. Let us get to the bottom of it. Let us not jump to conclusions before the facts are heard, though.

Veterans Affairs

[Judi Longfield, Liberal, Whitby—Ajax, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Veterans Affairs. With the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landing and the Battle of Normandy rapidly approaching, what is the Government of Canada doing to recognize the valued contributions of our veterans who participated in this campaign?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Whitby—Ajax is a great friend of veterans and I thank her for her question. Last week, thanks in large measure to the efforts of the member for Haliburton—Victoria—Brock, the government committed $1.5 million to the Juno Beach Centre.

Later today, in the Hall of Honour, we will be honouring our veterans from D-Day and the Normandy campaign. I invite all parliamentarians to join me in saluting these Canadian heroes who took enormous risks, many of whose colleagues perished, to give all of us the freedoms and the liberties we enjoy today.

The Environment

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—St. Clair, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment.

After eleven years of Liberal reign, food containing GMOs is still not labelled as such. Today, the Auditor General's report is additional proof of the Liberals' blind support of genetic manipulation. We learn that genetically modified plants are free-growing in the wild, and we know nothing about the long-term effects on the environment.

Can the minister explain why the Liberals let this situation get out of hand?