Mr. Speaker, I will undertake to take the information from the hon. member, to look into the situation and to take whatever appropriate action is necessary. I would like to thank the hon. member for her question.
Lost her last election, in 2008, with 33% of the vote.
The Environment October 23rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I will undertake to take the information from the hon. member, to look into the situation and to take whatever appropriate action is necessary. I would like to thank the hon. member for her question.
The Arctic October 9th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, Canada's eastern Arctic is seriously affected by these pollutants. Domestically and internationally Canada is leading the way to limit or eliminate toxic air pollutants that enter the Canadian environment.
Following the June signing of regional agreements with 33 other countries on 12 toxic air pollutants the recent Arctic council ministerial meeting in Iqaluit adopted a program of action which focuses on persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals.
Environment September 29th, 1998
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Davenport for raising this important issue which the Minister of the Environment has taken seriously.
In September 1997 the federal Minister of the Environment expressed her concerns regarding the Ontario Hydro situation in a letter to her provincial counterpart, Norm Sterling. She encouraged Mr. Sterling to ensure that Ontario Hydro took full account of environmental issues as it developed its recovery strategy.
As the House may know, Ontario has laid up some of its nuclear power plants and is using more of its fossil fuel fire power plants like the Lennox plant to ensure Ontario's energy demand is met. The member will be pleased to know that Ontario Hydro has indicated that it plans to modify two of the units at Lennox so that they will operate on natural gas, which of course is a cleaner fuel than oil.
In Mr. Sterling's response to the minister he ensured that they would look at the mitigation of the environmental impacts of Ontario Hydro's recovery plan and that it would be a major consideration for the all-party select committee on Ontario Hydro nuclear affairs formed by the provincial government as would the investigation of the economic and environmental viability of alternative energy supply options.
Our Minister of the Environment is prepared to discuss this issue again with Mr. Sterling to further impress upon him the need to ensure that the electricity supplied by Ontario Hydro is generated in a manner that is both safe and environmentally sound and to encourage him to consider actions to further reduce air pollution in Ontario.
Mr. Sterling's ministry has placed a cap on nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide emissions from Ontario Hydro facilities and the company has indicated that it will continue to meet those demands. Minister Sterling is also aware that further reductions in those emissions will be necessary in order to address both domestic and transboundary acid rain and smog issues.
Gun Control June 5th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, today it is reported that the government will be confiscating firearms from law-abiding citizens and gun dealers without compensation.
Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice tell us whether the government will be confiscating firearms?
Canada Post Corporation Act May 26th, 1998
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-409, an act to amend the Canada Post Corporation Act (letter that cannot be transmitted by post).
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present this private member's bill, an act to amend the Canada Post Corporation Act. Once it is enacted it will ensure that Canada Post does not deliver contests or prizes which instruct people to pay a fee in order to claim their prize. An extraordinary amount of Canadians are inadvertently subject to these fees and moneys are collected. I think it is a consumer rip-off.
It would also instruct Canada Post not to deliver letters that inadvertently display logos which mimic government logos on their envelopes. This is again intended to confuse or rip-off Canadian consumers. I think this is an important piece of legislation.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Privilege May 7th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a question of privilege about an incident that brings this House into disrepute. During members' statements my colleague from Port Moody—Coquitlam was speaking eloquently about an important national skills competition happening in British Columbia. A member from the official opposition was clearly heard by me and others in the House to have yelled at him “speak English”.
All members of this House are privileged to be elected. This Chamber is enriched by a wealth of individuals from a variety of backgrounds. We represent various regions and we all have unique accents. Each of us comes here to participate equally in representing our constituents and all Canadians. When members belittle the participation of certain populations of our nation, when they use comments designed to intimidate and inhibit—
Multiple Sclerosis Society Of Canada May 7th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, 1998 marks the 50th anniversary of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and May is MS awareness month.
Evelyn Gotlieb Opal and Harry Bell, along with Dr. Colin Russell of the Montreal Neurological Institute, founded the society to help thousands of Canadians and their families deal with the devastating impacts of MS.
In its 50 years the society has grown to become the foremost voluntary agency, and Canadian researchers are at the helm of the research effort into finding a cure and discovering innovative new drug therapies.
As one honorary Carnation Day chair, I urge Canadians to support volunteers across the country to raise money and awareness of MS and to support individuals and research.
Happy 50th anniversary, MS society. Keep up the great work.
Cuba May 4th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, members of this Chamber and all Canadians greeted news accounts from Havana this morning with excitement. Family members of Cuban political prisoners Guillermo Sambra Ferrandiz, Esperanza Micaela Atencio de la Rosa and Jose Miranda Acosta received word this weekend from the Cuban commission for human rights and national reconciliation that these individuals may be headed to Canada soon.
Coming fast on the heels of the Prime Minister's groundbreaking visit to Cuba last week, a visit which the Reform Party so adamantly protested, it is obvious that the Prime Minister's policy on constructive engagement works. In his meetings with President Fidel Castro the Prime Minister tackled the human rights issues and pushed for the release of political prisoners.
All members will agree this very significant announcement is an important step in human rights negotiations between our two countries. Congratulations to the Prime Minister.
Hepatitis C April 27th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, in assessing the motion before the House on hepatitis C it is important that we look beyond the rhetoric to its real implication for Canadian society.
The opposition motion advocates that we remove any distinction between those who contracted hepatitis C from the blood system within the period 1986 to 1990 when risk reduction actions should have been taken and those people who became infected before or after this period.
The principles this government is applying for hepatitis C are clear, sustainable and responsible. They are the result of some very hard and difficult decisions. In looking at the question of hepatitis C compensation, the Minister of Health and his provincial counterparts had to work from some very broad terms of reference, ones I am sure the opposition would like to hear, ones which encompassed the entire health system.
The collective responsibility of the ministers of health is to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the system for all Canadians now and in the future. I urge my colleagues in this House—
Court Challenges Program April 23rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise on this motion today to speak against it. The issue we are debating is of great importance to Canada. It touches the heart of what defines our country. It deals with the core attributes of modern democratic societies. It focuses on the ideal of equality before the law which Canada pursues actively and for which it is recognized internationally.
I think it is ironic that today of all days we would be debating this motion when there is a delegation of members of parliament from South Africa touring today. That country has modelled its own program after the Canadian program.
The issue is the Court Challenges Program, which the opposition would like to kill. This program is a symbol of the Canadian commitment to democracy. It is also a tangible demonstration of our progressive Canadian identity.
We on this side of the House, and I gather members over there as well, are proud to have created this program and to have reinstated it in 1994 after a previous government discontinued it.
This government firmly believes that in a free and democratic society fundamental rights have to be protected and interpreted by the courts in a manner that reflects contemporary society.
When the Liberals reinstated the Court Challenges Program at a time of severe fiscal restraint, we made a deliberate choice at that time because the government is committed to and believes in a Canada where fundamental rights are respected and furthered.
In April of this year we signed a new contribution agreement to secure additional annual funding of $2.75 million for this program until the year 2003. The government stands by that commitment and is therefore not supportive of the motion we are debating today.
The Court Challenges Program was first established in 1978 to assist court challenges in relation to language minority rights. In 1982 the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force, entrenching basic freedoms and democratic, political, legal equality, language and aboriginal rights, and the fundamental law of the land. That same year the mandate of the program was broadened to include language rights guaranteed under the charter.
In 1985 the government expanded the program further to include funding for equality rights cases arising under section 15 of the charter. The program has played a significant role in bringing before the courts those cases which have helped to define and advance language and equality rights guaranteed in the Constitution. It has already led to a number of key decisions and its usefulness has already been very well established.
Examples in the area of equality rights include the Andrews case on the overall definition of the concept of equality, the Swain case on the rights of mentally disabled people, the Tétreault-Gadoury case on the rights of persons over the age of 65, the Canadian newspaper case involving the provisions in the Criminal Code which protect the confidentiality of sexual assault victims, and the Butler case concerning the constitutional validity of the Criminal Code pornography provisions.
In the area of language rights there were the Forest, Société des Acadiens du Nouveau-Brunswick and Mercure cases concerning legal bilingualism, the reference re Manitoba in 1985 and 1992 and the Sinclair case concerning legislative bilingualism, the Ford judgment on freedom of expression and the right to use languages other than French on public signs in Quebec, and the Mahé case on the education rights provided in section 23 of the charter.
The Court Challenges Program was designed to provide access to the courts for groups and individuals who would not otherwise be able to challenge government policies and practices related to constitutional and charter rights.
It provides a means for enforcing and clarifying the law. Since 1985 the program has received over 1,000 applications for funding. The program has funded several hundred challenges and a number of them made their way to the Supreme Court of Canada where judgments were rendered favourable to the group or individual funded in almost half the cases.
The program had some 350 language rights and equality case files before it when it produced its most recent annual report in March 1997. Clearly there is a need to pursue the program and to develop further charter jurisprudence in the areas of language and equality rights.
Canadians will be pleased to know that third party evaluations have confirmed that the program is well administered by an arm's length, non-profit agency with representatives from the private bar, non-governmental organizations and academics. It has clear rules and procedures for providing funding.
The program provides assistance only for test cases of national significance involving federal and provincial language rights protected by the Constitution of Canada as well as challenges to federal legislation, policies and practice based on section 2 of the charter dealing with fundamental freedoms and sections 15, 27 and 28 dealing with equality and gender equality.
Funding proposals are reviewed by two independent panels: the equality rights panel and the language rights panel. Members of the panel are chosen by independent selection committees after consultation with over 300 community groups.
Members of the selection committees and panels volunteer hundreds of hours of work to pursue the clarification of constitutional rights all of us have. They play an important role in building a free and democratic society in Canada. The government takes this opportunity to thank them for their work and dedication on behalf of all Canadians.
As reflected in its decision of 1994 to reinstate the Court Challenges Program the government is committed to advancing constitutionally based equality and language rights. Allowing a variety of voices to be heard on these rights is essential to maintain the social, economic and cultural vitality of Canada that has distinguished our country internationally and that all Canadians can be proud of.
The program plays a pivotal role in ensuring the ongoing adjustment of the interpretation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in protecting the rights of all Canadians. With the support of Canadians the government will continue to support the Court Challenges Program in the years to come. All Canadians and all citizens of the world can be proud of this accomplishment.