Eleni Bakopanos

[The Judiciary, March 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I believe I have already stated that I will take it under advisement and we will bring back our response to the House.

[The Judiciary, March 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I will take the question under advisement and bring an answer back to the House.

[Petitions, March 10th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to bring forth a petition from a number of Edmonton and area residents.

The petition calls upon parliament to enact legislation to amend the Criminal Code to provide increased penalties for serious cases of animal abuse and to make illegal the practice of inhumane euthanasia of companion animals.

[Division No. 332, March 8th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, when the Minister of Natural Resources made the government's announcement of the future direction for Devco, he indicated that Devco's management wished to review the human resource packages with union representatives. Some of those discussions have already been held.

The $111 million in funding which has been approved by the government for workforce adjustment measures include $60 million for an early retirement incentive program, $46 million for severance packages and $5 million for training for employees who will receive severance packages.

The criteria to determine eligibility for the early retirement incentive program have not been pulled out of a hat. They are the criteria that were negotiated between Devco and its unions through a joint planning committee in 1996. They are the criteria that Devco's collective agreements indicate shall apply to the early retirement incentive program for any further workforce reductions.

I want to make it clear that the early retirement incentive program has no relationship to the pension benefits that Devco's employees have earned through participation in one of the corporation's pension plans. Workers will continue to be eligible for any earned pension benefits.

I also want to make it clear that the provisions of Devco's collective agreements with its unions will be honoured. These provisions indicate that in the event of a site closure employees shall be laid off in reverse order of seniority.

This means that many of the longer serving employees who will not be eligible under the early retirement incentive program will continue to be employed.

[Division No. 332, March 8th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kaplan's book to which the hon. member referred adds nothing new to the facts of the Airbus case except for raising unfounded allegations and inferences.

Contrary to any claims made in the book, the Prime Minister learned of the letter to the Swiss authorities and the Airbus investigation only after the letter became public on November 18, 1995. I also remind the hon. member, as the Minister of Justice, myself and other ministers who have been attacked in this House by the hon. member have done numerous times, of a settlement between former Prime Minister Mulroney and the Government of Canada which was signed on January 5, 1997 and which has been tabled in the House:

The parties accept that the RCMP, on its own, initiated the Airbus investigation.

The parties have always acknowledged that the RCMP must continue investigating any allegations of illegality or wrongdoing brought to its attention.

The parties accept that the RCMP and the Department of Justice in sending the request for assistance to Switzerland acted within their legitimate responsibilities in this manner.

Those are the facts. This is not hearsay. These are not anonymous quotes, as the member has brought forward.

[Division No. 332, March 8th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, clearly we are all concerned with the availability of child pornography in this country. As many have said, it represents evidence of the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and perpetuates the message that they are appropriate sexual partners.

That is why the federal government is intervening in the Sharpe case before the British Columbia Court of Appeal to vigorously defend the constitutionality of our laws which prohibit the possession of child pornography in any form.

We have all had the opportunity in the House to raise our concerns. Unfortunately the member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast and other members of his party have been exploiting this issue and misinforming the public as well as fearmongering. This is not a question of pedophiles.

Members will recall at that time the Minister of Justice stressed the importance of respecting the rule of law, particularly where we are privileged to live in a free and democratic country where our Constitution and charter of rights are respected.

I support the minister's views, as do the majority of the members of the House. Attorneys general across the country are still enforcing the law. They are indicating their support for pursuing this matter through the courts. All of us recognize that other more drastic approaches would not be in the best interests of all Canadians.

We know that the Sharpe case has had some impact on British Columbia where it is binding on provincial court judges. However, let us be clear. Contrary to what others in the House have suggested, including the hon. future leader of the so-called united alternative, cases are not being thrown out of the courts. A number of cases scheduled to proceed before these judges are being postponed until after the Sharpe case is heard by the B.C. court of appeal. Let us not forget that the attorney general of British Columbia has indicated that cases continue to be investigated in that province and charges are being laid.

Officials in other provinces are also continuing to enforce the prohibitions against the possession of child pornography. The government is confident that the child pornography legislation is constitutional and will be strongly defending this legislation before the British Columbia Court of Appeal shortly.

[Young Offenders Act, March 8th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, extensive consultations have been done. All the attorneys general across the country have been consulted. The government will be bringing forward legislation on young offenders very soon.

[International Women's Day, March 8th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, today, March 8, marks International Women's Day. The Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Status of Women expressed all our sentiments when she said “today is a day to celebrate the gains that women have made and to plan for the day when we can take our place for true equality”.

This morning, in my riding of Ahuntsic, I organized for the fourth time a breakfast to highlight the work of non-governmental organizations. I once again had an opportunity to see the exceptional work and the unconditional dedication of several organizations in my riding, such as Transit 24, Concertation-femmes, the Montreal Italian Women's Centre, Maji-Soi, the Maison buissonnière, Remue-ménage, Mono-vie Ahuntsic, Entraide Ahuntsic Nord et Sud and the Centre d'action bénévole Bordeaux-Cartierville, to name but a few. These groups are dedicated to improving the life and plight of women in my riding of Ahuntsic.

Today women from Ahuntsic and all over the world, despite linguistic, cultural and political differences, will join together in celebration of the progress that women have made and recognize the further goals we need to achieve together.

[Gun Control, March 4th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat what I said earlier. Gun registration is working very effectively. We have had thousands of requests for registration across the country. The only people working against the law of the land is the Reform Party.

[Gun Control, March 4th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, no one has bungled anything. In fact the gun registration system is working very effectively.

Canadians are respecting the law. It is only the opposition that does not want to respect the law of the land.