Rex Barnes

[Government Contracts, November 6th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration denies any involvement in the awarding of a contract by the Department of Public Works to his friend's company, Groupe Everest. Ministerial aides do not wake up in the morning and decide to take it upon themselves to get involved in contract negotiations, especially negotiations with a company owned by the boss's friend.

First, if he attempted a hands-off policy on this contract, why was his aide directly involved in approving an amendment to that contract? Second, would the minister tell the House on whose authority Patrick Doyon was acting when he became involved in the Everest contract?

[Employment Insurance, October 30th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the priorities outlined by the Liberals ignore the challenges facing rural Canadians.

People in Gander--Grand Falls need jobs and they want to work. Every day my office receives calls, letters and petitions from rural Newfoundlanders where hundreds of people are desperate for income to get them through the winter months. However, more than just getting enough hours for this year, what is needed is a long term economic plan for Gander--Grand Falls and rural Canada.

The Liberals have failed to put forth a vision for rural Canada so those who want work are given no hope.

Today I am meeting with officials from HRDC. It is my hope that this will mark a new understanding of the difficulties facing those who live in areas where the will to work is larger than the HRDC job bank.

The EI system must be more supportive of those who want to attend school and retrain so that the cycle of short term employment and EI reliance can be broken. The guidelines on how EI is administered must be consistent from office to office.

It is through dialogue and working together that will enable us to fix the EI system.

[Petitions, October 23rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, under Standing Order 36, I have a petition to present to the House of Commons with regard to the rights of the child having a voice in divorce proceedings. I present this before the House.

[Safety Standards, October 22nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport is allowing the sale of 11 models of Cosco infant car seats that are improperly manufactured.

The minister has been aware of the danger posed to children's necks and backs for nearly three months. His own officials have stated that the models do not comply with Transport Canada regulations. Parents are still buying this defective product from major retailers. There are no repair kits and no warnings of the danger. The parliamentary secretary promised to rectify this situation.

Will the minister direct his officials today to take the necessary steps to have this product removed from the shelves?

[Safety Standards, October 11th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I raised the issue of 11 models of Cosco infant car seats that do not meet Transport Canada's safety guidelines because of insufficient padding around the infant's head; 225,000 of these car seats have been sold in Canada.

Despite the fact that his own officials have admitted that there is a threat to infants, the minister has failed to adequately warn consumers and recall this product. The government fails to act on the nuts and bolts of everyday safety.

Will the minister admit his mistake and demand an immediate recall of this product?

[Safety Standards, October 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport is aware that 11 models of COSCO infant car seats fall short of government safety standards, 225,000 of these have been sold in Canada. These car seats fail to meet safety standards because they do not have sufficient padding around the child's head and neck. Its own investigation concluded that the car seats most likely caused the bruising that led to several complaints.

Purchasers now open the box to find a repair kit.

If I buy a bicycle tire and included is a patch kit, I would assume that I would not need it until I had a hole in my tire. The difference here is there is already a problem and there is nothing in the box stating that this product can hurt a child if it is not properly repaired.

Why was there no recall when his department identified the threat? Why is it that Transport Canada seems more concerned with big corporations over the safety of our children? Will the government admit its mistake and demand an immediate recall of this product?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 8th, 2002]

The cost that has been echoed has always been there. The people in Gander—Grand Falls have always paid a higher cost for air travel than their counterparts in St. John's. People travel to St. John's, which is a five hour drive, so they can get an cheaper airplane ticket; sometimes it is $200 to $400, which is totally ridiculous.

The government should be acting on items such as fees with regard to travel costs to make it easier for people from rural Newfoundland and Labrador and rural Canadians to travel from their own airports rather than having to travel all across their own province to go to urban centres.

One big item is the health care plan. There is always a big debate about whether the government is spending the money wisely with regard to health care. Coming from the health care field, I realize that a pot of money will not fix the problem but it will help the situation.

Governments have always pumped out all kinds of money at times. We hear the Liberals talk about the fact that they put another $1 billion into health care. However the workers on the ground do not see this. We do not know where the money goes. It is time for the government to have a plan for health care and a plan for rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

In rural areas of Newfoundland and Labrador people do not have access to doctors. They have to travel long distances to see doctors and specialists. The strike by doctors in Newfoundland and Labrador today is a prime example of what the doctors are going through. Sometimes they talk about money, and yes, money is a factor. However, as I heard one doctor state on the news, it is about service delivery to patients. If there is a high cost for that, then the government must ensure the money is there to ensure the service is available for people in rural areas.

One of the hottest topics in my riding right now is the unemployment crisis, which I am presently undertaking with regard to the problems that we have. I have asked to meet with the hon. minister and her department. When we meet with her department, the big issue is always top up programs. A portion of the top up program is to boost EI while waiting for a full time job. The problem is that the workers are not seasonal in my province and in my riding. It is the work that is seasonal.

Our people are looking for full time work but, unfortunately, we have no choice but to go the other route. The government has failed in its ability to do something about that, especially acknowledging in the throne speech that it is a serious problem and how we would challenge it.

The top up program is a small avenue in the unemployment crisis. It is no good to top up the higher salary. It is essential that top up programs are made EI eligible because of the scarcity of work in rural areas. It is important that we take note of that.

I will be discussing this with the minister very soon so that we can make some movement to ensure that the voices of the people in my riding are heard at the level where it will count.

We need to revitalize rural Newfoundland and Labrador. We need to have a plan for not only my riding but the whole of Canada because I am sure that the rural areas of Newfoundland and Labrador, Gander and Grand Falls, are the same all across Canada.

We need to have infrastructure put in place. We all realize there is a cost. I am not standing here saying there is no cost factor. We have to prioritize where we should go. If we do not prioritize with a plan, then we will have no plan and no ability to pay for it.

Any government can say it will do all these wonderful things but if it does not have a plan, how will we pay for it? Every time we look around the government is floating all these trial balloons about how we are going to pay for things, yet we have no budget. There is no budget to determine where this money will come from. Before we have a plan, we should tell the people where the money will come from so we know exactly where it will go.

It is important that as a government we have a plan. If we do not have a plan with a budget, then we will go nowhere. We can promise all we like but we cannot deliver.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 8th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the throne speech was a missed opportunity for the government. It was a time for the government to show its vision for the entire country. Unfortunately there was nothing for Canada and Canadians living in rural areas such as the riding of Gander—Grand Falls.

I can only speak about my riding because I do not fully understand at times, listening to members speak, what is happening in other ridings. I can only concentrate on how my people are feeling and how it is affecting them. The throne speech offers no hope and demonstrates what a low priority rural Newfoundland and Labrador is for the present government.

After two previous speeches from the throne only 28 of the 114 promises have been actually fulfilled. We hear from both sides that the numbers vary, but why promise to do a lot of things when nothing is done? This goes back to the 1993 Liberal platform. It is a clear admission that after nearly 10 years of government the Liberals have failed to achieve what they have set out to do. It is an admission of failure to the people. This country needs new ideas and a new approach. The Liberal government is full of promises but for some reason or another, it is short on performance.

I want to highlight some of the areas that were missed and are important for my riding. Rural Newfoundland and Labrador is important to me and should be to the government. One of the things that is lacking in my area is the ability to have technical support so that people can have the same access to all the technical ideas and thoughts that urban centres have. A former MP started that motion but because of the cost factor it failed. Sometimes if we are serious about doing something for rural Canada and rural Newfoundland and Labrador, there is a cost factor that we must look at. Sometimes the cost is not that much when it is compared to other items.

One of the other items that was a major loss for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador was the custodial management of the nose and tail of the Grand Banks. While the government talked about protecting species at risk and environment protection it failed to protect the most important resource of our province, which is fish.

We talk about Kyoto being costly for Canadians. Custodial management is the way to guarantee the protection of several marine species and a way of life for people in Newfoundland and Labrador, especially from my riding.

We can also look at the airline industry in rural Newfoundland and Labrador and rural Canada. There is no way in the world that any politician can state in the House that rural Newfoundland and Labrador and rural Canada are getting the same service as the urban centres. It is impossible for anyone to say that. In my travels, as well as the travel of other MPs, it is a difficult task to get flights out and to make connecting flights because of the limitations.

[Committee Business and Reinstatement of Government Bills, October 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for ACOA and member for Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte. We are all friends. We have differences of opinions but that does not make us enemies. Life is too short to have enemies.

I think the minister realizes, as well as I and everyone else who travels back and forth, that the air service is not what it should be. It should be upgraded. Since Air Canada seems to come to us when it wants a bail out, it should be required by law to provide the same type of service in rural Canada as it provides in central Canada. We should be no exception. It is like we are second-class citizens in the rural areas of this country. It is time for the government to take a stand. These are things that we should be discussing to make sure it happens for the people because we are elected for the people. They elect us and it seems like we forget that.

One of the big things that the government has missed, as far as I am concerned, is that it should have come back with a real plan for the next generation. The next generation is from rural Newfoundland and Labrador and all of Canada. We should be putting money where it is needed the most. Right now I think rural Canada has been totally forgotten. We are not doing the things we should. Yes, we are doing some things but they are not enough. The government should be coming out with a plan to revitalize rural Canada so that we know where we are going. I bet it does not know where we are going because I do not where we are going. All I know is that people in rural Canada and rural Newfoundland and Labrador are leaving, which is causing a big problem.

We cannot have our cake and eat it too. The government has decided for some reason that it now wants to bring back all these important bills. I heard a speaker tonight talk about the money and the fact that it would be costly. There is no cost factor as far as I am concerned. If the bill was important the government should have stayed and debated it at the time.

As far as I am concerned, the House should send a clear message to the government and tell it that it will not get away with it. If not, it will have the attitude that it can do what it wants, because it feels that way anyway. We should stand firm and tell the government, no, it cannot do what it wants because we were elected for the people. If we do not do it no one else will. The people expect us to do it.

I will finish off by saying that it is time for the politicians in this country to look at why they were elected and where we are going. The thing about it is that it does not appear we are going very far because the Liberals do not have a plan and we need a plan.

[Committee Business and Reinstatement of Government Bills, October 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, being a new kid on the block, I expected to see a lot of things happen that really did not happen. Of course it has been said to me before that I will learn the process and learn that certain things will happen, but as a society we should not accept what the government is doing.

It seems like the government, for some reason or another, is building half a house, then shutting it down, waiting for the fall to come and building it again. If it starts something it should finish the process. Because of that, the House should not allow it to bring things back just for the sake of bringing them back. If the government had been concerned about the issues that were at hand, it never would have shut down debate, closed down and sent us all home for the summer. We should have been here.

Mr. Mayor--I apologize, Mr. Speaker, that is from my councillor background. The EI system is one of those items we should be talking about rather than going back to the past and bringing bills back again that were half done. We should be looking at the EI system and what it is doing, especially in rural areas of the country.

For some reason the federal government is the only government that can get away with top up programs and not have to pay its workers who are on these top up programs. It is a total shame what the government is doing to people in rural Canada, especially in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, in my area.

We can talk about the health care system and how the government has cut, cut, cut. All of a sudden it has a big brain scheme about the new health care system into which it wants to put all these dollars. The government took the dollars away and now it wants to put it back because it will be good for the government if an election is called down the road, or for the Prime Minister.

The thing is that the government has failed the people totally. We can look at what it has done with regard to the appointment of people with Marine Atlantic. That ferry service supplies all of Canada but the people who are most affected by it are people from Newfoundland and Labrador. Of course we do not have a proper representation, a full quota of people from Newfoundland and Labrador.

The government has stayed solid. My office has been flooded with phone calls wondering where the Newfoundland minister is. I do not know where he is. Apparently he is doing a lot of talking behind closed doors but it is not being effective. People are very concerned that our livelihood, our ferry service that connects us to the rest of Canada, has totally been affected.

Those are the things that we should be talking about in the House rather than bringing back items that for some reason the government did not feel were important but now they are important. It should be the law that the government should not be allowed to do that, but for some reason it has the attitude, as the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador had, which is that it had the majority and it could do as it liked. We should not allow it to do that and Canadians should not allow it to do that because that is just total arrogance. The government has no respect for the Canadian taxpayer.

I made a speech during labour day. All the politicians were there talking about health care. They did not know what they were talking about. I spent 22 years here. I know what is happening in health care. The politicians are not listening.

I am learning quickly. We should be working for the people. We should be putting programs in place so people can function in society as a total unit without having to beg for things that are rightly ours.

Let us talk about the military. We know what happened after 9/11. The government did not do very much to bring more spending into the military. What did it do? All of a sudden contracts went out to the supply chain. For goodness' sake, the zippers on the servicemen's pants will not stay up. They are going around with their pants not properly secured. Submarines are going down but cannot get up. It is totally ridiculous. We need to start spending more money on the military. What is the government doing? It is going to do a review. What a waste of time. It already knows how to do it. It just needs to do it and do it right.

It is like I said earlier, the government is building half a house. If it is not going to do the job right in the first place, it is time for it to get out and let another government do the job.

I can go on to the air service. I believe the minister was in the House last week. I do not know exactly what he said, but from what I understand he said that everything was fine in rural Canada and rural Newfoundland and Labrador with regard to air transportation. The minister does not realize what people have to go through to get a flight back to Ottawa. It is totally ridiculous. The hon. Gerry Byrne knows because he flies back and forth all the time.