Gordon Earle

[First Nations Land Management Act, March 5th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order to seek the unanimous consent of the House to allow the NDP to speak in support of Bill C-49.

[National Defence, March 5th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the fairness of military justice is under scrutiny worldwide. Military justice in Canada is under scrutiny.

In light of the legitimate safety concerns and serious questions raised around the Anthrax vaccine, is there any indication that the director of military prosecutions will use his discretionary power to withdraw the charge against Mike Kipling, a father and husband who faithfully devoted over 25 years of his life in the service of his country? The Department of National Defence has accepted Mike Kipling's resignation. Why not allow this family man and loyal Canadian to retire in peace and dignity?

[Division No. 326, March 3rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the people of the Halifax regional municipality and all Nova Scotians deserve to know what plans are in the works for the Shearwater Canadian forces base.

I am becoming increasingly concerned about the past operations of Shearwater Development Corporation Limited and am equally concerned about what the future holds. Underscoring both these issues is a sense that this Liberal government is not willing to be entirely open with the people who will be affected by whatever decisions are made.

Shearwater Development Corporation Limited was created in response to the 1994 federal budget when it became clear that operations at Shearwater would be reduced. Now we have Frontec Corporation suing Shearwater for over $663,000 for services and products.

Exactly what did Shearwater Development Corporation do for the past half decade and, in particular, what has happened to the $2.6 billion in taxpayer money invested in the Shearwater Development Corporation?

The people of the Halifax-Dartmouth area deserve full and fair accounting of just what this corporation did over the past five years and how their money was spent. How many jobs were created? What long term projects were crafted and developed?

The people of the Halifax regional municipality also deserve to know what the long range plans for Shearwater are. Will the military keep the shoreline property? How many jobs will be lost? What is the long term plan and use of both the base and the valuable lands on which it rests?

In response to my question in the House on November 18, 1998, the Minister of National Defence stated that the federal government would bring about an outcome where the lands would be used for the benefit of the people of the province and to create economic development opportunities so that jobs can be created. That is what the minister said in the House.

Will the people of the region have a say or will this just be one more deal made between the federal and provincial Liberals, behind closed doors, without the full and constructive input of the people whose lives will affected by the decisions made?

[The Budget, March 3rd, 1999]

Madam Speaker, I would like to address a question to the hon. member, who reportedly is my shadow in the riding of Halifax West.

I noted that the hon. member spoke about health care and he spoke about taxes. But I notice he did not address the issue of employment insurance with respect to the budget. The member who spoke previously indicated that the unemployment rates are at an all time low. The government seems to take a great deal of comfort in throwing out that statement. But I am sure that statement does not give a lot of comfort to the many people who remain unemployed and, in particular, to those who find themselves ineligible for EI benefits because of the many changes that have taken place: the intensity rule, the clawback, the change from weekly to hourly qualifications and so on.

There seems to be a great significance in the fact that as the number of people who are eligible for EI benefits goes down we also notice that child poverty and homelessness is going up.

Does the hon. member feel that this budget in fact has dealt adequately with the question of homelessness, child poverty and EI?

[Racism, March 3rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's legal system is as white as an Ottawa blizzard. Racism infects Canada's legal system and it is not getting any healthier.

A Nova Scotia study says that the chances of a person of colour being hired by the firm where they articled are virtually nil. As well, white men are twice as likely as women to be hired by the firm at which they articled.

How are visible minorities reflected in the number of judges appointed by this federal government?

The Canadian Bar Association admits that this plague of racism in our legal profession infects the whole system, from law school admission tests to hiring practices to appointments. Each and every member of parliament has both the moral obligation and political duty to fight racism in their own lives and communities and in all federal operations.

Our bill of rights outlines freedoms “without discrimination by reason of race, national origin, colour”. Canada's legal profession miserably fails the test of our bill of rights.

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I ask the hon. member what his views are with respect to the money allocated in the budget to the military.

As members know, a very extensive report was done by the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs detailing quality of life issues for our military. Recently we have seen stories coming out in the media about the terrible experiences that many families have had with respect to inadequate housing and the effects of moving from one place to the other.

It kind of bothers me when I see that the amount that was allocated is $525 million over three years when the minister's own minimum estimate was $700 million. Then we see the government still giving out money for things like a company producing a dumb blonde joke book. That speaks for itself.

What is the member's view with respect to the help that has been given to the military in this budget?

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member used a term that was quite relevant when he talked about the budget being a smoke and mirror budget.

I say that because I think about the very practical problems which could have been addressed in the budget, one being support for Halifax's bid for a piece of the pie with respect to becoming a superport. Here we are on the brink of making history. We stand at a point where we can benefit not only the Atlantic area but all of Canada by Halifax being properly supported to win the bid to handle the post-Panamax ships. Yet there is nothing in the budget that made any real commitment to that.

The closest I have seen was just the other day in an article in the paper saying that the federal minister promised support if metro won the bid. I do not feel that businessmen go on the if prospect. If there had been a firm commitment stating some amount that was reasonable and tangible—surely we have experts who can figure out exactly what it would cost for our port to be upgraded to handle these ships—we would stand a much better chance of gaining that bid. Other areas have done it. I think New York has put a price on what it would cost for it to fix up its harbour but we say we cannot do so.

Does the hon. member agree with me that the budget has been very deficient in nailing down concrete specific action which would encourage economic development not only in Atlantic Canada but right across the country?

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member in his comments made reference to the many suggestions received by his constituents prior to the budget. The hon. member who spoke before him made the same comment. I certainly want to commend them on that very important aspect of a parliamentarian's work, that is, consulting with constituents and getting that kind of input.

I notice that certain statistics were cited about jobs that were created. We all know that statistics can be interpreted and phrased in a way to say what we want them to say. I tend to look at what is really happening in the area.

When I look at my riding of Halifax West and in other parts of my province, I see industries closing down. The Volvo plant was shut down in Halifax which put many people out of work. In Cape Breton there is the Devco situation and the phasing out of the mine which is putting people out of work.

We end up with a vicious circle. People are out of work. I do not see in the budget any real commitment to have a plan to offset those kinds of disadvantages. We get a circle where people become unemployed and it is difficult for them to get EI because the criteria are much more strict than it used to be. It is difficult to get training. This perhaps leads to health problems, depression, family breakdown. We are right back to needing additional health care and additional services to carry on to meet the needs of the people who suffer from being unemployed. Any money that was put in to this great health budget is very quickly eaten up, to the point where we are worse off than we were before if we do not tackle the industry problems and those kinds of issues.

I ask the hon. member, what is being done? What concrete measures have been taken to offset the kinds of problems I cited that lead to unemployment and a downturn in the economy in my area?

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I commend my hon. colleague for her very important remarks concerning the budget.

One important point that she raised with respect to the budget was, as a measurement, one should ask the question: Does it seek to improve the lives of Canadians? I think that is a very important point. We know that over the past number of years the government has been taking a very close look at equal pay for work of equal value. There have been a lot of studies and negotiations and a decision was rendered in terms of certain occupational categories to show that the people in those categories were not being paid properly and yet the government insists on not correcting that situation.

I did not see anything in the budget which would work toward improving the lives of those Canadians who have been underpaid, a lot of them female in a lot of the categories. I did not see anything in the budget that would help to improve the lives of those Canadians.

Would the hon. member care to comment on my observations in that regard?

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I want to first of all congratulate and commend my hon. colleague for her very relevant remarks on this budget.

She mentioned the gap widening between the rich and the poor. She talked about how this budget affects those who are most in need.

A small community in my riding of Halifax West, a black community called Upper Hammonds Plains, is adjacent to a large water supply which is the water supply for Halifax and Dartmouth. The water supply runs right past this community. In fact, land was taken from this community to make this water supply available.

These people do not get water. Seniors, young people, people within the community cannot get water unless they pay an astronomical price to hook up. Yet this budget could have resolved that kind of problem by putting money into an infrastructure program that would enable a project to go ahead to give water to this community.

This is another example of how this budget has not really dealt with the very real problems of people within communities that are necessary to be dealt with in order for people to progress.

Would the hon. member agree that programs of this nature should have been included in the budget programs aiming at the homeless, seniors, young people and so forth?