Jocelyne Girard-Bujold

[Library and Archives of Canada Act, October 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, thank you for the reminder. It was not that I had forgotten, but that I was so caught up in the debate with my colleague in the Progressive Conservative Party.

I would like to ask a short question of my colleague in the New Democratic Party. I wish to add my voice to hers in saying that the hon. member for Dartmouth has done an excellent job, and if she decides not to run in the next election, I will be disappointed because she is an excellent Member of Parliament. I think we should do everything we can to keep women MPs with us, because there are so few of them.

I would now like my colleague to tell me where in the bill she has found guidelines to ensure integrity and transparency when an administrator and executive are appointed.

Throughout the process, I have been asking the government and the committee to clarify this for me. SInce she supports it, she must have answers to my questions. I would like an answer from her on this. Perhaps then I will able to change what I plan to say in a few minutes. This is something of great concern to me, in light of what is going on in the House of Commons as far as all those partisan appointments are concerned.

[Library and Archives of Canada Act, October 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask a question of my colleague in connection with his response.

Do you think, under Bill C-36, that this new entity will have guidelines allowing each province to retain its own entity? As the Bloc Quebecois always says, and as you have acknowledged, Quebec is a distinct society. In giving this new structure the mandate to interpret history in general, do you think that your province of Alberta, or Manitoba, or any of the provinces of Canada will have their place and protection for their history in their image, that is to say not interpreted according to the vision of this new entity within the mandate it has been given?

[Library and Archives of Canada Act, October 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, it was with a great deal of interest that I listened to my colleague from the Progressive Conservative Party, the member for South Shore.

I am very happy that the member also talked about what the member from the Canadian Alliance addressed at the beginning of his speech; in other words, the agreement that was reached between the Minister of Heritage—represented by the parliamentary secretary—and the opposition parties that clauses 21 to 23 should be withdrawn because they do not belong in this bill.

The Progressive Conservative Party, through its new member on the Standing Committee on Heritage—this was his first experience—did not see it that way.

I attended the committee meetings after the House adjourned and I heard that the agreement had fallen through. I saw to what extent this government was not very proactive and disregarded the opposition parties. I agree with my Conservative colleague that this government cannot be trusted.

As he said, his province freely joined the Canadian Constitution in the 1940s. Perhaps there will be another opportunity to do the reverse. One never knows.

I share his concerns with respect to this idea of interpreting history. History changes, but it can also be interpreted by adversaries who have a first-hand knowledge of the situation, wherever they stand on the political spectrum.

As for his interpretation, I do not know whether the Progressive Conservative Party will vote in favour of the bill. His party was very vague, saying it would decide when it comes time to vote. I call on members to listen to the Bloc Quebecois, which will have many questions about this. I am very happy that he listened attentively to my colleague, the member for Drummond.

[Library and Archives of Canada Act, October 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, since no one is interested in what the hon. member has been saying from the very beginning, I would like her to tell us about the advisory council, which will be made up of individuals whose identity is unknown. Will these be archivists or librarians? This is not specified in the bill. Everything is vague, unclear. Also, how will these individuals be appointed? We have to bear in mind that the members of this advisory council will be advising the deputy head.

I would like my colleague to tell us if she has seen any standards, guidelines or what not in this bill? Will these appointments be approved by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage? Will they be approved by this House?

I would like her to tell us if she has seen anything like that in this bill, because I certainly did not. I ask that my colleague enlighten me.

[Library and Archives of Canada Act, October 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Drummond.

I listened to her speech with satisfaction and with an open mind. I think that she has conveyed to us in her speech what the reality of the National Library and the National Archives should be in Canada.

Throughout her speech, she wondered why this government is doing the opposite of what all other industrialized countries are doing. Why is it so far away from what the reality should be? As our colleague, the member for Drummond, has shown us, being an archivist is not the same as being a librarian. These are two totally different roles.

I would like to ask my colleague about the fact that we have not heard too many questions, in this debate, about the prerogatives of the Librarian and Archivist that will be appointed and the advisory council that will be established under this bill.

How will that council be established? There are no specific guidelines in this bill. Who will appoint these people? Could my colleague elaborate on that? We have seen what is happening right now in Canada with regard to partisan appointments. One just has to refer to the questions asked by the Bloc Quebecois on the Radwanski issue.

I would like my colleague to enlighten us on this aspect, which she did not address in her speech. Surely she wanted me to ask her questions on this subject.

[Library and Archives of Canada Act, October 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my hon. colleague from the Canadian Alliance. I was not in the House in 1997, when Gaston Leroux was the Bloc critic during the review of the Copyright Act.

However, I was there when the parliamentary secretary made a commitment to the opposition parties, resulting in an amicable agreement. We agreed to withdraw clauses 21, 22 and 23 from the bill, because we were told that witnesses would talk about copyright before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

I was there, and what my hon. colleague from the Canadian Alliance is saying is true. Consequently, I want to ask him the following question: since the minister, through the parliamentary secretary, did not respect her commitment, should this government not withdraw this legislation and send it back to committee for indepth consideration and the exclusion of clauses 21 to 23?

[Library and Archives of Canada Act, October 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely surprised by the answer from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Heritage.

I can imagine what happened. She promised her colleagues on the government side and the member for Verdun—Saint-Henri—Saint-Paul—Pointe Saint-Charles it would be withdrawn. Everyone agreed.

I do not know what happened. When I returned in September, I was very surprised to see that everything to do with copyright had been put back in the bill.

I do not know who she was representing when she made those promises, but the Bloc Quebecois was sure this was not included in the bill. That is why we did not move any amendments during the work of the committee to remove these clauses.

I would like her to be more clear. This happened after the byelection. The new members had never sat on the Standing Committee on Heritage. An entire group of Liberal members arrived and sat on the Standing Committee on Heritage. Are they the ones who decided to have these clauses put back in?

[Identity Card, October 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration claims not to have made up his mind about the future identity card. He says he wants to hear from as many people as possible, to have the widest range of opinions before making a final decision.

How can the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration reconcile what he said with the fact that he has once again stacked a conference on biometrics by refusing to hear those experts who oppose his plan for an identity card?

[Former Privacy Commissioner, October 3rd, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, it would appear that neither the Treasury Board, nor the Privy Council, or the Prime Minister's Office or the Prime Minister's adviser, Eddie Goldenberg, authorized the extension of benefits granted to George Radwanski.

Are we to understand that the decision ultimately came from the Prime Minister himself?

[Former Privacy Commissioner, October 3rd, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General is categorical: George Radwanski's contract was negotiated and approved by the Privy Council Office. The position of head of the Privy Council is an honorary position. A handbook signed by the Prime Minister confirms that appointments are made by his office. And finally, Eddie Goldenberg said he never got involved.

If that is so, we would like to know who in the Prime Minister's Office negotiated the appointment and hiring conditions of George Radwanski.