Nick Discepola

[Telecommunications, April 18th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, Normex Telecom, created almost 25 years ago by its president, Jacques Coutellier, has just been acquired by an Alberta company called In-Flight Phone Canada Inc. Following this acquisition, the company will be in a better position to become the leader in the communication cable installation industry in Canada.

Normex revenues, which totalled $7 million in 1995, are expected to exceed $60 million in three years because of this transaction and to help create more than 300 new jobs in the high technology industry in Montreal itself.

We are very pleased about this transaction, which confirms Montreal's leadership in the North American telecommunications industry. We hope that Canadians from all over the country will follow the example set by this transaction and continue to work together to develop a more prosperous and dynamic economy for all Canadians.

[Justice, April 16th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, upon the initiative of the solicitor general's office as well as the office of the Minister of Justice, this Sunday and Monday a workshop was organized in Ottawa on the delivery of information on the justice system and the application of new technology. This workshop was attended by senior federal and provincial leaders. They are meeting in Ottawa to discuss the application of new technology which has been accepted by all jurisdictions as important to the delivery of the information system.

A concrete example of an initiative the solicitor general recently announced is the flagging of high risk offender systems. This is an initiative by the federal government as well as the provincial and territorial leaders. It is being administered through the police information office.

[Wildlife Poaching, April 15th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the Humane Society's report did confirm the hon. member's question.

I reassure the hon. member the RCMP is working at the national level with Environment Canada, at the provincial and territorial levels with natural resource and enforcement agencies, and even at the international level with INTERPOL to ensure that we not only develop but implement a comprehensive enforcement program which takes into account the illegal smuggling of wildlife and endangered species. I reassure the hon. member that the illegal trade of bear parts forms a key element of that enforcement program.

[The Budget, April 15th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, since the Bloc's arrival on the Hill, for the past two and half years or so in particular, they have been singing just one song: tax loopholes, trusts, big business. I must point out that, when the entire issue of family trusts was examined, the Bloc's minority report had no suggestion whatsoever for another way of dealing with them.

As well, when we ask the Bloc to offer concrete suggestions on how to bring the $45 billion deficit down to zero, they always tell us to go after the $6 billion in bad debts.

Everyone knows that there is no long term reduction to be found in bad debts, only a short term one for the year involved. Procedures have been established for debt recovery.

A surtax has also been levied on financial institutions. The hon. member talks of our dipping into the unemployment insurance fund. This I find totally unacceptable, particularly in a context where, with the possible exception of this year, Quebec has received more from the unemployment insurance fund than it has contributed.

What I want to ask the hon. member is this: Is it not prudent, in a recession, to always create a reserve so as to avoid additional burden on the government? During a recession, we all know social programs increase, thus increasing the burden, and revenues decrease.

I therefore find it unbelievable that the Bloc members keep on telling us we must not touch the $5 billion in the reserve we have created. The precise reason for creating a reserve fund is to avoid a potential recession. Is that not prudent?

[Witness Protection Program Act, March 28th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to participate in the debate on third reading of Bill C-13, the witness protection program act.

I am sure that most hon. members are aware that the intent of the witness protection program act is to ensure that our federal witness protection program will provide the best possible protection to both witnesses and sources.

The legislation proposed by the bill creates for the first time a statutory foundation for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police source witness protection program.

On behalf of the Solicitor General, I would like to thank all the members of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs for the time and energy they put into consideration of this bill last fall.

During this period, the committee heard people from various backgrounds, including the police, representatives of victim support groups, legal experts and a former witness.

It also heard my hon. colleague, the member for Scarborough West, whose interest in the matter of witness protection is well known, and who stimulated discussions significantly on this important question.

The government has taken careful note of the legitimate concerns expressed during the hearings of the committee, and they are reflected in the amendments made to the original bill.

Thus, the bill before you today is better and more solid than the one tabled at first reading.

The committee deserves our thanks for this.

The proposed changes will improve the transparency and the efficiency of the RCMP's source and witness protection program, which has existed as an administrative program since 1984, by giving it a solid statutory and regulatory basis.

We are creating a witness protection program with a basis in law.

This legislation will have the important effect of giving the RCMP's source and witness protection program a higher profile. The need to report on the operations of this program will be specified.

Of course, the identity of the sources and witness will remain secret, but the selection criteria and the scope of protection will be clear and transparent.

Thanks to these statutory provisions, the participants in the program and the RCMP administering it will be clear as to their rights and obligations and the scope of the protection and benefits provided. This should also eliminate any misunderstanding between the RCMP and the people being protected.

In all, the changes to this RCMP program will meet the needs of both the police and the witnesses and sources requiring protection.

The proposed changes will ensure that the eligibility criteria for witnesses are clearly defined; they will ensure standard case handling across the country; a clear definition of the responsibilities and obligations of the program administrators and participants; a better defined management structure within the RCMP for day to

day program operation, which will reinforce the reporting requirement; a complaint resolution mechanism and the presentation of an annual report on the operation of the program by the commissioner of the RCMP to the Solicitor General, which will be tabled in the House of Commons.

Provincial and municipal law enforcement agencies may still make use of the RCMP source and witness protection program, as they did in the past, on a cost recovery basis.

However, the bill does not seek to replace witness protection programs administered by provinces or municipalities, nor does it seek to set up a national program.

Through these brief comments, I tried to present as clearly as possible the key components of the bill. I am convinced that hon. members know that the source witness protection program is a very powerful tool for law enforcement purposes.

However, I am aware that there are lingering concerns over certain aspects of the program. I will discuss some of these now, particularly those raised by the hon. member for Saint-Hubert. During the debate at second reading, the hon. member for Saint-Hubert asked the government to clarify three basic points.

The first one is the budget allocated for the new program; the second one is the time required to put the program in place, once the bill is passed; and the third one is the number of people who should take part in the program. These are important issues and I will begin with the budget.

The annual costs of the RCMP source witness protection program currently stand at $3.4 million. I am pleased to tell the House that the bill will not result in any additional costs. The average cost per case is $30,000, and in about 60 per cent of the cases it is under $20,000.

The second issue raised by the hon. member for Saint-Hubert is the time required, once the bill is passed, for the new program to become operational.

The RCMP assures us that the new program could be operational a few weeks after the bill is passed. It is to be noted that the current source witness protection program will be maintained until the proposed changes are implemented.

The third and last point raised by the hon. member for Saint-Hubert is the number of people who should take part in the program every year. There are, at any one time, between 80 and 100 people, including family members, actively participating in the program. This average figure should not change in the foreseeable future.

I want to point out that protecting sources and witnesses will not eliminate violent crime, or even organized crime. However, the program is an important investigation tool for law enforcement authorities. It greatly helps police in its constant fight against organized crime and major criminal activities in Canada.

We must make sure that the program continues to be such a useful instrument.

When the government was elected it made a commitment in its election platform to a safer homes and safer streets agenda. Since taking office we have honoured that commitment.

To date we have brought about the reform of the corrections and conditional release system through the passage of Bill C-45 which became law in January of this year. Improvements were equally made to the Canadian Police Information Centre data banks to help screen out child sexual abusers as potential employees and volunteers working with children.

We established a national flagging system to help crown attorneys deal more effectively with high risk offenders. We equally passed comprehensive gun control. We created a National Crime Prevention Council and passed amendments to the Young Offenders Act.

The witness protection program act is yet another important component in our overall effort to improve safety and security for all Canadians. I believe that all hon. members recognize the importance of and endorse the changes proposed in the witness protection program act.

I would like to thank once again all members of all parties for their past support of the bill. I hope we can count on their continued support to ensure speedy passage of Bill C-13 at third reading.

[Montreal Botanical Garden, March 27th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the Montreal Botanical Garden recently inaugurated its new facilities, built at a cost of $22.3 million.

The work done includes the renovation of the administrative buildings, the construction of a new complex for visitors, and the refitting of the laboratories. The new additions and the modernized existing facilities will definitely increase the potential of the botanical garden and the interest that it generates among tourists, in Quebec and abroad.

Last year, the garden welcomed over one million visitors and the economic spinoffs greatly helped Montreal's economy. The Canadian government invested $5.7 million in this partnership initiative with the Quebec government, the City of Montreal and the Université de Montréal.

This shows once again that such partnerships between the governments of Canada and Quebec are the best way to ensure the economic recovery of the Montreal region.

[Racism, March 21st, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, today, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, commemorates that day in 1960 when peaceful demonstrators were killed in Sharpeville, South Africa.

Today, I would like to recall the words of the Prime Minister of Canada in his speech commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations: "Although Canadians sometimes forget it, the highest hope of the global community is to achieve what we in Canada have achieved for ourselves. A means of living together in peace and understanding. Not an answer to every problem, but a means to pursue those answers together-with respect, tolerance, accommodation and compromise".

And that is the message this March 21, a message of hope and solidarity. This day symbolizes the hope that comes with the arrival of spring, the joy of freedom and the promise of peace.

[Supply, March 20th, 1996]

It is because the Chair said "resuming debate".

[Supply, March 20th, 1996]

Resuming debate.

[Quebec Socio-Economic Summit, March 20th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, when he delivered his inaugural address at Quebec's socio-economic summit, the PQ premier said, like the Prime Minister had done a few weeks earlier, that he was greatly concerned by the issue of job creation.

The premier invited employers and business leaders to do their share to help create jobs. He said: "Employers must agree to voluntarily develop activity sectors requiring a larger workforce".

The PQ leader agrees with us that the responsibility for creating jobs does not rest with the government, but with the private sector. We are pleased to see that our respective governments came to the same conclusion as regards job creation.

We take advantage of this summit to remind the Quebec government that it is in our best interests to work together, in order to find solutions to the major problems affecting all Canadians and Quebecers.