Philip Mayfield

[Apec Inquiry, October 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister says that the solicitor general has nothing to do with this public inquiry. As a former solicitor general he knows better than to say that, because the solicitor general did decide to go with the commission and not hold a full judicial inquiry where all actors in this fiasco would have their say.

Will the Prime Minister end this fiasco and strike a new independent judicial inquiry to look into this entire APEC affair, including the Prime Minister's and the solicitor general's involvement?

[Questions On The Order Paper, October 19th, 1998]

With respect to pressure-treated lumber: ( a ) what chemicals are approved for use in treating pressured lumber/wood; ( b ) what are the accepted levels for each of these chemicals used to treat this lumber; ( c ) what testing procedures has the federal government established to ensure companies use satisfactory levels; and ( d ) what has the government done to ensure there are ample health safeguards from these materials both before and after installation?

[Petitions, October 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition from the constituents of Cariboo—Chilcotin, primarily from the city of Quesnel, British Columbia.

My constituents petition parliament to support Bill C-225, an act to amend the Marriage Act and the Interpretation Act, so as to define in statute that a marriage can only be entered into between a single male and a single female.

[Committees Of The House, October 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I have not had a lot of co-operation from the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. He certainly has shown no credibility in his administration of the department in the part of the country where I live. It goes beyond the lack of caring for fish stocks to the way that other people using the rivers are being troubled.

I had a representation from the Cariboo Mining Association indicating that fisheries officers were trying to drive the miners away from the rivers despite the fact that they jump through all the hoops and keep all the laws.

The hon. member does not make an unreasonable suggestion.

[Committees Of The House, October 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to join the debate responding to the hon. member's motion.

I come from the central interior of British Columbia. Only recently, just before the last election, has my riding even touched the coast.

Members may wish to know why I would be so interested in a motion concerning fisheries and oceans.

Despite the fact that my hometown is about 600 kilometres north of the Vancouver area, the Fraser River runs right up the centre of the province of British Columbia.

Running into the Fraser River are many tributaries: the Thompson River, the Chilcotin River and the Quesnel River. These rivers are all major fish spawning grounds.

It has been very interesting for me since being elected as member of parliament for Cariboo—Chilcotin to come to understand what a large part this part of the province plays in the fishing industry and in the replenishment of fish stocks.

One of the first concerns I had was when fisheries decided to close down a fish hatchery at a little place called Likely, a fish hatchery on the Quesnel River.

Some dozen years or more ago this hatchery was built, at considerable expense, to enhance the chinook stocks. These are large salmon that come up the Fraser and Quesnel rivers.

The essence of this is that fisheries decided this was no longer an economically feasible project and so, after diminishing the results of this, cutting back the two million fish that were supposed to come out to 200,000 or less, they decided to close the hatchery.

The people of the community of Likely are today sustaining that 200,000 a year level of fish spawning and entry into the river at their own expense. They capture the fish, they strip the eggs, they nourish and feed the young salmon as they are growing and they open the gates and let them go.

What is the federal government contributing to this? Absolutely nothing.

I would also like to talk about another fishing system in the Horsefly River. Last year fisheries failed to even open the spawning channels for the sockeye salmon. The people wrote to the minister of fisheries about this and the response was that they did not need those fish stocks. In the face of the decline that we hear about this year, they were told they did not need the fish. Those salmon were practically crawling up the banks looking for a place to lay their eggs. It was so bad that the spawning grounds were being destroyed by the fish that needed them.

In Cariboo—Chilcotin the fisheries department has badly mismanaged its project of enhancing fish stocks and keeping them at a sustainable level. One of the frequent complaints I get from my constituents concerns the destruction of fisheries and the lack of attention that is needed to sustain the stocks.

[Unemployment, October 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we have a crisis in Cariboo—Chilcotin, as there is throughout much of British Columbia.

In my riding unemployment has reached 14.8%. This is unacceptable.

The federal government has tied our lumber manufacturers to a softwood quota agreement with the United States that we cannot get out of. Now it is killing some of our producers who cannot get enough quota.

Now the placer miners are telling me that gun-toting fisheries and oceans officers have been raiding them and threatening to close the miners down because they do not want them on the rivers. What will happen next?

Like so many other issues that this government has tackled over the past five years, the Liberals lack vision to seek long term solutions to serious problems and fail to look at the long term consequences of their knee-jerk reactions before implementing new policies.

My constituents are asking: Where is the vision? Where is the leadership? They are demanding answers now.

Today in Caribou—Chilcotin the unemployment rate is 14.8% and rising. Does the government not care? The facts speak for themselves.

[Canada Small Business Financing Act, October 2nd, 1998]

How about British Columbia?

[Canada Small Business Financing Act, October 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I am very interested in the comments of my hon. colleague.

I would like to tell members a little story. I was talking to a businessman who runs a small sawmill in British Columbia not far from where I live. He said that when the NDP took over the government in British Columbia he had $200,000 in the bank. He said that of course is long gone. He said that after this NDP government last year he had a really good year. He lost only $10,000. This is what the NDP has done to British Columbia.

The Small Business Loans Act is an important piece of legislation. It is to support small business people, entrepreneurs who are trying to create business, opportunities and employment in Canada. But it takes the initiative of the government, it takes the support of the provincial government and it takes the courage of the entrepreneurs to do this.

Part of the difficulty with this bill as the auditor general has pointed out is that there are too many conflicting ideas about how many jobs it is creating and the government overestimates this. He also has said that this bill is supporting the lending institutions probably more than the small business people and I believe this should be rectified.

I would like to ask the hon. member, in light of what is happening in British Columbia, how his socialistic premises are going to improve the opportunities of small business people when governments like the New Democratic Party government in British Columbia have done everything that they can to bring small business and big business to its knees.

[Canada Pension Plan, October 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the minister sure took quick action when he fired the chairman of the fisheries committee but I want to ask a question of the finance minister. He says that the rules allow the taxpayers to cover the cost of Palmer's lawsuit against Mr. Dussault. Does the finance minister think this is an acceptable use of taxpayer dollars?

[Canada Small Business Financing Act, October 2nd, 1998]

Can I ask what the question is?