Sophia Leung

[Employment, June 9th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, over two million new jobs have been created since the Liberal government took office in 1993. What a record.

The employment rate was 6.6% in May, the lowest since March 1976. In one year employment has grown by over 400,000 jobs. In fact, employment rose in every category including employment of women and youth.

I hope the opposition can handle such good news on a Friday.

[Oceans Day, June 8th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, this week is Canadian Environment Week and today is International Oceans Day. I should like to take this opportunity to remind all hon. members and all Canadians of the great importance of the environment and oceans.

Oceans day was first declared on June 8, 1992. It inspires and challenges us to become caretakers of our ocean environment. The earth summit created a greater awareness of our ecology and our environment. This awareness extends to marine life in our oceans.

Regardless of where we live we must respect oceans, for what happens in the marine environment affects us all and what we do affects the marine environment.

[Foreign Affairs, June 6th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, many Canadians are concerned with irregularities in recent elections in Peru. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell the House what action is being taken by Canada to bring greater levels of democracy to Peru?

[Education, June 5th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate over 1,000 students from Vancouver Charles Tupper and the Killarney high schools who graduated last week.

I was impressed with their dedication, intelligence and warmth. I can say without a doubt that the students from Vancouver Kingsway represent the leaders of tomorrow. I wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

[Foreign Affairs, May 31st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Last week in Vancouver I attended a rally with over 1,000 native Fijians to call attention to the recent coup in Fiji.

Can the minister tell the House how Canada will help restore democracy in Fiji and ensure that any future attempts against democratic rule in that country will be condemned by Canada?

[Huntington's Disease, May 30th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform members of the House and all Canadians that May has been proclaimed Huntington's Disease Awareness Month.

It is estimated that this disease affects one in every thousand Canadians. The Huntington Society is dedicated to finding a cure for Huntington's Disease.

I ask members to join me in wishing the Huntington Society of Canada a very successful Huntington's Disease Awareness Month.

[Immigration, May 17th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

Two weeks ago you returned from bilateral talks on immigration with the Chinese government. Could the minister tell the House how your trip to China will help Canada to combat future unlawful migrants from China?

[The Environment, May 15th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment.

Canadians want clean air to breathe, but some Canadian oil companies are complaining about new regulations limiting sulphur in gasoline even though similar regulations have been in place in the U.S. for 10 years. Will the minister please explain to Canadians just how important those regulations are?

[Voice Mail Service, May 8th, 2000]

Madam Speaker, as the member for Vancouver Kingsway I wish to commend my colleague from Vancouver East on her Motion No. 361 to encourage the CRTC to provide affordable voice mail service to Canadians. However, the CRTC is an independent federal agency responsible for the supervision and regulation of telecommunications in Canada.

The CRTC has a process by which such suggestions are heard. The public consultation process is available to all Canadians, including the hon. member. It is the best and most appropriate way to address the relative benefits of providing voice mail service to community agencies.

The CRTC has already run a number of hearings on this issue. In October 1999, after an extensive consultation process involving public interest advocacy groups, telecommunications companies and the local community, the CRTC released its high cost service area decision.

In this decision the CRTC identified a basic level of telephone service to which all Canadians should have access and took steps to ensure that over time those few areas of the country that are unserved or underserved would have access to the level of service currently available to most Canadians.

The basic level of service is defined as individual line local service with touch tone dialling; the capability to access the Internet at a low speeds without incurring long distance charges; enhanced calling features and services including privacy protection features, access to emergency services and a voice messaging relay board services for the hearing impaired; access to operator and directory assistance services; access to the long distance network; and a copy of a current telephone directory.

This decision will require significant investment by telephone companies to upgrade networking in rural and remote areas. In addition the CRTC has implemented a local service subsidy based on contributions from long distance carriers along with other measures to ensure the continued affordability of basic telephone service. As well, the introduction of competition has benefited Canadians at all income levels through lower prices for telecommunication services, more innovation and more choice.

The member for Vancouver East has a good idea for use by low income families, but I suggest that she should go through the public consultation process like any other group of Canadians.

[Immigration, April 13th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. The auditor general's report recently highlighted the challenge of attracting skilled workers to Canada.

Could the minister tell the House if the new immigration legislation contains any measure to facilitate those skilled workers in Canada?