Norman E. Doyle

[Petitions, March 28th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of some 250 people from the St. John's area who are very concerned with the issue of child pornography.

The petitioners want to draw the attention of the House to the fact that the British Columbia Court of Appeal on June 30, 1999, dismissed an appeal to reinstate the appropriate section of the criminal code making it illegal to possess child pornography.

They quite rightly make the point that the well-being and safety of children are now in jeopardy as a result of that ruling. They call upon government to invoke section 33 of the charter of rights and freedoms, the notwithstanding clause, to override the B.C. Court of Appeal decision.

[Health Care, March 27th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the federal Liberals say that money is not the main problem behind the health care crisis in Canada. Money may not be the only problem, but it is certainly the biggest problem.

In 1994-95 my province of Newfoundland received $425 million in cash transfers for health and post-secondary education. In this year's federal budget it will receive only $271 million. Twenty years ago federal transfers paid 50% of Newfoundland's health care costs. Today the federal government pays less than 15%. That sounds like a money problem to me.

It is time for the Liberals to stop playing politics with health care and start using their budget surplus to pay for the health care system that Canadians need and want.

[Health Care, March 16th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance was reminded on many occasions not to forget health care in his new budget. In his budget speech of February 28 the minister indicated that post-secondary education and health were the big priorities of Canadians. He then went on to say that these two areas would receive a one shot infusion of $2.5 billion spread over four years and 10 provinces.

In the case of Newfoundland, that amounts to $10 million a year for four years. If we assign half of that to health care, that is $5 million a year spread over 34 hospitals and health care centres, about the cost of one doctor per institution.

The finance minister did not forget health care but he came very close to forgetting health care. With an underfunded health care system in crisis and a budget in surplus that simply is not good enough.

[St. John's West, February 22nd, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the people of St. John's West need a member of parliament to represent them in the House. Why is the Prime Minister dragging his heels on calling the byelection. Is it the Prime Minister's intention to leave this seat vacant until such time as he calls the federal general election? Perhaps the Prime Minister is having a problem getting a candidate for his party.

Whatever the reason, the Prime Minister was certainly very eager to create a vacancy in St. John's West. Prime Minister, we now have our vacancy, where is our byelection?

[Health Care, February 9th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind the Minister of Finance that he should not forget health care when he brings down his budget.

The budget has been balanced but there have been serious casualties as a result of the process. One of them is our health care system which is now seriously underfunded and not giving Canadians the level of protection they want and deserve.

The minister is no doubt besieged by demands on his new budget but I implore him to first and foremost reinvest in health care. That is what the 10 premiers want. That is what the medical community wants and that is what the Canadian people want. When they show up at emergency on any given Saturday night Canadians want sufficient doctors on duty and they want beds available when they have to be admitted.

After all, if we do not have our health, how will we ever enjoy our tax cuts?

[Child Pornography, December 1st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, all members of the House have received thousands of letters and signatures on petitions regarding the issue of child pornography.

In their letters and petitions, my constituents quite rightly make the point that not only is pornography degrading to the individuals depicted in it, it has a negative effect on the moral fabric of our society generally. This is doubly so when we consider the issue of child pornography. The use and abuse of children for that purpose is so degrading and reprehensible that it deserves special attention by government.

Therefore, I call on the government to take the necessary legal and legislative actions required to curb the production and distribution of pornography, especially child pornography. Canada is a free society, but with freedom comes responsibility. On the issue of child pornography in particular, I feel the time has come for government and all of us here to work to bring child pornography to an end.

[Supply, November 30th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the hon. member.

In my province of Newfoundland, and in Atlantic Canada in general, we have hundreds of miles of coastline that is essentially unprotected and unpatrolled. That coastline is very vulnerable to the importation of drugs, guns and all kinds of illegal activity. Because of government cutbacks ports police have been eliminated. It is a wide open invitation to the drug trade.

What is government going to do to protect that kind of coastline when it has cut out the ports police and reduced the ability of the RCMP to do its job?

[Independent Truckers, November 25th, 1999]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have a few words to say on this particular motion.

The member's motion asks that the federal government explore the questions surrounding federal-provincial jurisdiction in the areas of labour law and transportation law as regards to independent truckers in the province of Quebec.

It is not a subject with which I am intimately familiar, so I am a bit reluctant to be any more specific than the member was in his motion.

I managed on short notice to obtain an English translation of the November 15 press release from the Quebec Coalition of Bulk Carriers and Related Business. The release states that Bill 89, recently tabled in the Quebec National Assembly, serves only to aggravate the situation between independent truckers and bulk carriers and related business. The bulk carriers' release stated that the bill would conscript them into a closed association and would create a monopoly. I can understand how any group of independent truckers might feel if faced with competing with a monopoly.

I was also able to obtain a translation of a La Presse story, dated October 22, 1999, about a pending agreement between partners in the Canadian transportation industry to reduce truckers' hours. At a recent meeting in Los Angeles it was agreed that Canadian truckers' hours would be reduced from a 15 hour day, with 13 hours of driving, to a 14 hour day. These measures were undertaken as a safety precaution against driver fatigue. This is a proposal which involves all provinces and it would take some six months to implement.

It is hoped that the U.S. would follow suit with a similar arrangement for its truckers. However, independent truck owners have concerns that decreasing the hours without an increase in their income would only force independents to try to live with less income.

Similarly, bulk carriage truckers of the Quebec Professional Truckers Association feel that simply improving the hours without addressing the income issue would only force drivers to drive faster or carry heavier loads.

The bottom line is, since the deregulation of rates and licences, it is hard to make a living in the trucking industry. The professional truckers feel that a round table among the stakeholders in the trucking industry, including the various levels of government, is the way to seek a resolution. Perhaps the member is suggesting in his motion that we explore this area of federal-provincial jurisdiction.

Fast, efficient and safe trucking is essential to the continued prosperity of the whole North American economy. Reaching this goal must involve the U.S. government, the Canadian government, the governments of the provinces and the various sectors in the trucking industry. To the extent that the member's motion will foster constructive debate and problem solving in the trucking industry, including independent truckers, I think we should support the motion.

[Employment Insurance, November 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the changes to the employment insurance system have made it much more difficult on part time and seasonal workers to qualify for benefits. These changes have made it very difficult for women, given that women have longer absences from the workforce than men. Nationally only 36% of the unemployed qualify for EI benefits. It is therefore no surprise that only 30% of unemployed Canadian women actually qualify for benefits.

The government has indicated that it will increase maternity leave from six months to a full year. Given that it is much harder to qualify for maternity benefits than regular EI benefits, that new commitment rings very hollow indeed.

The government's changes to the EI system were designed as an attack on seasonal workers in rural and Atlantic Canada, and sadly an attack on Canadian women as well.

[Petitions, November 24th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to present on behalf of a number of citizens from the St. John's area.

The petition calls upon the House to encourage the federal government to financially support the clean-up of St. John's harbour. It would involve a financial commitment from the federal government for a sewage treatment system required for that clean-up. Given the fact that the federal government has made similar expenditures in the past, it is indeed a reasonable request. Over $100 million would be required to deal with this environmental problem. The petitioners are very anxious to have the project started.