Sheila Copps

[Audiovisual Productions, October 20th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the allegations I know of are the ones that Bloc Quebecois members have repeated three times now. That is precisely why I have called for an RCMP investigation.

If the member has information other than allegations, I urge him to contact the RCMP.

[Telecommunications, October 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, as a lawyer the member will know that in fact the CRTC is a quasi-judicial body and as such it would be very inappropriate for me to interfere with it.

[Telecommunications, October 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, first, I thank the hon. member for his question. Second, as a lawyer the hon. member will know that there is a process for objection to rate increases and I encourage him to follow the legal process.

[Audiovisual Productions, October 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I find that very regrettable, because we know at the moment that SODEC is being investigated, and I would not be the one to throw mud at a political party, because an investigation is being conducted.

Investigations are necessary and for this very reason we have asked the RCMP to get involved. If the member and the Bloc Quebecois have allegations, they should pass them on directly to the RCMP.

[Audiovisual Productions, October 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the member is again making allegations in the House. These are very serious allegations, and I think that if he does have allegations to make, he should make them to the RCMP.

[Audiovisual Productions, October 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member has any allegations to make, let him do so, and I shall put him directly in contact with the RCMP.

The Government of Canada takes these allegations very seriously, and that is why we asked for an RCMP investigation. This will cast the necessary light on all the facts and I can put the hon. member in direct contact with the RCMP if he wishes.

[Audiovisual Productions, October 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday, following the allegations made by the Bloc Quebecois, I asked the RCMP to conduct an investigation.

Among other things, I do know that Montreal urban community police officers will be in Ottawa this Thursday to meet with officials from Canadian Heritage and National Revenue. They have been informed of all the allegations that have been made. That is precisely why we have asked the RCMP to investigate.

[National Parks, October 18th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, when we struck the panel the reason I personally sought out the participation of Jacques Gérin was because he is the former deputy minister and is known and respected by people concerned with ecology around the world.

We believe that we need an ecological template for all of Canada's national parks. The Banff-Bow Valley study was a wake-up call, a wake-up call that we intend to apply by ensuring that ecological integrity is the number one clarion call for every park in Canada.

[National Parks, October 18th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his question and, in particular, his interest in the results of the ecological integrity panel.

In fact, the government actually launched the ecological integrity panel review as a result of the findings of the Banff-Bow Valley report, which basically pointed out how parks are at risk ecologically when they spend too much time on commerce and not enough on scientific analysis.

When we receive the final results of the ecological integrity report, which we expect by the end of December, we want to work co-operatively with all the players to make sure that we put science first in Canadian parks.

[Audiovisual Productions, October 18th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot make any comment about an earlier RCMP investigation. All I know is that, on Friday, allegations were made in the media and by the Bloc Quebecois member, following which I asked the RCMP to conduct an investigation.