John Manley

[1996 Census, April 17th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad I did not leave at three o'clock.

I remind the hon. member that it was the Mulroney government in 1984 that ran on jobs, jobs, jobs and it only got two of them in the last election. Had the member been in the House in the weeks before the Easter break she would have heard my assurance that if she had names which she wished to submit to Statistics Canada for census representatives, we would ensure they were submitted.

If she has some problem with that she should certainly follow it up with me. I will be glad to investigate this because I did give her that assurance.

[Strategis, April 17th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, Strategis is an information age tool to help particularly

small and medium size enterprises in Canada engage in a process of developing technology, engaging in international trade and creating jobs and economic opportunity for Canadians.

The hon. member and members from both sides of the House will want to encourage small businesses in their areas to connect to the Strategis web site which is the largest business information web site on the Internet. It is where they can find everything from 33,000 licensable technologies to 50,000 company profiles, companies they can trade with, suppliers, partners, joint ventures, and sources of trade opportunities elsewhere in the world.

The hon. members in the Reform Party are concerned about time. This is a real time saver for small business.

[Agreement On Internal Trade Implementation Act, April 15th, 1996]

moved that the bill, as amended, be concurred in.

[Broadcasting And Telecommunications, March 27th, 1996]

It is the same thing. We are not proposing changes.

[Broadcasting And Telecommunications, March 27th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, since we are not about to recommend changes at this point, I would remind the House that the same rules do apply for broadcasting and telecommunications.

[Broadcasting And Telecommunications, March 27th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that Canada, together with other parties to the Uruguay round, is now engaged in negotiations in Geneva on the issue of trade in telecommunication services.

We have an offer on the table at the present time in Geneva which would bind our current law that permits 20 per cent foreign ownership directly and 33-1/3 per cent indirectly. Combined this comes to about 46 per cent. We are not at the present time proposing a change in that bargaining position.

[Statistics Canada, March 27th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, again the hon. member seems very confused by the process.

If the hon. member were saying we were hiring people who did not pass the test because of their political affiliation, I would agree with her that we would then have a problem. However, the reality is that nobody is being hired unless they prove their qualifications.

There is no priority list, save for the census representatives. We have asked that priority be given to the names referred from my office provided they pass the required test.

I am advised that the hon. member for Saint-Hubert has sent us names, and those names will be on the priority list. If she wishes us to remove them from the priority list we will endeavour to do so.

[Statistics Canada, March 27th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, many of my colleagues have had the same experience. These people were chosen to fill the positions of census commissioner. There was no priority list.

In fact, that is why a priority list was established for the positions of census representatives.

The choice was made on the basis of a written test followed by an oral examination. Many people in all parts of Canada and from all parties passed the written test but did not pass the oral examination. That gave rise to the numbers I quoted earlier which, if anything, indicate this test was very stringent.

By far the bulk of the people retained to perform the work on the census will have come from no political list at all. About two-thirds will come from sources other than political referrals.

[Statistics Canada, March 27th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, as I explained yesterday, there are priority lists for the recruitment of census representatives. Priority is given to the names referred through my office. If hon. members wish to ensure their names are referred they need only call my office.

However, they cannot both rely on a system of political referrals and then suggest it should not occur. The hon. member making that suggestion reminds me of the veterinarian who set up shop with a taxidermist under the sign: "Either Way You Get the Dog Back".

[Statistics Canada, March 27th, 1996]

-in the past employ a political reference system in naming census commissioners in this case.

It has come to my attention that of the names that were referred from the province of Quebec the most successful patronage boss of them all, I am afraid to say, was the independent member for Beauce who had 19 per cent of his recommendations accepted. The Bloc had 18 per cent and my colleagues in the Liberal Party had 17 per cent.

He perhaps ought to ask his colleague, the hon. member for Laurier-Sainte-Marie, who somehow managed to get 61 per cent of his accepted.