Bonnie Brown

[Treaties Act, April 13th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to have this opportunity to respond to my good friend across the way.

I really cannot comment on the AIDA program because that was not suggested in his earlier question to which I was preparing to respond. However, I can respond to some of the allegations made against HRDC. For example, he said that money was freely flowing from HRDC in these grants and contributions. He should realize that the section of grants and contributions that was audited, and which had a very serious result that all of us took seriously, the audit covered an audit universe that represents less than 1% of the Government of Canada's budget.

We have now had months of allegations being hurled across the floor from the opposition at us based upon 1% of the government's budget. I want to assure the member that there is a strict process for approval of these grants.

As far as his allegations about us working with big companies, yes we do. We work with both the private sector and the non-profit sector. In the private sector we work with both big companies and small companies because we respect all businesses and they all have a right to apply for assistance when they need it.

As far as cutting taxes, as he is suggesting we should be doing instead of creating economic activity, we have begun to cut taxes now that we have eliminated the deficit and can afford to cut taxes. There was a big plan announced in the last budget to that effect.

How would the hon. member replace the $3 billion in economic activity that we have managed to start through our investment, for example, of $300 million in the Canada jobs fund? That leveraged $2.7 billion from the private sector and the non-profit sector and resulted in $3 billion of economic activity, which we would not have otherwise had in the country, and in the creation of approximately 28,000 new jobs.

[Investor Education Week, April 13th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, if our young people are to be educated consumers of financial services, it is important they have access to the most up to date Canadian information about today's financial world.

To meet this need, the Canadian Bankers Association spearheaded the development of YourMoney Network, an integrated network of websites that contains neutral information for Canada's youth. This initiative was developed in a partnership among the Canadian Bankers Association, the Bank of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mint, the Investment Funds Institute of Canada, the Ontario Securities Commission and the Toronto Stock Exchange and was launched last year.

As part of this year's Investor Education Week, the YourMoney Network is introducing a new online resource guide with over 800 financial topic resources and five new partners.

This is an outstanding initiative of Canada's banking industry that will ensure Canada's youth are well prepared to make wise decisions about their own financial futures.

[Human Resources Development, April 10th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I am really glad to have the admission from the Alliance Party members that in the last few weeks they have put in 78 access to information requests. Perhaps they are the ones clogging up the system so that average Canadians who do want information cannot get it because of the backup in the system.

[Human Resources Development, April 10th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, if we were afraid of releasing documents we would not have released 75,000 pages worth. That is nonsense.

[Human Resources Development, April 10th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, there is no refusal to comply.

If the party opposite actually does work for the people of Canada instead of the media, why is it the only time it stuck to the same subject for more than two days in a row is the day it first landed itself on the front page?

[Human Resources Development, April 10th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I have already alluded today to the 75,000 pages of information that has been released to a number of requests that have never been asked for before. We are doing our best to keep up.

I would suggest to my colleagues on the other side of the House that even the media is getting sick of the fact that the business of the House is taking a back seat to theatre. It says here that social and foreign policy issues await debate while the Alliance chases scandal, while the Alliance engages in more theatre.

[Human Resources Development, April 10th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, in the past 10 weeks alone the department of human resources has received 541 requests under the Access to Information Act. In the previous full 12 months we only received 531 requests, so they are coming in at a rate four times the norm and we are doing our best to get the information out as quickly as we can.

In addition we have released 10,000 pages that the member has already alluded to, 3,000 pages of material to the standing committee. Altogether 75,000 pages of information have been released.

[Competition Act, April 5th, 2000]

Madam Speaker, the Reform Party continues to accuse the government of having a billion dollar boondoggle.

I must say once again that there was no loss of a billion dollars in this particular situation. We had a report on poor management and poor administration. We are addressing it with a very serious six point program which has been approved by the auditor general.

The member opposite should realize that partnerships with the private sector, through which we leveraged $330 million into $3 billion worth of economic activity, also involve the same risks that private sector firms face every day. They face the ups and downs of the business cycle, and some of our projects did that too.

However, in the long run, 95% of our projects survived their first birthday, which is better than the 72% of projects that the banks managed.

On the attack that this has something to do with a slush fund, this is usually tied to the flexibility component of our program which has to do with pockets of high unemployment. If indeed it was a slush fund, how in heaven's name could it be that more than 50% of those particular projects went to opposition ridings?

Once again, those members are singing the same song but it has no basis when we look at the numbers.

[Competition Act, April 5th, 2000]

Madam Speaker, the Minister of the Environment has launched an extensive consultation process for this review.

National public consultations began on January 31 in Ottawa and will continue for several weeks in 19 cities across Canada. They will provide members of the public and interested stakeholders with an opportunity to provide their views on how environmental assessment and the act can be improved.

The minister also has an interactive website which will allow the minister to reach out to rural Canadians and others who may not be able to attend the public meetings. At the same time, parallel consultations are taking place with aboriginal peoples, the provinces, the regulatory advisory committee and with other federal departments.

The Minister of the Environment is committed to a timely, effective review of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. He has launched an extensive, multifaceted consultation process that will provide valuable input on how environmental assessment can be improved in Canada.

The minister looks forward to sharing the results of the review and the views of Canadians on how the act can be improved with his hon. colleagues in his report to parliament at the end of this year.

[Human Resources Development, April 3rd, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, we have already stated that a review of this file showed that no overpayment could be established. We have invoices from the company showing where the money was spent. Everything was above-board.