Fred Mifflin

[Folk Of The Sea, November 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on November 13 and 14, I along with several thousand citizens of Ottawa and Toronto was fortunate to witness the inspirational concerts given to packed houses by the Folk of the Sea.

Folk of the Sea consists of 110 fisherpersons from Newfoundland and Labrador who have come together to prepare their gift of song and story and to proudly present this heritage to the people of Canada. Everything that has been of consequence to Newfoundlanders invariably centres on the necessity that grafted us to the salt water trade. Our speech, our song, our common memories that shape and temper what has come to be recognized as characteristically Newfoundland was portrayed in a powerful and moving manner.

When we in Newfoundland and Labrador face the greatest challenge of our 500-year history in the fishery, which has been our sustenance, our occupation and our craft, it has never been more important to share our bounty of music and narrative with other Canadians.

I ask this House to join me in extending heartiest congratulations to this talented group of ordinary Newfoundlanders achieving extraordinary results as Folk of the Sea. We believe in Newfoundland and Labrador.

[Citizenship Act, November 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for outlining the alleged shortcomings of the previous government's legislation. Perhaps to complete the irony in that remark, this government will certainly consider correcting any legal or technical flaws in the legislation.

I have personal knowledge of this subject because I was a member of the standing committee that fought for and won these benefits for merchant seamen. The real point is that the legislation is succeeding in doing what it was intended to do. Merchant navy veterans have the same access to veterans benefits as their military counterparts. They are eligible for disability pensions, war veterans allowance, the veterans independence program, long term care and veterans funeral and burial grants.

There is no veterans program currently available to military veterans that is not also available to merchant navy veterans.

Listening to the hon. member for Saint John this House would wonder if merchant navy veterans are receiving anything. They certainly are receiving all the benefits. In fact an estimated 2,000 merchant navy veterans and their dependants are receiving veterans benefits and that is certainly a long way from the theme suggested by the hon. member.

Having said that, the merchant navy representatives have identified several areas where they believe that legislation could be improved. The Secretary of State for Veterans met with the groups involved and their proposals are presently under review.

From this review changes with respect to the merchant navy veterans benefits will take the form of amendments that would be considered for inclusion in a general housekeeping bill. That kind of bill is put forward from time to time to modernize language and to address technical matters.

The merchant navy representatives at this meeting were also asked to bring to the secretary's immediate attention any specific case where it appeared that benefits were being denied because of a shortcoming in the legislation. May I conclude by extending to the hon. member the same invitation. I thank her for her question.

[Standing Committee On Industry, November 14th, 1994]

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, is sanctimonious a parliamentary word?

[Standing Committee On Industry, November 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I was listening very intently to the debate on this excellent report. Being on House duty I was listening in the lobby with great interest. I was very impressed with the quality of the speeches and decided to come into the House and hear them firsthand.

I must say I felt a certain amount of disappointment when I arrived because all of a sudden the presentations stopped being about this excellent report. I am sitting here in my seat and I cannot really believe what I am hearing. A responsible member of Parliament is getting up and complaining about a system that supports Atlantic Canada and he states that the people from his area would not support it.

I have a comment and a question. I am very seldom partisan but I have to say I find it very difficult to understand how the hon. member intends to go to Newfoundland after that speech to campaign on his support for ACOA and for regional development in Newfoundland. I suggest he frame this speech and turn around in reverse and never show it to anybody when he goes down looking for votes in Newfoundland.

He is suggesting that ACOA is made up of a group of imbeciles that just willy-nilly give out money to some businesses and not to others. He is totally wrong. I am telling him that the vice-president of ACOA, Gordon Slade, happens to be one of the finest civil servants in the country. He is a very responsible person. He is very selective in what he does. When there is competition the ACOA grant is not given.

My comment to the individual is that ACOA management does not work that way. It is much more responsible, much more selective.

My question to him is: What is his alternative? What would he rather do?

[Standing Committee On Industry, November 14th, 1994]

Did you tell them that when you were campaigning in St. John's West?

[Team Canada Fighter Pilots, October 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on the weekend Canadian fighter pilots did themselves and their country proud by placing a close second, their best ever performance in the prestigious 40th anniversary William Tell air to air weapons meet in Florida.

Team Canada, made up of pilots from 3 Wing, Canadian Forces Base Bagotville, Quebec was led by Captain Francois Garceau of St. Donat, Quebec who placed second in the top gun competition for pilots with the best overall performance

Captain Marc Charpentier of Lasalle, Quebec won the top shooter competition. Captains Garceau and Charpentier teamed up to win the top element competition.

Canadians are proud of our military men and women who risk their lives every day serving their country in their work and in peacekeeping missions around the world. They are no less proud of Canadian forces accomplishments for achieving top honours in rigorous training competitions.

I am sure I am joined by this House when I say to the pilots and ground crew of Team Canada congratulations to each and every one of you on a tremendous performance and a job well done.

[Jenna Bowring, October 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on the weekend the Reform Party hinted that Liberal women candidates for the last federal election were picked just because they were women. The fact is these women won their nominations due to their intelligence, vigour and their selfless commitment to Canadians.

This morning I had the privilege of attending the International Development Week 1995 calendar festival award presentation hosted by the Canadian Teachers Federation to honour Ms. Jenna Bowring, nine years of age and a grade four student at Random Island Integrated School, daughter of Cynthia and David Bowring of Brittania, Newfoundland.

Jenna's art work has been chosen out of 850 submissions from across Canada to provide the cover of Canada's International Development Week 1995 calendar. This young lady was chosen as a winner for her competence, her talent, energy and her enthusiasm.

I am sure that all members of this House will join me in congratulating this remarkable young Newfoundlander-who is in the gallery with her parents today-in winning this prestigious national award.

[Immigration, September 28th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank the hon. member for giving me the opportunity to address this important issue and to respond to her question once again.

On June 20, I tabled in this House on behalf of the Minister of National Defence a series of documents describing the measures taken by the Department of National Defence to address the issue of harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Changes have been made to ensure that DND's commitment to eliminating harassment is reflected in our programs and policy. Minor changes to the Canadian forces administrative orders that include the concept of zero tolerance are embedded in this policy.

The goal of the policy is simply the elimination and prevention of harassment. Every member has the right to work in an environment that is harassment free and to have any complaint of harassment dealt with in an expeditious, impartial and sensitive manner without fear of retaliation, and that is very important to add.

Our goal is to prevent and eliminate harassment in the workplace and this will be achieved by this policy and by educating and training members on harassment issues, policies and procedures.

Specifically, the new policies include revised complaint reporting procedures, the designation of harassment advisers, a DND harassment co-ordination office, a monitoring system to track the incidence of harassment and a comprehensive education and training program.

Harassment education and training for all members at the unit and base level is mandatory. The new policy is in the process of being printed and will be published in the upcoming months.

Once again I thank the member for allowing me the opportunity to stress the fact that the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces remain committed to the implementation of a zero tolerance policy on harassment.

[Canadian Armed Forces, September 28th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome this question because it involves the long term health and welfare of the Canadian forces personnel.

In direct response to the question, we have had 12 people with symptoms similar to those voiced by the United States forces personnel. They have been seen by a Canadian forces doctor and are currently experiencing no difficulty whatsoever.

As the minister has previously stated in this House, we have not been able to determine a causal link between the chemical biological warfare agents used in the gulf and the symptoms experienced by the Canadian forces members. In fact we find evidence to the contrary.

I want to reassure the House that there is no scientific evidence that the drugs that were administered to the Canadian forces members had harmful effects. On the contrary. In fact, the body of evidence that exists would show that everything attests to their safety and their use.

[Land Engineering Test Establishment, September 28th, 1994]

If he wants the answer he is going to have to listen. The fact is that the essential activities previously conducted by LETE are being carried out in house and through separate contracts. For contracted work, where feasible, Canadian companies will be considered as a matter of course.

I again assure the House the closure of LETE, if he wants the facts, is expected to save $11 million annually.