David Dingwall

[Canada Mortgage And Housing Corporation, November 6th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I am not surprised at the question from the hon. member who continues to show a lack of understanding on the various programs operated by the Government of Canada.

In the premise of his question, once again the hon. member alludes to facts which are incorrect. The hon. member and all hon. members should know that this fund is self-sustaining. There are no appropriations from the Government of Canada for this fund. In point of fact over 330,000 Canadians have benefited from this program.

I would suggest to the hon. member that once in a while he should get his facts straight.

[Questions On The Order Paper, November 2nd, 1995]

As a commercial crown corporation, Canada Post is not subject to the Access to Information Act. The government made the decision to exempt crown corporations such as Canada Post, in recognition of the requirement that they operate in a competitive environment. The Privacy Act also protects personal information from third party access, these are deemed as commercially confidential.

[National Housing Act, October 30th, 1995]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-108, an act to amend the National Housing Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

[Controlled Drugs And Substances Act, October 30th, 1995]

moved that the bill be read the third time and passed.

[Controlled Drugs And Substances Act, October 30th, 1995]

moved that the bill be concurred in.

[Referendum Campaign, October 26th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. I hope he will want to join with other Canadians tomorrow in support of the no forces in the province of Quebec.

This government allows its employees to decide what they want to do in this referendum. The hon. member is quite right. A memorandum was circulated. But a second memorandum has been circulated which states very clearly that if they wish to participate in the no side of the referendum tomorrow they can do so, but they will not be paid by the Government of Canada.

[Public Works, October 19th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.

The hon. member will know that our contract is with the main contractor and not with the subcontractors. There is no, what they call in law, privity of contract between the Government of Canada and the subcontractor. However I instructed my deputy minister to apprise the main contractor to try to resolve the issue as expeditiously as possible. We have sent communications to him and we are hoping the matter which occurred will not occur again.

With regard to subsequent contracts I assure the hon. member as well as other members of the House that, notwithstanding the fact it is beyond the legal ramifications of the Government of Canada in terms of the privity of contract, we will ensure this kind of behaviour is not tolerated. Therefore we will have to look at all contracts awarded in that manner.

[Atlantic Investment Fund, October 16th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I know the hon. member's long interest in the subject matter. He should be aware, as other House members ought to be aware, that Atlantic Canada is the only region of the country that does not have a venture capital fund.

With the co-operation of the four Atlantic premiers and the Government of Canada, the private sector including the chartered banks is in the process of coming together and consummating what will become known as the Atlantic venture capital fund.

For the benefit of the House, the particular fund has as its goal to assist small and medium size business and to increase the human infrastructure in that sector in Atlantic Canada. It will be governed, driven and operated by the private sector which has its roots and resides in Atlantic Canada.

[Regional Development, October 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, the government committed itself both in the throne speech and in subsequent budgets to developing strong regional economies.

Regional development agencies by their very nature are decentralized institutions committed to working with the private sector, provincial governments, universities and other community organizations.

In Atlantic Canada, ACOA has been able to facilitate the private sector and its success rate is approximately 94 per cent.

I said to committee members that there are bound to be setbacks. There will probably be setbacks in the future, but at a success rate of 94 per cent when the federal government contributes one dollar under that particular agency it generates $4.20.

[Coinage, September 22nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the unexpected but yet timely question relating to the $2 coin.

The member is quite right. Yesterday we unveiled the design of the new $2 coin which is a polar bear. Some of the young people have referred to it as "the bear". We hope to be able to work with the various small and medium size businesses to make the transition as smooth as possible.

The rationale for the decision was a result of the budget of the Minister of Finance. It clearly set out that by changing from the $2 note to the $2 coin we will save the taxpayers of Canada in excess of $250 million.