David Dingwall

[The Budget, February 19th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know that the Minister of Finance, not in this budget but in the last budget, provided to the provinces something which they had been asking for for quite some time, the stabilization of transfer payments.

The Minister of Finance clearly did that and for this fiscal year we will be providing both cash and tax points totalling $26.9 billion.

The hon. member should remember that as a result of this government's policies as they relate to interest rates they will save the provinces $1.8 billion. Equally so, under the auspices of equalization, the provinces will now receive $8.6 billion in this fiscal year. That is a hell of a lot of money for the purposes of health care and other social programs.

[The Budget, February 19th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised both at the tone and the substance of the hon. member's question, asking the Government of Canada not to provide moneys for citizens who reside in the province of Quebec who would be interested in participating in a national home care program or in a program for national pharmacare, thereby extending medicare.

I am rathersurprised that the hon. member would deny the citizens of the province of Quebec those kinds of economic opportunities.

[Questions On The Order Paper, February 12th, 1997]

The government remains committed to dealing with the serious problem of family violence. Health Canada's goal is to reduce the incidence of family violence. The department's approach includes both short and long-term elements: Health Canada will continue to operate the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, to offer training and education to frontline workers, to enhance the security of emergency shelters and to improve the legislative framework related to situations of family violence. At the same time, under the population health approach, Health Canada will focus on preventing family violence in the long term by expanding its understanding of the conditions that lead to violence or that increase the risks of violence and by acting on that knowledge.

[Questions On The Order Paper, February 12th, 1997]

The enforcement component of the strategy has been renewed. Health Canada will continue to provide leadership and undertake national co-ordination on substance abuse issues under the population health approach, working collaboratively with provincial agencies, non-governmental organizations, private sector, and multilateral organizations. Based on learnings and best practices developed during the second phase of Canada's drug strategy, Health Canada will focus its prevention efforts on the needs of youth, seniors and medication use, training needs of health professionals, transmission of HIV and overdose deaths among injection drug users, and impaired driving.

Recognizing the important contribution of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, Health Canada will provide a grant of $500K for fiscal year 1997-98. The centre will continue to play a key role in developing and disseminating substance abuse expertise in Canada.

Question No. 99-

[Krever Commission, February 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I am just a lawyer from rural Canada. I am not a spin doctor. In terms of the motives of various individuals, whether they be members of the public service or whether they be members of the third party, I am not aware of their motives. However, one can speculate as to what their motives are about.

[Krever Commission, February 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, once again the hon. member is being somewhat careless and reckless with the facts.

The evidence that has been provided to me as minister is that I have a fiduciary obligation as well as a legal obligation to comply with the provisions of the Access to Information Act.

I want to say to my colleague opposite that information was provided to me in a preliminary report on December 3, as I believe he made reference to yesterday, which is a standard procedure under the access to information provisions. Thereafter the department responds. It is concluded by the information commissioner making a final report, which I believe he did on January 21. Thereafter that report was made public immediately, forwarded to Justice Krever and thereafter forwarded to the solicitor general for the purposes of an RCMP investigation if they deem it appropriate.

[Tobacco Legislation, February 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues from across the country make a variety of representations, most of which are positive, to improve both the quality of the health of Canadians as well as the economic situation of the country.

I want to assure the hon. member that I take all viewpoints into consideration. I want to assure the hon. member we will adhere to the principles of Bill C-71.

[Tobacco Legislation, February 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately the hon. member was not available to attend our national caucus meeting yesterday. The endorsement that I and the government have received for its tobacco package was overwhelming from all regions of the country.

With regard to the specifics, the hon. member knows that her colleague has participated on the committee and various recommendations have been made. Those recommendations are under review.

[Tobacco, February 5th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the question. He is quite correct. A lot of misinformation is being put out concerning the contents of Bill C-71. The hon. member knows this information is inaccurate and the claims people are suggesting are absolutely false.

I wish the record to be clarified and I thank the hon. member for the question. Yes, retailers will be able to continue to hire persons under the age of 18 to sell tobacco products.

[Department Of Health, February 5th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the House should be aware that the accusations and the implications of the hon. member's questions have to be understood.

The incidents to which the hon. member refers occurred in 1989. The hon. member is trying to imply that somehow someone in this administration did something wrong.

The information commissioner has filed a report. We have accepted all of the recommendations of the information commissioner. Furthermore, we have forwarded a copy of that report to Justice Krever for his adjudication. In addition to that we have forwarded all of the information to Royal Canadian Mounted Police so they can examine it in its entirety.