Jean Chrétien

[Iraq, November 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, respect for the no-fly zone in Iraq is a policy that was established a long time ago, about 10 years ago at the end of the war. From time to time there have been some interventions by American airplanes and British airplanes.

With regard to the question of the unanimous resolution of the Security Council, we are very happy with that. We hope that Mr. Saddam Hussein will respect the will of the international community and will destroy any armaments of mass destruction immediately so there will be no need for the international community--

[Municipalities, November 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have to smile, because a few years ago, during the Quebec referendum, this member was saying that Quebec had to leave Canada because the country was being mismanaged, was in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy. Today he is criticizing the federal government for having managed things too well and for having a surplus because here in Ottawa we are doing things right.

[Municipalities, November 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the government has jurisdiction over areas that would allow us to help municipalities. Take social housing. Last week, this very same member was calling on the federal government to invest more money in this area. There are areas where we can, and do, help.

When it comes to all of the infrastructure programs, the municipalities are very happy that we have gotten involved since 1994. They continue to ask us for more and we are answering their requests. When it comes to infrastructure, the programs are funded by three levels of government: municipal, provincial and federal.

[Municipalities, November 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, on this issue, we have always respected the jurisdictions of the provinces. We intend to continue to do so. I have always made that clear.

However, there is room in the federal administration for better coordination and better implementation of our programs to ensure that they are as efficient as possible so that the quality of life in all municipalities in Canada can be first rate.

[Municipalities, November 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, we have had a study committee which has done very good work, and I want to thank all members who contributed to it.

We have programs for municipalities in many areas into which we have injected new funds. Also, new ideas have been put forward by the members of this committee. We are going to look at them and retain those that are worthwhile.

It is very important to this government to make sure that the quality of life in our municipalities is decent throughout the country.

[Kyoto Protocol, November 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the members of the opposition want to delay and delay. They should be frank and simply say, “We are opposed to your Kyoto” . We on this side of the House are for Kyoto and we will implement it. We will vote before the end of the year and we will ratify it too.

[Kyoto Protocol, November 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, this is an international obligation that we have been discussing with the international community since 1992. From Rio we went to Kyoto, and we made some obligations there.

Since that time we said we would ratify, and there is no obligation to pass legislation before ratification. We have 10 years to implement the obligation that we take in front of the international community.

[Kyoto Protocol, November 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member gets his information. The government made a commitment to the international community to fulfill its obligations regarding Kyoto by the year 2012, and this is 2002. A vote will take place in the House of Commons. We could even have ratified the protocol without a vote in the House. However, we had the courtesy of asking for a vote here and we will ratify the protocol.

This is the reality. This is the prerogative of the executive branch. We did it and we will vote before the end of the year, as we said in the Speech from the Throne.

[Government Contracts, November 6th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I want to say that he cannot make an accusation that the minister does not want to defend himself in the House. He should know the rules of the House. It is the minister who is responsible for his department and in this case the minister responsible for the contract is the Minister of Public Works. If he wants to be in order he will have to follow the rules of the House of Commons.

[Citizenship and Immigration, November 6th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat in French what I said in English. If the hon. member had listened, he could have asked a different question, but I congratulate him on his progress in speaking French. I rose to congratulate him.

One thing is clear. The Canadian passport belongs to Canadian citizens. The Parliament of Canada passed a law to the effect that if a person is not a Canadian citizen, then that person is not entitled to a Canadian passport.

If the hon. member wants to propose a change to Canadian legislation to grant a passport to a person who comes to Canada for a few weeks, perhaps we can look at it, but at this point we are simply complying with the law, in English and in French.