Wayne Easter

[Canadian Wheat Board Act, April 24th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the representative from the Reform Party tries to accuse me of not being a western farmer and I admit that. I am not a western farmer.

I have had tremendous experience out west with western farmers and I feel quite confident in terms of speaking about this great institution, the Canadian Wheat Board. I take issue with a couple of points the member for Vegreville mentioned. He alleged that there is not producer control and we are not giving farmers choice. We are, and that is what this legislation is all about. It is enabling legislation giving producers choice and giving the board more flexibility.

[Toonies For Canada, April 15th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday Mr. Tom Dykes and students from Notre Dame Secondary School in Burlington met with the Prime Minister to promote the Toonies for Canada campaign which focuses on the sale of a poster containing the lyrics of the bilingual song "Unity".

Copies of the poster have been distributed to 3,500 high schools across Canada encouraging councils to order and sell the posters. I am most pleased to support this national unity campaign initiative which in P.E.I. would raise funds for a Joe Ghiz memorial scholarship fund.

Given the commitment and dedication of our former premier to the unity of Canada, I can think of no greater tribute to his memory than the contributions of funds from this campaign to a scholarship fund in his name.

I congratulate and thank Mr. Tom Dykes and all the students in P.E.I. and across Canada for their contribution to national unity.

[Fisheries, March 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

The Fisheries Resource Conservation Council has recommended that the cod fishery on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and south of the coast of Newfoundland could be reopened in a minor way this year. Is the minister prepared to reopen these cod fisheries in a minor way?

[Pay Equity, March 10th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, over this past weekend, members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada had an extended stay at my constituency office in Hunter River over the issue of pay equity.

As a government, we have supported and continue to support the principle of pay equity. I understand that currently the issue is before the Human Rights Tribunal and, as such, the government cannot interfere. The dispute is not on the principle of pay equity but on the methodology of calculating the amount of pay equity.

Government believes that the PSAC request is too high, especially in light of the fact that other unions have already settled. I personally believe we must settle as soon as possible but in a way that is fair to the public as well.

I would therefore urge the minister responsible for Treasury Board, as soon as the tribunal reports, to act on this in a reasonable and fair fashion as quickly as possible.

[The Budget, February 20th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The member is giving false information by suggesting that ACOA is wasting money.

[Family Resource Centres, February 14th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, as we get closer to budget day I again call on the ministers involved to reconsider CAPC funding. The program is funded under the Minister of Health and funds family resource centres. It has proven to be very successful in terms of assisting families and individuals.

These family resource centres, seven of which are on Prince Edward Island, are a great success and are in great demand by many parents on Prince Edward Island. I believe they decrease dependency on government services and government personnel and set up a system where individuals support each other within a community of communities.

I call on the minister to reconsider funding.

[Canadian Broadcasting Company, February 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, as we approach budget day, I take this opportunity to express my support for strengthening the role of the CBC. Many of Prince Edward Island's citizens have expressed their concerns to me about the future of public broadcasting, both radio and television.

I recognize that the CBC has to share in meeting deficit targets. I believe it has done that and that no further cuts are necessary. In P.E.I. CBC is our mainstay for local news, including coverage of high profile events such as political conventions.

Ratings show that Islanders per capita watch local CBC news at a higher percentage than any other station in Canada. Morning radio programs focus the debate and provide critical analysis relevant to Islanders. On the cultural side, CBC has given aspiring local artists their start in the achievement of artistic careers.

The future of the CBC must be ensured.

[Justice, December 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I make this statement on behalf of my fellow island colleagues, four MPs.

A large group of islanders are concerned about a rash of criminal acts that has occurred on Prince Edward Island. The worst was the repeated sexual abuse of a three-year old girl in which the rapist suggested that she was actually the aggressor. We find that hard to believe. More to the point, a provincial judge sentenced this individual to only 15 months for this heinous crime.

In response to this, my colleagues and I have received a petition from the Citizens Against Sexual Abuse of Children signed by over 11,000 islanders.

These petitioners call on Parliament to review the penalties associated with such crimes. They feel penalties are far too lenient and should be increased to provide a deterrent to protect the most innocent in our society, our children. We also request the Minister of Justice to formally respond.

[Employment Insurance, November 7th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development.

Over the past few weeks the leader of the Conservative Party in Prince Edward Island has promised that if elected, he would out of the EI act obtain an interest free $75 million loan from the Government of Canada to establish a venture capital fund. In my view, this would be highly illegal under the act and Mr. Binns knows better.

Could the minister clarify specifically, can funds be taken from the employment insurance account and given to a provincial government for such a purpose?

[Program Cost Declaration Act, November 6th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, on October 30, I asked the President of the Treasury Board the following question:

Farmers are increasingly concerned about the multiple impact cost recovery is having on their ability to survive and prosper.

What economic impact analysis has been and will be done to monitor these impacts and is the minister prepared to redress any serious negative impacts should they result?

The President of the Treasury Board responded by indicating that each department is responsible for the cost recovery programs it administers and responsible for any impact analysis undertaken. He also indicated that the analysis would be undertaken in response to specific concerns raised by stakeholders in the industry.

The role of Treasury Board seems to be to monitor and apparently report on the overall impact of cost recovery programs. My concern is that the cumulative impact of various cost recovery programs which involve more than one department but impact on the individual producer is not being adequately responded to.

For example, an individual producer may not have a direct problem with cost recovery programs of Agriculture Canada, but may have a problem arising out of the impact of cost recovery programs from Health Canada, Transport Canada, et cetera.

It appears to me that an individual who has a problem with the cumulative impact of cost recovery does not have any one place to bring these concerns forward for redress. I would point out that producers have to be assured that they will not be burdened with new costs that will affect their competitiveness, especially now that we are part of the new global environment.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture has pointed out that the new Pest Management Review Agency will cost recover approximately 60 per cent of its costs while the counterpart agency in the United States has a cost recovery initiative of only 15 per cent. I understand the Minister of Health disputes some of those figures, is reviewing the matter and will come back to the issue.

In the Prince Edward Island Guardian on September 26 under the headline: ``Farmers fear fee hikes'', a very serious matter was raised by Ivan Noonan who is general manager of the P.E.I. Potato Board.

The article pointed out that fee schedules obtained by the Guardian show that the government expects the new fees to more than double the revenue it currently earns from a range of Agriculture Canada services, such as licensing and inspection. Ivan Noonan said: ``It is going to cause a lot more hardship for growers, that is certain. If growers cannot pick up the revenue through better prices or cutting costs per acre, then they will be out of business''.

We must assure producers that that cannot happen. Imagine the cost. Imagine the impact on the macro economy of Prince Edward Island if the multiple impact of cost recovery fees forced some producers out of business.

We cannot allow ourselves to be penny wise and pound foolish. My colleague, the member for Victoria-Haliburton, produced a letter at committee that was sent to him by the vice-president of Pickseed Canada.

In the letter the individual, Mr. Pick, said: "Agriculture and Agri-food Canada now has plans to increase our costs to export to certain countries by as much as four times in 1997. If full cost recovery is passed on, this could rise to as much as 10 times". He concludes by saying: "We simply cannot do business with these costs".

The government must be extremely careful not to allow cost recovery to push producers out of business.