Wednesday, April 16, 1997
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CANADA VOLUME 134 S NUMBER 157 S 2nd SESSION S 35th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Wednesday, April 16, 1997 Speaker: The Honourable Gilbert Parent CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) The House of Commons Debates are also available on the Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 9793 HOUSE OF COMMONS Wednesday, April 16, 1997 The House met at 2 p.m. At the signing of a Canada-Saskatchewan social housing agree- ment, the minister stated that having a single level of government _______________ in charge of administering social housing would maximize the use of taxpayers’ money by simplifying existing arrangements and Prayers encouraging the development of a single window concept. _______________ When will we see powers transferred to the provinces in areas like forestry, tourism and mining? After three and a half years, it is The Speaker: As is our practice on Wednesdays, we will now time this government recognized that the Bloc Quebecois was right sing O Canada. We will be led by the hon. member for Calgary about the need to eliminate overlap. North. * * * _____________________________________________ D (1405) STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS [English] HUMAN RIGHTS [English] Mr. Keith Martin (Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, Ref.): Mr. NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK Speaker, China is repeatedly jailing dissidents like Wei Jingsheng and student leader Wang Dan for speaking out on human rights. It Mr. George Proud (Hillsborough, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, this has violated its joint declaration agreement on Hong Kong and its week is National Volunteer Week and communities across the basic law by appointing its own legislative council, introducing country will pay tribute to their volunteers and the countless ways laws on subversion and rolling back Hong Kong’s bill of rights. in which they help individuals, organizations and causes. Our government’s response is not to support the UN declaration Volunteer week exemplifies the motivation and dedication of the condemning China for its human rights abuses, a complete flip- millions of people across Canada whose efforts improve the quality flop. China is a superpower but it can also be a great nation. China of life for us all. Volunteers are a crucial component of every and Canada need to realize that a stable business environment is community. conditional on human rights, democratic principles, freedoms and This year’s theme is ‘‘Volunteers, our greatest natural resource’’. the rule of law. To ignore this is to imperil not only people but I invite all members of Parliament to help make National Volunteer economic stability. The government must stop its continued silence Week a success in their constituency by donating a few minutes of of the lambs and must speak out for human rights. their time to a local organization or cause. In doing so, we are helping to ensure that volunteerism in Canada will continue to * * * survive into the 21st century. MILLER HIGH SCHOOL Congratulations and a huge thank you to all our volunteers. Mr. John Solomon (Regina—Lumsden, NDP): Mr. Speaker, * * * most young people are law-abiding citizens concerned about the safety of others and who deplore crime and violence in any form. I [Translation] have worked with many who excel and who are working within their communities to bring about changes for the better. SOCIAL HOUSING I want to congratulate one of these groups, the students of Miller Mr. Gilbert Fillion (Chicoutimi, BQ): Mr. Speaker, the minis- High School of Regina who came to Ottawa this week with a ter responsible for the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corpora- petition to improve the Young Offenders Act. They have shown tion just woke up and realized that federal and provincial overlap is initiative by preparing recommendations that would make the act nothing but a waste of time and money. more effective and workable for offenders and their victims. 9794 COMMONS DEBATES April 16, 1997 S. O. 31 In Regina crime is a serious concern. Most crimes of theft and Senior married couples want to know that the rules about combined break and enter are committed by repeat offenders who are already incomes will be applied the same way in both cases. subject to the provisions of the Young Offenders Act because of past offences. I call on the government to review this concern carefully and to ensure a fair and just application of the new rules as they apply to The Miller High School students recommend reducing the age in the income of all seniors. the Young Offenders Act to 16 years to correspond with the responsibilities youths take on when they obtain a driver’s licence. They also recommend mandatory restitution to victims. The stu- * * * dents suggest that young offenders work off their crimes with community improvement work. SALMON FISHERY These Miller High School students know it is time to get tough Mr. Ted McWhinney (Vancouver Quadra, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, on crime and hope the Liberals get serious about it too. I applaud the agreement on the management of salmon issues to be signed their initiative. today by the Prime Minister and the Premier of British Columbia vindicates former Prime Minister Lester Pearson’s concept of * * * co-operative federalism. Intergovernmental relations in a federal system should be based NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK not on confrontation and a rush to the law courts but on pragmatic Ms. Beth Phinney (Hamilton Mountain, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, as accommodation and administrative partnership. Today most major my colleague from Hillsborough said, this week is National issues transcend the problem-solving capacities of any one level of Volunteer Week, an opportunity to celebrate the tremendous con- government and require a melding of decision making, not a tributions of volunteers to our communities across Canada. fragmentation of power into watertight compartments of constitu- tional competence, federal or provincial. Millions of Canadians give freely of their time to support non-profit, voluntary and charitable organizations. Their generos- We all have everything to gain by this highly pragmatic, ity and participation builds and maintains the quality of life in our empirically based approach to the regulation and conservation of a towns and neighbourhoods. Every year Canadians contribute over great national resource on the west coast. $13 billion to charities and non-profit organizations. Approximate- ly 13 million people volunteer their time each year in Canada. In D (1410 ) my hometown of Hamilton, more than 100,000 volunteer their time and money every year. It is to be achieved not by the frustrating processes of formal amendment of the Constitution, but by consensus of the respective [Translation] heads of government, concretized in a legal agreement based on the constitutional principle of good faith and on mutual benefit. On behalf of all my colleagues in the House of Commons, I want to thank all the volunteers for giving us some of their time. * * * * * * [Translation] [English] NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK SENIORS BENEFIT Mr. Osvaldo Nunez (Bourassa, BQ): Mr. Speaker, April 13 to Mr. Pat O’Brien (London—Middlesex, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, as 19 is National Volunteer Week, which has been celebrated since the member of Parliament for London—Middlesex I have received 1943. considerable input from my constituents about the new seniors benefit which begins in 2001. I also had the recent opportunity to Eleven million Canadians and Quebecers generously devote meet with the London Council for Seniors to discuss this important their time, energy and talents to helping others. These volunteers new program. express their love and generosity through a wide range of actions. Based on the input I have received, the vast majority of my I am proud to represent the riding of Bourassa, where dozens of constituents who are seniors support the new seniors benefit. They community organizations are active. I want to praise the thousands understand that it is fairer and that 75 per cent of Canadian seniors of volunteers in my riding and everywhere, who generously work will receive the same or higher benefits. to enhance their fellow citizens’ quality of life. I would like to draw special attention to the work of the Centre d’action bénévole de One area of concern raised was a possible discrimination against Montréal-Nord, Fondation La Visite, Coup de pouce Jeunesse, married senior couples as compared to single seniors who cohabit. CAMÉE, Entre-Parents, Chez Frédéric and Ignace Bourget. April 16, 1997 COMMONS DEBATES 9795 S. O. 31 Finally, I encourage all Canadians and Quebecers to show even Malton will develop the space shuttle’s Canada Hand, thus greater support, generosity and dedication toward the most disad- creating at least 125 local jobs. vantaged members of our society. Everyone in the riding is pleased that our highly skilled local workforce has once again helped sustain and create local jobs. In * * * fact, an even larger impact on local companies is expected due to the manufacturing and marketing of commercial spin-offs resulting [English] from the Canada Hand robotic technology. PARKS CANADA I want to thank the Prime Minister for his ongoing efforts to create as many jobs as possible, despite the current tough economic Mr. Cliff Breitkreuz (Yellowhead, Ref.): Mr. Speaker, this climate. Though the government cannot be satisfied with the Liberal government has the power to improve the safety of current level of unemployment, its efforts to date are still com- Canadians. In criminal law the government chooses to do little or mendable. nothing to make our streets safer. But in Parks Canada the heavy Having said that, I want to point out that I plan to pursue hand of the government is shutting down the Jasper airstrip, for no additional job creation until everyone— good reason. The Speaker: I remind you gently, hon. colleagues, not to use The Jasper airstrip does not cost taxpayers’ money.