CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 139 Ï NUMBER 034 Ï 3rd SESSION Ï 37th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Thursday, April 1, 2004 Speaker: The Honourable Peter Milliken CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) All parliamentary publications are available on the ``Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire´´ at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 1941 HOUSE OF COMMONS Thursday, April 1, 2004 The House met at 10 a.m. HEALTH Ms. Bonnie Brown (Oakville, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I have the Prayers honour this morning to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Health entitled “Opening the Medicine Cabinet First Report on Health Aspects of Prescription ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS Drugs”. Ï (1000) Pursuant to Standing Order 109 the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report. [English] PUBLIC ACCOUNTS INTERPARLIAMENTARY DELEGATIONS Hon. Roger Gallaway (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader Mr. John Williams (St. Albert, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I have the of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, honour today to present the third report of the Standing Committee pursuant to Standing Order 34, I have the honour to present to the on Public Accounts respecting the peer review report on the value House a report from the Canadian branch of the Commonwealth for money practices of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. Parliamentary Association concerning the 53rd parliamentary seminar held in London, England from March 2 to 13, 2004. Speaking to the report, on March 11, 2004, the Auditor General of Canada, Mrs. Sheila Fraser, together with assistant auditor general, Ï (1005) Mr. David Rattray, appeared before the Standing Committee on Mr. Bryon Wilfert (Oak Ridges, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Public Accounts to present the results of the February 2004 peer Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in review of the Office of the Auditor General and to table a copy of the both official languages, the report of the Canada-Japan interparlia- review and the Auditor General's management action plan. mentary group following the inaugural general meeting of interparliamentarians for social services held in Seoul, Korea in In February 2003 the Auditor General asked the members of the August 2003; the 12th annual meeting of the Asia Pacific international audit community if they would be interested in parliamentary forum held in Beijing, China from January 12 to 14, participating in a review of the office's value for money audit 2004; and the co-chair's annual visit to Japan held in Tokyo, Japan practices The purpose of the review was to assess the extent to which from March 1 to 6. this practice was designed to reflect recognized standards of professional VFM audit practices and whether it was operating *** effectively to meet the office's goal of producing independent, COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE objective and supportable information that Parliament could rely on to examine the government's performance and to hold it to account. AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD The peer review was formed in early 2003 to include members of Mr. Paul Steckle (Huron—Bruce, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I have the the international audit community from the United Kingdom, honour to present today, in both official languages, the second report Norway, the Netherlands and France. The general accounting office on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food entitled of the United States participated as an observer. The peer review was “Canadian Livestock and Beef Pricing in the Aftermath of the BSE conducted between June and November 2003 and was completed in Crisis”. February 2004. As all of us here know that the issue of May 19 last year created a crisis which we have never seen before in this country. The Mrs. Fraser was pleased to announce to the committee that the committee has spent a great deal of time in looking into the issue and results of the peer review were very positive. The report concluded investigating it. that the office's VFM audit practice was suitably designed and operating effectively to achieve the office's value for money I thank all committee members on all sides of the House for their objectives. The peer review also identified a number of good diligence in attending meetings and making it possible for us to practices in the office of the VFM process and quality management present this report here this morning. framework. 1942 COMMONS DEBATES April 1, 2004 Routine Proceedings The peer review report also identified a number of opportunities This is a common sense proposal, which I have discussed with for improvement in some of the office's value for money policies and members of each of the other parties in the House. I have consulted practices, and suggested some possible areas of solution which the with the critics of each of the parties and they are in support of the office should take into account to improve its VFM products. motion. I have also consulted with the House leaders. I think you would find, Mr. Speaker, if you were to ask, that there would be Mrs. Fraser told the committee that her office would respond to unanimous consent for the bill to be deemed read a second time and these issues and table the office's management action plan for forwarded to the committee for consideration. addressing the suggestions made by the peer review report. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) The Speaker: The hon. member for St. Albert is aware of the The Speaker: Is there unanimous consent to proceed with second rules. I do not know if he is reading the report or what, but he is reading at this time? supposed to give a very succinct explanation of the report, which is what the rules require, not the whole thing. I hope this is going to Some hon. members: Agreed. end very quickly because he has had quite a lot of liberty from the Chair on the matter already. An hon. member: No. Mr. John Williams: Mr. Speaker, I thank you for your indulgence *** but the Office of the Auditor General, as you know, is our servant DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT ACT and our officer and this is the first time that this kind of report has ever been done. This is a summary of the full document that I am Mr. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, CPC) moved tabling with this report. I have about three more paragraphs, Mr. for leave to introduce Bill C-512, an act to provide fixed dates for the Speaker, with your indulgence. election of members to the House of Commons and to amend the Constitution Act, 1867. Both the peer review report and the management action plan are available at the office's website. Mrs. Fraser believed that it may be He said: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to move first reading of this possible for the public accounts committee to table the report in the bill which would provide for fixed election dates for members of the House of Commons, which of course I am doing. House of Commons. The bill would effectively remove from a prime minister the right to call an election whenever and however he or she Mrs. Fraser suggested that if the committee members wished to wanted. Instead, it would substitute a fixed date of every four years. have the opportunity to examine the results, that it could be combined with the hearing, which we have done. The bill obviously could not come at a more opportune time, with election speculation rife and the Prime Minister polling overnight I am pleased to table this report on behalf of the Office of the and deciding at his personal whim whether and when Canadians Auditor General and on behalf of the public accounts committee. I have a right to exercise their most critical democratic rights. commend the Auditor General for the fine work that she does on It is not the way it should be. Elections should be held based on behalf of this House and, indeed, all Canadians. the interest of the Canadian people, not on the whims of a prime *** minister. Ï (1010) The current power of the Prime Minister stands at the heart of the democratic deficit. It has been criticized by Mr. Kent, the stalwart RAILWAY SAFETY ACT Liberal, and changed by a Liberal government in B.C. Mr. Brian Pallister (Portage—Lisgar, CPC) moved for leave to introduce Bill C-511, an act to amend the Railway Safety Act Passage of the bill would fix this problem and go a long way to (visibility of railway equipment). fixing the democratic deficit. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) He said: Mr. Speaker, it gives me pleasure to present my private member's bill today, though it is as a result of a tragedy in my riding *** that I do so. Ï (1015) Last November a car, in which a young man was a passenger, PETITIONS collided with the side of a freight train that was not equipped with HEALTH proper retro reflective equipment and therefore was not visible to the driver of the car. As a result of that accident, I learned that less than Mr. Janko Perić (Cambridge, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, pursuant to one in five Canadian rail cars is so equipped. Standing Order 36 it is my privilege to present to the House a petition signed by 260 concerned constituents of mine in my riding Every working day in Canada there is a collision between a car of Cambridge.