VOLUME 133 NUMBER 009 1st SESSION 35th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Thursday, January 27, 1994 Speaker: The Honourable Gilbert Parent HOUSE OF COMMONS Thursday, January 27, 1994 The House met at 10 a.m. [English] _______________ The Speaker: Is it agreed that we have unanimous consent? Some hon. members: Agreed. Prayers The Speaker: The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is _______________ it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? Some hon. members: Agreed. ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS (Motion agreed to.) * * * [Translation] PETITIONS BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE SERIAL KILLER CARDS Mr. Peter Milliken (Parliamentary Secretary to the Lead- er of the Government in the House of Commons): Mr. Mr. Jim Jordan (Leeds—Grenville): Mr. Speaker, it is a Speaker, there having been discussions among the parties, I pleasure for me this morning to present a petition signed by think that the House will unanimously consent to the following residents of my riding of Leeds—Grenville; residents from motion: places such as North Augusta, Addison, and Spencerville. The petitioners are expressing their abhorrence at the crimes (1005) of violence which, as we all know, are on the increase in Canada. [English] These petitioners are asking for amendments to be made to our That the ordinary hour of daily adjournment be extended to 10 p.m. this day and laws to prohibit the importation and the distribution and sale of that, during the extended sitting, no quorum calls or dilatory motions shall be what is known as killer cards. received by the Chair; and The petitioners would like to have the manufacturers of these that if, on Friday, January 28, 1994, at the conclusion of the debate on the motion for an Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne, a division is demanded and killer cards informed that they will be stopped at the border and required, such division shall be deferred until 6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 1, 1994, destroyed. The manufacturers should be so informed before they notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 45(6). try to export these things into Canada. The Speaker: Does the parliamentary secretary have the CHILD CARE unanimous consent of the House to move the motion? Mr. Ronald J. Duhamel (St. Boniface): Mr. Speaker, I have Some hon. members: Agreed. one petition to present this morning. The petitioners point out [Translation] that single income families with special needs children should be eligible to claim child care expenses on their income tax. Mr. Gilles Duceppe (Laurier–Sainte–Marie): Mr. Speaker, They feel these families are discriminated against for their our party has indeed granted consent, and I would like to point decision to remain at home with their children. out that we may have created a precedent in holding the vote in They point out that there is often a significant cost incurred by the evening of Tuesday. I hope that we will have an opportunity families advised by physicians to place their children in day care to discuss, within the framework of parliamentary reform, the centres catering to special needs children and these costs remain issue of concentrating votes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and the same whether the family has a single or double income. Thursdays so as to allow hon. members of this House the opportunity to work in their respective ridings on Mondays and The petitioners believe this policy is unfair and discriminato- Fridays, which would make it a whole lot easier for all of them to ry. They ask that it be reviewed and if possible that something be do their job. done in the forthcoming budget. 451 COMMONS DEBATES January 27, 1994 The Address GOVERNMENT ORDERS Second, the management of programs that protect official languages, that promote the status of women and amateur sport, and that enhance our society’s culture in other ways. (1010) Third, the management of cultural development in Canada, [Translation] and of means of communication which are of the utmost importance, not only in ensuring that we remain independent, SPEECH FROM THE THRONE but also as potent tools for economic development. RESUMPTION OF DEBATE ON ADDRESS IN REPLY I would like to describe each of these three structures in greater detail. Our heritage appears at first glance to be a collection of historic sites, composed of 36 national parks, 750 The House resumed from January 24 consideration of the historic sites and nine canals, located in all parts of the country. motion for an address to His Excellency the Governor General in This sector is of enormous economic importance as it generates reply to his Speech at the opening of the session. annual revenues of more than a billion dollars and provides jobs for around 30,000 people. Hon. Michel Dupuy (Minister of Canadian Heritage): Mr. Speaker, the Throne Speech contains a paragraph that is devoted to culture, heritage and the Canadian identity. The paragraph This sector lies at the very heart of our tourism industry and it states that the Government will announce measures to promote is the envy of the international community, as we are at the these essential national values. forefront of what is known as ‘‘eco–tourism’’. One single statistic illustrates the popularity of these sites among tourists: One might wonder how such a short paragraph can respond to in 1992, some 27 million people visited Canada’s national parks the challenges facing a department that is as wide–ranging as the and sites. one I am honoured to head. So a few words of explanation seem to be appropriate at the beginning of this parliamentary session. (1015) Straight away, the very name of the Department of Canadian Heritage poses a problem. What do we mean by ‘‘Canadian They are, of course, associated in our collective psyche with heritage’’? How can we justify grouping together in a single the beauty of our country. But they are also benefitting from the department elements as diverse as communications, the status growing emphasis that western societies are placing on environ- of women, cultural industries, official and heritage languages, mental quality. I feel, therefore, that they must follow the multiculturalism, national parks and sites, State protocol and principles set out in the Canadian Environmental Assessment amateur sport? Act. If we take the term ‘‘heritage’’ in its widest sense as meaning [English] all of the combined property that enables each of us to see ourselves as an individual who belongs to a group or country, we Choices will have to be made and all parties, including the can see that the department’s name is fitting. federal, provincial, municipal and territorial governments, will have to work together to make these choices. For instance, we [English] want to make progress toward our goal of establishing land and marine base parks in all our distinct ecological zones. We also Today we can no longer restrict the meaning of heritage to the want to increase the number of historic sites which must serve as legacy of the past. Far more than a simple collection of traces witness to all facets of our history. left by history, the country’s heritage is first and foremost the manifestation of the connection among members of a communi- In this respect I will encourage the unveiling of new areas of ty and of its distinctiveness inside the global environment. Thus our collective history such as those related to women and native it is closely associated with the question of a country’s identity. people, but we are facing as well severe financial constraints. In this perspective the seemingly vast range of activities [Translation] supervised by the Department of Canadian Heritage is justified. [Translation] Some degree of self–financing might well open up some interesting avenues, but we must avoid the indirect conse- I can see three broad structures that will lead us to the same quences of over–commercialization. My role in this will be to goal. First, the management of our natural and physical heri- safeguard the ecological and commemorative integrity of this tage: our national parks, our historic monuments, and our important component of our heritage, as well as to make heritage canals. judicious decisions about its development. 452 January 27, 1994 COMMONS DEBATES The Address [English] the House will join me in wishing them all the success in the world. I wish to share a few thoughts regarding the benefits that lie with a diverse society such as ours. I might add that, in my opinion, the preservation and the promotion of our official languages does not turn Canada into a The history of our country is closely linked with successive tower of Babel. Let us keep the individual freedom to use the waves of immigrants and the interaction between newcomers language of our choice, but recognize that the English and the and the existing society. How immigrants adapt to the Canadian French languages give us access to two of the greatest sources of way of life will always be a major factor in the development of world culture. They are part of our national heritage that the the Canadian identity. government must maintain and develop. The challenge is how to integrate diverse cultures with our Allow me finally to express a few thoughts on cultural policy. existing cultures without melting them down into a single Culture is neither an abstraction nor a decoration. It is above all mould, thereby assimilating them out of existence. We must a viewpoint on the world and a manifestation of our civilization. promote the development of a wholly Canadian identity as a There can be no identity without culture and this is recognized in rallying point for diverse cultures in support of a blueprint for a the Liberal Party’s plan of action: ‘‘Culture is at the very core of society based on consensus and continuity with our history.