CANADA VOLUME 134 S NUMBER 059 S 2nd SESSION S 35th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Tuesday, June 11, 1996 Speaker: The Honourable Gilbert Parent CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) OFFICIAL REPORT Pursuant to order made May 14, 1996, page 2773 of Hansard, the address of the President of the United Mexican States is appended to this issue. The House of Commons Debates are also available on the Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 3627 HOUSE OF COMMONS Tuesday, June 11, 1996 The House met at 2 p.m. The Bloc Quebecois acknowledges Mexico’s efforts to get out of its economic crisis, and we hope the Mexican people will be able to _______________ reap the benefit of those efforts as soon as possible. Prayers * * * _______________ [English] STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS AGRICULTURE Mr. Cliff Breitkreuz (Yellowhead, Ref.): Mr. Speaker: [English] Farmer David Sawatsky had just won his case, The court said: ‘‘Hey, wheat board, get out of his face’’, CFB GREENWOOD The feds used French law because they say we are bound, But Sawatsky stood strong and held his ground. Mr. John Murphy (Annapolis Valley—Hants, Lib.): Mr. But only forty-five minutes is the time that it took, Speaker, for the second year in a row an Aurora crew from CFB For the minister and his cronies to rewrite the book, Now back to court the grain farmer must go, Greenwood in my riding of Annapolis Valley—Hants has won the And fight for his rights to sell the seeds he had sown. Fincastle Trophy. Again he will try to beat these Goliaths of gaff, Give farmers freedom—get out of their path, At a recent competition in New Zealand our Canadian contingent This is the nineties and the Liberals should know, beat out crews from Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand in a That producers want change, so the monopoly must go. competition testing the surveillance skills of maritime patrol When will these old Grits give farmers a say, Just look to Alberta—they voted for yea. crews. ‘‘I promise a plebiscite’’, came from the aggie minister’s chops, As well, the Aurora crew won the Fellowship Trophy, awarded Another broken Liberal promise—maybe he should join Sheila Copps. for teamwork and professionalism, and the Maintenance Trophy * * * for professionalism and dedication to duty. I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of these Canadian NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT Armed Forces members. They are excellent ambassadors for our Mr. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the country. I believe their achievements are representative of the president of Mexico’s address to Parliament has given the Liberals teamwork, professionalism and dedication to excellence Canadian one more chance to sing the praise of the NAFTA, the free trade forces are known for both at home and abroad. agreement they were elected to oppose. * * * Canadians who were suspicious about the NAFTA during the last [Translation] election still ask who really benefits from the NAFTA. Ordinary Canadians? No, wages have not been falling fast enough for MEXICO investors so Canadian manufacturing jobs continue to move to low wage Mexico. Just ask the workers cast off at Kenworth in Mrs. Maud Debien (Laval East, BQ): Mr. Speaker, I would Montreal. like to draw attention to the visit to Canada of the President of Mexico, Mr. Ernesto Zedillo. I am delighted that Canada and Have ordinary Mexicans benefited? No, their standard of living Mexico enjoy such excellent relations. There has been a remark- was decimated after the peso crisis and, as reported today by the able increase in economic exchanges under NAFTA, notably those Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America, with Quebec. human rights abuses continue to plague the political system, and not just in Chiapas. The two governments need to take advantage of this meeting to reiterate their rejection of the American Helms-Burton bill, which New Democrats speak for those who want to build a North creates a dangerous precedent. What is more, Mexico and Canada American prosperity that is widely enjoyed by all the citizens of must continue to join battle against drug trafficking and to develop our countries, not only by the financial markets. At the very least effective economic, social and environmental policies to improve the Canadian government needs to press the Zedillo government to the standard of living of our populations. respect human rights. The NAFTA needs an enforceable code of 3628 COMMONS DEBATES June 11, 1996 S. O. 31 labour rights and enforceable environmental standards that would Whatever the final outcome on the issue of rail service, I assure hold up a basic standard of responsible corporate citizenship. our friends at Transport 2000 that our combined efforts in both Kitchener and Ottawa will ensure for the future a viable and effective rail service to the area. * * * * * * THE LATE STEVE NEARY PUBLIC SERVICE AWARDS Hon. Roger Simmons (Burin—St. George’s, Lib.): Mr. Speak- Mr. Rey D. Pagtakhan (Winnipeg North, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, it er, when former Liberal leader Steve Neary died in his sleep last was exciting to witness yesterday’s presentation by the President of Friday, Newfoundland lost a renowned native son, the poor and the the Treasury Board of 12 awards of excellence to federal em- downtrodden lost their most passionate champion, and I lost a close ployees for their ingenuity, courage and service beyond the call of friend. duty. Steve Neary gave a lifetime to public service. As a labour leader Lives were saved and missing children were reunited with their and then as a politician he quickly earned a deserved reputation as a parents. Financial savings were achieved, as well as international populist and a communicator. renown and market access, forensic application of DNA analysis, merging of human resource and business plans, and partnership to When I first went into politics Steve was one of my mentors. His preserve aboriginal heritage. straight talk, his uncanny ability to get right to the heart of an issue with lightning speed and his disdain for people who take them- Ms. Flora Beardy from the Department of Canadian Heritage, a selves too seriously made me an early convert to his brand of Manitoban, is one of the awardees. Her diligent documentation of politics. the aboriginal history at York Factory, Manitoba gives an aborigi- nal perspective to the largely European accounts of northern Manitoba history. Steve’s unblinking courage, his stubborn persistence, his unwa- vering loyalty and his non-stop love of life will be his legacy to us. D (1405) Steve, we miss you already. Ms. Beardy and the other awardees richly deserve the appreci- ation of the Canadian citizenry and the gratitude of the House. * * * * * * [Translation] VIA RAIL QUEBEC REFERENDUM ACT Mr. John English (Kitchener, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Kitchener repre- Mr. François Langlois (Bellechasse, BQ): Mr. Speaker, Que- sentatives of the local branch of Transport 2000, notably George bec’s directeur général des élections has laid formal charges Bechtel and Mary Pappert. against certain private corporations and members of the Liberal Party of Canada, for offences against the Quebec Referendum Act Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of accepting letters from on the occasion of the mammoth no rally last October 27. In them which express concern for the maintenance of VIA Rail English Canada, some Liberal MPs are expressing the opinion that service to Kitchener and the potential impact its privatization may freedom of expression is in jeopardy because of the charges laid by have in the area. Residents have long held the belief that its rail the DGE. service is essential to the life of our community. I would remind the House that the Quebec legislation does not prevent freedom of expression. On the contrary, in fact. The Clearly the local representatives have demonstrated an important present debate again raises the question of the justification of role for ensuring VIA service to the area. Indicative of this was a limiting third party expenditures during the time leading up to recent promise from Terry Ivany, president of VIA Rail, assuring elections, and their impact on the outcome on voting day. us of its continuation, which is excellent news for Kitchener. How would English Canada react to a Quebec citizen’s spending While the Government of Canada proceeds with downsizing and like there was no tomorrow in order to influence the results of a streamlining, I am extremely encouraged by the efforts of Kitchen- provincial election? Must it be pointed out that even the Canada er’s local branch of Transport 2000. Much of what has been Elections Act limits election expenses? This attack by English achieved thus far in retaining train service would not have been Canada against a Quebec law is just one more illustration of its possible without its help. double standard. June 11, 1996 COMMONS DEBATES 3629 S. O. 31 [English] [English] LIBERAL PARTY YOUTH Mr. Philip Mayfield (Cariboo—Chilcotin, Ref.): Mr. Speaker, Mr. Tony Valeri (Lincoln, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, on May 21, 1996 the Liberal government has often portrayed the Reform taxpayers I had the pleasure of hosting another workshop in my riding of budget as slash and burn policy, but this accusation only reflects Lincoln, this one focused on the challenges facing our youth. the government’s attempt to mislead Canadians. The issues of concern to today’s youth are the issues of concern The real facts of this matter are these. Hidden in the Canada to all Canadians, issues like effectively addressing the school to health and social transfer, the Liberals intend to chop billions in work transition, tackling real barriers to labour market entry and transfers to the provinces over the next four years: a $3.3 billion cut understanding the changing world of work.