50 Elizabeth II, A.D. 2001, Canada

Journals of the Senate

1st Session, 37th Parliament

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Issue 17

Tuesday, March 20, 2001
2:00 p.m.

The Honourable Daniel Hays, Speaker

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The Members convened were:

The Honourable Senators

Andreychuk, Austin, Bacon, Banks, Beaudoin, Bolduc, Bryden, Buchanan, Callbeck, Carstairs, Chalifoux, Christensen, Cochrane, Cohen, Comeau, Cook, Cools, Corbin, Cordy, De Bané, DeWare, Di Nino, Doody, Eyton, Fairbairn, Finestone, Finnerty, Fitzpatrick, Forrestall, Fraser, Furey, Gauthier, Gill, Grafstein, Graham, Gustafson, Hays, Hervieux-Payette, Hubley, Johnson, Joyal, Kelleher, Kenny, Keon, Kinsella, Kirby, Kolber, Kroft, Lawson, LeBreton, Losier-Cool, Lynch-Staunton, Maheu, Mahovlich, Mercier, Milne, Moore, Morin, Murray, Nolin, Oliver, Pearson, Pépin, Poulin (Charette), Poy, Prud'homme, Rivest, Robichaud, Roche, Rompkey, Rossiter, Setlakwe, Simard, Sparrow, Spivak, St. Germain, Stollery, Stratton, Taylor, Tkachuk, Tunney, Watt, Wiebe

The Members in attendance to business were:

The Honourable Senators

*Adams, Andreychuk, Austin, Bacon, Banks, Beaudoin, Bolduc, Bryden, Buchanan, Callbeck, Carstairs, Chalifoux, Christensen, Cochrane, Cohen, Comeau, Cook, Cools, Corbin, Cordy, De Bané, DeWare, Di Nino, Doody, Eyton, Fairbairn, Finestone, Finnerty, Fitzpatrick, Forrestall, Fraser, Furey, Gauthier, Gill, Grafstein, Graham, Gustafson, Hays, Hervieux-Payette, Hubley, Johnson, Joyal, Kelleher, Kenny, Keon, Kinsella, Kirby, Kolber, Kroft, Lawson, LeBreton, Losier-Cool, Lynch-Staunton, Maheu, Mahovlich, Mercier, Milne, Moore, Morin, Murray, Nolin, Oliver, Pearson, Pépin, Poulin (Charette), Poy, Prud'homme, Rivest, Robichaud, Roche, Rompkey, Rossiter, Setlakwe, Simard, Sparrow, Spivak, St. Germain, Stollery, Stratton, Taylor, Tkachuk, Tunney, Watt, Wiebe, *Wilson

PRAYERS

 

SENATORS' STATEMENTS

Some Honourable Senators made statements.

 

DAILY ROUTINE OF BUSINESS

Government Notices of Motions

With leave of the Senate,

The Honourable Senator Robichaud, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Rompkey, P.C.:

That when the Senate adjourns today, it do stand adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, March 21, 2001, at 1:30 p.m.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

 

ORDERS OF THE DAY

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS

Motions

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Cordy, seconded by the Honourable Senator Setlakwe:

That the following Address be presented to Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada:

To Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY:

We, Her Majesty's most loyal and dutiful subjects, the Senate of Canada in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Excellency for the gracious Speech which Your Excellency has addressed to both Houses of Parliament,

And on the motion in amendment of the Honourable Senator Kinsella, seconded by the Honourable Senator Rossiter, that the following be added to the Address:

We respectfully affirm to Your Excellency that the Speech from the Throne would have captured the imagination of the people of Canada if it contained the following words:

"Canadians are the finest people in the world community today. Our common citizenship speaks to many ways of being Canadian and affords us unique opportunities to be leaders for freedom and dignity for every person with who we share planet earth in the 21st Century.

My government recognizes that we are blessed with an incomparable landscape, natural and human resources, and an historical foundation of freedom, peace and civility. Canada has always been a place where people, seeking opportunity, fairness and security, can build a future.

Despite these enduring strengths, many Canadians feel they no longer share in the Canadian dream. The world is changing rapidly around us, but we face an uncertain and challenging future without a plan. There is a growing sense we have lost our direction.

We need to restore a "common purpose" to this country - to recapture the sense that we are acting together in the interests of the whole community, and to encourage those acts of will that have defined Canada and moved it forward at critical times in our past.

My government's blueprint for this country's future is a plan to strengthen Canada's communities, build a vibrant economy, and govern with integrity.

Strengthening Canada's communities

Canadians feel that the fabric of Canada's communities and institutions has been weakened in recent years.

Canadians' faith in their healthcare system has been shaken. Healthcare cuts have closed thousands of hospital beds, jammed emergency rooms and created unacceptable waiting lists for critical services and treatments.

Cuts to post-secondary education funding have resulted in higher college and university tuition fees, and intolerable debt loads for students. Access to higher education is being lost in Canada, even as the knowledge economy raises the premium on higher qualifications.

At a time when Canadians do not feel safe in their communities, the RCMP has been starved for resources. Meanwhile, the gun registration program is costing Canadians hundreds of millions of dollars, while treating law-abiding gun owners as if they were criminals.

Canadians want to see their common values reflected in Canada's social programs: self-reliance and personal responsibility balanced by compassion, investments in a healthy and well-educated populace, safe communities and fiscal responsibility.

Canadians want their national government to provide leadership in protecting the environment.

My government's Plan for Canada addresses all these issues to build a stronger Canada through stronger communities.

My government will:

- Immediately restore the cash portion of the Canada Health and Social Transfer to at least 1993-94 levels. This would restore completely the health and post-secondary education dollars cut from transfers to provinces.

- Add a sixth principle to medicare - guaranteed stable and predictable long-term healthcare funding - through legislation. Never again will a government be able to scoop billions of dollars out of health care.

- Increase and make refundable the caregiver credit, in consultation with groups representing seniors and Canada's disability community.

- Change the repayment terms for Canada Student Loans to provide that loans are repaid as a percentage of net after tax income starting the first full working year after graduation.

- Introduce a tax credit for post-secondary students repaying Canada Student Loans to a maximum of 10 per cent of the loan principal, per year, for the first 10 years after graduation, provided they remain employed in Canada.

- End the taxation of scholarships awarded to students in colleges and universities.

- Provide the RCMP with stable funding, and with an explicit priority to defeat organized crime, particularly money laundering, human and contraband smuggling, fraud and computer crime.

- Replace the federal Young Offenders Act with new legislation that reflects the principles of protection of the public, deterrence and denunciation balanced with rehabilitation, and the greater use of restorative justice.

- Repeal the current long gun registration system and uphold and enforce provisions that control criminal and unsafe use of firearms.

- Make the health of Canada's children an explicit priority of environmental legislation by introducing a Safe Water Act and a Safe Air Act.

Building a stronger economy

The average Canadian today loses about 47 per cent of his or her income to taxes. High taxes have eroded the standard of living of Canadian families. They have made our businesses less competitive. And they are driving young professionals and entrepreneurs to seek their futures in other countries.

Canadians know that today's balanced budget and growing economy were only achieved through their sacrifice and hard work. They want to share in Canada's prosperity, but they want tax reductions to be fair and benefit all Canadians.

Canadians also know that success in today's world requires that we be competitive with our trading partners, that the new economy demands we reward investment, innovation and creativity.

Canadians want the burden of the national debt - now totalling $560 billion - lifted from the shoulders of their children.

And Canadians want strategic investments targeted towards their priorities.

My government will:

- Cut taxes for all Canadians by raising the basic personal exemption from the current level of $7,231 to $12,000 by 2005. This tax cut will remove 2.3 million low income Canadians - those least able to pay taxes - from the tax rolls. It will also deliver across-the-board tax relief of up to $1,100 (federal/provincial) to the average taxpayer.

- Increase the married and equivalent spouse amount to $12,000 by 2005. When this change is fully implemented, a single earner family would not pay income tax until their income reached $24,000 per year.

- Introduce a child tax amount of $1,176 to assist Canadian families. This will create a tax cut for families with children of $200 per child.

- Eliminate the personal capital gains tax immediately. This will free venture capital, reward personal initiative and help reverse the brain drain by encouraging entrepreneurs to build their future in Canada.

- Cut excise taxes on gasoline, diesel fuel and home heating fuels to help ease the burden of rising energy costs.

- Eliminate the national debt - the mortgage on our children's future - within 25 years, and pay down the principal on the debt by $25 billion over the next five years.

- Implement an annual "Red Tape Budget" detailing the estimated total of each new proposed government regulation, including the enforcement costs to the government and the compliance costs to individual citizens and businesses.

- Actively expand global trading partnerships with other nations, while promoting human rights and the environment, and protecting our culture.

- Establish the Federal Agriculture Stabilization Transfer (FAST), a comprehensive national safety net program, to include a revenue/income stabilization component and a reliable disaster relief fund.

- Work with the international community to protect trans-boundary fisheries from unsustainable harvesting practices on our east and west coasts.

Governing with integrity

A strong democracy is essential to everything we want to do as a country.

What makes democratic government work or fail is the public's willingness to accept or support decisions made on their behalf. Just as we need wealth to prosper, we need trust to govern. That trust has been missing in Ottawa.

Intolerance of legitimate dissent has dramatically weakened the role of Members of Parliament. We cannot continue to inspire our most able citizens to stand for public office if they are shut out of involvement and influence after they are elected.

My government would restore integrity to the governing of Canada by increasing the democratic accountability of government to Parliament.

The government will:

- Strengthen the role of MPs by allowing more free votes in the House of Commons. MPs must be able to represent the views of those who elected them.

- Empower Parliament to scrutinize the spending practices of federal departments without a time limit.

- Introduce comprehensive "whistle-blower" legislation.

- Increase annual defence spending over the next five years to support adequate strength levels, improve the quality of life of Armed Forces personnel and support the procurement of new equipment.

A balanced and prudent plan

My government's plan for Canada is a balanced and prudent blueprint to restore purpose and direction to Canada, to point us towards a successful future in a changing world.

The numbers add up for Canada. In my government's five-year plan:

- We've placed the greatest emphasis - over $55 billion - on reducing taxes to leave more money in the hands of Canadians. It's their money, and we want to leave it up to them to save, spend or invest as they see fit.

- Our mandatory debt repayment plan will eliminate the debt mortgage on our children's future within 25 years. Over the coming five years, our plan will reduce the federal debt by $25 billion. As part of this plan, we will reallocate 1.3 per cent of the current annual program budget to reducing the debt.

- We have identified targeted new investments in programs totalling $7.4 billion.

Members of the House of Commons:

You will be asked to appropriate the funds required to carry out the services and expenditures authorized by Parliament.

Honourable Members of the Senate and the House of Commons:

May Divine Providence guide you in your deliberations.".

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Robichaud, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Callbeck, that further debate on the motion in amendment be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

 

OTHER BUSINESS

Senate Public Bills

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Kirby, seconded by the Honourable Senator Mahovlich, for the second reading of Bill S-19, An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Kinsella for the Honourable Senator Forrestall moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator DeWare, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Finestone, P.C., seconded by the Honourable Senator Rompkey, P.C., for the second reading of Bill S-21, An Act to guarantee the human right to privacy.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Robichaud, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Mercier, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Second reading of Bill S-20, An Act to provide for increased transparency and objectivity in the selection of suitable individuals to be named to certain high public positions.

The Honourable Senator Stratton moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Cohen, that the Bill be read the second time.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Banks moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Wiebe, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

Orders No. 4 to 8 were called and postponed until the next sitting.

 

Other

Orders No. 15, 8, 6, 7 (inquiries) and 3 (motion) were called and postponed until the next sitting.

 

INQUIRIES

The Honourable Senator Moore called the attention of the Senate to the emerging issue of deferred maintenance costs in Canada's post-secondary institutions.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator DeWare moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Stratton, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

 

MOTIONS

The Honourable Senator Tkachuk for the Honourable Senator Kolber moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Cohen:

That the papers and evidence received and taken by the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce during its study of Bill S-19, An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act and the Canada Cooperatives Act and to amend other Acts in consequence, in the Second Session of the Thirty-sixth Parliament be referred to the Committee for its present study of Bill S-11, An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act and the Canada Cooperatives Act and to amend other Acts in consequence.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

The Honourable Senator Tkachuk for the Honourable Senator Kolber moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Cohen:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce be authorized to permit coverage by electronic media of its public proceedings with the least possible disruption of its hearings.

After debate,

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

The Honourable Senator Tkachuk for the Honourable Senator Kolber moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Cohen:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce have power to engage services of such counsel and technical, clerical, and other personnel as may be necessary for the purpose of its examination and consideration of such bills, subject-matters of bills and estimates as referred to it.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

The Honourable Senator Tkachuk for the Honourable Senator Kolber moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Cohen:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce be authorized to examine and report upon the present state of the domestic and international financial system;

That the papers and evidence received and taken on the subject during the First and Second Sessions of the Thirty-sixth Parliament and any other relevant Parliamentary papers and evidence on the said subject be referred to the Committee;

That the Committee be empowered to permit coverage by electronic media of its public proceedings with the least possible disruption of its hearings;

That, notwithstanding usual practices, the Committee be permitted to deposit an interim report on the said subject with the Clerk of the Senate, if the Senate is not sitting, and that the said report shall thereupon be deemed to have been tabled in the Chamber; and

That the Committee submit its final report no later than March 31, 2002.

After debate,

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

The Honourable Senator Chalifoux moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Milne:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples be empowered to permit coverage by electronic media of its public proceedings with the least possible disruption of its hearings.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

The Honourable Senator Chalifoux moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Milne:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples have power to engage the services of such counsel and technical, clerical, and other personnel as may be necessary for the purpose of its examination and consideration of such bills, subject-matters of bills and estimates as are referred to it.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

The Honourable Senator St. Germain, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Lawson:

That the matter of officially recognizing a third party, within the procedures of the Senate, be referred to the Standing Committee on Privileges, Standing Rules and Orders for consideration and report.

After debate,

The Honourable Senator Robichaud, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Rompkey, P.C., that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

The Honourable Senator Wiebe moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Banks:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry be authorized to examine international trade in agricultural and agri-food products, and short-term and long-term measures for the health of the agricultural and the agri-food industry in all regions of Canada;

That the papers and evidence received and taken on the subject and the work accomplished by the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry during the Thirty-sixth Parliament be referred to the Committee; and

That the Committee submit its report no later than June 30, 2002.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

The Honourable Senator Wiebe moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Banks:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry be authorized to receive, examine and report on the papers and evidence received and the work accomplished by the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry during its consideration of the present and future state of forestry during the Second Session of the Thirty-sixth Parliament; and

That the Committee submit its report no later than June 30, 2001.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

 

REPORTS DEPOSITED WITH THE CLERK OF THE SENATE PURSUANT TO RULE 28(2):

Report on Exemptions Issued to Masters, Mates and Engineers for the year 2000, pursuant to the Canada Shipping Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. S-9, sbs. 132(2).-Sessional Paper No. 1/37-128.

 

ADJOURNMENT

The Honourable Senator Robichaud, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Pépin:

That the Senate do now adjourn.

The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.

(Accordingly, at 4:40 p.m. the Senate was continued until 1:30 p.m. tomorrow)

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Changes in Membership of Committees Pursuant to Rule 85(4)

Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry

The name of the Honourable Senator Hubley substituted for that of the Honourable Senator Fitzpatrick (March 15).

The name of the Honourable Senator Milne removed from the membership (March 16).

Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce

The name of the Honourable Senator Hervieux-Payette substituted for that of the Honourable Senator Finestone (March 15).

Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology

The name of the Honourable Senator Pépin substituted for that of the Honourable Senator Morin (March 15).

The name of the Honourable Senator Morin substituted for that of the Honourable Senator Pépin (March 16).

Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications

The name of the Honourable Senator Mahovlich substituted for that of the Honourable Senator Setlakwe (March 15).

The names of the Honourable Senators Setlakwe and Spivak substituted for those of the Honourable Senators Mahovlich and Johnson (March 16).

The name of the Honourable Senator Morin added to the membership (March 19).

Special Committee of the Senate on Illegal Drugs

The name of the Honourable Senator Maheu added to the membership (March 16).

Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries

The name of the Honourable Senator Graham substituted for that of the Honourable Senator Mahovlich (March 16).

The name of the Honourable Senator Milne substituted for that of the Honourable Senator Adams (March 19).

Standing Senate Committee on National Finance

The name of the Honourable Senator Taylor substituted for that of the Honourable Senator Ferretti Barth (March 20).

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