Oh, oh!

Mr. Hees:

You really must make your questions a little shorter.

Mr. Drury:

Mr. Speaker, I regret that illumination seems to distress the opposition. I am grateful to the hon. member for drawing the attention of the House to the fact that under the agreement with the province of Quebec the services offered by the minister of transport of Quebec do not seem to be provided. I will inquire into the matter. The fact that the control services are not operating does not mean that there will not be a new bridge, but we are continuing to proceed with negotiations with Ontario and Quebec in regard to financing of the new structure.

Mr. Francis Fox (Argenteuil-Deux-Montagnes):

Mr. Speaker, I also have a supplementary for the Minister of State for Science and Technology and Minister of Public Works.

Oral Questions

In view of the slowness of negotiations and the small priority the riparian provinces seem to give to the solution of that serious problem, particularly to the urgent need for a new bridge for the security of those using it and for the economic life of the region, can the minister inform the House whether he intends to take the necessary measures to guarantee the population that the bridge will certainly be constructed in the near future?

Hon. C. M. Drury (Minister of Public Works):

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. member that we will redouble our efforts to get the cooperation of the provinces.

Mr. James A. McGrath (St. John's East):

Mr. Speaker, I direct my question to the Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs. Does the minister propose to make any changes in the regulations pursuant to the packaging and labelling act concerning products that are packaged and labelled outside the country and normally imported into Canada?

Hon. Andre Ouellet (Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs):

Mr. Speaker, newspapers reported lately that as a result of these new regulations some products would no longer be allowed into Canada. I think that the implications of these new regulations has been much exaggerated. In any case, the officials of my department are reviewing these regulations to determine whether corrections can be made to help some companies which import these products to continue their operations. If we find that such changes must be made, we shall announce them in the weeks to come.

Mr. McGrath:

A supplementary question, Mr. Speaker. Would the minister conduct his own investigation into the alleged misleading packaging of baby food, instead of waiting for the results of an investigation that is currently taking place in the United States?

Mr. Ouellet:

Mr. Speaker, I would like to assure the hon. member that in cooperation with the Department of National Health and Welfare, we are studying the American report to see if it can apply to Canada. The legislation is almost identical, but considerable differences do exist between the American and the Canadian legislation, and the criticism that applies to the United States may not apply at all to baby food sold in Canada.

February 12, 1975

Oral Questions EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Mr. Bob Wenman (Fraser Valley West):

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for External Affairs. Has Canada been asked by the United States to modify its policy toward protection of the Arctic against pollution; and is the government considering changes to the law adopted in 1970 giving the Canadian government jurisdiction over pollution zones in the Arctic extending 100 miles from the Canadian coast?

Hon. Jean Marchand (Minister of Transport):

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member will recall that the commitment made by the railways was to the effect that they would supply the CTC and the Department of Transport with information concerning costs. That information was to be transmitted to the provinces which asked for cost disclosure and information on a confidential basis. This has been done and all the provinces have received much of the information for which they asked. They are studying it now. At the meeting we are going to hold in a few weeks, I think we will be discussing those items.

Hon. Allan J. MacEachen (Secretary of State for External Affairs):

Mr. Speaker, I think I can assure the hon. member that the answer to both parts of the question is no.

Mr. Walter C. Carter (St. John's West):

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Secretary of State for External Affairs and concerns a number of Canadian civilians employed by the United States government on the U.S. naval station at Argentia, Newfoundland. In view of the fact that these people are receiving wages less than the prevailing rate in the area, and in view of the fact that they have been denied the right to organize themselves into a union and thereby receive the benefits of collective bargaining, would the minister undertake to make representations to his counterpart in the United States government with a view to having this inequity removed, so as to ensure that these Canadians are paid wages that are at least comparable to those paid people in the federal civil service who are doing the same work in that area?

Hon. Allan J. MacEachen (Secretary of State for External Affairs):

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his representation. I am not fully informed on the facts in question. I will attempt to inform myself, and if there is a basis for representations I will be happy to consider that course.

Mr. Mazankowski:

Mr. Speaker, having regard to the fact that the whole subject of policy formation and redress of such discriminatory freight rates seems to be in the hands of this so-called federal-provincial committee, will the minister undertake to take this House into his confidence and bring us up to date by giving us something in the form of a progress report or a statement on motions, so that we will be in a position to determine whether in fact any progress has been made or whether this committee is just being used as an excuse by the minister for failing to come up with an effective transportation policy?

Mr. Marchand (Langelier):

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member should have more confidence in the provinces than he seems to have.