Hon. John A. Fraser (Postmaster General and Minister of the Environment):

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that negotiations between Canada and the United States which are aimed at leading to an agreement are going on now and will continue. All I have said is that it is unrealistic to assume, with the complications of those negotiations from a technical, economic and scientific point of view, that we will be in a position to have the agreement in practically completed form and signed before the next presidential election.

November 5, 1979

Mr. Blackburn:

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for bailing out the Prime Minister on that one. My supplementary question is to the Minister of the Environment. If Canada is going on its own anyway at the present time, can the minister tell the House what measures his department has taken to control, eliminate or at least reduce acid rain, and what timeframe he has in mind for completion? By way of a specific example, what directive or directives have been sent to the International Nickel Company.

Mr. Fraser:

I thank the hon. member for his question. As the hon. member and the House know, the present regime of law to control the emission sources lies with the provinces. As I have said to the House, I do not intend at the moment to change that.

With regard to the company that the hon. member mentioned, the chief executive officer of Inco has been written to by myself, and I have asked for a meeting with him along with representatives of some other companies. That meeting will be arranged as soon as possible.

Hon. Robert K. Andras (Thunder Bay-Nipigon):

Mr. Speaker, my question is supplementary and it is to the Prime Minister. It was reported recently that Mr. Lougheed stated that in the event of a Yes vote in the referendum, the negotiations in terms of sovereignty-association with Quebec would be up to the provincial governments to handle.

Does the Prime Minister accept that we really are a nation of ten provinces only and that the federal government would have no role in such negotiations as indicated or implied by the Premier of Alberta.

Right Hon. Joe Clark (Prime Minister):

Mr. Speaker, I have not seen that quotation attributed to the Premier of Alberta. If anyone did make that kind of assertion, I naturally would disagree with it.

Mr. Andras:

Mr. Speaker, that is the second time in about ten days that the Premier Minister has indicated he is not aware of what the Premier of Alberta is saying. Last week, the Premier of Alberta made a very definite statement with regard to oil prices: world prices now, or the oil stays in the ground.

The Prime Minister surprised us for several days by saying he had not seen a transcript or spoken to Mr. Lougheed about it. Has he since called the Premier of Alberta and spoken to him about that statement? If so, what makes him so confident he will make an acceptable deal on oil prices for Canada, in the face of that statement? Was there some kind of arrangement beforehand, or what is all this rhetorical game about?

November 5, 1979

Mr. Clark:

Mr. Speaker, in answer to what 1 gather was intended to be a supplementary question, I can assure the hon. member that I now have had an opportunity to see the transcript of the remarks the Premier of Alberta made in Vancouver. The press reports were very substantially exaggerated. The Premier of Alberta indicated that he was prepared to accept various aspects of the proposal we had been putting forward.

Mr. Ouellet:

Answer the question.

Mr. Clark:

The hon. member for Papineau, who distinguished himself recently with a question on the floor of the House, has asked me to answer the question of his colleague, the other former minister. I have not, personally, been in touch with the Premier of Alberta, but my Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources has been in touch with the minister responsible for energy policy in the province of Alberta. There have been very useful discussions between the two ministers. They encourage me, as they encourage my minister, that we have the very real prospect of moving toward agreement on the question of a national energy package.

Hon. Herb Gray (Windsor West):

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. Will he undertake that when he meets with U.S. President Jimmy Carter later this week, he will raise the matter of the operation of the Canada-U.S. auto pact as part of an effort to ensure that Canada gets its fair share of automotive jobs, production, research and development and investment.

Right Hon. Joe Clark (Prime Minister):

Mr. Speaker, I will raise the matter.

Mr. Bob Corbett (Fundy-Royal):

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources. With the government's recent announcement that exports to the United States are to be limited to 50 barrels a day of light oil and condensates, can the minister assure the House that this will not adversely affect production with east coast refineries, where employment could be adversely affected.

Hon. Ray Hnatyshyn (Minister of Energy, Mines and

Resources): Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for that question, knowing his long-standing concern with regard to employment matters in his area and province. I want to assure

Oral Questions

him that, indeed, the reduction in terms of exports is directed toward the very interest the hon. member raises in his question; that is, to make sure we have sufficient supplies in Canada in order to meet this winter's requirements. 1 thank the hon. member for his continued interest and assure him that is the direction in which this particular decision has been made.

Mr. Bob Kaplan (York Centre):

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the minister of state responsible for multiculturalism. Is the minister aware that his colleague, the Minister of Employment and Immigration, has announced that he is cutting down the proportion of family admissions to Canada in relation to independent immigrants? Does he agree with this inhumane change in Canada's immigration policy?

Hon. Lincoln M. Alexander (Acting Minister of Employment and Immigration):

Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Employment and Immigration, Mr. Speaker, I do not accept the premise of the hon. member's question. What has occurred, as I understand it, is that there was some concern about the number of family classes being admitted, as opposed to independents. I can assure the hon. member that the reunification of families, in terms of admitting others to this great country of ours, is uppermost in the minister's mind.

Mr. Kaplan:

I believe the document tabled by the minister speaks for itself on the question. I want to know whether the minister responsible for multiculturalism knew anything about this policy. I can see from the fact that he did not stand up that he did not, unless he would care to tell the House where he stands on the admission of family-sponsored immigrants in relation to independents.

Mr. Alexander:

Mr. Speaker-