Mr. Mulroney:

Yes, you are right. The Hon. Member supported that. Once it has achieved its goal of cultural security within a united Canada with full participation in the constitutional decisions, there is no doubt, as its Premier indicated, the Province of Quebec will be ready of course to review the "nothwithstanding" clause that was granted to it in 1981, because once Canada is unified, with Quebec playing its full role in the Canadian decision-making process, there will be no more need for override provisions such as the clauses that were granted in 1981-1982.

Mr. Joe Fontana (London East):

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Secretary of State for External Affairs. About two months ago Mervin Budd of London, Ontario, was arrested in Nepal for preaching Christianity and has been held in prison since that time. Mervin Budd is a prisoner of conscience. He was not smuggling drugs. He did not kill anyone. All he did was express his belief in Christianity.

December 22, 1988

Oral Questions

In light of the fact that the Government of Nepal has endorsed the Helsinki Accords and the human rights resolution providing for the freedom of religion, will the Minister please assure the House now that everything possible is being done to ensure that this Canadian citizen will be released from prison in Nepal as quickly as possible?

Hon. Monique Landry (Minister for External Relations):

Mr. Speaker, we are aware of Mr. Budd's detention. He has retained a lawyer. We asked the American consulate to offer him yesterday . . . and we are still waiting for answers.

Mr. Joe Fontana (London East):

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for the answer and her assistance thus far.

Reports indicate that he may be in prison for two years before trial. Mr. Budd in a recent letter to his mother states that he is not satisfied with the help he is getting from his own Government. The Minister says that there is someone from the American Embassy perhaps assisting.

I ask the Minister again to reassure Mr. Budd's family and all Canadians that no stone will be left unturned by his own Government to make sure that this innocent man is freed? We need not the Americans to help us with this individual but our own Canadian Government.

Hear, hear!

Hon. Monique Landry (Minister for External Relations):

Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell my hon. colleague that, when we do not have a consul in a given country, the normal procedure is to act through a foreign consul who has offered to help us.

The American consulate was supposed to meet with Mr. Budd yesterday and to report to us afterwards. But, after experiencing communication problems in that remote area, we will probably get more information today.

I would also like to tell my hon. colleague that he can rest assured that the Canadian Government will assume

all its responsibilities and give Mr. Budd the help he needs.

Mr. Ray Funk (Prince Albert-Churchill River):

Mr. Speaker, my question is addressed to the Minister of Agriculture. Given the fact that thousands of farm families are still waiting for their drought assistance cheques which he promised them so that they could pay the bills piling up on their kitchen tables, and given the fact that not a dollar of the $850 million promised to grain farmers by the Minister of Agriculture appears in the Supplementary Estimates for 1988-89, could the Minister please tell the House whether he is still haggling with his provincial counterparts over this money? Or is he finally able to tell us when farmers and their bankers will be getting this money?

Hon. Don Mazankowski (Deputy Prime Minister, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Agriculture):

Mr. Speaker, we announced and signalled to the agricultural community as soon as we possibly could, the extent of the magnitude of the drought program and the need to have it put in place as quickly as possible so that farmers could arrange their financial affairs in an appropriate fashion.

The forms are close to being ready for being sent out to the producers. We hope that they will be out in the next week or 10 days. Everything is proceeding as it should, consistent with the program that was announced.

Mr. Ray Funk (Prince Albert-Churchill River):

Mr. Speaker, since obviously the Minister of Agriculture does not have much more idea today about when this money will be coming out than he did 10 days ago, I would like to address a supplementary question to the Prime Minister.

In light of the genesis of this program which was announced ten days before the election, and which was reconfirmed in the House two days before the Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, by-election, could the Prime Minister tell us when he is planning to call the Beaver River by-election so that farmers and, indeed the Prime

December 22, 1988

Minister and the Minister of Agriculture, will know when this money is coming?

Hon. Don Mazankowski (Deputy Prime Minister, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Agriculture):

Mr. Speaker, I must say I find the Hon. Member's representations somewhat inconsistent. As I recall, New Democratic candidates all over the country during the election campaign were calling for an announcement for drought. We gave them the announcement for drought, and now they are complaining about it.

As I said in a reply earlier to another member of the New Democratic Party, I regret they are disappointed that we made the announcement and that we are helping farmers. I really regret that very much.

Mr. Alan Redway (Don Valley East):

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Deputy Prime Minister as well. It relates to the fact that the Deputy Prime Minister is going to be meeting next month with representatives of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities to discuss the funding of municipal infrastructure.

I would like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he would advise the House whether this meeting is an indication that there has been a change in policy on the part of the Government, whether the Government is now prepared to fund municipal roads and sewers? Or is this meeting merely a public relations exercise?

Hon. Don Mazankowski (Deputy Prime Minister, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Agriculture):

Mr. Speaker, no, there has been no change in government policy on this matter. I and the Minister of Finance and other Ministers stated our position very clearly, that believed that this was a provincial and a municipal responsibility, and we could not provide the kind of funding of the magnitude that the Liberal Party could fund. That was made consistent right across the country.

I indicated to the President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities that I was prepared to meet with him, but at no time was there ever any commitment

Oral Questions

or suggestion of a commitment for funding. That remains the position of the Government.

Mrs. Beryl Gaffney (Nepean):

Mr. Speaker, I wish to return to the matter of federal support for housing in Ontario. My question is for the Minister responsible for housing.

On Tuesday the Minister said, and I quote from Hansard:

Let me say at the outset that my predecessor did not make a

commitment to add an additional 7,000 subsidized housing units.

That statement is factually incorrect.

I have in my hand a copy of the official news release of January 28, 1988, by the former Minister responsible, the Hon. Stewart Mclnnes, and the Housing Minister of Ontario, Chaviva Hosek, and I quote from it: "121 nonprofit housing groups in 79 Ontario municipalities have received approval to develop 6,990 residential units in 1988 under the federal-provincial non-profit housing program".

Will the Minister responsible for housing admit that his statement on Tuesday was wrong? Will he make the commitment today to provide the funds for the number of housing units promised to the Ontario Government and the people of Ontario?

Hear, hear!