Mr. Bill Attewell (Markham):

Mr. Speaker, the 166-member assembly, the World Health Organization's governing body, began its annual two-week session yesterday. The organization may be taking a very important but divisive vote today. The vote is whether or not to grant full membership to the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Full membership in WHO would automatically allow the PLO to join several other agencies such as the UN Conference on Trade and Development. The United States, which contributes 25 per cent of WHO's yearly budget of $73.8 million, is expected to vote against the PLO because it is not a legitimate state in control of a territory, borders or a government. Admittance to full membership is therefore both undeserved and premature. I am pleased to say that for the same reasons, Canada will also be voting against any move to grant full membership to the PLO.

Mr. Rex Crawford (Kent):

Mr. Speaker, something is rotten in the State of Michigan. The Detroit garbage incinerator will be completed this month without state-of-the-art pollution controls. The Government has not even lifted a finger to stop or to delay the world's largest incinerator.

This garbage-burning monster is only three miles from the Canadian border but the impact area extends well into Ontario. Sailing in the breeze every year will be sulphur oxides, hydrogen chlorides, arsenic, chromium, mercury, dioxins and furans which could be reduced by imposing the necessary controls. The incinerator will burn 2,000 tonnes of trash each and every day.

May 9, 1989

The Americans say it is too expensive to install better anti-pollution equipment. I say it is much more expensive to affect the health of residents downwind.

The Government should follow the lead of Ontario's Environment Minister. He is showing guts and real commitment by taking the Yankees to court. He is defending our interests. Where is the Government of Canada on this matter?

Mr. Gabriel Desjardins (Temiscamingue):

Mr. Speaker, women entrepreneurs have finally come of age in Abitibi-Temiscamingue. And to emphasize this fact, the Abitibi-Temiscamingue Chambers of Commerce every year give an award to five women who have made their mark in the business world through their dynamism and outstanding achievements.

I should like to congragulate Diane Raymond, from Ville-Marie, Lise Gendron, from La Sarre, Helene Lagrange, from Rouyn-Noranda, Dolly Lepack, from Val d'Or, and Jocelyne Deshaies, from Amos, the five award winners for 1989 for their tremendous success in the business world. Through these women, Mr. Speaker, I wish to congragulate and thank all the women who are continuously working for the development of our Abitibi-Temiscamingue region.

Ms. Catherine Callbeck (Malpeque):

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend in my riding, two lobster boats became caught in excess silt and were forced to wait until the tide came in before they could come ashore. Events like this should never happen and would never happen if the ports of Prince Edward Island were properly dredged.

The recent Budget is inadequate. It is unacceptable because it does not have sufficient money to keep our harbours safe and our wharfs properly maintained.

The fishery is one of the most important industries in Prince Edward Island. It means approximately $80 million in landed value to the fishermen and totals about $200 million to the Prince Edward Island economy. I urge the Minister of Finance (Mr. Wilson) to think again and to evaluate the effects of his budget on the safety and future of the fishery in Prince Edward Island.

Mr. Steve Butland (Sault Ste. Marie):

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw the attention of the Government once again to the crisis of deteriorating roadways, bridges and sewer systems across Canada. One example that portrays this crisis is the fact that more than eight million Canadians live in municipalities that provide no sewage treatment whatsoever.

Municipalities do not have the tax base to address this issue alone but are willing to raise their share of one-third of the cost as are all provincial Governments. The federal Government is not, despite veiled promises made from time to time before the Budget. In the meantime, both the deterioration and the price escalates. It is now $15 billion.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has a concrete proposal endorsed by its 1,200-plus members which would help clean up our environment, create

60,000 good paying jobs, reduce the deficit through tax revenue and rebuild the infrastructure of Canada. I call on the Government to enact one positive initiative out of a totally negative and regressive Budget and allocate the $600 million generated from tax increases on gasoline to this plan. It would be a small step toward addressing the issue, but at least it would be a positive step which would improve the quality of life of all Canadians.

Mr. Jean-Luc Joncas (Matapedia-Matane):

Mr. Speaker, the Lower St. Lawrence Gaspe Forest Association has just held in the Matapedia Valley its annual convention which had brought together under the same roof some 200 groups more or less directly involved in forestry and the important roles it plays in our daily lives.

May 9, 1989

This year, during the Week of the Tree which will be held between May 7 to 13, each Canadian man and woman should plant a tree and use this period to reflect on the impact forests have on our economy, environment, our health generally, as well as on the conservation of our fauna and water resources.

Contrary to an opinion held much too long, Mr. Speaker, this wealth is not inexhaustible and should be preserved through a well thought out forestry policy so that future generations can enjoy healthy and luxuriant forests.

Today, Mr. Speaker, we are no longer referring to lumbermen but forestry workers who fully deserved admiration and to whom I wish to pay here a special tribute. They are the gardeners who through their professional dedication, will deliver the forests of tomorrow.

Finally, I want to pay a special tribute to the late J. Donat Brule, a great forestry engineer who founded the "Club 4H" on February 20, 1940, in an effort to teach young men and young women the desire to protect trees.

Mr. Jack Whittaker (Okanagan -Similkameen-Merritt):

Mr. Speaker, once again we have evidence of the Government being less than candid and indeed untruthful with the Canadian people in respect of the real effects of the trade deal. In today's issue of The Globe and Mail, Galen Weston, food conglomerate chairman and president of Loblaws, says that Canadians should not expect any kind of break at the supermarkets as a result of the Free Trade Agreement.

During the election campaign, the Government promised Canadian families that $85 to $130 would be saved annually by a family of four on their supermarket bills due to cheaper imports as a result of the free trade deal. Instead, we have seen over the last year a 4 per cent hike in grocery prices, the largest increase since the summer of 1987. As a result of the 1989 Budget tax grab, we can expect further food price increases.

Again, we have seen the Government mislead the Canadian consumer and have evidenced the Government's lack of credibility in keeping election promises. Even the corporate friends of the Prime Minister such as Galen Weston are now saying that the Government has misled the people of Canada on the Free Trade Agreement.