Debates of May 6th, 1999

Jean Chrétien Saint-Maurice, QC

I am very proud to be the Prime Minister of this country, a country of tolerance and generosity.

The pettiness of the leader of the Bloc Quebecois is very clear; I have spent 36 years defending francophones both in and outside Quebec so that they can remain French, and continue to be proud to be part of Canada, the best country in the world.

Monte Solberg Medicine Hat, AB

Mr. Speaker, first I want to inform the House that I am humiliated the Prime Minister has not arranged a meeting with the Pope for me. I am very disappointed in him.

According to the Conference Board of Canada, the low dollar has been masking the underlying weakness in the Canadian economy. My question is for the finance minister. The finance minister cannot wish this problem away. The dollar is strengthening right now. When will he cut taxes to save Canadian jobs?

Paul Martin Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, in his own mind I thought the member for Medicine Hat was the Pope.

The conference board said that many factors affected our ability to operate efficiently. These include organizational effectiveness, the capacity of management, the skills of employees, investment market, firm size and the policy framework set out by governments. What the conference board has done is to confirm exactly the policy of the government.

Monte Solberg Medicine Hat, AB

Mr. Speaker, I invite the minister to kiss the Pope's ring.

If the government does not want to believe the conference board, maybe it will believe the KPMG study that the government trumpeted just a month ago. In that study the government was arguing, by virtue of that study, that as the dollar strengthened more Canadians would lose their jobs. We would lose our competitive advantage.

Why will he not cut taxes so that Canadian business does not have to compete with one arm tied behind its back?

Paul Martin Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell the full monty that the fact is, as the hon. member knows, that we have cut taxes. It has been spelled out very clearly here with $16.5 billion over the next 36 months. We began cutting taxes faster than any other government after the elimination of the deficit.

The country is on the right track and we will continue to do that. At the same time we will invest in education. We will invest in health care. We will invest in future generations of the country.

Jean Chrétien Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, the ministers of the G-8 countries have made considerable progress. In my opinion, having an agreement that includes the Russians is an extremely positive thing. There are details on the nature of the operation and on how it could be organized.

It is, however, obvious that there must be NATO troops over there, because there is not just the Serbian side. There is also the matter of disarming the Kosovars who are involved in violence. That is why the belligerents need to be kept completely separated in order to allow the people of Kosovo to return to their homes in safety.