Debates of June 5th, 2003

Kevin Sorenson Crowfoot, AB

Mr. Speaker, they are still not added to Canada's list of entities. Perhaps the problem is that this is the same group that the former finance minister helped support with his attendance at one of their fundraisers.

Canadian passports are a hot commodity in Sri Lanka. They are a hot commodity for profiteers who are sending illegal immigrants to Canada. When will the Solicitor General take seriously the claims of Sri Lanka and put a stop to the dangerous activities--

Wayne Easter Solicitor General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, the government takes terrorism, terrorist issues and terrorist groups very seriously. In fact, the hon. member was present in the House this morning when I tabled the security intelligence report and made a statement on security. If he had been listening clearly to that report he would understand the amount of effort that Canada is making both within Canada and around the world to cut the financing of terrorist groups and to address the terrorism issue.

David Collenette Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, I answered this yesterday. My colleague's statement is completely erroneous.

Mario Laframboise Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC

Mr. Speaker, the minister needs to understand that elimination of pilots makes the river vulnerable, and there is always the possibility of disasters such as those we see too often reported in the international news.

Environmentally speaking, is the Minister of Transport not taking a huge risk by trying to please the friends of the member for LaSalle--Émard, his future boss?

David Collenette Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member has such an interest in the St. Lawrence pilots, I suggest that he raise the question at the Standing Committee on Transport. I will be appearing before the committee next Monday.

Charlie Penson Peace River, AB

Mr. Speaker, in his February budget the Minister of Finance forecasted economic growth of 3.2%. However, since that time the Canadian economy has been hit by a series of shocks: SARS, the BSE outbreak, closing of the cod fishery, the ongoing softwood lumber dispute, and an appreciating Canadian dollar.

With all these economic disturbances, will the Minister of Finance introduce a fiscal and economic update that scales down government spending to bring it in line with the new realities of the economy?

John Manley Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, that is a good question. I do not intend to bring in a fiscal or economic update at this point in time. I do expect that within the next few weeks, as we get renewed projections from the private sector forecasters upon whom we rely on to determine the expectation of growth in the Canadian economy, I will be able to be more specific about what I expect the impact to be on growth this year. The effect on our fiscal position is somewhat different because it is based on different issues.

Charlie Penson Peace River, AB

Mr. Speaker, the 15% appreciation in the Canadian dollar since the beginning of the year should have been a good news story for Canadians, however the impact is driving and pinching our exporters because there has been no corresponding decrease in cost of production.

Will the minister bring in lower taxes for the business sector in order to offset the competitive disadvantage faced by our exporters?

John Manley Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, the implementation of the 2002 tax cut package of $100 billion continues. That was one of the starting points in this year's budget. In addition, the budget introduced a number of reductions of taxes and charges, including the employment insurance premiums for next year, the elimination of the federal capital tax, and the increase in the small business deduction for small businesses.

Those are all elements that were in the budget. They seem to have foreseen the--

John Maloney Erie—Lincoln, ON

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned upon learning that during a period of high volume last December, the information inputted into the gun registry system may have been lost. Can the Solicitor General assure gun owners who attempted to register during this time period that their information is in the system? What about those gun owners who may have been unable to register?

Wayne Easter Solicitor General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, it is in fact the case that people were unable to log into the system last December, but I want to clear up some confusion around the issue. No vital information was lost.

We want to ensure that those who tried to log onto the system in December and did not get logged on are not under the perception that they did get through. They can call the 1-800 number or the Internet line, which is now working. We want these people to have the opportunity to register and obey the laws of the land.