Lost her last election, in 2008, with 29% of the vote.
Committees Of The House June 12th, 1996
Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-36, an act to amend the Income Tax Act, the Excise Tax, the Excise Tax Act, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act, the Old Age Security Act and the Canadian Shipping Act, of which most sections passed unanimously.
International Trade May 7th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, businesses in border communities like my riding of Essex-Windsor are increasingly aware of the growing protectionist sentiment in the United States.
Could the Minister for International Trade outline what the problems are and what he is doing to stand up for the interests of all Canadians?
The Budget April 16th, 1996
Madam Speaker, I am quite surprised by the hon. member's comments. As he knows, for the first time in history the government has held prebudget consultations for two years in a row. What better opportunity for Canadians to have their say and to have their input into what the budget says?
My constituents participated. I do not know if his constituents did. They came and said what they wanted. The majority of the things that were heard at the meetings of the past two years in my riding and in other ridings were reflected in the budget.
We have met deficit reduction targets. How many governments in the past, including the Tory cousins of the party opposite, have done that? They could not meet those targets in the last 10 years. I would like to think that we did exactly what we said we were going to do in the election campaign. We kept our promise. We said 3 per cent of GDP and we have gone beyond that.
Liberalism and multiculturalism make this country great. They make it what it is. I am glad to be Canadian. I am glad to be part of this party.
The Budget April 16th, 1996
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for Brome-Missisquoi. I rise today to speak in the 1996 budget debate.
The Canadian dream that built Canada on principles of sharing, caring, fairness and compassion is alive in this budget. The course charted by the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister is the correct one for Canada, for us, for now and for the future. This budget sets the stage to lead Canada throughout the 21st century.
We as Canadians must remind ourselves of the greatness of the Canadian experiment and return our energies to the endeavours which reflect our collective values. The foundation on which we achieved success in the past and will continue to succeed in the future is our ability to understand, to compromise and to change. As a government and as a country we must rethink the role of government.
From this budget we will guarantee the future of our social programs, restore the trust in the old age security system by providing long term sustainability and guarantee the security and stability of federal support for health care, post-secondary education and welfare. We will also invest in the future by reallocating funds to make new investments, provide help for young people and support technology and international trade. These are the essential areas for job creation and future growth. We will take the necessary measures to redefine the role of government in the context of a modern federation economy.
My riding, the ethnically diverse riding of Essex-Windsor, consists of more than 70 different groups and reflects the shared values of Canadians. Pluralism and multiculturalism, the fact that we can be different and yet all be Canadians, these are the fundamental characteristics of my riding of Essex-Windsor and of Canada.
My constituents have participated actively in prebudget consultations for the past two years. I am pleased to say the Minister of Finance has listened once again. My constituents asked for no new taxes and there are none. As well, the warden for the county of Essex for 1995, Mr. Lyle Miller, expressed his concern over the replacement of the Canada assistance plan. This budget alleviates that concern.
The federal government's objectives of the Canada health and social transfer are to safeguard medicare and social programs, to return to growth in transfers, to guarantee the cash floor component and to restore stability and predictability by five year funding arrangements.
It was also raised by one of my constituents, Mr. Andre Marentette, a member of the group Canadians for Constitutional Money, that our foreign borrowing is too high. Not only is he correct but this budget will for the first time in years make us less dependent on foreign loans. How? As we reach our objectives of deficit reduction, we decrease our need for foreign borrowing.
Not only are my constituents concerned about our investment in the future, it is one of the very reasons I sought public office. I assured my constituents at my nomination that "a new Liberal government will invest in Canada's greatest asset, our people. And by investing in them, we invest in our future".
This budget does just that. It invests in our future to ensure not only our future but to restore the confidence of Canadians.
This government has allocated resources to new investments in three main areas: youth, technology and external trade. Action in these fields is not an increase in expenditure but is financed by budget savings through reallocations from lower priorities.
Government cannot solve Canada's problems by simply throwing massive sums of money at different areas. This is what has created our difficulties in the past. Instead we must create an environment that encourages economic growth and make sustainable new jobs possible.
We need low inflation, low interest rates and declining deficits to build a growth environment. These are all critical to the future of our nation, to the future of Canada.
To talk about the future of Canada, let me speak for a moment about youth. Most of us will know that the unemployment of youth, those under 25, is very high. It is in the neighbourhood of 16 per cent. This needs to be addressed and it was in this budget. We must help our young people to take the first step to get their first job. In that objective I applaud the government for asking possible businesses to reach out and do exactly that.
There is $315 million allocated for new employment opportunities. There is $700 million already provided through programs such as youth internship Canada, youth service Canada and summer job programs. In this budget we will double the government commitment to summer job programs from $60 million to $120 million. With the $60 million last year, we created 30,000 jobs. We hope to double that number.
The remaining funds will be used to improve job possibilities for young people in innovative sectors: information technology, environmental technology, tourism, culture, trade and international development. These investments will build on a new domestic Team Canada style partnership between businesses and government to create entry level jobs for youth. With these new funds, $315 million reallocated and $165 million in tax expenditures, the
budget brings total expenditures for youth specific programs over a three year period from $700 million to $1.2 billion.
As well let us talk about the learning package. There is an additional $165 million in tax assistance to students and their families over three years. There is a 25 per cent increase in educational tax credits and tuition fee limits. As well the ceiling on annual contributions to an education savings plan has been raised.
Canada must also invest in science and technology to increase productivity and competitiveness which fuel export growth and ensure job creation at home. Encouraging export growth is a priority for this Liberal government. One billion dollars in exports represents about 11,000 jobs for Canadians.
In 1995 the value of Canadian exports exceeded that of imports by $28 billion. Along with the budget this Liberal government unveiled a new science and technology strategy which will target promising sectors. Technology Partnerships Canada will support the development of advanced manufacturing and materials, aerospace, environmental technologies and biotechnology. Funding will increase from $150 million in 1996-97 to $250 million in 1998-99.
Access to the information highway will also be increased by the SchoolNet program. By 1998 all of Canada's educational institutions and libraries will be connected. As part of SchoolNet, 2,000 computer students will connect 50,000 small businesses to the Internet.
To further encourage trading growth, the Business Development Bank will receive $50 million in additional capital allowing the bank to lend up to $350 million more to growth, knowledge based and exporting businesses. The Export Development Corporation will receive $50 million in new equity for innovative export financing.
We have talked and talked about the red book but by today I think we can come to this House with a remarkable balance sheet showing real achievements, particularly on the fiscal front. The Prime Minister recently noted we have finally turned the corner on deficit reduction. This has been done without raising personal income taxes in any of our three budgets. Turning the corner allowed the government to move forward on other fronts. The government is reallocating funding to provide increased support for job creation in three vital and key areas: youth, technology and trade.
It will be remembered that we talked about a deficit of 3 per cent of the GDP. It is now a reality. Now we are looking forward to and talking about a deficit of 2 per cent for 1997-98.
With regard to social programs, the Liberal Party is the political party which provided Canada with a social system, a social safety net which is the envy of the rest of the world. Once again, I am proud to say in this House that the Liberal Party is the party which is able to meet the true challenges of this country. This government has met that challenge by rethinking the social safety net for the long term in order to provide security to those who will grow up in this country, to offer people in the 1990s a safety net meeting their expectations and to ensure that our country is ready for the next century.
This government is prepared to put people first.
Canada Savings Bonds December 4th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize and commend the Minister of Finance for his announcement in September that Canadians were able to purchase Canada savings bonds for registered retirement savings plans, RRSPs, this year.
In my riding, when I held prebudget consultation meetings last year, many of my constituents recommended the creation of a debt bond similar to victory bonds as a way to ensure that more of our national debt was held by Canadians, lessening our dependence on the international money markets and money speculators.
The Essex Canadian Auto Workers political action committee met with me this summer to advocate that Canadians be able to use Canada savings bonds as RRSPs. I thank the members of the CAW for their continued interest in Canada's fiscal health.
The changes made this year show that the government and the Minister of Finance listen to Canadians and are willing to act on Canadian suggestions for better handling the nation's finances.
I encourage all Canadians to participate in prebudget consultations. Their suggestions will be heard. I also thank Canadians who took advantage of the new option and purchased their RRSPs through Canada savings bonds this fall.
National Unity November 3rd, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the thousands of Canadians who went to the rally in Montreal and Canadians elsewhere in the country.
Canadians from all across Canada, including those from Windsor and Essex county who chartered buses from Windsor or joined the buses from London or drove or flew to Montreal on Friday, made a real difference by showing their support for Quebec and the Canadian Confederation. I want to thank them for their efforts and dedication.
I would also like to thank the other Canadians who did not go to Montreal, but who were there with us in their hearts.
Finally, I would like to thank Barry Fowler and all the Windsor Jaycees for creating the central image of the final days of the campaign with their monstrous six metre by nine metre Canadian flag, the largest in Canada. By holding and walking under the flag, Canadians at the rally created the key image on the front pages of the newspapers and on televisions in Quebec and outside of Quebec: that of the Canadian flag awash on a sea of support for national unity, carried by Canadians gathered from coast to coast.
Cultural Property Export And Import Act October 24th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, today we are continuing to debate the merits of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act.
When the act came into place in 1977 the time was ripe for lengthy debate on the measures necessary so that the symbols of our cultural heritage were not only recognized but preserved. In 1977, 10 years had already passed since Canada celebrated its centennial and it was time to take a hard look at who we are as Canadians, what we are as a country and consider what Canada could possibly become in the next 100 years.
The Cultural Property Export and Import Act was brought into force very much in keeping with the spirit of encouraging the development of our nation not simply for nation's sake but as a nation that can hold its own beside its neighbour to the south and among its neighbours that make up the world; to encourage the
development of a nation we call Canada, which peaks the interests of other nations.
If we consider today is the future, 30 years into the next 100 years of our existence as a nation, where do we stand today? We stand as a nation that can and does attract people from all over the world either to visit this country or to invest in it. Canada as a nation is respected around the world. Foreigners are impressed that despite our geographical vastness we are holding strongly together. Despite the diversity of our cultures we are keeping together. Despite the disputes we have had and will continue to have we are growing stronger together.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations we in Canada are celebrating our commitment to developing all of those aspects integral to civilized nations.
Standing here today debating the merits of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act makes us sound like cultural barbarians; to think that we have to justify measures that have been in place for almost 20 years, measures that confirm our commitment to work with the United Nations to stimulate cultural growth, academic excellence, scientific achievements, beauty and peace and harmony.
How can we begin to presume that accomplishments and achievements can take place in a vacuum where the means to create awareness of progress are non-existent. Imagine our nation without our museums, art galleries, archival institutions. Imagine our 2,000 museums without collections that live and breath and grow to reflect who we are and how we are placed in the context of the rest of the world.
Imagine our nation without any symbols, without the pride our people can take in these symbols and share with our neighbours. Human nature is about interaction, linking history, the arts, science and our personal impressions, and sharing these linkages with our friends and colleagues so that we continue to learn, continue to seek, continue to live and continue to exist.
Let me point out some examples of symbols of our national heritage which thanks to the provisions of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act are now being preserved in Canada and, more important, are being exhibited to the public for the world to see and from which to learn.
In 1992 the Art Gallery of Ontario was successful in repatriating to Canada a magnificent painting by Franklin Carmichael, one of the founders of the Group of Seven, with the assistance of a grant provided under the terms of the very act we are here discussing today.
To give a sense of the importance of this painting, the Group of Seven in their day were regarded by the public as radicals, off the wall, artists who produce works of questionable artistic merit. As recently as the 1920s Canadians found the bold and confident landscapes painted by the Group of Seven what we might call too difficult. Imagine that, a Group of Seven painting being too difficult at a time when the rest of the world has already gone beyond landscapes, when impressionists had already been putting challenging images on the canvas for the past 50 years. Nonetheless, Franklin Carmichael was a central figure in the development of the decorative symbolist wilderness landscape that actually led to the formation of the Group of Seven.
The painting the Art Gallery of Ontario succeeded in bringing back from England is a brilliant example of the kind of radical painting in Canada in the 1920s that Carmichael was so instrumental in bringing to public attention. Here was one painting that was so instrumental in giving the Group of Seven public recognition. This painting has therefore become a symbol of how one object, one artefact, can have such an impact on the further development on how the public perceives art.
To see this painting hanging in the Art Gallery of Ontario today is only one example of how important it is for us to open our minds and our hearts to those who have the courage to introduce us to new ways of doing what we as citizens have been doing since we were born. To have access to the formative symbols of the past is integral to the definition of the present and to the assurance of the future.
In the bill the establishment of an appeal should be viewed as a reinstatement of the right of appeal that was lost when the responsibility for determining fair market value was transferred to the review board in 1991.
These amendments will ensure that donors who disagree with the determinations of the review board will have the right of appeal to the courts and will not be denied natural justice.
The announcement of the establishment of an appeal process was received positively by donors, museums, art dealers and the media. These legislative amendments therefore enjoy a high level of public support.
The amendments are technical in nature and respond to strong concerns expressed by the heritage community. Their passage into law should be seen as part of the ongoing commitment of the Government of Canada to ensure the preservation of Canada's cultural heritage.
Further, I think of the Art Gallery of Windsor, of the many functions in my riding and in the neighbouring ridings in Windsor and Essex county, Art by the River in Amherstburg, Art in the Park in Windsor and many other charitable events. I know of the many dedicated volunteers who assist in these events and other displays of our culture. I also know the thousands of people who visit them benefit from the culture and the experience.
The Art Gallery of Windsor has now moved into a shopping centre. At first it was met with large opposition but now it is in the shopping centre and thousands of people are visiting it.
More and more young Canadians are having the opportunity to see these displays of culture. More and more people are benefiting from what is being recreated in this act, continuing to be allowed their contributions worth up to $60 million a year open to all Canadians in public institutions, institutions that promote our culture and our heritage.
During the summer when I was in Jonquière I had the opportunity to visit a display in Chicoutimi by a local artist. We have to remember how important it is to all of Canada to encourage Canadians to understand and benefit from the cultural aspects and to continue on. We are only in the 30th year of the next 100 years. There are 70 more years to go. I know that in Windsor and Essex county we continue to do that on a regular basis.
Art in the park, for example, started small and has grown to such a large capacity it is now offered it in the winter as well. Thousands of people come through on Saturdays and Sundays and take the opportunity to purchase art. Many people in the local community have now taken and used art as a fundraising activity. Donations of art are used for auctions and other activities. It is important that we re-establish the appeal rights that were lost. The right of appeal should never have been lost. Unfortunately the last government decided that as a Canadian citizen one did not have that right of appeal.
We in this government believe that the right of appeal in all subjects is very important. No one should be denied the right of natural justice. When they do donate something they should be given their true value in the amount of effort and donations. I believe the value is many times more than the fair market value actually is of the object because thousands of people will come to see these objects in years to come and will all benefit from them and will go on from there.
Hopefully Windsor and Essex county can be a model for what is happening now and into the future.
Cultural Property Export And Import Act October 24th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I would like the hon. member to expand very briefly on cultural property and the valuation and benefits to society in her area in particular. Could she expand on the benefits they receive?
I agree with her wholeheartedly that reinstating the right of appeal is necessary. I want to commend her for her comments today.
Petitions October 24th, 1995
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition on behalf of my constituents concerning gun control.
Petitions October 24th, 1995
The third petition deals with the social issue regarding same sex relationships.