Madam Speaker, I am honoured to stand in the House today as the member for Essex-Windsor.
First and foremost, I would like to thank the residents of Essex-Windsor for giving me the privilege to represent them in the House of Commons. Indeed, it is a privilege to have this opportunity.
Madam Speaker, I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your appointment and to congratulate the Speaker on his election. You have your work cut out for you to reform this House and I pledge my full support to those efforts.
One of the primary reasons that I decided to run for public office was that I was concerned and I believe that Canada's tax system needs to be reformed. That is not just our tax policy but our collection system as well.
As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue, I have been given the opportunity to be closely involved in such reforms. I want to thank the Prime Minister for that opportunity and for appointing me. I intend to make the most of it.
During the election, we all know that we promised to replace the GST. The throne speech repeats this commitment, the same commitment I made to the residents of Essex-Windsor. This tax which was introduced by the previous government has been disastrous for Canadian businesses. It has fuelled an underground economy that threatens to destroy Canada's social fabric. Some critics have expressed concern that the throne speech fails to identify the GST replacement. But for the throne speech to identify the replacement would be a betrayal of the Canadian public.
The Prime Minister told Canadians over and over during the election that in the first session of this new Parliament he would mandate an all-party finance committee to consult Canadians and provincial governments on all options to the GST. That is exactly what the Prime Minister has done.
I would encourage all residents of Essex-Windsor who want their views on tax reform to be made available to the committee to send their letters, their briefs, their charts directly to myself and I will make sure they are presented to the standing committee.
I mentioned that one of my primary reasons for running and entering politics was to tackle tax reform. I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to acknowledge and pay tribute to the people who, through example, showed me the value of public life. I speak of my parents.
My father, Eugene Whelan, as many members know, spent a considerable part of his life in this House. Indeed, some of the members in the present House served with him. I want you to know that my father was not alone in his endeavour. My mother was always at his side. They were truly a team. Both were raised
on a farm yet both are quite different. My father is second generation Canadian born. My mother was born in Yugoslavia and came to Canada when she was nine years old. However, both were raised during lean times and both understood the greatness of this country and what can happen when we put hard work forward.
As a child, I saw day in and day out the commitment my parents had to Essex-Windsor and to Canada. I was raised with a sense that we had a duty and an obligation as citizens to serve this great country and to keep it great. It is that responsibility that brings me to the House today. It is a responsibility that I intend to keep.
However that responsibility cannot be kept by any member in this House unless we put our House in order. On December 1, 1992 when I sought the nomination in my riding I made a commitment, a commitment to work to restore integrity to our political system. I am pleased to see from the throne speech that this party and this government is not backing away from that commitment. I want to impress on the House and my constituents that this is not the easy thing to do but it is the right thing to do.
My riding of Essex-Windsor, in many ways, is a microcosm of Canada. It is a reflection of the country as a whole. Like Canada, the riding of Essex-Windsor is ethnically diverse. We have over 70 different cultures peacefully co-existing in my riding. Pluralism and multiculturalism, the fact that we can be different and yet all be Canadians, are fundamental characteristics both of Essex-Windsor and of Canada itself.
I too recognize the importance of bilingualism and of protecting linguistic rights in Canada. I hope to become bilingual to better serve my constituents.
Like Canada, Essex-Windsor has a diverse economy based on a mixture of heavy industry, light industry, small and medium sized businesses and farming. For example, my riding hosts the largest mould making industry in the world. As well, we have three large automotive companies in Windsor, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.
Let me remind you, Madam Speaker, the auto industry in Canada owes its very existence to past Liberal policies under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, ministers Paul Martin Senior, Walter Gordon, Mitchell Sharp and then backbenchers like the hon. member for Windsor West and my father, Eugene Whelan. Without the auto pact that industry would be nearly dead. Now the auto industry is one of the economic generators of Canada. It is alive and well because of Liberal foresight.
However, like the rest of Canada, Essex-Windsor is still recovering from the current recession. Economic suffering has social consequences and in Essex-Windsor we have a lot of work to do.
The throne speech commits the government to concrete measures to deal with problems and restore Canada. These are measures that will affect, help and assist Essex-Windsor. To stimulate the economy, the government will immediately introduce the infrastructure program based on recent federal, provincial and municipal agreements.
I have been in contact with all the municipalities in the riding of Essex-Windsor and they are all looking forward to joining in and participating in this program. As well, to assist in long-term job creation the government has committed to work with this country's financial institutions to improve access to capital, to allow small businesses to expand and prosper.
I cannot help but note that during the election campaign this plan was criticized as being unworkable. Yet last Thursday night I read in the Ottawa Citizen : ``Another flurry of small business lending initiatives is under way as Canada's big banks try to stay on the right side of the new federal government''. That was accomplished without a single piece of legislation or a single decree.
We finally have a government that understands the future of this country. As we all know, the future of tomorrow is based on the youth of today. Therefore one of the most important initiatives in the throne speech is the youth service corps, a service corps that will begin to put young Canadians back to work. It addresses youth unemployment. As well, we are looking at a national apprenticeship program.
For 125 years Canadians have worked together to build a strong, united nation. In spite of the economic difficulties we face, we are what the rest of the world wants to become: peaceful and prosperous, diverse yet tolerant, educated, strong and free. If one looks at the situation in the former Yugoslavia and if one was to ask the people there what they wanted more than anything, I believe they would ask for the two things that we have in great abundance in Canada: bread and peace. The power expressed in the idea of bread and peace is fundamental. It was the promise of bread and peace that allowed the Bolsheviks to take over Russia in 1917. It is our abundance of bread and peace that underpinned our economic prosperity in the past. We must never forget its important to our future.
Madam Speaker, I want you to know that my riding contains some of the most productive agricultural land in Canada. As Canadians we must protect and strengthen our agricultural base. A country that cannot feed itself is soon not a country and is at the mercy of every other nation.
There are many difficulties facing agriculture. One is the new GATT agreement, that while successful in many areas was of mixed success in terms of agriculture. Like the producers of this country I would have preferred a strengthened article XI. I know the importance of supply management. If we allow our dairy and poultry production to be destroyed or damaged, the entire agricultural industry will be negatively affected and the quality of our food will suffer. Over the next 18 months I will work to
ensure that supply management is adequately supported under comprehensive tariffication.
The Liberal Party has always been at the forefront of social change in Canada and always will be. The throne speech lays the ground work for continuing that vision. The Prime Minister himself will chair the national forum on health to foster with the provinces a renewal of Canada's health system. The government will also undertake, with the consultation of individual Canadians and the provinces, a major reform of the social security system. This will be completed during the next two years. I again encourage the citizens of Essex-Windsor to participate.
Further the throne speech commits the government to fiscal discipline necessary for sustained economic growth and deficit reduction. As the member for Madawaska-Victoria stated in her eloquent reply to the throne speech on Tuesday: "A lean government does not have to be a mean government". The Canadian dream that built Canada on principles of sharing, fairness and compassion has all been forgotten over the last 10 years. We as Canadians must remind ourselves of the greatness of the Canadian experiment and return our energies to endeavours which reflect our collective values and our desire to work together.
The throne speech that we are debating today is the blueprint for Canadians to work together to build Canada's future success.
