Gar Knutson

[Social Security Programs, October 7th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge many of the fine points that the hon. member made. His description of a disincentive to work is one of the cornerstones of what is in the green book.

I would like to ask him a question. I acknowledge that unemployment insurance social benefits may raise the unemployment insurance rate. That is hard to quibble with. Some people think we should do away with unemployment insurance or lower the benefits of unemployment insurance. They often point to the Americans and say: "Look at their unemployment rate. It is much lower than Canada's and the main reason is because they have less generous unemployment insurance benefits".

Is there not going to be a cost if we toughen up the system? Many thousands of people lose their jobs through no fault of their own. They have no available work to go to. I come from a community on the north shore of Lake Erie that suffered greatly in the last recession. We lost 5,000 manufacturing jobs in a town of 30,000 people. There were no real options for those people.

If we look at the American example we see that they do not have decent unemployment insurance programs. They have people living on the street. They have entire families living on the street. They have charities for no other purpose than to provide medical care for children of people who live on the street.

Is there not going to be a cost? We are going to have more poor people in this country. While making the system tougher will encourage some people to find jobs, there will be vast numbers of people, through no fault of their own, who will simply be put in a worse situation than they are. Crime rates will go up and all sorts of other terrible social conditions will come into the foray.

[Immigration, June 22nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House today, on June 22, to recognize this day which marks the 125th anniversary of Canada's first Immigration Act and the creation of Canada's immigration service.

I am honoured to be representing the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration while he participates in a special commemorative ceremony at the Palais des congrès in Hull. The minister is marking this anniversary with a special permanent residents and

citizenship court ceremony demonstrating the vital link between immigration and citizenship which his new department symbolizes.

On behalf of all Canadians I pay tribute to the dedicated employees who serve today and to the pioneers of yesterday who helped build our nation through immigration starting 125 years ago today.

[Gun Control, June 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in my place today to briefly comment on the current debate over what shape the country's gun control legislation should take in the future.

Gun enthusiasts in my riding have told me that three initiatives would help greatly in solving Canada's gun problem. First, Canada's laws regarding the safe storage of firearms must be followed through. Two recent tragedies that have involved guns in my riding occurred when legally purchased firearms were stolen and used in criminal matters.

Second, I urge this government to look at the form of a picture ID for firearms acquisition certificates. This would enable gun sellers to be sure that the individuals possessing the firearms acquisition certificate are the ones who earned it.

Third, many individuals in my riding support the concept of needing to use a firearms acquisition certificate to purchase ammunition. The middle way must be tried.

I urge this House to aim for innovative and modest ideas.

[Peacekeeping, May 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the House that in the very near future nine members of the Elgin Regiment will be headed to the former Yugoslavia for peacekeeping duties in this most unfortunate part of the world.

It should be remembered that these nine young men are part of Canada's volunteer, part time militia. As such they interrupt their jobs and family lives in order to serve their country at great risk to themselves. They will be following in the tradition of the Elgin Regiment that goes back for more than 125 years.

I am sure all members in this House wish all our members of the armed forces serving in former Yugoslavia the best of luck and safety while carrying out their important humanitarian duties.

[Citizenship, May 5th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to comment on the recent announcement concerning citizen court judges.

On behalf of my riding I would like to express sincere thanks to the minister of immigration for this step. Not only does the minister's plan promise to save the government money and end a cycle of patronage, but it puts more meaning into the proceedings surrounding becoming a Canadian citizen.

Those who are concerned with the deficit or patronage should be well pleased with the minister of immigration for a job well done.

[Manufacturing Industry, March 23rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak briefly on a question of urgency in my riding of Elgin-Norfolk: the need for Canada to have an updated industrial strategy.

To many in my riding words like "change" and "competition" are synonymous with plant closings and higher unemployment. Almost one job in four in my riding is in the highly vulnerable manufacturing sector. Over one-third of the industrial park in the city of St. Thomas is empty. It should be clear to

this House that manufacturing jobs in Elgin-Norfolk are in deep decline.

Elgin-Norfolk relies heavily for employment on the auto parts industry in which technology is key. Canadian workers need only the new tool of technology to add to their high productivity and education, two areas in which we hold an excellent advantage.

I urge the government to look at technology as a way of ensuring the people of Elgin-Norfolk and all of Canada a better tomorrow.

[The 1994 Tankard, February 8th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, today the city of St. Thomas in my riding of Elgin-Norfolk will have the honour and privilege of hosting the Ontario 1994 provincial men's curling championships.

Known as the Tankard, this prestigious event brings together the very best curlers in Ontario and I am sure, the world. The Tankard runs until February 14 and I encourage all in the southern Ontario region to come to St. Thomas and witness this excellent event.

To the players: Great curling and may the best team win.

[Social Security System, February 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the questioner for those kind comments. I have no difficulty with the concept of targeting those most in need. It is fundamental to what we need to do as a country.

Over the last five years our expenditures on unemployment insurance have grown from approximately $11 billion to $20 billion. In large part that is due to the problems in the economy and the major downturn or economic depression we have been through.

Given that we spend so much money in this country we need to always for the sake of the poor and for the sake of those most in need make sure that money is always well spent.

We need to look specifically at training programs that quite often do not do the job. When our programs do not do the job as they are supposed to, it is the disadvantaged people that are most hurt, I have no problems with targeting those most in need.

[Social Security System, February 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise for the first occasion in the House of Commons.

As is the tradition with maiden speeches I would like to take a moment to thank my supporters who elected me on October 25. More particularly I would like to thank my campaign workers who spent many hours on my campaign. I would especially like to thank my wife for her patience, encouragement and the many sacrifices she has made in support of my campaign and my new career. Last, I would like to thank my parents for their support, guidance and encouragement over the last 37 years.

The riding of Elgin-Norfolk sits on the north shore of Lake Erie and runs approximately 100 miles east to west. It begins in a small town called St. Williams in Norfolk township and runs through to Rodney in Aldboro township.

The riding is the birthplace of many great contributors to both Canada and the world including Mitch Hepburn the former premier of Ontario. As well, the inventor Thomas Edison was born in Elgin-Norfolk. The renowned Liberal economist John Kenneth Galbraith comes from just outside St. Thomas in a small town called Dutton. Last, the great Canadian, the leader of the New Democratic Party and member for Yukon also was born in Elgin-Norfolk.

Elgin county has a long agricultural tradition. It has many farms ranging from dairy farms through cattle farms, cash crops, chicken farms as well as many others.

It is also the home of an important manufacturing sector, particularly in auto related manufacturing and auto parts. The main population centre, the city of St. Thomas, is the home for the Ford Motor Company and Freightliner Truck Manufacturing.

The people of the riding of Elgin-Norfolk wait with great anticipation for the performance of the 35th Parliament of Canada. My riding has suffered a tremendous job loss through the last five years. Factory after factory has closed permanently, all in the name of global restructuring. These people are anxious to see policy changes which will increase their job security and provide hope for their future, for their community and for their children.

The initiatives of this Parliament must speak to the needs of the people of Elgin-Norfolk as it must speak to the real needs of all members in Canadian society. Canadians, regardless of where they live, expect that job opportunities will be created out of economic growth and fairness in the tax system and expenditure policies of this new government.

I would like to speak for a moment about first principles. The principles of a good income support program or labour force adjustment system should include a fundamental commitment to the principles of social justice and a preferential option for those most in need. Furthermore all of our programs, including social spending, should facilitate a stable and growing economy.

The contribution that social spending makes to economic growth has often times been overlooked in economic debates. However a full discussion at this point would take me beyond my 10 minutes so I leave it for another day.

More fundamental than the principles of any government program are the principles of government. Mr. Vaclav Havel, in his first book as president of the Czech and Slovak republic, stated: "I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time build a state that is-regardless of how unscientific this may sound to the ears of the political scientists-humane, moral, intellectual, spiritual and cultural. The best laws and the best conceived democratic mechanisms will not in themselves guarantee legality or freedom or human rights-anything, in short for which they are intended-if they are not underpinned by certain human and social values".

My challenge for the Minister of Human Resources Development and all members of this House is that we craft programs which are both humane and moral.

Many members on both sides of the House, from all three parties, have spoken about the pressing social issues in their communities, be it the unemployed, the hungry, day care or violence in the home. I would like to add my voice to theirs and press the government to find solutions to the problems of economic hardship throughout our nation. More specifically I would like to ask the government to attack vigorously the issue of poverty, including the plight of the working poor.

Too many Canadians, many of whom are working, are experiencing long term and real financial and emotional difficulties because they have fallen below the poverty line. Our labour force adjustment strategy must ensure meaningful, well paid jobs for Canadians not part-time subsistence work that has too often been the case in the past.

Recently Dr. Shaw, a professor at the University of Toronto Medical School, estimated that health costs due to unemployment were over $1 billion a year. To all the members here, I suggest that if we measure the health costs due to poverty it would far exceed $1 billion. Our programs need to deal with the issue of poverty head on, both for those who are working and those who are not working.

In the few moments remaining, let me move from the general to the more specific. Ultimately our ability to generate wealth is a function of our knowledge. We live in a knowledge based economy. The degree to which wealth is shared in this country is a function of our moral commitment to take care of each other and that means, in this day and age, ensuring that every Canadian has access to meaningful education and meaningful training so as to gain the knowledge to become a contributing member of society through a job.

More specifically our review of UI needs to review the training programs included therein. Too many of our training programs are merely effective band-aids that do not offer long-term realistic hope. The national training act needs to be revamped. Provinces need to participate in an honest dialogue so that the bogus distinction between education and training disappears.

Let me close by asking all members of the House to respectfully set aside their ideological differences and work together to meet demands for a fairer Canada and a more just Canada and end the scourge of poverty on our land.

[Social Security System, February 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the point that the debater makes. I too share his concerns with government spending. I share his concerns with making sure that government programs fall on those who are most in need.

I would like to ask him if he is familiar with a little bit of history called the depression of the 1930s in which the economy settled in to a long and profound period of contraction, serious unemployment and serious poverty. The great thinker John Maynard Keynes pointed out that this equilibrium had huge numbers of people suffering through no fault of their own, much like the recessions that we have had since and that it required government spending to increase aggregate demand and thereby increase employment numbers.

If we were to cut spending the way the Reform Party has said we should, balance the budget within three years, would that not make a bad situation worse by cutting aggregate demand and increasing unemployment and increasing poverty and thereby making the situation much more difficult than it is already?