Paul Devillers

[Petitions, March 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I have two more petitions to present pursuant to Standing Order 36 requesting amendment to the laws regarding killer cards.

I am aware of the difficulties and the possible restriction on the freedom of expression with these petitions, but I believe that because the victims of these crimes are often women and children and these killer cards are in effect glorifying violence against women and children I must support these petitions.

(Questions answered orally are indicated by an asterisk.)

[Lobbying, March 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on pages 94 and 95 of the red book the government made a commitment to develop a stringent code of conduct for lobbyists under the auspices of the soon to be appointed independent ethics counsellor.

The people of Simcoe North and Canadians in general expect substantial reform in the way lobbying is conducted. I feel the government must go all the way, making mandatory the full disclosure of fees, clients and the names of government officials being lobbied for first and second tier lobbyists.

In addition the government should give serious consideration to making the costs of lobbying non-tax deductible.

Canadians really appreciate the fact that this government kept its election promises in the recent budget. With the implementation of these reforms, they will be all the more pleased to see that a real effort is being made to reinstill political ethics in our parliamentary institutions.

[The Budget, February 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the definition of a deficit is the difference between incomes and expenditures. My position, and I believe my party's position, is that we can increase our revenues. Government obtains revenue from taxation. The problem is we do not have enough people paying taxes because of the unemployment rate.

The measures being implemented through the red book program and through the budget are designed to get more people employed so that we can broaden the tax base, have more people paying taxes, not people paying more taxes. That is the object of the budget.

[The Budget, February 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think I have enough time to answer all of these questions.

I am sure the hon. member knows that the red book contained many promises. The present action taken in the budget with respect to the military closings was not an action taken lightly. It results obviously in some unemployment for people who are affected. The minister of defence has assured us that there will be early retirement packages available as well as relocation packages, et cetera, to try to deal with that. But the more significant issue is that the funds that are being saved by these cuts, which we are informed should have been made years ago and would have been easier to make at that time, are being reinvested into the programs, some of which I listed at the beginning of my speech, where there would be a better return for the job creation that is required than to continue to fund the military establishments that are no longer useful.

[The Budget, February 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in support of the budget tabled by the finance minister earlier this week. I am particularly comfortable in supporting this budget because it is the funding of the red book key programs that were the Liberal platform in the last election. They contain investments in people and job creation not necessarily through tax increases but rather through spending cuts.

Earlier today in this House I heard what in my opinion was hollow rhetoric coming from the backbenches of the independent members to the effect that this budget must have been ghost written by a former Tory minister.

I would like to take the opportunity to outline some of the measures contained in the budget, some of the red book programs that are being implemented. For instance, the establishment of the national infrastructure program that is already in place, the restoration of full funding for the national literacy program, the establishment of the youth service corps, the establishment of the youth internship and apprenticeship programs, the insurance of access to capital for small businesses in replacement of GST, the reinstatement of the residential rehabilitation assistance program, the establishment of a prenatal nutrition program, the establishment of the aboriginal head-start program, the establishment of a centre of excellence for women's health, the restoration of the court challenges program, the restoration of the law reform commission, the establishment of the Canadian race relations foundation and the establishment of the national forum on health.

I suggest that it is indeed hollow rhetoric to suggest that this was written by a former Tory minister. What this budget contains in addition to the implementation of these red book programs is hope.

If we want to give voters hope in our political institutions again, governments must keep their promises. Canadians have had enough of governments that say one thing and do the opposite. With the former government, this country got the habit of not respecting politicians because of broken promises. Just think of universal social programs, which were a sacred trust for the former government. We are keeping our word with this budget. We are doing exactly what we promised to do.

Past efforts by Tory governments in deficit reduction overlooked the expenditure side of the financial statements. Tory minister after Tory finance minister used to indicate that the forecasted deficits were not attained because there was not enough revenue. They were able to control the spending but there was not enough revenue. That is why I submit that what we have in this country is an income crisis, not a spending crisis.

Government like businesses must be prepared to promote and intervene in economic activity to create revenues. That is something that has been lacking in the last few years and it is something that is contained in this budget that is before the House.

This budget also was delivered following unprecedented consultation.

The pre-budget consultation process begun by the Minister of Finance gave many people an opportunity to express their views on the policies which affect them deeply. The government has created an important precedent with these consultations. I hope that we can go beyond the four cities that were visited by the advisory committee for next year's budget. Through the debates in this House, I was able to share the concerns of my constituents in Simcoe North.

The measures contained in my prebudget debate speech that received favourable review in the budget include the need to prevent tax avoidance through offshore affiliates of Canadian companies, a review by the parliamentary committee of family trust rules, partial preservation of business expense deductions, no reduction in RRSP contribution limits and implementation of a permanent RRSP first time home buyers' plan.

In addition, this government will be undertaking a complete tax review in the very near future. As a matter of fact it is already before committee. That will include the replacement of the GST.

I already said in this House that Canadians have an unprecedented lack of confidence in our taxation policies. If we want Canadians to respect the law, they must feel that the law is fair and equitable.

If we want our economic recovery to succeed, people must feel good and contribute to the economy. I can say with full confidence that the measures in this budget will restore the confidence of Canadians. Canadians can now count on this government for greater fiscal fairness.

This budget has been well received by the international monetary markets. I am aware that the Canadian dollar was indeed up yesterday, the day after the budget was announced. The budget also received favourable comment from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. It realizes that the UI premium reduction provided for in this budget was in fact a tax on business and jobs and that this measure will indeed help in job creation.

This budget shows that this government is taking a radically different approach from the one the former government took. Some people want us to give up our search for a just society. As the finance minister said, this is not the time to move away from our values; on the contrary, it is the time to return to them.

The mere fact that the opposition parties claim on the one hand that we have not cut enough and on the other that we have cut too much is a perfect indication that this budget is balanced.

The bottom line is that we are delivering on our election promises. This budget puts us on track to reduce the deficit to 3 per cent of GDP in three years. This was what our red book commitment contained.

Some opposition members have been saying that we did not cut deeply enough. This is the position of most of the Reform Party speakers I have heard.

Their election platform as I understood it was a zero deficit in three years. In my estimation that would create untold hardship on Canadians. We have already seen the hardship that the present measures in the military cuts have inflicted on Canadian lives. To attempt to reduce a deficit of this magnitude in three years I submit would be untenable.

The Liberal approach is much more balanced and realistic. The majority of Canadians supported the Liberal plan. Canadians know one cannot stop putting groceries on the table in order to pay off the mortgage on the house in three years.

I do not expect the opposition to agree with this budget since they campaigned against the Liberal plan. I do not believe that they or Canadians can truthfully say the Liberal government is not following our red book plan.

[Excise Act, February 22nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member opposite indicated that he feels the reduction of taxes would lead to a windfall in effect for the cigarette manufacturers. He neglected to mention there are other parts of the action plan such as the $8 a carton export tax and also the surtax on profits to the cigarette manufacturers.

I would appreciate hearing the hon. member's comments on what effect those measures would have on the cigarette manufacturers.

[Petitions, February 4th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise under the Standing Orders of this House to present a petition on behalf of 35 of my constituents, requesting that a referendum be held on the question of official bilingualism in Canada.

The petitioners believe that we are spending way too much money on the official languages policy in this country. While I do not share their view, I have the honour of carrying out my

democratic duty by reporting to the House all the views expressed by my constituents.

[Railways, February 4th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell the House today about an important concern in Simcoe North that is indeed a major problem across the country. I am referring to the closure of railway lines and rail spurs which are critical to industry and economic development.

At a time when we should be investing in railways because they make good economic and environmental sense, Canada is allowing its railway system to be dismantled.

I implore the government to review Canada's transportation policy to ensure that railway spurs feeding into main lines are preserved. This will be good for industry, good for the environment and will assist the government in creating new jobs for Canadians.

[Pre-Budget Consultations, February 1st, 1994]

The comments I made about the careful review that is required in federal spending has been highlighted in the Auditor General's report. If the hon. member will recall those comments I think they are the ones he is seeking clarification on on the reduction in spending. There are many programs with lots of room to cut spending while maintaining the integrity of the programs themselves, ensuring that we do not diminish the services for the most needy among our citizens.

[Pre-Budget Consultations, February 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, as we approach this year's tabling of the budget the government is faced with a tremendous debt which has surpassed half a trillion dollars and a record deficit of nearly $46 billion. Given the magnitude of these numbers this government's fiscal and budgetary policies will impact many generations to come.

In the words of Mr. Leonard Cohen, we have a wonderful opportunity to steer this ship of state to the shores of need past the reefs of greed. It will take wisdom, courage and firm resolve to steer a course which will benefit Canada and be equitable to all Canadians.

Before going any further, I would like to congratulate the Minister of Finance for his pre-budget consultations with Canadians representing various views as well as with the members of this House. If we are to steer Canada in a new direction, we will need the support of all Canadians.

Over the past few years we have been told by some economists, bankers and business leaders that we can no longer afford the quality of life Canada has attained. This may be true. But should Canada abandon its commitment to its social programs, programs which are the envy of the world? Is our fiscal deficit the result of our aspiration to be a just and compassionate society? I think not.

I believe that by fine tuning and adjusting social programs, by plugging tax loopholes and by creating and maintaining incentives for all Canadians to work and contribute to our economy we will increase revenues and address the deficit and the debt.

I said earlier in this House that I believe we have a revenue crisis and not a spending crisis. A symptom that this is a revenue crisis is the way Canadians perceive Canada's tax system.

There is an unprecedented lack of trust in our tax policies among Canadians, as reflected by the increase in popularity of the underground economy, and particularly cigarette smuggling, following the introduction of the GST. If we want the Canadian people to obey the law, they have to be convinced that these laws are fair and equitable.

Patrick Grady's 1992 study clearly demonstrates that the tax burden has not been shared fairly in the past decade. Lower middle income families have borne the brunt of tax increases. An average Canadian family earning between $45,000 and $75,000 has had to pay an average of $1,900 more in taxes than they did a decade ago. However, the amount of tax increases paid by income earners making $150,000 or more has been $3,782. According to the author, this amount is much less in proportion to the middle income Canadians.

It is important to compare the proportion of taxes paid by individuals and corporations. Personal income tax is the biggest source of federal revenue, accounting for almost 50 per cent of total revenue. This proportion is bigger today than in the last two decades.

Meanwhile, corporate taxes are at their lowest level ever. They now account for 7 per cent of federal revenue compared with about 15 per cent in the 1970s.

While personal tax levels have kept growing in the last ten years, corporate levels have fallen from 36 to 28 per cent.

We must also examine the tax exemptions and deductions available to these corporations and wealthy Canadians. There exist loopholes associated with off-shore affiliates of Canadian companies, the family trust rules, deductions of limited partnership losses and non-taxation of lottery and gambling winnings.

Business people are allowed to claim 80 per cent of the cost of entertainment and meals. If this were reduced to 50 per cent, business would still receive a tax deduction. In addition, restaurant, hotel and resort businesses would continue to receive the revenue generated by these deductions.

There have been suggestions that this budget should reduce the amount of RRSP contributions. I do not support this proposal because I feel it would be a disincentive to the self-employed small business persons and professionals. These are the people who will provide the jobs called for in our election platform.

Also we hear that the Canada pension fund as is presently structured may not be able to provide for the retirement needs of Canadians. Therefore it makes little sense to restrict Canadians' ability to provide for their own retirement. We must also remember that the RRSP contributions are only tax deferrals and not complete tax avoidance.

I have already written to the finance minister asking him to extend the RRSP home buyers plan. The program has been very successful in enabling first time buyers to purchase a home that they otherwise would be unable to acquire. The RRSP home buyers plan has had and would continue to have a tremendous affect on our country's economic renewal. We must take into account that the immediate costs incurred by the federal government for this program will undoubtedly be offset in the long term.

I have cited some examples of revenue losses which must be corrected to bring fairness to our system. However we must also recognize that government can and must operate more efficiently in delivering services. The Auditor General's recent report underscores the need to evaluate every department and program. This should be done to fetter out unnecessary spending and waste while maintaining the integrity of these programs.

Simcoe North constituents tell me they want changes to our tax system and a full review of our social programs without a reduction in the quality of services.

I think this government has recognized that the problem lies with our tax system and that our social programs must be renewed. I am happy to know that the government will take action.

The throne speech clearly stated that our priority must be job creation. This approach is essential if we are to put our fiscal affairs in order and successfully bring the deficit down to an acceptable level. By putting people back to work we will not only save on unemployment insurance and welfare but also broaden our tax base.

In conclusion let me summarize what I suggest we need and what we do not need. We need to remember that job creation is this government's number one priority. We need more people paying taxes and not people paying more taxes. We need plans and incentives for those currently unemployed to gain meaningful employment. We need to examine the privileges and tax loopholes currently enjoyed by the wealthy while maintaining incentives for business to remain competitive and provide employment. We need to remember that our social programs require constructive reassessment to make them realistic and responsive to those in need.

We do not need a slash and burn approach that would ultimately deny social services to the poorest and most needy citizens in this country. We do not need reactionary simplistic solutions to complex problems. We do not need to abandon our liberal roots of tolerance, fairness and compassion by reacting in a knee-jerk fashion to neo-Conservative agendas.

I know we can bring in a budget that will promote wise and careful spending while increasing revenues by broadening the tax base to include Canadians moved from the ranks of the unemployed to employment.