Herb Dhaliwal

[Canadian Flag, February 16th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was the 30th anniversary of our maple leaf flag.

Our flag is a proud and distinct international symbol. It is recognized and greeted with warmth all over the world. Canadians can be seen wearing the maple leaf on their backpacks while travelling abroad. Even some Americans have been known to wear our flag while travelling.

The maple leaf flag unites us from coast to coast. The flag is one of the things that encompasses all Canadians despite our varied regional characteristics.

Yesterday in communities all across Canada there were flag raising ceremonies, speeches and school assemblies. Canadians from all races and religions celebrate the flag together.

I congratulate and welcome the three new members elected to represent their constituencies and our flag. Today I ask all my colleagues to reflect on the significance of our maple leaf flag and its meaning to all Canadians.

[Religious Freedom, February 15th, 1995]

Madam Speaker, first let me congratulate the member for Windsor-St. Clair for giving the House the opportunity to debate the issue. Also let me congratulate my colleagues who were so articulate in this situation.

I would like to inform the Reform member that we do have a law. It is called the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms it says that we do not discriminate. There is a item called freedom of religion. I encourage him to take some time to look at that.

I do not think I can articulate better than members have already the concern in terms of the legion and how in certain branches-there are a few, not many-there is discrimination against Sikhs who wear headgear.

My grandfather came here in 1906 and was one of those who wore a turban. He would not be allowed in certain legions right now because of his turban. That is terrible. A member of this House of Commons would also not be allowed into certain legions and I find that unacceptable.

I would like to leave my colleagues with an example that happened in my riding. I think it articulates best what our young people are thinking. I believe we have to learn from our youth.

In a Churchill high school, which I attended as a student, the members voted to not participate in the Canadian legion poppy fund. They gave very good reasons when they said: "We want to support the veterans of this country, but we cannot do it through the Canadian legion". The students voted in a democratic election. The overwhelming majority refused to get involved in the poppy fund. It was not because they did not believe in the veterans but because of what the legion did, the discrimination of some legion branches. That is why they refused to participate.

That is leadership. That is looking ahead. But the students also said: "We are going to have our own poppy fund. We are not going to let those veterans down. We want to support those veterans so we are going to make our own poppies". I applaud those students for showing leadership and for showing us which way to go.

I am a Sikh, as many of my colleagues know. I am not a turban Sikh because I am not an orthodox Sikh, but I can tell you that this is very important to me. Frankly, I was disappointed in some of the comments made by members of the Reform Party. I know that many members from the Okanagan would also be disappointed.

That example shows that our young people are taking leadership. They are saying: "We do not accept discrimination. We do not accept bigotry. We want to tolerate people. We want to include people. We do not want to marginalize anybody. We do not want to exclude people. We want to bring Canadians together". That is what this is all about. We want to bring Canadians together. We want to understand each other.

My own children who are seven, twelve and thirteen share Indian food with other children. My daughter came home singing a Hebrew song. That is what sharing is all about, what understanding is all about, what tolerance is all about. That is what all of this is about. Racial harmony is linked to economic prosperity. It is also linked to a better understanding. As Canadians we have to move forward.

There have been times in Canadian history when there has been discrimination. We look back on it and ask: Did this really happen? In 20 years from now we will look back and ask: Did this really happen in Canadian history? And we will not believe that it did.

I want to thank all the members who have articulated this issue so well. I am sorry I do not have more time to speak. I am sharing it with another member.

[Supply, February 15th, 1995]

The member is applauding because we know we have taken concrete steps to reduce the paper burden on small business.

Also, in the creating of wealth, we have set a very good agenda on the trade side. Members have seen what a successful program the Prime Minister has put forward to ensure that in this global economy we will be able to compete, that Canadian business will be able to go all over the world to promote their products, ensuring we are not left out of the global economy.

Not only do we have an expenditure program, we also have a revenue program to make sure we deal with the current economy.

We are going to deal with the deficit. Canadians want us to deal with it and I am sure members from both sides will support

the budget, which will deal with our difficult situation in a rational, reasonable and comprehensive way.

[Supply, February 15th, 1995]

Madam Speaker, as I was saying, to deal with the deficit we have to have a rational and reasonable approach both on the expenditure side and the revenue side. We have set a clear agenda and clear goals. We are going to fulfil the goal that we set during the election. We continue to say that we will bring it down to 3 per cent of GDP.

On the other side is the revenue part of it. We want to make sure there is confidence in the economy. If you look at what has happened, we have done that. We have had 4.7 per cent growth in the economy. We have created 400,000 jobs. That creates confidence in the economy where people want to invest and make sure that we are able to create growth.

Another thing we have done is assist small businesses because we know they create employment and jobs. We want to make sure we reduce the paper burden on small business. We have taken steps to do that.

[Supply, February 15th, 1995]

We took action. I do not know where the Reform members were; maybe they were sleeping. Look at the boards we got rid of. That bill was recently discussed. Look at the number of patronage appointments we have dropped: one-third. I have to hand it to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs who has reduced the number of political appointments from 3,000 to 2,000.

We are not a party that wants to add. We want to reduce. We want to look at what federal agencies make sense and what ones do not, what are duplications and where changes need to be made. Those members should wake up. They should learn to understand and hear, not just listen.

The bill that was before the House recently talked about a comprehensive program review on which the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs has done an excellent job. It will look from the bottom up in a comprehensive review.

Too often government keeps adding programs. We have learned that now is the time to do a very comprehensive review and ask: "Do we need this program? Does it make sense? Is it relevant today? Is the structure correct?" We have taken action and we will continue to take action on those programs.

If we look at the reductions of numbers on boards, some boards have been totally eliminated and other boards have had their numbers reduced. We can cut but there is a limit. We can only cut so much. I know Reform members want to slash and burn everything totally but that is not the solution. Those members do not understand we have to build the infrastructure, whether it is the cultural infrastructure or the scientific infrastructure.

If Reform members would listen they would learn something but too often they are not listening.

People always want to build silicone valleys and tremendous infrastructures. Those cannot be done overnight. But it can be destroyed overnight by slashing the budgets. Members of the Reform Party were the people who were against the infrastructure program. They do not have a very good understanding of how important infrastructure is, whether it is the road system or the communication system. All those systems are very important.

As a business person I know how important that is. If a business person wants to transport goods some 100 miles away, without a good road system it could take four hours instead of two hours, which would be more expensive. Therefore, good infrastructure is very important.

The members of the Reform Party keep talking about this huge tax increase coming up. They know it is not true. Why are they doing it? It is because their membership is dropping and they want to increase their membership. They have sent out a brochure with all sorts of figures. In the middle of that brochure, lo and behold, is a membership form. What does it say? It says: "Join the Reform Party". It is political opportunism. Shame on you. Let us give the reality to the Canadian public. Let us give the truth.

We have to deal with the deficit and we have a clear program. As I said earlier, if the Reform members would listen they would learn but too often they have this one narrow view. Any other view to them is totally out.

We have to deal with the deficit. We have to do it with a rational, realistic and reasonable approach. We have set ourselves very clear targets. We set them during the election and we are going to follow through. We said we were going to bring the deficit down to 3 per cent of GDP in the first three years.

The members of the Reform Party had this crazy plan zero in three. They have abandoned that and are now calling it zero in five. They want to do it over five years now. They have realized that it cannot be done in three years.

Part of dealing with a deficit is not only dealing with the expenditure side but dealing with the revenue side as well. We have to make sure there is economic growth and confidence in the economy. Under the Reform program you would take $40 billion out of the economy over three years. Is that going to build confidence in the economy? Is that going to create economic growth? Absolutely not. That is why a rational and reasonable approach is very important.

Reform members always talk about the pension-

[Supply, February 15th, 1995]

Madam Speaker, I listened with intent to members of the Bloc and members of the Reform Party. I must say I heard a lot of rhetoric from the member for Richelieu but not many solutions to the problem he has put forward.

I am wondering where members of the Bloc have been. A lot of the points they have brought forward have been discussed. In the motion they have put forward today they refer to no taxes on lower and middle income taxpayers. As a Liberal member the last thing I want is taxes. I think Canadians are overtaxed. As a government and as a member of Parliament we are working toward reducing taxes if anything. That is what the Canadian public wants.

The member for Richelieu spoke extensively about commitments. The recent byelections show where the Canadian public stands and that the government has fulfilled its commitment. That is why we won three out of three seats in the byelections. It is a pretty good signal for the government. We are following the agenda we put forward in the red book. We are fulfilling those promises and we will continue to do so.

I heard both Bloc and Reform members talk about tax increases. I have never heard the minister say that there would be tax increases in the budget. He has said that we will have a fair taxation system. No taxes does not mean that we do not want fairness and equity. We want fairness in the tax system and we want equity in the tax system. That is what the minister did in the last budget and that is what I am confident he will do in this budget as well.

Bloc members have talked about the other part of the motion which deals with trimming the fat from government. This is why I say I do not know where they have been. That is what we talked about; we talked about getting rid of duplication in government.

[First Nations Policing Services, December 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to inform the House today that the Government of Canada has successfully negotiated a number of community tripartite agreements with five First Nations and the province of British Columbia.

Under these agreements aboriginal members of the First Nations common policing service will be dedicated to provide improved safety and security for the people living in the Haisla, Fort Nelson and Prophet River, Nanaimo, Nanoose and Nisga'a First Nations.

This RCMP First Nations community policing service will be able to provide policing services sensitive to the needs and culture of the people living in these communities.

These agreements were signed under the terms of the federal First Nations policing policy. Under this policy the federal government pays 52 per cent and the province 48 per cent of the cost of the police service.

I am sure all members will join me in congratulating the Ministry of the Solicitor General, the Government of British Columbia and the five First Nations.

[Human Rights Day, December 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, December 10 is International Human Rights Day. I would ask all my colleagues to take some time tomorrow to remember the numerous areas of conflict around the world and the men, women and children who are victims of human rights abuses on a daily basis.

As parliamentarians, we have a responsibility to increase general awareness of human rights abuses occurring globally and raise these issues in the House.

I hope that in the coming new year all parliamentarians will continue to work together in bringing human rights violations to the forefront and in spreading the message that these violations are unacceptable.

Parliamentarians can make a difference when they collectively speak out on human rights no matter where they occur.

[Small Business, December 7th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of small business owners in Vancouver South I congratulate the Minister of Industry for the bold measures which he has introduced for Canada's small business community. Through those measures outlined in "Building a More Innovative Economy" the minister has managed to strike the necessary balance between less government and better government; less government in areas like regulation, taxation and paperwork, and better government in areas like procurement, trading opportunities, business training and transportation.

I hope that a careful reading of the minister's plan will demonstrate to all members of this House that a vibrant economy is built on a well thought out and proactive plan. It can never be achieved through a simple minded slash and burn policy as promoted by members of the Reform Party.

During the election campaign we promised to make small business the centrepiece of our economic strategy. With the release of this plan I am proud to see that this government has kept yet another election promise.

[Rwanda, December 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, last night I watched a documentary on CBC's "Prime Time News" regarding the mass murders in Rwanda.

I must say I am deeply shaken, as all of us should be, to learn that the genocide of a reported half million people was part of a well planned and premeditated scheme known as network zero. It has also been revealed that many in the international community had been warned of the impending tragedy.

I personally find it absolutely appalling and incomprehensible that the potential for such atrocities to occur was known and yet very little was done.

Why did the global community not mobilize in an attempt to prevent the mass killings? I have to ask also, how did the entire international community fail the people of Rwanda.

It is absolutely imperative that changes be introduced in the United Nations to ensure that the mass murders of men, women, and children never happen again.