Taxation  Mr. Speaker, as millions of Canadians are filling out their tax returns this week I have one simple question for the finance minister. Why are Canadians still paying the highest personal income taxes in the G-7?

Justice  Mr. Speaker, Regina and Saskatoon have some of the highest rates of car theft and burglary in the country. Authorities believe that almost 90% of these crimes are committed by about 100 youths. We obviously have at least 100 Saskatchewan youths who are not getting the message. Almost daily the minister tells us that she is dealing with deficiencies in the Young Offenders Act in a timely fashion.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, yesterday four adults and one young offender were charged in the murder of Nirmal Singh Gill in my city of Surrey. The four adults ranging in age from 20 to 26 have all been named. The Young Offenders Act protects the identity of the 17 year old. Time has run out for this justice minister.

Hepatitis C  Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister, the House leader and the health minister all know that this is not a confidence vote. This is a vote about whether or not every victim of hepatitis C from tainted blood should receive fair and just compensation. I can hardly believe that they will hang their whole process on a vote of confidence.

Hepatitis C  Mr. Speaker, that is simply nonsense. The Liberal member for Cambridge has said that he would vote with the victims on this matter, not against the government, and he is absolutely right. I give the Prime Minister and all of his MPs my personal pledge that the official opposition will not treat this as a confidence motion.

Hepatitis C  Mr. Speaker, some issues are just too big for partisan politics. Moral questions are bigger than any party. They are bigger than any prime minister. Questions like abortion, capital punishment or euthanasia. The question of abandoning hepatitis C victims falls into this exact same category.

Hepatitis C  Speaker, why is it that in almost every vote in the House on government measures, and with one or two exceptions on private members' measures, the Reform Party has voted as a single group? Let us have some explanations on that. It is not simply a matter of what the hon. lady says at this time. It is a matter of what a vote amounts to in a fundamental way.

Hepatitis C  Mr. Speaker, it is not our view on this. The government House Leader, in the 1993 red book, included these words: “Parties in this House must have ample opportunity to place before parliament their alternatives for free and open debate and decision without artificial applications of non-confidence doctrine”.

Hepatitis C  Mr. Speaker, which Liberal said this: “When there are resolutions, as there are today involving victims rights, members of this party vote as they see fit?” That was the current health minister in 1996. He was talking about exactly the same type of motion in the House, an opposition motion.

Yom Hashoah  Mr. Speaker, today is Yom Hashoah, the day that Jews and Gentiles pause to remember the horror of the Holocaust. From 1933 to 1945 six million Jews and millions of other innocent victims were burned in the ovens of Auschwitz and other concentration camps. This unparalleled crime against humanity must never happen again.

Human Rights  Mr. Speaker, this week five white supremacists were arrested for the brutal beating death of Mr. Nirmal Singh, the janitor for a Sikh temple in Surrey. If the five individuals who were arrested are found guilty, then their punishment should reflect the revulsion Canadians feel about this senseless act. 1998 is the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his comments and his question. The people of Ireland obviously have heart, compassion and concern for all the victims of this tragedy in their country. It would be my hope, as I know it is the member's, that Canadians would be proud of this government in reversing its decision and showing compassion and heart and showing that it cares for all the victims of this tragedy.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question because it is an outrageous statement made by the member opposite, that some people suffering from hepatitis C can go on to live normal lives. Perhaps that is the case but the constituents who have written to me have detailed the anguish, the pain and the common tasks in their lives they used to do without any problem which are now difficult tasks for them, things such as going to the park.

Supply  They both have.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, it has been a bad day. It is beautiful outside but not so great inside. I do not want to get down to anything but cold, hard facts. Let us look at reality. The case is prevalent all across Canada. It does not miss anybody's constituency. I wonder how the hon. member would respond to a cold, hard situation.