Government Organization Act (Federal Agencies)  Anyway, he was the Prime Minister's chief fundraiser for his leadership campaign and his services now cost us $1,000 per day. The whole Pearson deal was a Tory patronage boondoggle in the first place and the Liberals won the election partly by denouncing Tory patronage. I guess it is only fitting that one be appointed to investigate it. I am sure all Canadians are happy that the Prime Minister's friend is benefiting from the old Tory patronage scheme in the same sort of a Liberal way I guess.

Employment Equity Act  That is a nice, perverse joke but Canadians will not find it very funny. My last point is this. What is the cost of this boondoggle? In the United States where quotas were created in 1970 the cost of affirmative action was estimated at 4 per cent of the GDP, $112 billion U.S. a year. In Canada there are no clear estimates but the Ontario Chamber of Commerce estimates that a company with 500 employees will spend $100,000 just to comply with the paperwork.

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency  Speaker, in recent weeks the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency has come under attack from members of the Reform Party as being nothing more than a boondoggle. Nothing could be further from the truth. ACOA provides valuable support to small business communities in places like Prince Edward Island. If ACOA were not there the unemployment rate in the region would be much higher.

The Cabinet  I can understand why the health ministry needs a new transfusion because of poor policy and tainted blood. Even the fisheries portfolio needs a change because of east and west coast fisheries boondoggles. When is the change going to come in the immigration department? We have the Schelew affair, José Salinas Mendoza bilking Canadians in a system of injustice, IRB patronage appointments, policy indecisions and a department left in tatters.

Department Of Natural Resources Act  The conventional oil and gas industry is then taxed more heavily to provide the money to subsidize the otherwise non-viable enterprises. If governments would avoid the megaproject boondoggles and reduce the tax burden on the smaller companies that are making a go of it on their own the industry would blossom and flourish. We would find that both productivity and employment within the industry would increase.

Department Of Canadian Heritage Act  Certain members opposite would have us believe that multiculturalism is multimillion dollar boondoggle. However, I would point out that on a per capita basis multiculturalism grants cost each Canadians less than $1. The multiculturalism program has the aim of promoting equal opportunity for all Canadians to participate in the social, cultural, economic and political life of this country.

Department Of Canadian Heritage Act  Maybe then the people that enjoy these museums would find things that would cause them to want to come to the museum rather than be disturbed by what they saw in some of these museums. It certainly would eliminate some of the boondoggles like the current museum being built in the Prime Minister's riding, I would add again, at great cost to the taxpayers and a study indicating that this thing is doomed to failure. We find that after thoroughly and objectively reviewing all of the current responsibilities of the agencies of the Minister of Canadian Heritage that this minister may not be required at all.

Department Of Canadian Heritage Act  How does it get so convoluted and so entwined in its own party politics, in its own rhetoric, that it keeps appointing people to these kinds of things? Let us look at our latest boondoggle by the minister of heritage. We have actually caught him in the act of a minister supporting an application for an individual in his riding. How blatant can one get? The reason this is blatant is that these appointments are going on without the community out there, without the people of Canada getting a grasp on exactly what is happening with these political parties; without the people of Canada complaining about these three Liberal Party hacks in the Senate, without the people of Canada complaining about refugee board appointments, about parole board appointments, about immigration adjudicator appointments.

Department Of Canadian Heritage Act  Canadians used to have some disposable income to spend on art. By running up the deficit because of this ridiculous boondoggle of handing out grants, now they have less disposable income to go out and buy the art that we would all like to see produced. The government across the way is therefore cutting off access that Canadian people have to art.

Department Of Canadian Heritage Act  When we look at all the issues that are within that department; multiculturalism, CBC, status of women, the Canadian Heritage Languages Institute, the National Film Board, there are so many targets. It is an embarrassment of riches. So many boondoggles, so much waste, so little time. I want to talk in general about Canadian heritage and how it protects Canadian artists and the whole idea of government intervention in the artistic community.

Infrastructure  Speaker, under the red ink book infrastructure plan, governments of Canada have borrowed over $4.7 billion in this $6 billion boondoggle and have created only 7,000 long term jobs. Given the statement of the finance minister yesterday about everything being on the table when considering cuts to the deficit, will the Minister of Finance commit in this House today to axing the pork barrel program and saving taxpayers the last billion dollars?

Public Accounts Of Canada  We now find that one of the reasons the 1994 deficit is lower than the minister's original prediction is that the cost of that tax boondoggle was added to the previous year's deficit. When will the government come clean with the Canadian public and make real, and I mean real, cuts to the deficit rather than use smoke and mirrors to make us think that progress is being made?

Health Care Forum  When will the health minister get it that the most important players do not want any part of this $12 million boondoggle?

Social Security Programs  It is time to eliminate shared jurisdiction over programs, eliminate duplication and overlap and consider clear accountability of governments. I feel strongly that this is the greatest boondoggle the government has come up with yet. We had this big drum roll before this was introduced, a big fanfare. We expected a good act. Then the inaction plan whimpered out on to the stage.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation  Will the minister tell us categorically and right now that there will be no new entertainment tax introduced in order to fund this billion dollar boondoggle?