Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.
The government continues to indicate that social and health programs are the major cause of debt and deficit but as the minister knows and has said in the House, it is tax loopholes and the high interest rate policy.
Today's auditor general report reaffirms that Canada's level of foreign indebtedness is the highest among major industrial nations and that this foreign indebtedness is threatened by control of monetary policy.
I ask the minister if he would consider two measures to start taking control of our monetary policy. One is whether he would reinstate reserve requirements for the chartered banks with the Bank of Canada which would allow the bank to assume more of Canadian debt, and whether he would reduce the 20 per cent foreign investment option with RRSPs which would encourage Canadians to invest in Canada.