Debates of March 5th, 1996

International Women's Week

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville—Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in this International Women's Week we celebrate the contributions of women and renew our commitment to their equality.

Today women make up 45 per cent of all workers but they also continue to do two-thirds of the unpaid work in Canada. In 1992 Statistics Canada estimated the total value of all unpaid work at between $210 billion and $318 billion. In order to make sound public policy, we need to take this productive activity into account and we will begin to do this in May.

For the first time ever, the national census will ask questions on unpaid work related to housework, child care and care of the elderly. In doing so, we are recognizing the tremendous contribution of women's unpaid work to Canadian society and the Canadian economy.

Economic Recovery

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, although all the figures on deficit reduction are not yet available, I will venture to say that the performance of our government in this connection deserves praise.

Our Bloc colleagues, however, have devoted all their energy since their election to criticizing our strategy, without proposing any serious alternative. Now he is the premier of Quebec, the former leader of our official opposition surely has a better understanding of the dilemma of preserving social programs while putting one's financial house in order.

To foster economic recovery and and create jobs, our colleagues will have to take off their sovereignist blinkers and help us attain these objectives for the good of all Canadians.

Hamilton

[Beth Phinney, Liberal, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, 1996 is the 150th anniversary of the founding of the city of Hamilton. All the community groups involved and the organizing committee are to be congratulated on the several hundred events that have been planned for this year to celebrate Hamilton's sesquicentennial.

Hamilton's economy is relatively stable these days with an unemployment rate of 6 per cent. Co-operation between the unions, businesses, schools and government has created Hamilton's current success: a 5 per cent reduction in unemployment in two years.

Since Hamilton was incorporated in June 1846, the city has developed into one of Canada's major industrial centres. Although most famous as a steel town, Hamilton has numerous national attractions such as the Royal Botanical Gardens, Dundurn Castle, and the Art Gallery of Hamilton. This year's Grey Cup will be held in Hamilton, home of the Tiger Cats.

I would like to invite all my colleagues and all other Canadians to visit Hamilton this year to take part in the sesquicentennial celebrations.

International Women's Week

[Larry McCormick, Liberal, Hastings—Frontenac—Lennox And Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House during International Women's Week to salute the women of the world, particularly the women of my riding of Hastings-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington.

In my riding women run businesses and are artists, farmers, politicians, service providers, homemakers and caregivers. They are also volunteers and members of service clubs, legions and women's institutes. Like women internationally, the women of my riding contribute wholly to the social, political and spiritual life of their communities. And they are heroes. I proudly recall witnessing Sheila Maracle and Terry Ann Richardson receive the Star of Courage and the Medal of Bravery for saving a drowning child in a spontaneous act of courage.

Generous actions occur daily in homes and communities and across international boundaries. Mary Lou Carroll of Adolphustown is currently arranging a third shipment of supplies to the Sisters of St. Joseph's orphanage in Haiti.

Our lives are made richer by the women we know. Please join me in saluting the women of the world and of our constituencies across this great country.

Montreal Neurological Institute

[Michel Daviault, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Montreal Neurological Institute has developed a new and unique working tool for detecting brain tumours: magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This is a diagnostic procedure that is both safe and painless.

With traditional methods, the rate of success for preoperative diagnosis is 78 per cent. This new method of detection raises the success rate to 99 per cent. The accuracy of these new tests will help relieve patient uncertainty, as well as reducing costs and length of care.

The Bloc Quebecois offers its congratulations to Drs. Arnold, Preul and Carmanos and their colleagues in neurosurgery for their discovery, which again offers proof of the innovative genius of Quebecers in the health field.

Goods And Services Tax

[Ed Harper, Reform, Simcoe Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over the weekend I was delighted to see the Minister of the Environment who is from Toronto join the gaggle of Ontario Liberals squirming under their broken promise to eliminate the GST. "To deny that it is an issue would be incorrect", said the hon. minister. "People remember us taking a firm position".

Canadians know that the Prime Minister promised to eliminate the GST. He did not promise to fudge the GST, to hide it or to sugarcoat it; he promised to eliminate it. What part of the word eliminate do the Liberals not understand?

Canadians and especially the voters of Etobicoke North will not be tricked by the same old Mulroney tax under a new name and a new cover. This issue may make the hon. minister and his Grit gang afraid of the voters, but we are not. Etobicoke North, say no to the supertax: vote Reform.

Gemini Awards

[John English, Liberal, Kitchener, ON]

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television recently celebrated its finest achievements in creating programs in the English language for broadcast during the past year. For the past 10 years the Gemini awards have honoured all aspects of television production in Canada recognizing over 55 categories of achievement annually. The Geminis offer a fitting tribute to the vitality, energy and creativity of Canada's cultural community.

I would like to offer congratulations to the nominees and winners of this year's Geminis. Compelling, humorous, or informative programs, such as "Due South", "Million Dollar Babies", "The Fifth Estate" and "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" captured our imaginations and well deserved the recognition they received. The standards they set are an example of the exceptional work Canadians produce.

Canadian programming is now seen in every part of the world, a result of the hard work and talent of our own creators and craftspeople. It is also due in part to support from the people of Canada through the various programs and policies which exist to keep our cultural life vibrant and meaningful to all Canadians.

Huntington's Disease

[Dianne Brushett, Liberal, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Huntington's disease invades the body of one in every 1,000 Canadians in the prime of their life. Over its 10 to 25-year course, Huntington's leads to incapacitation and eventual death. There is no known cure and no effective treatment to date.

In 1993 scientists found the gene that causes Huntington's disease. Every child who has a parent with Huntington's has a 50 per cent chance of developing the disease.

Many know that May is Huntington's awareness month. In order to help local chapters in my riding spread their message, I am declaring May 19 to 26 Huntington's Awareness Week in Cumberland-Colchester. It is my hope that this initiative will help to heighten the local awareness and generate greater local support for research programs and education. With increased support for this dreadful disease, we can find a cure.

Securities

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, in response to questioning yesterday on the government's intentions in the area of securities, the secretary of state for international financial institutions said that, in his opinion, the federal government would look after securities more effectively than the provinces.

In his letter to the President of the Privy Council of February 16, 1994, the former premier of Quebec, Daniel Johnson, said that federal regulation would be inappropriate and would lead to duplication of monitoring rules and inevitably to heavier administrative loads for issuers, investors and intermediaries.

My question is for the Minister of Finance or the secretary of state. On what basis can the government seriously state that it would be more effective in the area of securities than the provinces have been up to now, when this area of jurisdiction is solely theirs?

[Doug Peters, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should realize that there are a large number of securities regulators in this country. Let us say there are 10 and let us say that two of them got together and asked the federal government to handle the securities. That would leave eight. In my arithmetic, eight is less than ten. I do not know whether the hon. member is using some form of octal calculating but eight is less than ten, six is less than ten and anything is less than ten if the federal government gets involved.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, arrogance never got anyone very far.

The throne speech indicated that the federal government would not intervene in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction without the consent of the majority of the provinces. Is there anyone in the government who can tell me whether it might finally admit that its proposed approach, particularly in the area of financial institutions and in other areas, as indicated in the throne speech, will inevitably lead to Quebec's isolation?

[Doug Peters, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Absolutely not, Mr. Speaker. The only question that comes up is that the proposal was there to improve the efficiency of Canadian capital markets to make it easier for business to issue securities and to make it easier for Canadian companies to be competitive.

If the hon. member is not interested in those matters, fine, but maybe the rest of the Canadian provinces are interested. We are putting the proposal up. If they want to opt out, they can opt out. There is no compulsory matter here whatsoever.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, will the government admit that the establishment of a federal securities commission will amount to putting the Quebec securities sector in a sort of trusteeship, despite the opposition of all interested parties in Quebec, including federalist Quebecers?

[Doug Peters, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, in this particular instance the Canadian business community and the commission chair in Ontario for example have said that this is a positive proposal. This is a proposal that would create jobs in Canada, that would help Canadian business become competitive, that would help Canadian business raise capital.

It seems that the opposition party is not interested in creating jobs in Quebec. It is not interested in making Quebec's businesses more competitive. If that is the case, fine, but we are interested. This government is interested in allowing the provinces to come together with us to make a Canadian securities commission.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in his February 16, 1994 letter to the then President of the Privy Council, former Quebec premier Daniel Johnson wrote, and I quote: "The Government of Quebec has never been in favour of a greater federal role in the securities industry, which is an area of exclusive provincial jurisdiction. On the contrary, it has regularly expressed its opposition to federal initiatives in this area".

My question is for the Minister of Finance, since the secretary of state is not taking this seriously. Can the minister, who knows Quebec well, deny that the establishment of a federal securities commission would go against Quebec's position and marginalize the Quebec institutions working in this area, while reducing their ability to intervene?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know that, on the one hand, the federal government is in the process of responding to the requests made by several provinces and, on the other hand, to the business community across Canada, including Quebec, which is calling for rationalization.

Why should a Quebec company have to send prospectuses to 10 provinces, when it could limit its mailings to two entities if there were a federal agency and its Quebec counterpart?

We want to put Quebec companies in a position to seek capital as efficiently as possible. A federal commission would help, as the Quebec business community knows full well.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I see that even the Minister of Finance does not know what he is talking about. He should ask the current Minister of Immigration who, when the letter was sent to the President of the Privy Council, was in Mr. Johnson's cabinet. She shared Mr. Johnson's opinion that the federal government should not interfere in the securities industry, an area that comes under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Quebec government.

Again, I ask the Minister of Finance, who normally gives me serious answers, a question that is as serious as the first one, in the hope that he will give me a straight answer this time around.

Will the minister admit that this new intervention in an area of exclusive provincial jurisdiction could have a negative impact on securities operations in Quebec by fostering a gradual transfer of these operations, including those of the Montreal Stock Exchange, from Montreal to Toronto?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Bloc Quebecois has been overtaken by events. They should know, as the Montreal Stock Exchange members and the business community in Montreal and throughout Quebec know full well, that competition now comes not only from Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver but also from Chicago, London, New York and Philadelphia.

If we want the Canadian business community, in Quebec and the other provinces, to be able to compete with the Americans, the British, the Europeans and the Japanese, we must strengthen our position. This is what we are doing. Creating a federal securities commission in co-operation with the Montreal Stock Exchange and the Quebec people will make us stronger.

There has never been a better example of the extent to which the Bloc Quebecois exists in the 1950s, perhaps the 1960s if it is lucky. The world has changed. Quebecers are no longer in competition with Ontarians. They are in competition with the Americans, the Brits and the Japanese.

What we want to do is give this country the best foundation possible, and that is what is happening here.

The Economy

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as the House prepares to receive the federal budget, I want to examine the Prime Minister's assertion that the federal government has broken the back of the deficit.

If such a statement came from a government that had balanced its budget it might be credible. However, when it comes from the head of an enterprise that has run 25 consecutive deficits, has not had a budget surplus in a quarter of a century and is currently spending $30 billion more per year than it takes in, such a statement is unbelievable and exposes the government and the House to ridicule.

The only back the government has broken is the back of the Canadian taxpayer.

To the finance minister, if the government has broken the back of the deficit, how soon we can expect a reward for that accomplishment, namely tax relief for overtaxed Canadians?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, when we took office the deficit as a percentage of GDP was 6 per cent. Last year we brought it down to 5 per cent. This year we will be announcing 4 per cent or better. Next year we will hit our target of 3 per cent, and we have already set a target of 2 per cent. Six, five, four, three, two-

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we would very much on this side of the House like to reduce taxes but we have to deal with the hand we were dealt.

We will eliminate the deficit. At the same time, we will protect the basic social programs of the country. We would like to reduce taxes but we will preserve the social programs because that is the higher priority.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, if the treasury could have a dollar for every excuse like the one given for not balancing the budget, the deficit could be eliminated.

Eight out of eleven senior governments in the country are committed to eliminating their deficits, not just reducing them, and are much further down that road than the federal government. As the provinces get closer to balancing their budgets, they fear that a fiscally irresponsible federal government will move into the tax room they have vacated.

Will the Prime Minister today assure the provinces the federal government will not undermine the positive effects of provincial tax decreases by federal tax increases?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, time after time the leader of the Reform Party sets up straw people he likes to knock down.

We met with the finance ministers of the provinces. At that meeting we agreed we had a common objective. We agreed as well that as we work to that common objective it made no sense for any government to fill in room left by any other government.

Around the table of the federal government and the provincial finance ministers there is an extraordinary amount of co-operation toward that ultimate goal. It does not make any sense for the leader of the Reform Party to try to get in the way, stir up the waters and cause problems where none exist. Why does he not try to help the country work together? That is what we are doing with the provinces.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this month in the province of Alberta the government and the public are beginning a very positive and constructive budget debate.

It is a debate that cuts across party lines. It offers something to consumers, to business people, to the users of social services, to taxpayers. It is a debate on whether to apply a government surplus, something this House has not heard much about, to debt reduction, to social service investment or to tax relief.

When can Canadians expect the House of Commons to debate a budget surplus? Does the government foresee such a debate being possible in this millennium, the next millennium or the one after that?