Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak on the bill of my colleague for Capilano-Howe Sound, Bill C-213, The Constitution Act, 1996 (balanced budget and spending limit).
The preamble to the bill states as follows: "Whereas section 44 of the Constitution Act, 1982-and I emphasize this point-provides that, subject to sections 41 and 42 thereof, Parliament may exclusively make laws amending the Constitution of Canada in relation to the executive government of Canada or the Senate and House of Commons". Then, when the actual bill begins, it states: "The Constitution Act, 1867 is amended by adding the following after section 57".
After that come 11 sections focussing on regulating government expenditures and forcing it to balance its budget. Included are all of the mechanisms, and even-as my colleague from the Reform Party has said-penalties set for senators, MPs, public servants and so on. This is, therefore, a very strong commitment and a bill with a very precise method of implementation.
We are convinced that my honourable colleague's bill is well founded on a desire to force the government to balance its budget. In three years, we in the House have seen Canada's debt go up by $100 billion, and it is still rising. That debt was created by the Liberals.
Recently, the Wall Street Journal -as my colleague is already well aware-referred to the possibility of bankruptcy in the long term. Our Reform colleagues, or the majority of them, have referred to that same possibility, stating quite openly:
"If we do not do something rapidly, we are going to probably hit the wall quite soon".
This is why I think my hon. colleague is being true to himself in tabling such a bill. Obviously, the Bloc's position is different. We advocate an analysis of government spending budget item by budget item along with a full review of the use of tax shelters.
We have just been promised a complete review of tax shelters. We note that it will be done outside the House by the very people who use them most. So there has been no follow up to what the Bloc wanted. For the time being, the government is satisfied with garnishing collective salary from unemployment insurance in order to balance the books and shift part of the deficit onto the provinces.
The requirement for this government to balance its budget could be presented by my colleague simply in legislation before the House. However, as my colleague is a man of action, he decided to take the bull by the horns and propose a constitutional amendment. I think he knows what he is doing. The Constitution establishes an obligation not just for one government, but for each successive government, and is very difficult to change.
The Constitution would be a very restrictive framework for the government. The hon. member states in his bill that the government would have to achieve fiscal balance within three years. Given this year's deficit of $24 billion and the anticipated deficit of $17 billion for next year, it is inconceivable that, under the circumstances, we could have a balanced budget in three years without making massive cuts-and I mean massive-in social programs, which would jeopardize the future of generations to come.
I remember the hon. member for Chambly clearly saying in this House that the Reformers' economic or fiscal policy could often be summarized as follows: "If you are in debt, stop eating for a year. It will solve the problem".
Achieving fiscal balance in the long term is a good principle. However, Bill C-213 is much too compelling and its provisions are way too strict.
That being said, the hon. member is making a totally surprising suggestion at this point in Canadian history, by proposing a constitutional amendment. The word Constitution has almost become taboo.
In January, the president of the Bank of Montreal travelled to Reform country, I believe it was in Calgary, and said: "I am a banker. I know how important the economy is. However, under the circumstances, I think we will have to stop talking about the economy and start dealing with the Constitution. There is not much time left. We have 15 months to solve the issue". This was in January, which means that we now have 11 months to solve an issue which seems much more important than the one being raised here.
Following that statement, businesspeople from everywhere got together. Some met here in the Château Laurier, others in Montreal, to start seriously thinking about what should be done in the months ahead, given that this milestone is fast approaching. As well, Gordon Gibson started travelling across Canada with an extremely well made book entitled Plan B , which I recommend to everyone. The book provides a perfect description of the current situation, the constitutional deadlock, and points a finger at the federal government.
We have also seen just recently the statements made by Peter White in La Presse , I think: ``The Prime Minister does not realize that the constitutional problem is serious, according to the president of the Council for Canadian Unity-he is definitely not a member of our party. Canada has two or three years to settle the constitutional problem. After that, it might be too late and-I quote the exact words-if these two or three years' respite are not put to good use, we are done for; if nothing substantial is proposed during that period, Lucien Bouchard will have the right to win his next referendum''.
Mr. White is fully aware of the seriousness of the situation, but I think he is not aware of its urgency, because we do not have two or three years to settle this problem, we have a few months.
It is therefore somewhat ironic, in light of the bill before us today, that at a time when bankers are telling us that we must stop talking about the economy and start talking about the Constitution, a first in Canadian history, now politicians are telling us that we must reopen the Constitution to sort out economic problems. The world is full of surprises.
In his bill, my hon. colleague refers to the 1982 Constitution, and that is the problem. Quebec is not a signatory to this Constitution. And in accordance with the provisions included, naturally we cannot allow anything to be enshrined in this Constitution. Quebec, it will be recalled, was excluded from this Constitution. Federalists or sovereignists, we in Quebec did not give our agreement. And this unilateral patriation without Quebec's agreement was an obvious breach of contract.
Then came Meech and Charlottetown, events everybody would like to forget, which were supposed to get Quebec to sign the 1982 Constitution so that it could apply to all Canadians, including Quebecers. This deadlock led to the 1995 referendum which, as we know, was won by the skin of the teeth, but was in fact a photo finish.
Quebec's expectations are still as urgent as ever. The Constitution must be reviewed before April 1997. We have a few months ahead of us.
Instead of invoking the 1982 Constitution, as my colleague did, to deal with economic problems, I think he should see to it that Quebec signs the Constitution to make it legally binding on all Canadians, including Quebecers if they sign it.
We are now faced with another deadlock and we cannot count on the Liberals to sort this one out. That is why, I think, my colleague from the Reform Party could perhaps help us. We cannot count on the Liberal Party because the Liberal Party has never kept its promises.
In 1974, it got elected by promising not to impose wage controls. Once elected, it did the opposite. In 1979, it got elected by promising not to tax gasoline or not to increase the tax. Once elected, it did the opposite. In 1989, it promised, if elected, to tear up the Free Trade Agreement. As we know, the Free Trade Agreement is still with us today. In 1993, it wanted to scrap the GST, we should know, we talked about it for one full week, but it never did.
Constitutionally, and I will conclude with this, in 1980, Mr. Trudeau was fighting for his life. The solution arrived at was the 1982 patriation, which resolved nothing, and led to promises that have not been kept. If my colleague truly wishes to resolve Canada's economic problems, I think he should first sort out the constitutional problems, for only then will we be able to find answers to these other problems.