Mr. Speaker, with perseverance we shall endure. I know the finance minister apologized about breaking his GST promise, but saying "I am sorry" does not pay the bills. It does not help the sick. It does not help the most vulnerable in society.
The federal legislation for the harmonized sales tax is before this House today, Bill C-70. It should not be called a harmonized sales tax but perhaps a coat-tail tax or a tax that entices provinces with other people's money.
Bill C-70 is a reminder to all Canadians that the Liberals cannot be trusted to keep their word. Bill C-70 is a symbol of broken trust.
Why cannot Canadians trust this government? The Prime Minister leaves us with a third and final reason. In October 1990, during an interview with the Toronto Star , the Prime Minister said: ``The Liberals will scrap the goods and services tax if they win the next election. I am opposed to the GST, I have always been opposed to it and I will always be opposed to it''.
In October 1993, just before the election, the Prime Minister spoke again about the GST: "Yes, I will abolish it". In May 1994, after winning the election, he said about the GST: "We hate it and we will kill it".
However, just yesterday in the Toronto Star , the Prime Minister said: ``I have always said we want to replace the GST with a harmonized tax''. Come on, let us speak the same language.
The Prime Minister not only told the Canadian public that he would scrap, kill and abolish the GST, he told the Liberal caucus the same thing. The member for York South-Weston told the House on December 12, 1996, from page 7467 of Hansard :
Mr. Speaker, I think what is compounding the problem is that the Prime Minister refuses to recognize what his promise was. He has now had the opportunity to review both the audio and video tapes. Not only did he promise Canadians that he would scrap the GST, he also promised caucus on a number of occasions that he would scrap the GST.
After being elected the Prime Minister changed his tune. He started to say that he had always promised to replace and not abolish the GST. This got him into big trouble at a CBC town hall in December. When asked at the CBC town hall why he did not scrap the GST, the Prime Minister said: "That is not what we said on that. We never said in the red book or directly that it was to be scrapped". It was clear to everyone that the Prime Minister broke his word to Canadians.
Compounding the problem over the next couple of days, the Prime Minister denied ever saying he would scrap, kill and abolish the GST. He said: "We have not lied. We have always said there would be a replacement tax. I recognize that it is not always been clear and has remained a problem in public opinion". It seems the Prime Minister at this point was trying to pass the blame for his broken promise on to the Canadian public but it would not fall for it. It knew he had broken his word.
Therefore the Prime Minister tried to set the record straight a couple of days later by saying the following: "If I and others left the impression with anyone that we would be able to do away with the tax without replacement, I want to tell them I am sorry". Only after experiencing incredible public pressure was the Prime Minister willing to admit he was wrong. Canadians can no longer trust this Prime Minister or believe his words.
This truth is reflected in public opinion today. Let me quote from a letter sent to me earlier this year: "The CBC town hall meeting with the Prime Minister is the best of what CBC is all about. The Prime Minister again was not honest with Canadians. I don't trust the Prime Minister. I don't believe a word the man says". This is what average Canadians are saying about the Prime Minister. Canadians cannot trust this government.
In closing, I want to say what a Reform government will give Canadians. It will give four tools to keep its elected officials accountable to their promises. These four tools are the following. First, free votes in Parliament so that MPs ultimately take their voting instructions from their electors, not the party whip. Second, the right to binding referendums so that Canadians have a direct say in issues affecting their interests. Third, the right to citizen initiatives so that Canadians can force an issue on to the referendum ballot if the government chooses to ignore it. Fourth and most important of all, the right to recall, to fire MPs who fail to keep their commitments to the people and lose their trust.
The GST fiasco has taught Canadians that they cannot trust this Liberal government. In fact, Canadians have learned that they can only trust themselves. If we give Canadians the tools that I just mentioned they will continue to build this great country. They will build a strong country, built not only on the foundation of peace, order and good government but on the foundation of integrity, responsibility and accountability.