Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Battlefords—Lloydminster.
It gives me great pleasure to speak to the motion of the member for Medicine Hat which bears repeating:
That this House condemn the government for making their 50/50 election promise on any future surpluses without adequate public debate as to the optimal size of government, taxes, and debt, thus threatening to repeat Canada's 27 year old history of irresponsible spending, creating high debt, financed by high taxes, causing high unemployment.
This is an important motion because it goes to the heart of what caused our debt in the first place. It is not surprising to hear the NDP say that it is opposed to our motion today, considering that it was part of the coalition that started this whole spiral back in the late sixties to begin with.
The country needs a good debate about what should be the size of the federal government. It is all about priorities. How big of a government do we really want? Are we willing to pay the taxes it takes to run a government of that size? Can we not, with a smaller government and lower taxes, create a far greater prosperity for our citizens? This is the debate the country needs. It is the debate that is currently taking place in Alberta which has two surplus budgets.
Since this is my first time speaking in 36th Parliament, I would like to thank the people who elected me in my riding of Peace River for returning me to the House of Commons. I hope I can continue to show that I am working on their behalf and respect that they have put their faith in me. I would also like to congratulate you on your appointment to the Chair.
I am especially pleased to have been reappointed international trade critic because it is critical to Canada. It is also critical to my riding of Peace River and its economy.
Our export industries are oil, natural gas, agriculture and forestry. Nationally one out of every three jobs is related to exports. In my riding almost everything we produce in a basic industry line is exported and is vitally important.
Therefore I am always concerned about giving our Canadian businesses the best opportunities to take part in the global economy. Trade and investment deals open a lot of doors, but what happens if our companies cannot take advantage of these deals and conditions at home do not allow them to survive and grow? I am keenly aware that trade starts at home with sound domestic policies.
I congratulate the member for York West on becoming the Minister of International Trade. His ministry has an important role to play in securing Canada's place as we move into the 21st century. His job will not always be easy as there will be voices trying to hold Canada back. These voices will urge him to protect our industries from the cut and thrust of foreign competition. At the same time his department will urge him to resist these pleas for protectionism. I wish him vision and resolve to stay the course of trade liberalization which has meant so much to Canada in the last 10 years. I want to serve notice that I will be watching.
We heard the Speech from the Throne on last Tuesday. It touched briefly on the importance of trade to the Canadian economy. One in every three Canadian jobs now depends on trade. These jobs were not created as a result of team Canada trade missions. I admit that many business people make important contacts on these trade missions. I would even admit that there are some countries where high level government presence is critical. However, these multimillion dollar trade deals do not happen just because the prime minister touched down in a jet with his entourage in tow.
On the contrary, while it opened some initial doors, it is interesting to find that our trade, especially our exports to countries like China, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay just to mention a few, went down in subsequent years after the initial trade missions.
There is a lot of bragging on the other side about the importance of the prime minister opening these doors. I suggest he has to do some work at home to look after some problems that restrict the ability of Canadian businesses to take advantage of the trade deals.
In light of these stunning failures I wonder whether the government will continue pinning all its trade hopes on a five day dog and pony show.
For all the government's talk of trade successes it just so happens that most Canadian companies do not export. In fact 80 percent of our trade is done by 100 companies. Literally thousands of companies have never sent a representative outside our borders or even sold a single widget or service to a customer in a province west or east of them. Is this because they lack the imagination or lack the courage to leave their own backyard? No, certainly not.
In many cases borders between our provinces have been more daunting than the Himalaya mountains. After being in power for three and a half years the last time and being in power a long time before that, it is outrageous the Liberal government has done nothing to dismantle hundreds of trade barriers that exist between our provinces.
In the subcommittee on the special import measures act last year members heard that in many cases it was easier to export from the American states to our provinces than it is from provinces like Ontario. This is absolutely absurd. We even heard from a Canadian company that actually left Ontario in disgust to move to Michigan. The company could not do business in Canada from Ontario, but once they located in Michigan they could trade into Canadian provinces. We have an absolutely ludicrous situation that has to be corrected. They are not showing the vision on the other side to resolve the problem.
The problem of internal trade barriers is one that will take imagination and courage to overcome. I submit the government has neither the imagination nor courage. Otherwise it would have tackled it long ago.
The federal government has the power to demolish these internal trade barriers. Doing so will do more to create jobs and exports in the country than hundreds of team Canada trade missions. In fact it has been suggested that internal trade barriers may be costing Canadians up to $8 billion per year.
The Speech from the Throne also mentions making Canada the location of choice for global investment. It is a worthy objective. Canada is a wonderful location, but I wonder sometimes if the government has actually examined some of the existing problems.
Has it examined payroll taxes? They are a killer and they are going up, not down. Canadian pension plan premiums are going up by 77 percent over 1996 levels. On top of that, the employment insurance fund will run a surplus of almost $13 billion by the end of the year. What is this for? It is obviously to help the finance minister bring down his deficit, but it will be done on the backs of workers and employers.
Does the government honestly believe foreign investors will come to Canada to have their pockets picked? Why on earth would high level executives want to direct foreign investment from their country into Canada after examining our personal income tax levels? These are over 50 percent higher than income taxes paid by our six G-7 partners.
Now blue skies and nice folks are important, but I suggest they are not the only reason that companies invest in Canada. They look at business dollars as savvy executives. Good business conditions is what they are looking for.
We desperately need to dismantle our internal trade barriers and lower payroll and other taxes. We also need to remove some of the red tape on regulation that keeps our business people from concentrating on the product or the service they are selling.
In conclusion, trade and investment start at home. If the conditions are right foreign investments and exports will follow.
My riding of Peace River in Alberta is located in the lowest taxed province in the country. It is not surprising that our exports flow directly south where many of our trade barriers have already been dismantled.
The Liberal government should take a major initiative. Instead of taking a team Canada trade mission to Latin America this year, perhaps it should concentrate right at home and correct some of the problems it has the power to look after.