House of Commons Hansard #66 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was union.
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I can see the Reform Party is getting mad and frustrated because of the success of the government. I understand that and we are trying to be as nice as possible. We will train them.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, as regards the millennium fund, there is no indication that the government intends to respect the jurisdiction of the Quebec government, which has been administering, for over 30 years, a loan and scholarship fund that is much more elaborate than those of the other provinces.
Yet, in December 1995, this government passed a motion on Quebec's distinct character and pledged to take note of it and act accordingly.
Why is the Prime Minister, who said the motion meant something, stubbornly trying to duplicate Quebec's own program, through a new standardized Canada-wide program?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, we believe that one of Canada's top priority is to prepare our young people to face the challenges of the 21st century.
Since we got our finances in better shape than anticipated for the year 1997-98, we decided to set some money aside to create the millennium fund, so that young Canadians, including Quebeckers, can attend the universities administered by provincial governments and thus prepare themselves to take their place in the 21st century.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, this takes some nerve. By the year 2002, the federal government will have cut $10 billion from post-secondary education, and the Prime Minister is telling us about a new program that is being condemned not only by the Quebec government, but also by the Quebec Liberal Party, the students, the teachers and the deans of universities. These people are unanimous in saying that the new program does not meet Quebec's needs.
Given this new consensus in Quebec, why is the Prime Minister stubbornly refusing, in the face of all logic, to give Quebec the right to completely withdraw from the program, with full compensation, as provided in the agreements signed with Jean Lesage, back in the sixties?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that the hon. member recognizes that Quebec's scholarship program is funded with federal money even though it is administered by the province. I hope they will tell students.
At this time, we are in the enviable position of being able to help students. When the first ministers' meeting was held in December, provincial premiers asked us to make a special effort to help students deal with their debt load, and to help them continue to attend university. Such was the wish expressed by the premiers at the federal-provincial meeting—
Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development.
In its January 1994 throne speech, the federal government said, and I quote: “It will be the policy of the Government to seek to clarify the federal government's responsibilities in relation to those of other orders of government, to eliminate overlap and duplication”.
Are we to understand that the only original way the federal government has found of clarifying its responsibilities, of eliminating overlap and duplication, is to create a coast-to-coast program of millennium scholarships, a complete invasion of provincial jurisdiction?
Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, I think the member has not yet heard the Minister of Finance's budget speech. She is jumping to conclusions when she says that the millennium fund duplicates what is being done by the Government of Quebec.
What I can tell you is that, as the Prime Minister pointed out, there will be no duplication with what the Government of Quebec is already doing. I am very happy that the opposition is giving us the opportunity to remind listeners that, since 1964, the Quebec student loans program has been largely funded by the Government of Canada.
Pierre Pettigrew Liberal Papineau—Saint-Denis, QC
So I think we will keep up the good work.
Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC
Mr. Speaker, there are limits to playing with words and concepts.
Will the minister not admit that the scholarship program is aimed squarely at students, that it therefore falls within the field of education, that this is an area of exclusively provincial jurisdiction, and that Quebec already has its own loan and scholarship programs? What business does the federal government have interfering?
Stéphane Dion LiberalPresident of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, education is a provincial responsibility and the Government of Canada is not interfering in education.
Financial assistance to students has been a shared responsibility for a very long time now, and many of us here in the House have benefited from it. There is therefore nothing new in this.
In order to improve Canada's competitiveness, the two levels of government must work together and that is what we will do.
Angela Vautour NDP Beauséjour—Petitcodiac, NB
Mr. Speaker, I ask this question on behalf of the constituents of my riding, especially the people of River Glade, Salisbury and Petitcodiac.
Will the Minister of Transport immediately forbid the New Brunswick government from charging tolls on the section of the Trans-Canada Highway between Moncton and River Glade, a section of highway that has already been constructed and paid for by Canadians and New Brunswick taxpayers?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, the short answer is no. As I have already explained to the House, the contribution made by the federal government has been deducted from the cost sharing that will be reflected in the tolls.
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transport.
New Brunswickers have already paid for this road through their taxes. Now they will have to pay even more to line the pockets of Doug Young and his friends. Doug Young was thrown out on June 2 of last year, and yet he has managed to sneak back in through the back door. Enough is enough.
Will the government finally put an end to patronage and get rid of the idea of a toll highway for once and for all?
Trans-Canada HighwayOral Question Period
February 24th, 1998 / 2:25 p.m.
Don Valley East Ontario
Liberal
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, the fact that the NDP is asking these questions three weeks after the issue was dealt with in the House of Commons shows its relevance in Canadian society.
The former minister of transport did nothing wrong and there is nothing wrong with this agreement. In future we should look at whether or not the issue of tolls should be included in federal-provincial agreements.
Jean Charest Progressive Conservative Sherbrooke, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is all very fine for the government to pat itself on the back today for a balanced budget, but there will probably not be any congratulations forthcoming from the provincial finance ministers.
Jean Charest Progressive Conservative Sherbrooke, QC
I would like to know whether the Liberal members plan to applaud the fact that there is more poverty, more children living below the poverty line in Canada since their party was elected.
Do they intend to applaud that, or does the Prime Minister intend to raise the $10,000 basic exemption so that two million low-income Canadians can stop paying income tax and he will finally be doing something to help the poor people of Canada?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party will be getting his answer within a couple of hours.
I would like to tell him, however, that, since July 1 of last year, we have injected $850 million into helping poor families with children. We have made it part of our program to inject another $850 million over this mandate.
We are greatly concerned by the poverty of families and children in Canada. This is a priority which we included in the throne speech and one which will, of necessity, be reflected in the Minister of Finance's budget.
Jean Charest Progressive Conservative Sherbrooke, QC
Mr. Speaker, in all honesty, the Prime Minister ought to also acknowledge that all that $850 million is doing is replacing what has been lost to de-indexation.
I want to ask a question about jobs, because if we want to help poor Canadians the first thing we should do is try to create jobs.
We quoted time and time the fact that the American economy has lower taxes, more growth and more jobs. Here in Canada also, in Alberta, there are lower taxes, more growth, more jobs.
Will the Prime Minister commit to lowering taxes to create jobs for Canadians?
Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, these deindexations were done by the Conservative government before we formed the government.
The second point is yes, we are very preoccupied with jobs. Because we made sure that the finances of the nation are in good shape, the economy is much better.
For example, we all know that more than a million new jobs have been created in the four years of Liberal administration, something that was the goal of the leader of the Conservative Party during the election for the coming five years, and we managed to do it in the last four years.
Grant McNally Reform Dewdney—Alouette, BC
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Prime Minister I have consulted constituents in my own riding about how any budget surplus should be spent, and 87% of the respondents indicated that at least 50% of any surplus should go to debt elimination.
My question is for the Prime Minister. He had a promise for Canadians, not a side margin promise but a promise when he said that 50% of the surplus would go to debt and tax relief.
How could he promise that when he knew all along that he would blow any surplus on new spending?
Tony Valeri LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, at 4.30 p.m. there will be the presentation of a budget in the House.
I am sure the hon. member will be here to listen to the budget, for a change. I look forward, in coming days as we move into the budget debate, to listen to the hon. member speak in favour of these government initiatives.
