Debates of March 13th, 1998

Seniors

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I stand today in the Chamber as representative of the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine which has one of the highest percentages of seniors in all of Quebec.

I was outraged at the comments earlier this week of the Reform member for Edmonton North concerning 73 year old Mr. Archibald Johnstone. Not only was I outraged but so were my constituents, including Mrs. Caroline Wright Byford who will celebrate her 102nd birthday on Sunday, March 15.

As anyone with working grey cells knows, age is a state of mind. At this time when the United Nations has declared 1999 the International Year of Seniors I would hope that the Reform Party, and in particular the member for Edmonton North, would celebrate the fact that we as a nation have a population of seniors who lead active and productive lives and contribute in a real and meaningful way to our country.

I would also hope that the member would stand and apologize to seniors everywhere.

Maurice Richard

[Rahim Jaffer, Reform, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have a passion for hockey like no other sport. In my riding of Edmonton, everyone is talking about the glorious years of the Oilers with stars like Gretzky, Messier and Fuhr. But long before these men carried the Stanley Cup on their shoulders, Maurice Richard, of the Montreal Canadians, was the king of hockey.

In the days when there were only six teams in the National Hockey League, everyone in the country gathered around their radio or television sets to cheer the “Rocket”, hoping he would work his magic and bring the Stanley Cup home to Canada.

Today, as the “Rocket” faces his greatest battle, a battle against cancer, I want him to know that the Reform Party and all Canadians are once again behind him, hoping he will work his magic and win this battle.

Get well soon, Maurice.

Employment

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the newly released employment figures for February reaffirm that the government's policies are contributing to job creation.

Full time employment rose by 84,000 in February. Unemployment fell by an estimated 38,000, dropping the unemployment rate to 8.6%. What is especially significant is that nearly half of February's employment increase went to youths 15 to 24 years of age. Two-thirds of this gain was in full time work. This employment increase among youth led to a decline of 23,000 in the unemployment ranks.

The help wanted index now stands at its highest level since November 1990. As employer hiring intentions are at record levels for the 1990s, there is no doubt the government is on the right track with respect to job creation and employment for Canadians.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Bev Desjarlais, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my great disappointment with the Government of Canada that I remind it of its responsibility to Canadians.

The Government of Canada in all its wisdom gave birth to a cycle of sickness, cultural genocide, incarceration, abuse and poverty. The aboriginal people affected by the government's actions have been fighting to regain their rightful place in society. They are fighting to be on strong social and economic ground.

The government has failed to recognize that in order to survive there must be a greater investment in aboriginal communities, investment directed to health, education, housing and water and sewer projects.

In Manitoba alone housing shortages in the thousands have forced one mother to place two of her children in a foster home. The home where they lived could not hold everyone. She was forced to leave her community and go to the city just to have a roof over her head.

The government's EI policy has forced hundreds of part time and seasonal aboriginal workers on to the welfare system: fishermen, guides and loggers. Most cannot travel the country looking for another part time job. If the cycle is to ever end the government must be willing to make a serious investment in aboriginal people.

Employment

[Rey D. Pagtakhan, Liberal, Winnipeg North—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the chief economist of the Bank of Montreal said Canada's economic growth should remain on track through to the millennium, creating more than one million jobs.

It was therefore no surprise when today Statistics Canada reported the good news. Employment was up by 84,000 jobs over last month's figure, an increase that is 30% higher than predicted. Most of the gain was in full time work and nearly half went to youth. At the same time unemployment fell by 38,000, dropping the rate to 8.6%.

I am particularly pleased that the unemployment rate in my home province of Manitoba is 5.8% better than the national average.

The government knows we have to continue to do more. At the same time the government is assured its jobs and growth strategy is working. This is good news for all Canadians.

Year 2000

[Jim Jones, Progressive Conservative, Markham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the message is clear. The Liberal government has only scratched the surface of the Y2K problem. There is a lot of work to be done with only 460 working days left. Next to World War II the Y2K problem could be the second largest disaster in the history of the world.

The potential risks of the Y2K problem to Canada include the loss of 200,000 jobs, a technology solution estimated at $12 billion to $50 billion, legal costs that could be five times the technical costs, and one in ten Canadian businesses could fail.

The government originally stated that it would cost $500 million to fix this problem. Now the estimates are rising daily. In some instances the final numbers on costs are coming in at five times the original estimates.

We must have someone in the government who is accountable and responsible to get this problem fixed and lead us into the next millennium.

To quote from an expert “there has never been a manmade technical problem that will impact so many businesses, so many government groups and cause so many problems at a personal level”. The clock is ticking.

Foreign Affairs

[Ted McWhinney, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the House salutes the efforts of British Prime Minister Tony Blair to produce a peaceful ending to Ireland's historical conflicts in bringing together the main contending parties for the discussion of possible new institutions and processes for living together in goodwill and harmony.

Any advice or practical help that Canadians may be able to offer with our own historical experience as a plural society characterized by peaceful coexistence and active co-operation among different cultural communities should be accorded to the Irish communities concerned in the current talks.

Editorial Cartoonist Donato

[Maud Debien, Bloc, Laval East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in yesterday's Toronto Sun , one of the dailies of Quebec's friend Conrad Black, their editorial cartoonist, Donato, suggested another way for Canadians to express their love for Quebec. We still remember all those Canadian patriots converging on Montreal in 1995 to tell us how much they loved us.

Yesterday, the cartoonist went one better than that. His drawing, with the caption “An open letter to the Bloc MPs” shows the Canadian flag proudly flying on “the finger” instead of a flagpole. I think that is an excellent idea.

In the next referendum, I would like to see all those Canadian patriots returning to invade the streets of Montreal, with the tab picked up by Option Canada, accept Donato's suggestion and express their love by sticking a little maple leaf flag, graciously provided by Heritage Canada, on their raised middle fingers.

All Quebeckers will immediately understand this message of love and tolerance, and will act accordingly.

Senate Of Canada

[Peter Goldring, Reform, Edmonton East, AB]

Mr. Speaker:

The people of Alberta have expressed their will The House must now heed their call That elections for Senate be their wish That fairness in governing be for all Through election is our method To be effective is our purpose Equality for all be our goal We ask this House to listen now We ask Premier Klein to echo this call We ask that this reasonable wish Be respected and confirmed by all Why not an elected Senate For Provinces that wish to vote Alberta's call will not abate From this you may well quote The solution be simple and has support Stan Waters was first and led the way Albertans wish to elect their choice This House must listen to what they say.

Red Cross Month

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, March is Red Cross Month in Canada. In less than two years Canada has suffered through three large scale disasters: the Manitoba flood, the Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean flood and most recently the ice storm which devastated parts of eastern Canada.

Throughout these traumatic events the Canadian Red Cross came to the aid of millions of Canadians by providing shelters and beds, recruiting volunteers and fund raising. The Red Cross has raised more than $60 million for these three disasters.

The Red Cross is a humanitarian organization that delivers valuable programs which range from water safety and first aid to abuse prevention and breakfast programs. The Canadian Red Cross is also active overseas in helping victims of wars and national disasters.

In Peterborough a good example of Red Cross work is the sick room rental program. I ask all members of the House to recognize this organization which has done so much in Canada and around the world.

The Budget

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the auditor general, Canada's top financial watchdog, says he does not trust the Prime Minister's budget because of false entries and dummy accounts.

Now the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, the very people who write the rules of accounting, say that the Prime Minister is cooking the books also.

By falsifying the books the government has hidden $2.5 billion this year alone, money that should have gone to tax and debt relief.

Why does the Prime Minister believe that he knows more about accounting than accountants do?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, before one can accept the premise of the hon. member's question I think one would want to check the accuracy of his quotes.

The Prime Minister has said, along with the minister of finance, that we are up front in our accounting. We are booking the amounts required for the millennium scholarship fund right now in a transparent, visible way. We are not hiding things the way the former Mulroney Conservative government did.

The millennium fund is in aid of students. Why is the Reform Party speaking against the interests of students?

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the transparency of that answer does not impress the auditor general. It does not impress the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and it sure does not impress overtaxed Canadians.

Bob Rutherford, vice-president of standards for the CICA, says that accounting rules which the government claims to be using simply do not exist. Apparently the finance minister has made them up.

The point is this. If Canadians tried to hide their money from the tax collector by setting up dummy accounts, they would go to jail. Why can the finance minister use accounting tricks that would get the rest of us thrown in jail?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's assertions are completely unwarranted. Speaking of dummies, that is a dummy question.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, speaking about dummies that was sure a dumb answer.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[An hon. member]

It's Friday.

[The Speaker]

Thank God it's Friday.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this issue is about more than just accounting. It is about whether the government has to live by the same rules as ordinary citizens. It is also about the government breaking its election promises.

Half the missing $2.5 billion was promised to go toward tax relief and debt reduction. Did the government really think Canadian taxpayers would not notice that $2.5 billion disappeared from the balance sheet?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have carried out our commitments. There are billions of dollars directed to tax relief for middle and lower income Canadians. We paid off billions of dollars of the debt and we will continue doing this.

I ask the hon. member if he thinks Canadians will not notice that every time he gets to his feet and his colleagues get to their feet on this issue, they are proving they do not want to help Canadian students?

Taxation

[Jason Kenney, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are preparing for tax time. The Canadian tax system works on the principle of honest reporting of income, transparent self-reporting of income. This system would collapse if Canadians were allowed to play the same kind of games with their books the government is playing with the public books.

How can the government and the finance minister square the principle of honesty in accounting with his manipulation of the public accounts?

[The Speaker]

We are getting a little strong in our words. Please be very judicious in your choice of words.

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, it is very simple. If a business makes a commitment for an expenditure, it has to book it. If a family has a commitment for an expenditure investment, that is money it does not have to spend on other things. We are going to run our books on an open basis so that Canadians know exactly where we stand.

[Jason Kenney, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the auditor general says that this is the wrong way to keep the books. The Institute of Chartered Accountants says that this is the wrong way to keep the books. Any reasonable objective person who knows about public accounting will say that this is inconsistent with the rules.

Why has the government not been forthcoming, clear and straightforward in the way it keeps the public accounts? If programs are good, then book them when they should be booked, but do not lie to Canadians about when those—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Rimouski—Mitis.