Debates of March 10th, 1999

Families

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister still did not answer the question. His lawyers are arguing that one of the reasons for tax discrimination against single income families is to get parents to leave the home for the paid workforce. That is their argument. Is that argument the position of the government? Does the Prime Minister support it, yes or no?

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism)(Status of Women)]

Mr. Speaker, I wish the hon. member would get his facts right. There are no lawyers in New York or anywhere arguing anything. There are no lawyers anywhere.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

I do not know if the hon. minister had finished.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I will ask this question one more time to one Liberal lawyer I know is in the House. My question is for the Prime Minister, who has been evasive all week on this issue and who has let other ministers answer.

Does the Prime Minister believe that high taxes should be used to get parents to work outside the home?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have a progressive tax system in Canada. We have a system where we make tax credits available to people who need them. We have policies that help families. We have tax credits and so on.

While we have these policies, the Reform Party, trying to change its name but not its policies, does not want to help the people in need. That is very well known.

Cultural Diversity

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is distressing to note that the Minister of Canadian Heritage has decided to boycott the meeting in Paris on cultural diversity, because in this area, the more defenders the better.

Her decision is especially upsetting because Quebec and Canada concur on many points in this area.

If the minister considers cultural diversity so important and wants to promote it internationally, would she not do well to recognize it within Canada itself?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there are international rules to be followed. This is an international conference, not one on the Francophonie.

The French minister did not honour the agreements between France and Canada. Under the circumstances, the Minister of Canadian Heritage was quite right to act as she did; I myself even lodged a complaint with the French prime minister.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as was the case last year in Ottawa, when the government denied Quebec the right to express its culture, does this attitude on the part of the Prime Minister not show that the resolution on the distinct society was nothing but words, an empty resolution not even worth the paper it was written on?

On the subject of culture, Quebec has something to say. Culture is within Quebec's jurisdiction and not that of the heritage minister, or the “ministre de l'héritage”, as the Prime Minister calls her.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the country we live in has two official languages, one of which is French, and the Canadian government has jurisdiction over that.

With respect to the French language, the Government of Canada protects the interests of the French culture, especially since the Prime Minister is a francophone from Quebec.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Mitis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government gets all upset when Quebec affirms itself on the international scene to defend and represent its culture, which is unique in North America.

Is the tantrum thrown by the Minister of Heritage against France not evidence of a limited and narrow-minded view of Canadian cultural diversity, if there is no place for Quebec on the international scene?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that was a government decision. We communicated with the French government. We spoke with the office of the President of France, and the decision was not necessarily an invitation with the approval of the Government of France.

Under the circumstances, it was Canada's duty to ensure that the international rules were adhered to by everyone, France included. We do not invite Corsica to cultural discussions here in Canada.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Mitis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, by boycotting a meeting in Paris solely because Quebec was invited, does the Minister of Canadian Heritage not feel she is doing a disservice to Canadians, whose interests are not being served by her empty chair policy?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is an independent country. There are international rules that have to be followed.

The French Minister of Culture did not follow them and so it was our duty to indicate this to the Government of France, because in any of our dealings with France, and other countries, we always comply with the rules of international law.

Infrastructure

[Lorne Nystrom, NDP, Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. There is a special road leading to a special chalet in Grand'Mère built at public expense on land leased from the town at the price of $1 a year. I have no doubt that the RCMP built this road for proper security reasons. There is something odd about this lease. It runs for 10 years and can be renewed for another 15 years.

Does the Prime Minister expect to be in office until the year 2023, at which time the Minister of Finance will be 85 years old? Does the Prime Minister—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order. The Right Hon. Prime Minister.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, with the way the New Democratic Party is performing in the House of Commons and in the country it would be very easy for me to achieve that goal.

[Lorne Nystrom, NDP, Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, at that time the Minister of Finance will be 85 years old.

The fact is that there is a clause in that lease which allows the RCMP to sublet the land to a third party. For $1 a year, the Prime Minister could be the only one to benefit from a road built at public expense.

Does the Prime Minister intend to personally benefit from that lease, or will he do the right thing and take that clause out of the lease?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance will still be younger than Gladstone, who became Prime Minister of Great Britain at the age of 87. As long as there is life, there is hope.

Incidentally, when the finance minister's father invited me to lunch at the Reform Club, in London, he made sure I sat in front of Gladstone's portrait.

Banking

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the finance minister said that our banking sector is very strong and that Canadians can feel very good about our financial institutions. Yet when the Dominion Bond Rating Service downgraded the credit ratings of our banks yesterday, it was saying that the minister is very wrong. The service blamed the minister's decision to block bank mergers for this downgrading.

What will the minister do to protect Canadians against the certain costs of this downgrading?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to see that the Conservative Party is in favour of the merger of the banks. I think the Minister of Finance was very well advised and was extremely well supported by this side of the House to block that merger.

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that the finance minister did not answer this question. I guess he is very concerned about his own leadership race and recognizes the vulnerability of his decisions.

[The Speaker]

Let us stick with the policy.

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians should not have to pay the price for the finance minister's leadership campaign. Canadians now face higher borrowing costs and their investment savings are jeopardized by the blind ambition of the finance minister.

Will the minister commit to seeking a full study, an expert review, of the cost of this downgrading on Canadians and table that study in the House of Commons?