Mr. Speaker, during the summit of the Americas, which, I would remind hon. members, was attended by 34 heads of state of the Americas, including the President of the United States, a reception was hosted by the Prime Minister. To the great pride of all the people of Brome—Missisquoi, and particularly the people of the town of Lac Brome, Brome Lake duck was on the menu.

An event such as this is an extraordinary showcase for our regional products. We can be justifiably proud of the variety, quality and originality of our local products. As well as being a source of pride to ourselves, I do not doubt that they were greatly appreciated by the summit VIPs.

My congratulations to Canards du lac Brome on this undeniable recognition of their product, an honour that reflects on the town of Lac Brome, on Brome-Missisquoi, and on the Eastern Townships as a whole.

AgricultureStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Howard Hilstrom Canadian Alliance Selkirk—Interlake, MB

Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of the government the ongoing income crisis in the grains and oilseeds sectors, particularly on the prairies and throughout Ontario.

In addition, the Saskatchewan net income will be under $400 million. When we consider that it normally is up in the billion dollar range, that in itself is evidence of this tragedy. On top of that, in my home province of Manitoba we have extremely wet conditions which are delaying seeding. In western Saskatchewan and Alberta we have extreme drought conditions.

I encourage the government to take immediate action and work with provincial premiers in looking at solutions now and deliver the assistance that will be required sooner rather than later.

Teaching AwardsStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

John Richardson Liberal Perth—Middlesex, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise in the House to congratulate Mrs. Carol Oriold, a teacher at Listowel District Secondary School in Listowel, Ontario. Mrs. Oriold has been selected from 215 nominations to receive a 2000-01 Prime Minister's award for teaching excellence and a certificate of achievement.

As a teacher of dramatic arts, Mrs. Oriold has inspired students and increased enrolment of classes from eight to fourteen. Many students have gone on to professional theatre schools and work in theatre.

The Black Door Theatre is another example of Mrs. Oriold's achievement. As the founder of the theatre, students work in co-operation with the audiovisual club, arts and technology students. The troupe has won more than 100 awards in the past 15 years.

Mrs. Oriold is an exceptional individual who has inspired students and has been an excellent role model. Congratulations to Carol Oriold.

Grands Prix Du Tourisme QuébécoisStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Marcel Proulx Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC

Mr. Speaker, last Friday evening, the 16th award ceremony for the Grands prix du tourisme québécois was held in Montreal. Four Outaouais area businesses distinguished themselves at this event, and I am extremely proud to pay tribute to them today.

Café Henry Burger of Hull carried off the “Gold” award in the category “restaurant development”.

A “Bronze” went to les Grands Feux du Casino de Hull, in the category “events with a budget in excess of $1 million”.

In the “tourism services” category, the National Capital Commission was awarded “Gold” for the Gatineau Park Visitor Centre, while Réservation-Outaouais was awarded a “Gold” in the “transportation and travel” category.

The Outaouis region has made a name for itself as far as Quebec tourism is concerned. Congratulations and best wishes for continuing success to our four Quebec tourism award winners, and to all those who work day in and day out to make the time tourists spend in the Outaouais memorable.

Neurofibromatosis MonthStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Paul Bonwick Liberal Simcoe—Grey, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring to the attention of our Prime Minister, members of parliament and Canadians across the country that May is officially recognized as Neurofibromatosis Month. NF is caused by spontaneous mutation of a gene that every human has. This mutation acts to promote tumour development in over one in four thousand North Americans.

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending a fund raising event sponsored by the Benjamin Thornewell Memorial Fund. Benjamin was a happy, outgoing child who passed away of NF at the age of eight and a half. The impact this fine young Canadian had on all of us is exemplified in the fact that over 300 community members came together to raise over $17,000.

I congratulate Benjamin's mother, Pat, and everyone involved in this huge success. Canada should come together and leave Benjamin a legacy of which he can be proud. Let us support the necessary research to find a cure for NF.

FisheriesStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

John Reynolds Canadian Alliance West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC

Mr. Speaker, abalone harvesting licence holders on the west coast remain second class citizens. Unlike other licence holders in other fisheries who have been disenfranchised from their livelihood due to closures, the federal government has never initiated a buyback program for owners of now useless abalone licences.

The government's approach to disenfranchised abalone licence holders was to set up an advisory body to discuss the issue with the native fishery and coastal communities affected by the closure. This is nothing but an attempt to bury the issue in a bureaucratic maze, hoping the real disenfranchised, the abalone licence holders, would forget about the whole thing.

A year ago I asked the minister of fisheries for a meeting to discuss the issue and to date I have not been accorded the courtesy of a response to my letter. When will I get a response from the minister? When will abalone licence holders get what they deserve? When will the minister realize he is from British Columbia? These people are suffering.

I heard why do I not ask the parliamentary secretary, that he should know what the minister is doing if he is doing his job. They are not answering these questions. They should answer them and do something immediately.

Health CareStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

David Pratt Liberal Nepean—Carleton, ON

Mr. Speaker, our health care system in many parts of the country is under severe stress. Our hospitals are underfunded. Our nurses and doctors are overworked. Our residents are waiting in some regions for over a year for critical diagnostic tests. This situation cannot continue.

On June 28 I will be hosting a community forum on the future of health care in Canada. The results of our discussions will be summarized in a report which I will present to the federal government's Romanow commission.

This forum is about engaging in a dialogue with our citizens in search of constructive solutions. Our goal, as Mr. Romanow has indicated, is to ensure the long term sustainability of a high quality, universally accessible, publicly administered health care system for all Canadians.

I invite the residents of Nepean—Carleton to join me on June 28 at the Walter Baker Community Centre as we take a positive step toward better health care in Canada.

Jean-Sébastien RenaudStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Bloc

Caroline St-Hilaire Bloc Longueuil, QC

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to welcome to Parliament Hill Jean-Sébastien Renaud, the grand prize winner in the “member for a day” contest in the riding of Longueuil. In fourth year high school at Jacques-Rousseau school, Jean-Sébastien came first among the students in the “Histoire nationale” course.

My aim, with this contest, is to develop young people's interest in the hectic world of politics and show them the importance of taking an active part in our society.

These young people, who will be making tomorrow's decisions, have once again shown me that the next generation is very promising indeed. The finalists it was my pleasure to meet were all very interesting.

During his visit to Ottawa, accompanied by his father, Gérald Renaud, Jean-Sébastien will have a chance to see the parliamentary duties of MPs.

Jean-Sébastien, on behalf of all my colleagues in the Bloc Quebecois, I welcome you to parliament and wish you an enjoyable visit.

Marc RacicotStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Claude Duplain Liberal Portneuf, QC

Mr. Speaker, the national capital Alcatel marathon was held this weekend.

I would like to mention the excellent performance by Marc Racicot.

Mr. Racicot is a faithful employee of the security services protection unit of the House of Commons.

He completed the marathon in a time of three hours, eight minutes and fifty-seven seconds. He thus qualified for the prestigious Boston marathon.

My colleagues join me in wishing him the best of luck in this next challenge.

Citizenship And ImmigrationStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Lynne Yelich Canadian Alliance Blackstrap, SK

Mr. Speaker, there is a shocking story of a family of six being deported by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration after going through all the proper procedures to immigrate to Canada.

It seems there is a glitch to their coming here, and that is that Mr. Slarzyk mistakenly underpaid the $50 head tax. This honest mistake was further complicated by the fact that the department of immigration cashed his original cheque and then lost any record of the family's application. To add insult to injury, the Slarzyks were not even notified of their imminent deportation.

It seems there are no extenuating circumstances for this family's deportation or refusal of entry into Canada. They have no record of illegal dealings. They have not contravened any Canadian law. Mr. Slarzyk even started a small business.

Correct me if I am wrong, but is this not the kind of hard-working people we want in Canada? Why will the government not let the gentleman pay his $50 and keep his family in Canada?

Teaching AwardsStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Gurbax Malhi Liberal Bramalea—Gore—Malton—Springdale, ON

Mr. Speaker, last week a select group of teachers from across Canada received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence. As the Prime Minister said “These teachers are the best of the best”.

One of the award recipients was Ms. Carol Scaini, a teacher at Robert J. Lee Public School located in my riding, who won the award because of her innovative learning style and her teaching of self-esteem and respect for others.

On behalf of the constituents of Bramalea—Gore—Malton—Springdale, I wish to congratulate Carol on her achievement and encourage her ongoing work to educate the youth of our country.

International Impac Literary AwardStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

NDP

Wendy Lill NDP Dartmouth, NS

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Alistair MacLeod for winning the International IMPAC Literary Award, or the Dublin Prize, for his first novel No Great Mischief . The judges commented that this book, the story of a family emigrating from Scotland to Cape Breton in the late 18th century, was a “monument to the universal human spirit”.

We must salute the incredible achievement of being recognized in the largest awards process in the world nominated by public libraries from over 100 countries as simply the best.

This completes a great year for Canadian literature, including Margaret Atwood winning the Booker Prize and Michael Ondaatje winning the Prise Medici. These achievements are the fruits of years of efforts by brilliant authors, brave and visionary publishers and the wise public policy which has supported them both.

May we in the House of Commons continue to keep supporting our authors, keep our publishing industry alive and continue to firmly fix Canada's place in the world as a country of magnificent literature.

Basque PeopleStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Bloc

Paul Crête Bloc Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the Basque people for the political maturity they have shown by re-electing the Basque nationalist party, by increasing its representation in the regional parliament and by giving it another mandate to determine their future.

The Basque people are also sending a clear message: they are putting their faith in the democratic system to finally obtain a constitutional status that will allow them to thrive. The result of this election is also a victory for democracy.

They massively rejected political violence, but they will not give up their national aspirations.

I want to make this wish for the Basque people: may they finally achieve, democratically, the status that they are longing for.

Humanity can only be rich through the free and sovereign expression of the peoples that make it up.

Ottawa 67SStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I congratulate the Ottawa 67s, who yesterday won the Ontario Hockey League championship and with it the J. Ross Robertson Cup. It is another cup on which they have their eyes, and that is the Memorial Cup which will be up for grabs this weekend in Regina.

Following this victory, as I mentioned, the Ottawa 67s will take part in the Memorial Cup tournament, which begins this weekend in Regina.

The team's talent makes its local supporters proud. The players are showing excellence and determination, and they are models for young Canadian athletes.

On behalf of all the people of Ottawa and all my Ontario colleagues who join me in congratulating these fine athletes, we wish them the best of luck in the Memorial Cup tournament this weekend in Regina.

Mike Bullard ShowStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Loyola Hearn Progressive Conservative St. John's West, NL

Mr. Speaker, so King Jean has granted his subjects a rare public appearance on CTV's the Mike Bullard show. Unfortunately, however, the general public is barred from the studio audience, apparently for security reasons and because Mike and CTV do not want to make the king to feel uncomfortable.

These are extraordinary measures because this is not our average Canadian. This is King Jean. King Jean must be protected from his lowly Canadian subjects and, God forbid, a dangerous heckler.

Instead, Canadians tuning in to the Mike Bullard show tomorrow night will be treated to a studio audience full of friendly PMO Liberal staffers and friends of CTV. Well at least King Jean will be assured of a few laughs even if his subjects do not see the humour.

The BudgetOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Okanagan—Coquihalla B.C.

Canadian Alliance

Stockwell Day Canadian AllianceLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, instead of the usual five year spending projections, the government will only show us two years. Why?

The BudgetOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, that is not right what the Leader of the Opposition is saying. The projections have always been based on two years because it is a fairer way to do it. Sometimes we are invited to project into the longer term for special circumstances, but in terms of budgets, we always use the framework of two years.

The BudgetOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Okanagan—Coquihalla B.C.

Canadian Alliance

Stockwell Day Canadian AllianceLeader of the Opposition

Sorry, Mr. Speaker, but the Finance Minister has set a five year precedent and now we are deviating from that.

Also, it appears that we will be going two years without a full budget being tabled. I think that is unprecedented in western democracies. Now we will only get two years advance on government overspending and we have an officer of this parliament who says that the Prime Minister and his office is creating a culture of secrecy.

Does the Prime Minister not think that Canadians would be more assured if their government were being more open about its books instead of more closed?

The BudgetOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, what is unprecedented is a government that has a surplus budget five years in a row. We are making the projections for two years. Sometimes we have occasion to make projections for five years. We did that for the tax cuts but fortunately we reduced it to two years.

The BudgetOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Okanagan—Coquihalla B.C.

Canadian Alliance

Stockwell Day Canadian AllianceLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, some economists are forecasting that we will have a deficit in three years. This is not good news for Canadians.

Could the Prime Minister ask the Minister of Finance to give us the figures for the year 2003?

The BudgetOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition likes to quote economists. One of them has forecasted that, if we were to implement the Alliance's program, we would end up with a deficit of $25 billion by the year 2004.

This is why it is easier to make forecasts for two years than for four or five years. In fact, the actual results have been better than what we anticipated in our recent budgets.

TaxationOral Question Period

May 16th, 2001 / 2:15 p.m.

Canadian Alliance

Jason Kenney Canadian Alliance Calgary Southeast, AB

Mr. Speaker, what we would do differently is less wasteful spending for more tax relief.

Speaking of tax relief, we released a poll today which shows that 76% of Canadians say that they have not noticed any federal tax relief. The government continues to hype its much promised tax cuts. How come three-quarters of Canadians have not seen a dime of tax relief in their own pockets and how can the Prime Minister persuade them otherwise?

TaxationOral Question Period

2:15 p.m.

Etobicoke North Ontario

Liberal

Roy Cullen LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, nearly all the economists agree that we have the largest tax cut in Canadian history that is winding its way through the economy right now. It approximates 2% of GDP. If we throw in the provincial tax cuts it gets even higher.

Everyone but the member opposite agrees that this is a huge stimulative budget. In fact we have other initiatives as well in terms of infrastructure at $2.65 billion which will create economic activity in Canada and create jobs. I do not know where the member opposite is getting his information from.