Madam Speaker, in the last week we have heard a great deal about national security. I intend to direct my comments today to economic security and social security.
What is the intent or the purpose of Bill S-23? The purpose is to enhance economic security in Canada. Some time ago Canada entered a free trade agreement with our American friends. Since that time we have participated in an impressive economic expansion in North America.
In the 1980s we experienced double digit unemployment rates in Canada and in the U.S. Even Canada, with a slowdown, has a 7% rate. Our American friends are in the 4% category.
We have seen a dramatic increase in real disposable net income across the board and a dramatic increase in productivity, especially in the United States. I think it is a fair comment to say Canada has really dragged in those areas.
The economic expansion has permitted our federal government, in a fair comment, to deal with some fairly major fiscal imbalances. The economic growth has enhanced the revenues that are flowing into the government, which has allowed the government to timidly reduce the burden of taxation and to finance important government programs and some that are not so important.
The net result is that our economic security and our social security have been enhanced.
Modern economists understand that we cannot have social security with a second rate or third rate economy. Economic security, national security and social security are inseparable. They are joined at the hip.
Today our economic, social and national security are at peril. Why is this so? Our military is weak, the product of a decade of decline and neglect by the government. We have serious problems with terrorist groups in this country. Some people are in denial in regard to that, but the experts are not. This is a product of a decade of decline and neglect by our national government in terms of immigration and refugee policy. Loose, naive, and I will use this term, politically correct policies have made Canada a safe and comfortable haven for dangerous individuals.
The bill opens up one lane on a two lane highway. It frees up the movement of goods from this country to the U.S. What we do have is a serious problem in the other lane. It is getting clogged up and blocked up and there are serious questions as to whether that lane is ever going to open up given the situation we are in right now.
Our decade of decline and neglect on the part of government has had the effect of essentially closing down that other lane. In order to protect our economic security and our social security, we must free up that blocked lane.
Quite simply we should be looking very seriously at harmonizing our immigration and our refugee policies with those of our friends in the United States. I can see some immediate benefits from this. I know that government bureaucracies and a lot of politicians who want to protect their turf do not see the advantages but taxpayers do. We would have a much more efficient system. Our public servants in the United States and Canada could work together as a team in a co-operative manner, and if we did reduce the risk of dangerous people coming into North America we would both win. Nobody would lose. Our economic security would be improved, our social security would be improved and our national security would be improved. By taking this step we would improve security in a lot of respects.
The bill is designed to enhance trade between our two great nations. Through decisions made by this government, certain sectors do not participate in North American free trade. They are outside the parameters of that arrangement. Transportation, culture, banking and certain elements of agriculture are protected by the government.
I am a member of parliament from Saskatchewan. That province is almost totally dependent on foreign international markets and American markets. We do not have the luxury of protection.
I am very concerned about a projected bailout for Air Canada. In my view any step by the government to bail out Air Canada would be a confirmation that the government is perpetuating 19th century, family compact, upper and lower Canada policies.
As a western Canadian I am extremely proud that a strong air carrier has emerged in the west, a company called WestJet. It has continued to increase revenues and profits even with this downturn. It has raised its financing from private investors. It has not been in the pocket of HRDC. It has not been knocking on the door of the department of industry and commerce. It has won its customers from a giant, bloated, government protected monopoly by giving customers a superior product at more attractive prices.
I will illustrate that with one example. Three weeks ago I flew by Air Canada to Ottawa via Toronto on a hospitality charge seat of $1,044. With the crisis on I was discouraged from flying with Air Canada, so I tried the competitor, WestJet, direct from Saskatoon to Ottawa at a fare of $444, a net saving for the taxpayer of $600. I was surprised that in the rider service the government is engaged in we almost have to fight with those people to get a ticket with WestJet.
What is the solution? Air Canada is sinking under its own weight. It is a product of government protection. This is not a time for its pals in Ottawa to bail it out. It is a time for policy makers to back off and let the market sort it out.
Another solution is to bring transportation under the umbrella of the free trade agreement and let our companies fully participate in the North American economy, like we do in most other sectors. One minor benefit we might get out of that is that customers in this country might get the benefits of competition and some real choice.
There is a point I would like to emphasize. This family compact thing is well entrenched in this part of the world, but where I come from we are sick and tired of family compact arrangements.
In conclusion, I encourage our government to reverse this decade of decline and neglect in terms of investing in our military and our national security. I urge the government to seriously pursue a harmonization approach with our American friends and allies in terms of immigration and refugee policy. We are in a time of war and things have to change, but if we want to preserve our national, economic and social security we will have to change the way we do things. The old practices will not work.
Something that I really find offensive in this whole debate is the argument that a balanced, moderate way of dealing with terrorism will be used. I have heard that term a lot. I wonder if Churchill, Roosevelt and the allies said they would use a balanced, moderate approach to fighting Hitler. That is nonsense. We have an evil force here and this is not the time for some balanced, moderate approach. We are not talking about some social policy in Canada. We are talking about a very evil force that is out to destroy western civilization as we know it.
This is the time to take a stand with the president of the United States, decisively. I am really disappointed that our Prime Minister was not sitting in the house of representatives side by side with Mr. Blair last night. As a Canadian I found it embarrassing.