Yvan Loubier

[The Economy, October 18th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, should the Minister of Finance not follow the example of the Minister of Industry, who is taking action?

Yesterday, the president of the Quebec Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants asked the federal government to take quick budget measures, including an employment insurance premium holiday and the postponing of instalment payments by businesses for six months.

Will the minister recognize that these measures, which are proposed in the Bloc Quebecois' five billion dollar plan, are valid and that he has the means to implement them, like just about everyone is asking him to do now?

[The Economy, October 18th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister's stubbornness makes him the only one to not recognize the need for tabling a budget in the coming days, since even economists, including Clément Gignac from the National Bank, are asking him to do so, as has the Bloc Quebecois for several weeks.

Will the Minister of Finance finally bow to our arguments and present budget measures to counter the economic slowdown?

[The Economy, October 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, could we please have someone serious to answer our questions?

Yesterday, the Minister of Finance told us that he too had an overall plan to deal with the situation.

I am asking the government, someone serious in the government, what the Minister of Finance is going to propose as an economic recovery strategy in Washington at the G-7 meeting this weekend, when there seems to be a complete inability here to support the economy and employment.

[The Economy, October 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, for the past week, various ministers of the government have been appearing before standing committees of the House, claiming to have plans for dealing in the short term with the exceptional situation that has resulted from the tragic events of September 11.

Has the government assessed the costs relating to these short term plans, since we still do not know all that is involved?

[The Economy, October 4th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, his colleague responsible for security, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, made a commitment to table a security plan and a bill when the House resumed.

Could the Minister of Finance also not assume his responsibilities, get to work and promise to table a statement, a plan for the economy? There is no time to waste.

[The Economy, October 4th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, in the past five years, the Bloc Quebecois has made forecasts accurate to within 2% or 3%. His forecasts were out by 150%. He knows nothing.

Will the Minister of Finance recognize that, by restricting himself to case by case interventions rather than tabling a coherent plan to support the economy and jobs, he risks raising costs for everyone and being more ineffective? Is he aware of that?

[The Economy, October 3rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, in a difficult time like now, workers and small and medium size businesses expect the Minister of Finance to be a little more serious.

Taking into account the budget constraints that he is facing and without generating a deficit, would the Minister of Finance be prepared to give a little more oxygen to small and medium size businesses, which greatly need it right now, by exempting them from making employment insurance contributions and by following Quebec's example—this is not costly—and allowing these businesses to postpone until March 31 of next year the payment of their instalments?

The minister's responsibility is to put some oxygen into the economy, to support small and medium size businesses and to help the workers who have lost their jobs or who could lose them.

[The Economy, October 3rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Minister of Finance, we took our responsibilities and we did take into account the economic slowdown to arrive at the result mentioned by our leader.

Does the Minister of Finance realize that 97% of the companies in Canada are small and medium size businesses and that they create 80% of all the jobs in the country?

Also, will the minister agree that during an economic slowdown like the one we are currently experiencing, he could take low cost but effective measures to support small and medium size businesses, which create 80% of all the jobs in Canada, while ruling out the prospect of any deficit for the current year?

[The Economy, October 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the Americans did the same thing: they cut taxes and they paid off part of their debt, but they have stopped living off of their savings. They have stopped resting on their laurels and are taking action.

I am asking the Minister of Finance to act, and to table in the House, as soon as possible, budgetary measures to help workers and businesses through the economic slowdown. He needs to get off his laurels and act now.

[The Economy, October 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, during his comments on the events of September 11 on Radio-Canada, the Minister of Finance made the following comment “These are extraordinary circumstances, and I believe our way of life has just been fundamentally changed.”

When questioned in the House, however, he tells us that there is no problem, and that his budget update of last year took everything into consideration.

How can the Minister of Finance be trying to convince us that these year-old measures are still workable, while himself admitting that today's extraordinary circumstances require equally extraordinary measures?