House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 45% of the vote.
The Atlantic Groundfish Strategy April 21st, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member that May 9 is fast approaching and we have thousands of people whose benefits will be cut at that time.
Is the government considering dealing with the post-TAGS multicomponent TAGS program, consisting of early retirement, licensed buyout, an economic development program and continued income support?
The Atlantic Groundfish Strategy April 21st, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Natural Resources, who I understand chairs the cabinet committee on post-TAGS.
Thousands of TAGS recipients will have their benefits terminated on May 9. My question to the minister is: Will there be a post-TAGS announcement before May 9? If there is not an announcement by that time, will those individuals who are scheduled to have benefits terminated receive benefits from a new program?
Light Stations March 31st, 1998
Mr. Speaker, safety and lives in Newfoundland and Labrador are as important as safety and lives in British Columbia.
Tourism, historic sites, culture and heritage are as important to Newfoundland and Labrador as they are to British Columbia.
I would like to ask the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, the minister responsible for the coast guard, if he will apply the same decision to the 24 light stations in Newfoundland and Labrador as he recently applied to the 27 in B.C. Will he announce that light keepers at the 24 stations in Newfoundland will remain in place? The minister cannot blame this one on the Conservatives being in power. He made the announcement.
Salmon Fishery February 19th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the Pacific salmon fishery dispute has caused great hardship for many west coast salmon fishermen. Canada has a very reasonable and defensible position on the Pacific salmon dispute that recognizes the principles of equity and conservation.
In 1996 New Zealand Ambassador Beeby indicated in a report that Canada's position was very defensible. He supported Canada's position.
Has the Prime Minister considered going to international arbitration to settle the Pacific salmon dispute?
Salmon Fishery February 19th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that Canada's chief negotiator, Yves Fortier, resigned because the government has no political will to resolve the Pacific salmon dispute.
When President Clinton called the Prime Minister to discuss Canada's support in Iraq, did the Prime Minister ask President Clinton to get involved in resolving the Pacific salmon dispute?
Supply February 13th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I have just a quick response for the Bloc member. We are all very concerned about poverty. It is a big problem in the country, particularly for children from poor families.
I have just one comment to make. If his party gets its way, I do not think it will do much to resolve the poverty situation. My prediction is that it will be much worse in his province than in other areas of the country.
Supply February 13th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, let me just say to the hon. member that the Mulroney government was not perfect. However, I have to remind him that neither is the present Liberal government close to perfect.
A Liberal member reminded me the other day how bad the Conservative government was. I said “Yes, in Canadians' wildest dreams they probably did not think they would see a government worse, but I am sorry to say they are seeing one right now sitting in the Chamber”.
As I said initially in the first paragraph of my speech, for 25 years the Liberals have been in power for 16 of the 25. For the first time the budget will not see an increase in the country's debt.
I look the hon. member straight in the face and say to him that he should say thank you for the Mulroney initiatives, the PC initiatives of GST and NAFTA. Without them this finance minister would not be bringing in the budget on February 24 that he will bring in.
Supply February 13th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Qu'Appelle for his question but I have to correct him.
I am not that familiar with millionaires and the amount of tax they pay. I must correct him on referring to members to my immediate left as cousins. I assure him that I cannot speak for all the Conservative caucus but I can certainly speak for one. They are not cousins of mine.
I do not believe millionaires are too heavily taxed. If there is anyone who can afford to pay more taxes it is millionaires. As I said, coming from the province I come from and particularly representing the riding of Burin—St. George's, which is devastated right now because of the downturn and collapse of our ground fishery, I do not have that worry about the taxes the millionaires of Burin—St. George's have to pay.
Supply February 13th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to speak to the motion put forward by the member for Qu'Appelle which states:
That this House condemns the government for promoting an economy where a gap between the superrich and ordinary Canadian families is widening, risking the future of our youth, and strongly urges the government to introduce in the coming budget measures ensuring every Canadian an opportunity to share in a new prosperity.
Of course the timing of the resolution is very good when in a few days, February 24, the Minister of Finance will table the first budget in nearly 25 years, 16 of which the Liberal Party held power, in which the country's debt will not increase. That is a very compelling statement, that the Liberals have been in power 16 years of the last 25.
The Progressive Conservative Party is urging this government to take immediate action to address a number of social and economic factors now facing Canadians. We are asking the government to reverse the pattern of governing by reactionary measures, crisis management and economic tinkering that has become the norm for this government.
It has been said before but I think it is worth repeating that Liberal governments do not plan to fail, they just fail to plan.
This year's budget will be another example of what has become a Liberal tradition, no doubt. They will promise the voters the world and then not too long after we will see flip-flop after flip-flop after the positive media coverage has ended.
Examples of Liberal flip-flops include scrapping the GST. Now the Liberals claim that tax. The Prime Minister now claims the GST was his tax and is his tax. They flip-flopped on renegotiating the NAFTA treaty. They are now so keen on NAFTA that they want to expand and increase trade throughout the world. Of course we all remember the flip-flop of scrapping the Pearson airport redevelopment project. Most recently, Canadians have been reminded about the flip-flop the Prime Minister has done on writing a cheque for zero helicopters.
We all remember the Prime Minister saying how he was going to write zero to helicopters, zero helicopters. We know now the bill for Canadians. We know now how big the cheque Canadians must write is for zero helicopters.
Meanwhile Canadians have the highest personal income taxes among the G-7 nations. Canadians have actually become poorer while the Liberals have been in office. Disposable income among Canadians has decline by 1.3% since 1993 when this Liberal government came to power.
By the way, I have another interesting statistic. The average American is now 25% richer than the average Canadian. The average American manufacturing worker is paid $1 more than his or her Canadian counterpart. These are interesting facts and these things have taken place since 1993.
The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance are preparing to announce the details of the new millennium scholarship fund next Tuesday afternoon, I am told. We are going to get details from the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance next Tuesday afternoon on the new millennium scholarship fund. Of course the government is hoping that this program will initiate the formation of the Prime Minister's legacy as the education Prime Minister.
In reality it is another Liberal gimmick. They have inadequately addressed a major social and economic issue but have given the appearance that action has been taken. They will not address the real issue here.
The expected $3 billion scholarship fund represents just a small portion of what the Liberal government has cut from the cash portion of CHST payments to the provinces. The Liberals have cut $17.3 billion from the cash portion of the CHST over the past five years. Now they are going to invest $3 billion back into the system for a scholarship fund and they expect Canadians to congratulate them. I am one who will not be congratulating the government on its reinvestment. I am sure the people of Newfoundland and Labrador will not be congratulating it either. They have watched the Minister of Finance cut our cash portion of the CHST from $419 million in 1993 down to $275 million in 1998.
The students in Newfoundland and Labrador have felt these cuts as well. A recent study by the maritime provinces higher education commission found the effects of the cuts to be devastating on Atlantic students. In 1993 there were eight students in the Atlantic region with a student debtload of $30,000. Today, thanks to the Liberal cutbacks which have forced universities to raise tuition fees and driven education costs higher, there are 904 students with a debtload greater than $30,000. This administration should be proud of that, especially the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance. What a statistic of failure.
The millennium scholarship fund as currently proposed will not solve the structural problem of student debt levels that are too high. It will do nothing for students already in the Canada student loans system who are carrying huge debtloads. So let us hope the Minister of Finance has some options and answers in his budget that will come down on the 24th.
We should forget about making the millennium scholarship wholly contingent on marks and performance. Eligibility for part of the scholarship should be based on financial need. No one can argue that excellence is great but with the debt situation facing Canadian students today, access is better.
Canada continues to have a youth unemployment rate of 15.9%. The Liberal policy to maintain high payroll taxes and high income taxes runs counter to the most basic of free market logic. By reducing EI premiums to offset the CPP tax hike and lowering income taxes, this government could spur job creation. Our party has called on the government to increase the basic income tax credit from $6,459 to $10,000 a year. This would allow lower income families to have more disposable income which they could spend as they saw fit.
If the Minister of Finance is so worried about poor children and poor families he need look no further than his own tax system for the answer. As the gentleman behind me said, if you tax people less, they won't be so poor. That is something this Minister of Finance, this Prime Minister and this Liberal government have somehow forgotten.
To further strengthen the economic situation of Canadians, the Liberal government should re-evaluate its plan to overhaul the seniors benefit program, an issue that will soon be a very hot topic throughout this country. The Liberals' current proposal is to abolish old age security, the pension income tax credit, the age credit and the guaranteed income supplement and replace them all with the new seniors benefit.
This benefit will have a 20% clawback on incomes above $26,000. When combined with the existing marginal tax rates, this will result in a marginal tax rate of between 60% and 70% for middle income seniors. This will destroy any incentive to save for retirement and seriously discourage seniors from working even part time after retirement.
A senior remaining in the labour force past 65 years of age could be working for as little as 30 cents on the dollar. That is what the new seniors benefit will do.
Very few seniors have any knowledge of these changes and what impact they will have. Before long it will become perfectly clear what the impact will be. I expect there will be tremendous pressure on the government to shelve the new seniors benefit package.
The major initiatives we have talked about, tax relief, protection of seniors benefits and student debt relief, will certainly foster economic growth and give the economic tools to all Canadians to prosper in the 21st century.
Iraq February 12th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, last week the Minister of National Defence informed the House that the Prime Minister and the government were waiting for Saddam Hussein to come to his senses. I would suggest that the revelations of the last couple of days require that the minister come to his senses as well.
Anthrax is a biological weapons agent. Anthrax vaccine takes 28 days to take effect from the date of inoculation.
I want the minister to guarantee to members of this House and guarantee to members of the Canadian public that the HMCS Toronto will not be allowed within the anthrax danger zone within 28 days of inoculation.