Lost his last election, in 2006, with 33% of the vote.
Aboriginal Affairs October 28th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I want to quote from these access to information documents: “Forensic audits are extremely expensive and time consuming, and a request from a few upset band members would not be enough to warrant one”.
Surely an urban Liberal like the minister of Indian affairs can understand that people who are freezing and starving in tarpaper shacks are not—
Aboriginal Affairs October 28th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, many grassroots aboriginals on reserve are demanding forensic audits as tens of millions of dollars in band funds have gone unaccounted for.
According to information obtained under access to information by the Reform Party, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development refuses to conduct investigations unless it is requested to by the band's leadership. This is a ridiculous conflict of interest.
Will the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development acknowledge that it is preposterous to believe that any chief or council would ever ask to have themselves investigated?
The Nisga'A Land Claim Agreement October 28th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, on August 4 the Liberal government initialled the Nisga'a Land Claim Agreement with much fanfare and hype.
The provincial NDP government, also a signatory to the agreement, is now spending millions of taxpayers' dollars in a paid campaign reminiscent of the Charlottetown accord.
Once again all of the talking heads who told us why Charlottetown was the only hope for Canada are trotted out to tell us why we must have the Nisga'a agreement.
The parallels are striking. An agreement is crafted behind closed doors by an elite group of politicians and intellectuals. The public is told in no uncertain terms that the agreement cannot be changed and must be accepted to save the country. The intelligentsia lauds the agreement in glowing terms without hesitation or reservation and those who express concern or opposition are labelled the “enemies of Canada” in the case of the Charlottetown accord or the “forces of darkness” in the case of the Nisga'a agreement.
These are all clear indications of governments which are morally adrift, intellectually bankrupt and distrusting of their public.
When governments make major changes to the social contract they must never do so—
Health October 22nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I wrote to the minister on this matter about five months ago and he has responded, so I think he is informed.
Band members have told me they cannot get travel money when they need to go to Vancouver or Terrace for a CAT scan or to see a specialist. As a matter of fact, I have had band members tell me that when they are in Vancouver they sleep in a pick-up truck because there is no money for them to have a motel room while they are waiting to get a hospital bed.
How can the health minister refer to these funds, in writing, as surplus funds when so many of the band members are so obviously short changed on their health care?
Health October 22nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, in 1995 the health minister signed a $12 million agreement with the Gitksan Indian Band in northern B.C. for health care administration.
Now we find that several hundred thousand dollars of this money is invested in the stock market.
When I asked the minister in writing how these funds could be in the stock market, he referred to these funds as surplus funds.
Does the minister really think that the Gitksan band has more money than it needs for health care and that these are in fact surplus funds?
Canada Small Business Financing Act October 2nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, a few minutes ago the member for Regina—Lumsden stood in the House as a member of the NDP and tried to paint himself and his party as being defenders of small business in Canada. I have not heard anything more laughable in the last couple of months. There are comedians at work all over the place and this member seems to want to get a job doing that.
In British Columbia there is an NDP government. It is easy to start a small business in that province: start with a big business and it will not be long before it is a small business. Another way is to start a small business in British Columbia and move it to Alberta. That NDP government of B.C. has a shockingly interventionist attitude and punitive tax levels.
The corporate capital tax in British Columbia is a tax paid on the value of assets every year whether a business is making any money or not, whether one is making a profit or not. Give me a break; the NDP telling us that it is going to be the defenders of small business. I do not think so.
The Liberals would try to have us believe that they are the defenders of small business in Canada. I was a small businessman. As a matter of fact it was my time and my experience as a small businessman that drove me into the House of Commons, that got me involved in politics. I got mad enough at those clowns over there that I had to come here to do something to set the situation right.
This is my experience as a small business person: I was living on the west coast of British Columbia, minding my own business, trying to earn a living, employing people and trying to get along. What happened? The federal government continually interfered in my business. Statistics Canada sent me forms to fill out. This was back in the early 1980s. The first time I filled out the forms. I thought I could do it once. Then Stats Canada started sending them on a regular basis saying that they had to be filled out.
The time involved in filling out the forms was substantial. I reached the point where I said I was not going to do it any more. Then the people from Stats Canada said it was against the law and if I did not fill them out they could prosecute me and throw me in jail.
Next I learned that the receiver general wanted to collect his payroll taxes. He wanted them in his bank account on the 15th and the last day of every month. If the money was not in his bank account on those dates there was an immediate 10% penalty and the interest clock started ticking right away.
There are businesses in rural Canada, which a lot of these members do not realize exist, that do not have access to electronic banking so they have to pay their taxes in advance. That is the level of understanding and comprehension that the government has for small business.
Speaking of taxes, if by some fluke a profit is made in one year, the government expects the business to start paying taxes on its next year's profit before it is even made. It expects a cheque to be sent every month in case a profit might be made. That is the level of attitude of the federal government. I cannot believe that the government actually tries to paint itself as being concerned about small business.
Let us talk about lending money to small business because that is what the bill is about. I will speak about a situation that happened in my home town. Our great, wonderful and illustrious federal government back in the early 1980s decided to embark on a loans program for small business.
A concrete company in my home town of Kitimat poured ready-mix, made concrete slabs and so on. On rainy days when there was nothing else to do, it used its little block plant to make concrete bricks. It was rainy day work and a good fill-in for employees rather than the owner of the company sending them home during inclement weather. A fellow in Terrace—they were both good business people—decided to go into the block plant business. He got a loan from the federal government and the new block plant put the block plant in Kitimat out of business.
Let us think about that. The guy who was already in business and paying his taxes for years and years saw his tax dollars going to provide a loan to a potential competitor to set up business and drive him out of business. Also the employees that were able to work during times of inclement weather were sent home. Those were net effects of the government's policy with respect to lending money to small businesses.
I do not mean to criticize either one of these businesses. It is just an obvious contradiction. The private sector ought to be providing capital for small business, not the government. If the government would do the right thing, set its own house in order and get the fundamentals right, we would not need to be concerned about whether small business had access to capital.
There are some matters we would like to see the government consider. It has not as yet. One of these days there will be a government on that side of the House that will do these things. It should reduce bureaucracy, reduce red tape, reduce payroll taxes, reduce personal income taxes and quit meddling in the private sector. Let the private sector get on with what it does best. The government should get out of its way.
I cannot believe the government believes it has some way of helping small business in Canada without addressing these fundamentals. The government has shown its willingness to continue a rip-off of the EI fund which is hurting small business and rank and file Canadian taxpayers, workers, and which will take $7 billion in excess out of the economy this year. How can it suggest, with any sense of credibility at all, that it has somehow managed to come up with an idea that will help small business in Canada?
It is nothing more than mother Ottawa trying to devise another interventionist government directed policy. It is a government that, to solve the problems of small business, sets up a program, sets up a ministry, sets up a bureaucracy and, by the way, lends money.
Why does the government not try just leaving small business alone? Why does it not try reducing punitive tax levels? Why does it not trying reducing red tape? Why does it not try leaving people alone? If the government would listen and would be willing to consider those ideas, small business in Canada would be a lot better off than it is right now.
Mr. Speaker, I do not know how much time I have left.
Petitions September 30th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured today to table a petition on behalf of certain members of the Shuswap band in British Columbia who ask parliament to cause internal audits to be done within their band. They are very concerned about accountability of the funds the band is receiving.
Aboriginal Affairs September 30th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, how many billions are they going to spend before they get it right?
The auditor general says the minister is going to stick Canadian taxpayers with a huge tax bill, as much as $50 billion if Nisga'a is any indication of what treaty making in British Columbia will cost. This government has not had the decency to be straight with Canadians and tell them how much will cost.
Will the minister come clean this afternoon and admit it will cost tens of billions of dollars to resolve these treaties?
Aboriginal Affairs September 30th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, if they really cared they would return the EI overpayment.
My question is to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The auditor general says this government's land claims policy in British Columbia is a complete and total failure. It has spent $90 million on lawyers, consultants and other hangers on to date and it does not have one treaty.
With 123 treaties to go can the minister give us any idea of what the cost of negotiations will be?
Aboriginal Affairs September 29th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, it is good to see the minister acknowledging wrongdoing.
Given the government's past performance with regard to confidentiality we would like to know: Is the minister aware that this is a breach of privacy? It was found to be so in the spring when the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development violated Bruce Starlight's privacy. What is the government going to do to ensure this does not happen again? We do not want to be back here in six months with the same problem.