Svend Robinson

[Ultramar, March 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister for International Trade. The minister knows that Sharjah Oil Refinery Company in the United Arab Emirates has applied to the Federal Export Development Corporation for export financing in order to buy and dismantle the Ultramar oil refinery in Eastern Passage.

Nova Scotians, in particular those who lost their jobs when Ultramar shut down its refinery in 1994 in breach of its commitments, are outraged that the EDC would even consider helping this foreign company to dismantle its Canadian assets.

Will the minister insist that the EDC respect its legislative mandate and will he ensure that not one cent of taxpayer money goes to support this fire sale of the Ultramar refinery?

[Education, February 18th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, last month seven post-secondary education groups representing universities, community colleges, students, professors and student aid administrators urged the federal government to adopt a comprehensive package of student aid measures to provide affordable futures to students. They note that fast rising student debt loads are fueling a deep anxiety on the part of students and their parents.

The measures they propose include targeted grants for high need individuals, repayment assistance where required to help former students meet their debt obligations, a work study program to provide opportunities for students to earn while they learn and tax measures to help Canadians save for their children's education.

New Democrats strongly believe in the need for continued federal investment in student assistance in order that every student who is academically qualified is able to benefit fully from Canada's post-secondary education opportunities regardless of his or her financial status. We urge the Liberals to implement these progressive proposals.

Later today we will see the Liberals' budget and we will know whether they are serious about tackling soaring student debt loads and growing inaccessibility to post-secondary education in Canada.

[Petitions, February 18th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the third and final petition deals with the issue of Canada's proposed sale of CANDU nuclear power reactors to China and notes that the export of CANDU reactors to China places the Government of Canada in an indefensible economic, political and environmental position.

Therefore the petitioners call on Parliament to cancel the planned sale of CANDU reactors to China and to immediately withdraw from all arrangements concerning financial and technical assistance to China for nuclear reactor technology.

[Petitions, February 18th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with the question of the Canada's decaying national infrastructure. It calls on Parliament to not increase the federal excise tax on gasoline and to strongly consider reallocating its current revenues to rehabilitate Canada's crumbling national highways.

[Petitions, February 18th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present petitions signed by over 3,000 residents of British Columbia concerning the mandate review of Canada Post, co-ordinated by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Pacific region.

The petitioners note that the Liberal government has ordered Canada Post Corporation to withdraw from the delivery of economy unaddressed ad mail, that this withdrawal reduces the options of companies that wish to advertise their products and services at an economical rate.

Therefore the petitioners wish to have economy ad mail delivered to their homes by Canada Post ad mail employees. They believe that Canada Post Corporation has been providing an excellent and reliable service through the delivery of economy ad mail, which they wish to see continued.

They call on the government to reverse its decision with respect to economy ad mail and allow Canada Post Corporation to continue to provide this economical and reliable service to citizens of Canada. I certainly concur with this petition.

[Questions On The Order Paper, February 17th, 1997]

Can the Government of Canada indicate whether any department or agency of the Government of Canada, including the Export Development Corporation, provided loans, grants or other monetary assistance to facilitate the sale or shipping of Ultramar Canada's refinery in Eastern Passage, N.S., to Sharjah Refining in the United Arab Emirates, and if so, what is the amount and nature of this financial assistance?

[Questions On The Order Paper, February 13th, 1997]

With respect to applications for Canada pension plan disability benefits and considering the time presently required between the submission of an application and when benefits are received, or the application is definitely rejected, can the Minister of Human Resources Development indicate: ( a ) the mean time, ( b ) the median time and ( c ) the maximum time for each quintile of applicants and what measures are being taken to reduce these delays?

[Standing Orders Of The House, February 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak out on the very important issue of the federal Liberal government policies on pensions for Canada's elderly.

In October 1996 I questioned the Minister of Finance concerning proposals by some provinces to cut pension benefits to seniors by taking away full inflation protection. At the same time some members of the Liberal caucus have suggested that it may be necessary to cut the benefits of current pensioners in order to make the Canada pension plan sustainable.

I questioned the Minister of Finance at the time as to whether or not he was prepared to reinforce the commitment of the Liberal government to the basic principles of the Canada pension plan and in particular whether he would support proposals made by the NDP governments of Saskatchewan and British Columbia which would strengthen the plan and ensure its viability.

Unfortunately we still have no indication of in which direction the Liberal government is moving on the fundamentally important question of reform to the Canada pension plan. At the same time many seniors in Canada are deeply concerned about the government's proposed changes to the old age pension and the guaranteed income supplement.

What the Liberal government proposed in the last budget is to effectively abolish the universal old age pension and as well to get rid of the annual age credit and the annual retirement income tax credit. This would take us back to the days when pensions were effectively a form of welfare. Clearly that is totally unacceptable.

The seniors benefit would eliminate universality and income support for seniors. At the same time it would seriously erode the autonomy of Canadian women. It would mean that the split which currently takes place in which women are entitled as a right to their pension would be ended by the calculation of family income.

I want to voice very serious concerns on behalf of my colleagues in the NDP on those proposals. Certainly I hope that when the government tables its legislation on the seniors benefit that it will back off on that serious assault on the basic longstanding principles of the old age security system in this country.

On the Canada pension plan, I want to suggest to the government that it slow down this rush to suggest that the Canada pension plan is in a state of crisis and instead that it adopt the proposal of the chief actuary in his 15th report on the Canada pension plan. He suggested that there be some modest changes to the CPP contribution rate. In fact the proposal would result in a combined employer-employee contribution rate rising to 13.91 per cent of contributory earnings by 2030, just under 14 per cent in some 35 years time. I point out that combined level of contribution is already significantly lower than that in many other OECD countries.

I suggest that we put the plan on a very firm financial foundation by adopting that recommendation of the chief actuary. At the same time there are a number of other proposals that have been made which the government could look at. An example is the proposal that has been made by British Columbia finance minister Andrew Petter and supported by Saskatchewan finance minister Janice McKinnon to broaden the contributory base. There are a number of similar proposals.

It is fundamentally important that we acknowledge that we should be strengthening public pensions in Canada. If that means that we have to look at the current very generous tax benefits for private pension plans and for RRSPs at the top levels, then I think the basic objective should be to strengthen public pensions. This is particularly important at a time when more and more Canadians are relying on public pensions. Many Canadians simply cannot afford to make contributions to RRSPs. Record numbers of Canadians are cashing in their RRSPs and fewer and fewer workers are employed at jobs in which they actually have workplace pension plans.

In closing, I want to appeal to the government to strengthen the Canada pension plan, to scrap the regressive elements of the seniors benefit and, more importantly, to look at the impact of its proposals on the retirement income of elderly Canadians. This is tremendously important because so far all that has been looked at is the spending side. The government should recognize that the impact of its proposals will be particularly serious to women and other people who are disadvantaged in the work force.

[Tobacco Legislation, February 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is under tremendous pressure from tobacco manufacturers to weaken and delay Bill C-71, the tobacco legislation. New Democrats urge the government to move ahead with the bill, which already represents a compromise, with no more concessions and no more delays.

It is ironic that the tobacco industry is seeking to make deals around sponsorship such as allowing international events. At the same time other governments, including the U.S., Belgium and France, are moving to a total ban on all tobacco sponsorship of arts and sports.

The government should ensure that the funds lost to cultural and sports groups are restored and strengthened from other government revenues. The government must not be bullied by the high pressure propaganda from the tobacco companies, companies that have already a very cosy relationship with the Liberal Party.

Canadians can have both a rich and varied cultural and sporting life and protect the health of our children and our own health from the destructive impact of tobacco.

No more concessions and no more delays. Move ahead with Bill C-71.

[Health, February 4th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and it is also on the National Forum on Health.

As the minister knows, the national forum urged this government to bring medicare into the 21st century by including primary care, by including home care and of course by including prescription drugs.

Will the minister not only accept these recommendations but will he put an end to the destructive cuts in federal funding for health care to the provinces, restore that funding and tackle the runaway cost of prescription drugs?