Jim Peterson

[Terrorism, September 24th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I have already held discussions with the agency with respect to money laundering. They are in the process of drawing up amendments that will accomplish precisely what is being asked.

[Terrorism, September 24th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, in accordance with our fight against the use of terrorist funds, last Friday OSFI, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, sent a notice to all our institutions urging the co-operation of our financial institutions in this fight against terrorist money, naming the organizations that they were to go after.

[Terrorism, September 24th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, on the issue of being able to seize these assets, we are looking at the possible legal routes that might be taken. We have already undertaken those investigations, but I would remind hon. members of the House that we have already acted on the Afghan resolutions of the security council when we passed regulations in parliament on February 22 of this year allowing the seizure of all assets related to Osama bin Laden and any of his entities or associates.

[Stock Market Speculation, September 21st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, yes, we had discussions with the stock exchanges on this.

We also had discussions with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. Discussions are now taking place between it and our financial institutions in order to obtain their full co-operation in working with the authorities of our two countries to combat terrorism.

[Terrorism, September 21st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for that very important question.

We are considering that at this very moment. We have had discussions with Fintrac on our money laundering legislation and we certainly are looking at that measure. It is also important to tell Canadians what else we are doing currently. Pursuant to UN Security Council resolution 1333, on February 22 Canada passed regulations to “freeze without delay funds and other financial assets of Osama bin Laden and individuals and entities associated with him, including those of al-Qaeda”.

[Budget Surpluses, September 21st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, as the minister said yesterday, our priority is to protect Canada, which involves two things: national security and our economic security. I can assure the member that nobody in the world will fight harder than we will against a deficit.

[Budget Surpluses, September 21st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, as we have all seen there is considerable economic uncertainty globally. That having been said however we know that there will be costs associated with the fight against terrorism. I must reiterate that, as he said the other day, the minister is going to be providing Canadians with a comprehensive statement of our fiscal situation in the fall.

[Proceeds Of Crime (Money Laundering) Act, June 11th, 2001]

moved that Bill S-16, an act to amend the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act, be read the third time and passed.

Mr. Speaker, what we are dealing with here is an amendment to the anti-money laundering legislation that was passed by the House a year ago. These amendments spring from a review of the legislation in great detail by the Senate.

I would like to commend hon. senators for the way in which they gave the bill a great deal of scrutiny but did not hold up the passage. They said they would come back and revisit it but would allow the bill to pass in its original form. I would like to thank them for the scrutiny they have given it and for the way that they have expedited the passage, at the same time achieving a bill that fulfils the purposes and needs.

Money laundering in Canada is anywhere between $5 billion and $17 billion a year. The bill would fight organized crime and the proceeds of crime through a mandatory reporting of suspicious transactions and the reporting of large transfers of money across borders, which would be carried out by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre. The institutions would report to it and it will be able to analyze the data. What I think we have achieved, which may be unique in the world, is that we are respecting the privacy of individuals and at the same time fighting crime. That is the balance we have struck and I believe it is a very good balance.

I would like to thank all members of the House for their consideration of the bill and for its speedy passage in the same manner that they gave speedy passage to the main bill itself one year ago.

[The Economy, June 8th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, we brought in record tax cuts of $100 billion over five years. Those tax cuts on the personal income tax level were 27% on average, 35% for families with children.

This means that many of our low income families, 800,000 of which have been removed from the tax roles, are better off than they would be in the United States.

However it is not just about taxes. It is about a balanced approach, tax cuts, paying down the debt and making those strategic investments in our future which are critical for all Canadians.

[The Economy, June 8th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly welcome a debate on this issue, but one must recognize that if we exclude resource revenues then we are being unfair to those provinces which do not have them and would be getting equalization.

Clearly the objective of our equalization program is to provide an equal level of public services in every part of the country regardless of means or income.

Is the hon. member suggesting that Alberta's resource revenue should not be included when calculating provincial entitlements?