Jim Peterson

[Employment Insurance, March 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, when we came to office, employment insurance contributions stood at $3.07 and were going up to $3.30. We have already reduced these contributions five times, and they now stand at $2.70.

Thanks to our initiatives, Canadians have saved $7.1 billion since we took office.

[Millennium Scholarships, March 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, at the same time as we had to cut some of the transfer payments, the value of tax points went up by $700 million, there was an increase in equalization payments, and the drop in interest rates produced big savings for the Province of Quebec.

It should also be pointed out that, while our cuts were in the order of 2.5%, the Quebec government imposed cuts that were twice as high on its municipalities.

[Depository Bills And Notes Act, March 25th, 1998]

moved that Bill S-9, an act respecting depository bills and depository notes and to amend the Financial Administration Act, be read the first time.

(Motion agreed to and bill read the first time)

[British Columbia Economy, March 19th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, when we took office the tax for unemployment insurance was rising to $3.30. We have cut it back. The last cut was $1.4 billion.

Having said that, I am fully confident that the strong measures we have taken to put our fiscal house in order, to keep our inflation down, to make sure that we have a balanced approach to tax reduction, to investment in our future and to debt reduction are going to pay the dividends for all Canadians.

[British Columbia, March 19th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, all of us are very concerned about the economic downturn in British Columbia. It is due in part to the fact that British Columbia is disproportionately suffering from the Asian crisis.

We are monitoring this situation very carefully. We have committed ourselves to helping B.C. deal with the Asian crisis and have made strong moves there. We will continue to monitor the situation in British Columbia, as we are very concerned about it.

[The Budget, March 19th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, what we have done here is very simple. We have adopted the proposition and the principle that when you commit to paying money you no longer have that money available to spend on something else. Every household and every business knows this. This is the policy of this government. When we commit, we pay.

[The Budget, March 19th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we have come through a very difficult time but finally we have balanced the books and we are now starting to pay down our debt. This is due in large measure to the fact that we have adopted a policy of pay as you go combined with total openness and transparency so Canadians can understand exactly where we are. This is why we will continue to hold ourselves to the most rigorous possible standard of openness and transparency. This is our policy.

[The Economy, March 19th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the ultimate in hypocrisy is the Tory party coming before us and suggesting that it has set the course for the good fiscal management of this country.

We have gone through a very difficult period. We will continue to take a balanced approach to keeping our fiscal house in order and to paying down our debt, reducing taxes and investing in the future of Canadians. Financial markets of the world have called Canada, for example, the economic miracle. We will continue that.

[The Economy, March 19th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the ultimate confidence in the financial markets of the world is expressed through interest rates, which have come down from being at least two percentage points higher when the Tories were in office to below across the board U.S. rates today.

If we had adopted Tory policies in this regard, including its massive tax cuts the last time, we would have been right down in the sewer.

[Budget Implementation Act, 1998, March 19th, 1998]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-36, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 24, 1998.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)