Jim Peterson

[Supply, February 13th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP has raised a very important issue for all Canadians as well as for people in other countries. It is the issue of income disparity. Unfortunately there have been no solutions presented today. Is the NDP solution to regulate and cap salaries and profits?

[Banking, February 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for Essex for the leadership she showed in maintaining and keeping open the only bank in Comber, Ontario.

Access to basic bank services in rural Newfoundland or downtown Victoria is a priority of the government. To get better access for low income Canadians I have written to the Canadian Bankers' Association, insisting that only two pieces of ID will be necessary to open a basic bank account regardless of past credit history.

If any Canadians are denied basic bank services, we want to know.

[Supply, February 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, prior to the last election the Liberal Party established a task force of Liberal members of Parliament, headed by our current solicitor general. The task force toured the country and came up with a very thoughtful and caring report which talked about the real costs of disabilities to many Canadians.

The general implication of the recommendation was that we should try to recognize the added costs that persons with disabilities must bear in order to be full and functioning members of our society and economy.

We undertook to start that process through enhanced credits for home care, for medicine, for new apparatus which they might need and those kinds of things, which would recognize the added burdens they have which do not give them a level playing field when it comes to being members of our society.

If hon. members opposite have suggestions as to how we might further enhance our support for the inclusiveness in our society of Canadians with disabilities, we would welcome their recommendations and suggestions.

[Supply, February 5th, 1998]

I think the hon. Leader of the Opposition would be pleased to hear more. We saw it. We avoided it. We were able, ahead of the schedule set for us by the Reform Party, to get our deficit under control.

I will take some credit on behalf of all government members in this House, but the Canadians who sacrificed to make this possible are the ones who deserve the credit as well. We avoided that iceberg and we have done it in such a way that we were able to almost inoculate ourselves perfectly against the Asian flu.

The hon. member talked about how the international markets have reacted to Canada. They have reacted better to the Canadian dollar than to any other currency except the U.S. dollar, which has always been a safe haven in difficult times. Ours has fallen less than any other currency against the American dollar. This is a sign of international confidence in Canada, but he talks about the debt we are committed to continuing to get it down.

The hon. member talks about tax levels. Yes, we are committed to reducing taxes and we have already shown tangible examples of where we have reduced taxes.

Canada today lies in the middle of the G-7 countries in terms of the total tax burden borne by Canadians. Higher than Canada are France, Germany and Italy, and lower than Canada are Japan, the U.S. and the United Kingdom. We have made one of the three prongs of our economic future that we will continue to reduce taxes. But we are not going to reduce taxes at the expense of people who are disadvantaged in our society, people who need health care, people who need learning, people who need education, families living in poverty, the disabled, people from the regions who deserve help. We are not going to do it at the expense of being able to reduce, on a reasonable basis, our debt burden. We are committed to that. We are doing it in a balanced fashion. That is the difference between us and the Reform Party. We are going to continue the paths which have proved so beneficial to Canadians over the past four years.

[Supply, February 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, our government, in its very first budget in 1994, saw the iceberg. We steered the ship of state around it, and this is why—

[Supply, February 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, judging from today's Reform motion the official opposition has clearly not seen the movie Titanic . It should. Then it would realize what perilous policy can ensue; the disaster that can occur when speed is put ahead of cautious progress; the tragedy that can follow when it is decided that lifeboats are not a necessity.

That is very much what the motion endorses, a titanic rejection of responsible and balanced decision making at the national level.

The motion condemns the government for its pledge to divide any surplus which we may have in a coming budget, half to investment in economic and social measures and half to tax reduction and reducing the debt.

Reformers do not want us to make these investments in Canadians and in their social and economic future. Full speed ahead, they demand, on tax cuts and debt reduction. Scrap the lifeboats. They reject the investments we have made in education, in health care, in innovation and in combating child poverty.

That is the party which wants us to cut $1 billion from government programs to help Canada's aboriginal peoples. It would do away with equalization payments to help those most in need.

Let us look at our record. If it has worked, what is the major impetus to take us away from policies that have succeeded? When we took office just four short years ago the deficit was $42 billion. We are one year ahead of all the programs put forward by the Reform Party. We will be in balance next year. We have experienced going from a moribund economy that was on the verge of international intervention to an economy with the highest growth rate, with the highest growth rate in jobs of all G-7 countries.

Jobs are of critical importance to Canadians today and for the future. Since we took office the unemployment rate has fallen from 11.4% to 8.6%. That is not good enough, but we have created 937,000 private sector, full time jobs during this period. It is a very important trend which we must encourage and set for the future, and I will speak about it a little later.

During this period of time the finance minister, the government and the prime minister have adopted a policy of sound fiscal management. Part of that management for the future is our 50:50 balance, as we have stated.

We will continue to adhere to the paths which have gained us fiscal success in the past and our two year fiscal plans. We will continue to adopt very prudent economic assumptions in budget making. We will have a contingency reserve to look after unforeseen circumstances. We will continue with our economic forecasting. To the extent that we do not have to use the contingency reserve, it will naturally be used to reduce the debt.

We also must have the flexibility to respond to unforeseen circumstances which come about. I mention in this regard the Asian crisis. As the state of the union address indicated, an economy affected anywhere can affect economies everywhere. We have seen how the Asian influence has affected not just the economies of the far east but those of the west.

Had we not taken the measures that we did to put our fiscal and monetary house in order, our dollar would have been far more affected than it was. Of this I am sure. As it is, the Canadian dollar has suffered less because of the Asian crisis than any other currency in the world except for the American dollar.

I am also proud that Canada has assumed its role with the International Monetary Fund in helping to provide funds to stabilize those economies and restore them to a path of stability in the far east. Canada is a very open economy which depends on the international flow of goods, capital, trade and personnel.

In this regard I am very proud the government announced its support for the Toronto Centre at York University school of business. It will be bringing in financial institution regulators from around the world to provide courses and case studies so that we can combat one of the major reasons the Asian crisis took place: insufficient regulatory authority and control over financial institutions.

I am proud to say that the Toronto Centre is chaired by Mr. Ced Ritchie, an individual who has had a very distinguished career in banking in Canada and internationally and brings a great deal of leadership to it. Its executive director is another person of great experience in the financial sector, Paul Cantor.

They are very tangible contributions. They may be small in terms of dollars, but the impact they can have on the world economic situation and that of Canada is critical.

Let us look at our program. It is important to invest 50% of future surpluses in economic and social programs, and 50% in debt reduction and in tax reductions. Even though we will see a balanced budget in the next fiscal year, Canada's debt right now is about $583 billion. As of October it was about 73.1% of GDP and going down. This is a very high debt burden for all Canadians to bear. This is why we are committed to reducing that debt on a steady and ongoing basis into the future.

What has happened because of our economic performance? Due in no small measure to the leadership by government, to the end of October we were able to pay down $11 billion of Canada's national debt.

In terms of tax cuts, which I know interest hon. members opposite very much, in spite of the difficult economic circumstances we have faced we have made tax cuts and it has been part of our recovery.

Where have we cut those taxes? To show our priorities we cut them for students and their families to make education more affordable. We cut taxes for Canadians with disabilities. We cut taxes for children in poverty, particularly poor families with a child tax benefit of $850 million, with more, a second tranche, to come in the future.

I am proud that we have done this in concert with the provinces, both of us targeting our unique resources to help working families at the bottom end of the rung. This is the way it should be in Canada. This is the path I encourage all members to support, governments at all levels working through common goals to help Canadians who need it the most.

At the same time we cut the taxes borne by small businesses which are creating new jobs under our new hires program. We eliminated all payroll taxes for small businesses that took on new employees. That was targeted tax relief for a specific purpose.

We cut by $1.4 billion the payroll taxes paid by all corporations, reducing the EI contributions from $2.90 to $2.70. When we took office it was at $3.07 going to $3.30. In spite of difficult economic times we cut taxes in this area.

There is one area in which I think I am proudest as a Liberal to say we have cut taxes. We recognize that governments are being forced to cut back their spending. We have cut back spending. Program spending has been cut by us by $15 billion. We realized that we had to give the private sector more of a means to fill some of the voids. This is why we enhanced substantially in two budgets the tax benefits available to those who contribute to charitable and voluntary organizations. I am pleased to say they have responded by increased efforts at fund raising and renewed efforts to help Canadians. This is the way it should be.

In terms of our spending let me indicate our priorities during difficult fiscal times. What have we done? We have increased spending on health care in terms of the Red Cross and in terms of aid to those who suffered AIDS through the blood program. A program is forthcoming for hepatitis C victims. We also raised the cash floor of the CHST by $1.5 billion in transfers to the provinces for the medical attention of Canadians throughout the country.

Another area where we have shown a sense of priority on behalf of Canadians is aboriginals. The condition of Canada's first peoples has a claim on the conscience of every Canadian. This is why the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development recently announced a $350 million increase to deal with some of the problems of the past that have been incurred and suffered by our first peoples.

A third area where we have shown our sense of priorities for the future of the country is education. In 1874 in the British House of Commons Benjamin Disraeli said “Upon the education of the people of this country the fate of this country depends”. Those words cannot be more apposite today in our country. We realize that to have the type of future economically we need Canadians who are among the best trained and best educated in the world.

In spite of the need to get rid of our deficit we have taken concrete measures. We have doubled the amount that one may contribute to a registered educational savings plan to help make education more accessible. We have extended the relief period for interest on Canada student loans. We have introduced tax deductions for the ancillary fees that students must pay to go to an institution of higher learning. We have expanded the educational tax credit to make it easier for people to go back to school.

In May 1997 we established the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. The federal government's contribution was $800 million. Together with support from the private sector we will lever it up to at least $2 billion. These funds will be used to invest in new research and development in our universities, in our colleges and in our hospitals.

We have taken another measure in the last two budgets. I cite what we have done with charitable giving to our educational institutions.

Lastly, I was very proud that in the fall the prime minister announced that the government will establish and endow the millennium scholarship fund. This fund will assist thousands upon thousands of deserving students who might otherwise have been deterred or prevented from obtaining post-secondary education.

As our finance minister recently indicated, this is why the coming budget, and I venture to say succeeding budgets, will further address the issues of access to and excellence in education, recognizing the need to ensure that Canadians are among the best educated of all people in the world, where we truly recognize, as did Disraeli, that our future depends on it.

We have taken a balanced approach, making investments today through social and economic programs that will strengthen our economy, strengthen our social fabric and strengthen in the days and years to come the ability of Canadians to compete in our global economy.

Our balanced program of investment in the future, of reducing taxes and of reducing our debt on a continuous and ongoing basis was something put to the Canadian people before the election last spring.

The people of Canada chose a Liberal government that refuses to relegate Canadians who are in need or at risk to third class steerage on the Titanic . Canadians want to continue a course that offers safe travelling and secure arrival and a prosperous future for all Canadians, not just the affluent or the advantaged. This is the Liberal approach. This is our balanced approach for the future.

[Income Tax Amendments Act, 1997, December 10th, 1997]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-28, an act to amend the Income Tax Act, the Income Tax Application Rules, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Canada Pension Plan, the Children's Special Allowances Act, the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, the Cultural Property Export and Import Act, the Customs Act, the Customs Tariff, the Employment Insurance Act, the Excise Tax Act, the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, the Income Tax Conventions Interpretation Act, the Old Age Security Act, the Tax Court of Canada Act, the Tax Rebate Discounting Act, the Unemployment Insurance Act, the Western Grain Transition Payments Act and certain Acts related to the Income Tax Act.

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

[Ways And Means, December 4th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1), I wish to table a notice of a ways and means motion to amend the Excise Tax Act, as well as an explanatory note. I ask that an order of the day be designated for consideration of the motion.

[Taxation, December 4th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, our banks are one of the most heavily taxed industries in Canada. It is this Liberal government that increased the corporate surtax, that increased the large corporation tax and imposed a temporary surtax which has raised well over $200 million.

I am glad, from the press conference that the hon. member held today, that he actually supports the use of that surtax. Bank taxes have gone up 45% since we took office.

[Government Spending, December 1st, 1997]

First, Mr. Speaker, we have to recognize that we still have a deficit. We still have a debt which is over 73% of our gross domestic product.

Yes, the hon. member has recognized that we have had to cut program spending from $120 billion to $105 billion. A lot of programs have suffered because of that. The member also has to recognize that there are tax cuts which we would hope to be able to bring in when they are sustainable.