Karen Redman

[Committees Of The House, December 11th, 1997]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her question. It was incredible to go across the country to listen to the people in Saint John talk about living on $89 a month of welfare.

I agree with the member that poverty is too high. I agree with her that student debt is a huge issue. There has been a human cost which we heard about in spades when we travelled across the country. However, I would also underscore that if we had not made these difficult decisions and we had not achieved this balance we could not then redress these issues.

We are now in a position where we can make meaningful decisions about reinvesting.

[Committees Of The House, December 11th, 1997]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for pointing out that there is a deficit and there is a debt.

Whether or not we want to argue semantics, the reality is the government has taken a huge burden off the backs of both our children and our grandchildren by maintaining a balance, a fiscal balance, so that we can move forward and we can strategically reinvest in this great country.

[Committees Of The House, December 11th, 1997]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

We listened to all sectors of society when we travelled from Vancouver to Edmonton, Toronto, Halifax and St. John's as well as to my own riding of Kitchener Centre. I heard from people who are street people. I heard from people who I know share the philosophy of some members opposite.

They appreciated that we had paid down the deficit. They were looking for leadership from the government, which I think we have provided in a resounding way by achieving a balance in the report of the finance standing committee in which all members participated,

Also we heard from them that there was very little desire for a cross the board tax cut. People were looking for strategic investments. The member will see those recommendations in the finance committee report.

[Veterans Affairs, December 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Veterans Affairs.

I have been hearing from veterans in my riding who are eligible for pensions but are having to wait months and even years before receiving them.

Could the minister indicate to the House whether his department can cut the red tape, as promised in the 1995 pension reform bill?

[Committees Of The House, December 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, as the federal representative of the constituents of Kitchener Centre and as a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, it is a pleasure to take part in the prebudget debate.

On November 13 I held a town hall meeting in Kitchener to gather input from my constituents. Throughout the months of October and November the finance committee held 42 meetings totalling 101 hours. It heard 514 witnesses and received 463 briefs on this subject.

In response to the chair's challenge to all 301 members of Parliament to hold public consultations, 35 town hall meetings were held as well as the one which I held in Kitchener Centre. In addition, we received personal comments over the website for the finance minister, as well as several phone calls and many letters.

I would like to acknowledge the hard work of my colleagues on both sides of the House, the fair hearing we heard from witnesses and the sincere and thoughtful participation by all members of the finance committee.

The message was heard loud and clear both at my town hall meeting and during the committee meetings we held across the country. We heard many things from Vancouver to St. John's. Some strong themes came through. We heard from a diverse range of individuals with different concerns. We heard from economists who told us that we needed to look at debt reduction. In Alberta we heard from a disabled woman who was forced to choose between food and medicine.

“Keeping the Balance” is a reflection of what we heard. This government is committed to maintaining a balance between the collective good and freedom while providing for those in need. This government has shown leadership in consulting with Canadians. There has been widespread support for the prudent estimates put forth by the Minister of Finance. Canadians would rather err on the side of prudence than find themselves in a situation similar to the one in which we found ourselves in 1993.

However we are now in a position, after having reduced our economic deficit, to address the outstanding human deficit.

As the Minister of Finance said during his presentation to the committee, this is not simply a question of budgets and their size. It is a question also of what government does and how it does it.

The debate should be about national priorities, about how best to build a strong economy and a strong society, one of both opportunity and security. Some see the discussion as a financial debate only, but it is not. It is also a debate about values.

Many recommendations were made to the committee which are reflected in “Keeping the Balance”.

There was an intriguing correlation that emerged from the remarks the minister made in Vancouver and the comments and concerns that were echoed to our committee as we travelled across Canada and also ones very similar to those that I heard from my constituents in Kitchener Centre. I would like to review a few of these issues. Time and time again, some of these themes rose throughout our process.

Canada is known worldwide for our health system and the integrity we have placed in maintaining the five principles of the Canada Health Act. Our treasured health care system was created because there was a need. Canadians are telling us these needs have grown due to our aging population among other factors. To address this need, the government should establish in co-operation with the provinces, health care providers and local communities new approaches to health care such as a national home care system.

This government has done much to address the needs of the disabled in the community. However, much remains to be done. I believe we must continue working with groups representing persons with disabilities to ensure that measures recently announced are effective and to find further ways of helping Canadians with disabilities.

We have been hearing cries for action to curb child poverty, to ensure Canadian children are not going hungry. This government has put in place a number of safeguards. However, we still have hungry children.

In partnership with communities, parents, provincial governments, private corporations, the agri-food industry and volunteer organizations such as the Canadian Living Foundation, we can create a national school nutrition program. This type of partnership approach could apply to other organizations and initiatives as well.

In communities across Canada, people are concerned about our youth. The ministerial task force on youth in 1996 made a number of recommendations which Canadians would like to see endorsed. The committee heard about them. We are pleased to recommend that additional funding be made available for the Youth Service Canada and student summer job creation programs, both of which provide opportunities for youth to enter the workforce and offer valuable work experience.

In keeping with improving the future of our youth, we have recommended a deferred credit formula for registered education savings plans which would offer student beneficiaries a federal grant calculated on a percentage of the total RESP contributions. This grant would be distributed in equal amounts in each year of the post-secondary program. This would create an incentive for parents to plan for their children's education.

The incredible debt burden weighing on the shoulders of many recent graduates from post-secondary institutions can take many years to pay, sometimes impeding their ability to enter the job market. That is why I support the recommendation that the federal and provincial governments offer students a debt repayment schedule that is based on income with features that would include interest relief, deferred grants and debt forgiveness. This would go a long way in reducing the burden on youth entering the workforce.

Very few individuals we heard from during our consultations called for income tax cuts at this time. Their priority lay in stabilizing our economy. However it was suggested that we increase the basic personal non-refundable tax credits amount, the spousal amount and the equivalent to spousal amount for the 1998 taxation year. I support this recommendation. In future when the fiscal situation improves and permits, I strongly support reintroducing indexation.

From coast to coast we heard Canadians asking for a reduction in employment insurance premiums to balance the upcoming increase in CPP payments to ease the load on small business owners. This is one recommendation on which the finance minister has already acted.

On October 21, in co-operation with the Minister of Human Resources Development, the Minister of Finance announced the second largest drop in EI payments in 20 years, to $2.70 per $100 of insurable earnings for 1998, 20¢ below the 1997 rate. This is a savings of $1.4 billion for employers and employees. With a promise of lower rates when the economic climate permits and to take measures to ensure EI premiums are not raised during an economic downturn, this will offer Canadians greater stability.

An additional request from small business owners is to review the small business deduction and the appropriateness of the $200,000 threshold level. This is in keeping with the government's intention to offer targeted tax relief. It is important that we recognize this need to enable small businesses to grow and prosper in the future.

The last but certainly not the least of the recommendations I would like to cover today is the investment in the future of our research and development sector. In my mind this includes medical research, technological advancement, academic and cultural development. There are so many facets to our social make-up that require the support of continuing development.

Through the support and partnership of the federal government, I look forward to seeing our commitment to research and development grow. It is through these commitments that we will keep our knowledge based industries in Canada. The result will mean that our society will gain both economically and socially.

In conclusion, I have only grazed the surface of the results of the consultations. However, one thing is clear. Canadians are proud of the leadership of this government and the hard decisions that it has made. There is a widespread sense of relief that the deficit has been wrestled down. Canadians have told us that they are prepared to see strategic and responsible investments in areas where it will be demonstrated there is value for the dollars spent. This government aims to do that through our 50:50 plan of investment and debt reduction.

Many of the recommendations call for increased co-operation and partnership between levels of government and the private and voluntary sectors. I feel strongly about partnerships. This government has placed great value and energy in building and maintaining healthy partnerships which will enable these visions to become a reality.

The government is committed to working on restoring and keeping the balance. This document is one step forward in that process.

[Violence Against Women, December 5th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, Saturday, December 6 is the eighth anniversary of the Montreal massacre where 14 women were murdered at l'École Polytechnique.

On this national day of remembrance and action on violence against women, we reflect on the issue and the impact it has had on the 14 young women, their families and the vast numbers of women in Canada and around the world who have endured acts of violence.

In addition to the Firearms Act and changes to the Criminal Code, the federal government has been working with all sectors of society to raise awareness and promote institutional change on issues related to violence against women and children.

All members of society, men and women, need to be part of the solution to end this cycle of fear, isolation and desperation that living with the spectre of violence brings to women.

Our society is one of the casualties if this is not eradicated. We must—

[Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act, December 4th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I sit on the Standing Committee on Finance so I am interested to hear the concern of the hon. member opposite for the consultation process.

I am going on memory but I believe that we held at least 22 meetings to listen to a vast variety of both special interest groups as well as members of private pension plans, and I think of a teachers pension plan. We had them comment on the legislation and whether they felt it was a balanced and sustainable direction to head in and the fact that we had legislation in place to give the kind of arm's length integrity that we needed in this process.

[Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act, December 4th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.

Women are often the main caregivers of children and aging family members, as well as when they take time out of the workforce to rear their children they are exactly the people who will need a Canada pension plan because they have interrupted employment so they do not have the benefit of private pension plans nor the disposable income. They are exactly the group that we are looking at to benefit from this.

[Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act, December 4th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to answer that question.

It is interesting to hear that the hon. member surveyed his constituents. I believe that a fellow Reform member brought forward a letter which was full of a lot of hardship and concern from a young mother of two children who had a husband who was working six days a week. I suggest those are exactly the kinds of Canadians who will need to rely on the Canada pension plan because they do not have the money to invest in an RRSP.

This plan is more than just a retirement plan. A very large component, one which Canadians have said they value and want protected, is made up of disability and survivor benefits. This government has ensured that those benefits will continue to be there for people who need them in the future.

[Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act, December 4th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the member opposite.

When the Canada pension plan came into existence there were eight workers for every recipient. Currently there are five workers for every recipient and in the future, with the demographic aging of the population, that number will decrease to three workers for every recipient.

This government is acting in a very even handed, far reaching, responsible manner in revising the pension plan. We hear over and over again from young people that they do not expect it to be there for them. We have made the necessary revisions which will allow young people to have a pension plan that they will be able to count on when they reach the age of retirement.