Andy Mitchell

[The Budget, March 18th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased with the question from the hon. member who had an opportunity, as part of the natural resources committee, to participate in the study on rural development.

Do I believe that rural Canada has everything it needs or that it wants? Of course not. However, progress is being made. Matters are far more advanced today than they were when the government came to power.

A progression has taken place over the last three years. The member and I share the fact that we come from rural Canada. The needs of rural Canadians really were not on the national agenda when we came to this place. Rural Canada was not a topic of conversation. This government has put it on the agenda.

We saw that clearly last year in the 1996 throne speech when the Prime Minister made a commitment to rural Canada. He understood that the challenges which are faced by rural Canadians are different from those challenges faced by urban Canadians. The programming and the delivery of that programming has to be designed in a way that takes into account the unique challenges which face rural Canadians.

That process moved forward and a budget came forward from the Minister of Finance in which a number of measures were taken to assist rural Canadians. It is the beginning of a process. It is not the end. Much more needs to be done. That is why I was pleased as the chair of the natural resources committee to have an opportunity, with my colleagues from all parties, to have the national resources committee study the whole issue of rural development. We travelled from coast to coast, out west, in Ontario, in Quebec and in the maritimes and listened to Canadians from all of those regions tell us about their concerns and their needs. The report was tabled in the House last week and it discussed some of those concerns and needs.

The budget has begun the process to address them. I am confident that the government will continue in this mandate and when we have a renewed mandate to continue the process of the revitalization of rural Canada. This government is committed to rural Canadians.

[The Budget, March 18th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Ottawa West. I am pleased to have an opportunity to rise on debate today to address the budget which the finance minister brought down in the House a few short weeks ago.

I will examine three perspectives, what this budget does for Canadians in general, what this budget does for rural Canada specifically, and what this budget does for the residents of my riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka.

This budget shows the good, strong fiscal management of Canada. That is what the Minister of Finance has provided for the last four years. That is what this government has provided. If we look at the comments in the popular press and at some of the public surveys regarding the budget, that observation is shared by a great deal of Canadians, indeed by the majority of Canadians.

What we have seen and what the Minister of Finance was able to say in that budget is that Canada will have its lowest deficit in15 years. We have managed as a government to take a deficit of about $42 billion which we inherited in 1993 and reduce it to less than $19 billion in this fiscal year.

More important was the finance minister's comment that within another fiscal year or so the federal government will no longer have to enter into new borrowings. In essence if we calculated our deficit as most other nations do we would say that we were balanced. We will no longer have to enter into the markets for new borrowing. That will be the first time in almost a generation and a half that it has happened.

Canada today is enjoying some of the lowest interest rates that it has seen in 40 years. That is a benefit and something that flows from our strong fiscal management. We are seeing the lowest sustained rate of inflation in 30 years. That is protecting the purchasing power of Canadians. It is engendering consumer confidence. It is important to point out that low inflation protects purchasing power for low income Canadians in particular.

The Minister of Finance through his budgets has been able to create an environment in which job creation has occurred. I do not think there is anybody in this House who would not want to see more of it occurring, but good progress has been made. There have been 700,000 net new jobs created in the last 41 months of this Liberal government. That is even more impressive when we compare that to the record of the last 41 months of the previous Conservative government where some 146,000 net jobs were lost. We have gone from losing about 150,000 jobs to gaining about 700,000 jobs.

This budget also saw a targeted tax reduction of about $1.9 billion. But it was not a tax reduction as we have seen suggested by the Reform Party or what we have seen done in Ontario, which was across the board which provides very little benefit to the people at the low income end while it provides substantial benefits to the high income people.

This has been a targeted tax cut that has helped specific Canadians. It has helped low income Canadians with children. That is who the tax cut has been targeted to. It has been targeted to individuals seeking post-secondary education. We have had targeted tax cuts to help Canadians with disabilities and we have had tax cuts to help charitable organizations that are at work in our communities trying to help those most in need. That is what this budget has done for Canada as a whole.

I was particularly pleased to see that the budget also addressed the needs of rural Canada and rural Canadians. Indeed, this budget began the process of fulfilling the Prime Minister's throne speech commitment of last February 1996 when he clearly said that we needed to work on the whole issue of rural development.

We saw that through a new commitment to tourism, a very important industry in rural Canada. We saw the Canadian Tourism Commission's budget increase from $50 million to $65 million. This was very important for rural Canada.

We also saw the Minister of Finance make a commitment of some $50 million to the Farm Credit Corporation. These funds are going to be used to explore and develop innovative ways to move forward the whole issue of economic development in rural Canada.

We also saw the minister make a new commitment of $30 million to the community access program which is absolutely essential for rural Canada. We in rural Canada need the on ramp to the information highway, so to speak, if we are to be competitive and compete in the world market. I was pleased to see that commitment to rural Canada. It builds on the natural resource committee's report on rural Canada which I had the opportunity to chair when we did that report. It dealt with some of the things that we needed to do for rural Canada. I applaud the minister for beginning the process of working toward the development of our economies in rural Canada.

I would like to talk for a minute about some of the things that this budget is doing specifically for the people of Parry Sound-Muskoka. For the fourth year in a row the budget does not increase personal income tax rates for the people who are living in my riding. Indeed, it does not increase it for any Canadian anywhere.

The second item depends on Mike Harris stopping his political games. We have proposed a second phase of the infrastructure program. That first phase saw investments in the riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka of some $26 million. We saw $1.7 million on tourism infrastructure which is very important. We saw a $1.3 million investment on increased fire protection for the residents of my riding. In a rural area, fire protection is on a volunteer basis and this program has provided us with some of the tools that we need to increase that protection.

We saw over $500,000 invested in our local school boards to assist with education in our riding. Once we get this program on board in Ontario, I estimate around a $9 million additional investment will be occurring. This is very important for the people of Parry Sound-Muskoka.

Again on tourism, there is a specific problem in an area like mine where tourism operators are trying to access capital to create new private tourism infrastructures, things like resorts, hotels and restaurants. It has been a real problem because that capital has not been available from our chartered banks.

The Business Development Bank of Canada, through a $50 million investment by the government, is creating a $250 million loan pool that will allow the tourism operators in rural areas like Parry Sound-Muskoka to develop rural infrastructure or tourism infrastructure that will be increasing economic activity and increasing jobs in Parry Sound-Muskoka.

There is also another change in the budget that is very important to rural Canadians and the people of Parry Sound-Muskoka and it has to do with the education tax credit. This is a credit that allows a tax deduction for folks who have to live away from home to go to school. In the urban areas there are a number of people who do go away, but in rural Canada almost 100 per cent of our young people who want to have post-secondary education have to travel to obtain it. This tax deduction, which is a 300 per cent increase over the last

two years, is going to make a substantial difference for the people of Parry Sound-Muskoka either for those who go to school or for their parents who are supporting them when they do it.

Another measure in the budget which is going to help people specifically in my riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka is our new hires program. What it means is that the small business men and women of my riding who go out and hire somebody new in 1997 are not going to have to pay any increase in their EI premiums. This is a specific measure designed to help stimulate job creation all across Canada, particularly in a riding like mine which is so dependent on the small business sector. That is an excellent program and it will be of significant benefit to an area like Parry Sound-Muskoka.

In conclusion, the budget continues to provide strong and competent fiscal management for the country. Second, it creates a climate in which jobs and economic growth can occur. Third, it addresses the needs of rural Canadians with some very specific measures which will help the people who live, work and earn their living in rural Canada. Finally, the budget and the provisions in it will help the people of Parry Sound-Muskoka.

I am proud to be part of the government. I am proud to support the Minister of Finance who has tabled this budget, his fourth, which is bringing wealth, increased economic activity and increased prosperity to our country.

[An Act To Amend Certain Laws Relating To Financial Institutions, March 17th, 1997]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have an opportunity to rise in the House today to debate Bill C-82 and to discuss its provisions and some of its impacts on consumers.

Having just listened to the previous speech in the House I will try to address the bill as opposed to having a diatribe about something that was not relevant to the bill.

The bill is about making important progress to ensure that our banking regime, our financial institution regime, is more responsive to the needs of consumers wherever they live in Canada, be it in Quebec or elsewhere.

This is part of an ongoing process undertaken by the Liberal government. We are trying to combine the best of our financial institutions. There are some positives we want to maintain as a society and as a government.

Our banks are successful corporations. They are strong. They are world leaders in finance. They provide financial stability to the country, far more so than the banking industry in many other countries.

Today the banks in Canada employ 500,000 people. They represent 3.5 per cent of the whole Canadian workforce. The financial services industry in Canada represents about 7.5 per cent of GDP. These are all important aspects of financial institutions in Canada and something we as a government and we as Canadians want to ensure continues.

However, we need to balance that as well. We need to balance that with the need to ensure that these financial institutions are serving consumers. We need to balance that with the need to protect consumers who use our financial institutions from potential abuses. Regardless of their socio-economic status, we also need to ensure that consumers of all stripes have access to our financial institutions.

What this bill is about is combining those two things, maintaining what is best in our financial institutions but also ensuring that we have the appropriate protection for consumers built into legislation.

This is not something that is just happening today. It is something we have done all along. I had an opportunity, when we dealt with the issue of access to capital as part of the industry committee's examination of the banking industry, where we worked as a government to institute changes with the banks so that there would be better protection for consumers. Coming out of that process was some progress. We were able to put in place a number of tools to help our small business community to have better access to capital. One of the tools was ensuring that the banks would have to establish a code of conduct that governs how they deal with their small business customers.

I would say to all of those small business men and women who may be watching today, when they are talking to their account manager at their local branch they should ask for that code of conduct. It sets out the rules on how the banks are going to deal with their accounts.

A second tool that was put into place was an alternative dispute resolution system. If someone is not pleased with the process that is taking place with their account manager there is a mediation process available at their banks and they should ask to use it.

As a third tool, all the financial institutions, the banking institutions anyway, have an ombudsman in their operation to whom the consumer can appeal his or her problem if they are not pleased with the decision of the account manager. The banks have come together now and have an industry-wide ombudsmen consumers can appeal to if they are not satisfied with what is happening in the institution.

The fifth tool that we have been able to put in place is the requirement that the banks provide to the government and to the people of Canada quarterly statistics on their small business lending. In fact, I believe it is close to 19,000 different stats that are provided each quarter on small business lending.

Some of these tools that we were able to develop through the industry committee and working with the financial institutions are finding their way into the legislation that we are debating in front of the House today. The code of conduct is one where the rules have to be set out up front and in writing so that the consumer understands exactly what the rules are and that the institutions understand exactly what the rules are that they are going to play by.

We see those types of tools coming out in the privacy code that is being suggested in this piece of legislation. We are seeing, in the whole issue of tied selling, that there will be a code of conduct that outlines what is and what is not permissible, that it is public and that the consumer knows in advance.

We also see the use of the ombudsmen in this piece of legislation where if the consumer is not satisfied on the issue surrounding tied selling, that the institution is following its code of conduct, then the consumer should appeal it to the ombudsman.

The third tool that we see coming out in this piece of legislation as well is the whole issue of reporting. The financial institutions will have to report the number and nature of the complaints they are receiving on the issue of privacy and on tied selling so that there can be public accountability of what they are doing.

It has been mentioned by a number of speakers in the House that this bill is fairly technical in nature in the changes that it is proposing. However, there really is some important application to what everyone will actually see in dealing with their financial institutions.

First is the whole issue of privacy and privacy protection. Most consumers who deal with financial institutions are concerned when they see the array of computers and the massive amount of information that banks have on individuals. They are rightly concerned that the information is going to be maintained in a confidential nature. None of us would like that type of information to be exchanged with phone marketers or whoever else it might be given to.

This bill calls on the financial institutions to develop a public code of conduct as to how they will deal with privacy issues. It calls on them to publish that code. It calls on the financial institutions to establish a method by which consumers can complain and put forward their concerns that the privacy code is not being maintained and to make those types of complaints and concerns public. That is positive. Consumers want to see their privacy protected.

Another issue that is being addressed in the review of the banking and financial services industry is disclosing the cost of credit. Over the years Parliament has moved and financial institutions have moved on the need to disclose the cost of credit. That is very important to someone who is obtaining a loan or a lease, although I believe more work has to be done in terms of disclosure. The consumer needs to know what will be the actual cost.

Although we have had disclosure laws for some time, this will make those disclosure laws more uniform so that a consumer can make an informed comparison between the disclosure of one company and the disclosure of another company, or between one industry and another. That is something which is being taken on with this review and it is positive.

Then there is the whole issue of tied selling. That is of real concern to consumers. All of us would agree that it would be inappropriate if somebody from a financial institution said to someone "I will approve this loan only if you buy something else from me". That is the type of tied selling which we do not want to see. It is different from cross selling and up selling, which is quite appropriate and a normal business function. However, we do not want to have tied selling.

That is why I am pleased to see that this legislation contains an amendment to the Bank Act which would prohibit tied selling if the self-regulation that I talked about a little earlier was not enough, that being the development of a published policy, a public complaints procedure, an appeal mechanism to an ombudsman and a reporting by the ombudsman on what he or she believes are infractions. If we find that is not going to be enough, if we find that is not going to ensure that this practice does not become widespread, then there is some legislative fallback position that we are able to provide ourselves.

This legislation will lead to an entry policy review, which the minister has committed to completing in this calendar year. We will take a look at streamlining the procedures by which foreign banks can operate in Canada. Most of us would see that as being positive. If we can increase the amount of competition in the financial services industry in this country, most people believe that will lead to improved service, improved access to capital and a whole range of good things that will come through increased competition. Most people in Canada would see that as being positive. I am pleased to see that the Secretary of State for International Financial Institutions is proceeding with that review and will complete it in fairly short order.

There are a couple of things the minister was able to announce which came out of the review he has been undertaking and the discussion paper which he put forward some months ago. One of them has to do with the access to basic financial services.

I think there are a lot of consumers who have been frustrated in dealing with their local financial institution when they try to cash a cheque and do not happen to be at their own institution or they try to deposit a cheque and then find out that the funds will be held and they cannot get access to the funds for a week or two. Perhaps they are trying to open an account and for some reason there are arbitrary rules in the institution and they will not be allowed to open an account.

Often it is low income Canadians or those who are not in the workforce who have great difficulty accessing these financial institutions. It is not appropriate. There should be equal access to financial institutions.

I was pleased to see as part of the discussion paper and in discussions with the financial services community that a number of standards have been put forward and the institutions have agreed to work toward and implement within their branches things like lessening the identification requirements, explaining clearly whether a hold funds will be placed on the individual's account, eliminating employment as a condition of opening an account, ensuring that there is no minimum deposit requirement in order to open an account, training of staff to be more sensitive when dealing with consumers who might be opening a small account. I think these a positive things that needed to be worked out and I am pleased to see that has been done.

As part of the discussion paper some important work has been done which has been discussed in the House, the need for the banks and other financial institutions to proactively advertise their low cost services. We heard that in the discussion on credit cards where

many institutions have low cost credit cards. When it is pointed out some would say they did not even know that existed.

I was pleased to see that in response to the discussion paper the financial institutions have made a commitment to proactively advertise their low cost services. I look forward to seeing that implemented and the changes taking place.

In conclusion let me say that with the legislation the government is moving along the road to find a balance between keeping those things about our financial services industry that are strong and helpful to the country and to the citizens of our country. We want to make sure that financial stability is maintained and that employment opportunities that are presented by financial institutions are maintained.

We also want to make sure it is done in a way which will protect individual consumers and will give consumers the right to access those services.

This has been an ongoing process by the government over the last three and a half years and progress is being made. I am sure the task force which was struck to look at future changes and at our financial services sector going into the 21st century will continue. I look forward to its findings.

[Petitions, March 17th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of a number of my constituents. These constituents are opposed to the government selling Candu reactors or Candu technology to China.

[Petitions, March 12th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition from my constituents calling on the government to join with the provinces to work on establishing a national highways policy.

[Petitions, March 12th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased on behalf of my constituents to table some petitions. The first petition calls on the government to lower the tax on gasoline, another calls on the government to eliminate the tax on reading materials.

[Committees Of The House, March 12th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources entitled "Think Rural", a study of rural economic development in Canada.

The committee heard evidence from a wide range of witnesses from across Canada and reports its recommendations calling on the government, the private sector and all Canadians to recognize the uniqueness of rural Canada, its separate economic base, its special challenges and its longstanding traditions, and to apply policies in a manner that addresses these differences and provides rural Canadians with access to all the country has to offer.

[Mining, March 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, as the chair of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources I congratulate the government and the Minister of Natural Resources, in particular, for the response to our committee's final report on streamlining environmental regulations for mining.

I am pleased to see that the reforms put forward fully reflect the committee's recommendations which were formulated following extensive consultations with stakeholders. These reforms will provide investors with greater certainty of requirements, reduce unnecessary delays and costs, and ensure the need for a strong and effective environmental protection regime.

The mining industry provides jobs for some 350,000 Canadians and supports hundreds of communities in rural and northern regions. It is an important component of the government's commitment to rural Canada.

The committee's report and the department's response are further evidence of the government's commitment to economic growth and job creation, to sustainable development and creating efficient and effective regulation for business.

[Criminal Code, March 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, further to my question to the Minister of Industry, I do not think there is anything quite as important or quite as critical for us as a government than our support of small business.

It is absolutely essential that as a government nationally and as individual members of Parliament in our ridings we have a strategy to help the small business men and women who every day go out there and risk everything they have to create wealth and jobs in our ridings.

I see a strategy for small business consisting of three components: access to information, access to capital and a streamlining of regulations as we talked about with the minister during the question.

In terms of access to information, in my riding we have had the opportunity to host three economic development forums to give the business community the opportunity to explore new strategies, to see new opportunities and to pursue new initiatives.

We have had an opportunity to have two access to capital seminars where we have had a chance to talk with our business

community and our providers of financing and to explore ways they could have better access to capital.

I make a point to regularly communicate with my business constituents so that they know about the programs and initiatives we are undertaking as a government.

A number of initiatives in terms of access to capital, both nationally and locally, in ridings like Parry Sound-Muskoka have been undertaken. First of all, through work that I was able to do on the industry committee and on the access to capital task force, we worked with the Canadian chartered banks to introduce five tools to help individual business people obtain capital.

We have in rural Canada and particularly in Parry Sound-Muskoka the Community Futures Development Corporation. In my riding we have three branches of that corporation which are providing small businesses with loans up to $75,000.

The Business Development Bank also operates in my riding. The government has raised the lending limit for the bank from $3 billion to $15 billion. New tourism initiatives have just been added for the Business Development Bank. They have loaned millions of dollars to the small business men and women in the riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka.

We have also seen an increase in the small business loan limit, which went from $4 billion to $14 billion in the most recent budget.

Of course in northern Ontario, in the Parry Sound portion of my riding, FedNor, the regional development agency, has seen its budget increase to $60 million.

Finally, a third component of the strategy is streamlining regulations. The minister mentioned in the reply to the question that a 15 per cent decrease in regulations has taken place. The new hires program introduced by the government will provide a tax holiday on new hires for EI premiums. We have seen a move to quarterly remittances instead of monthly remittances. These are all attempts to streamline regulations.

I urge the Minister of Industry to continue the government's initiative to support small business both across Canada and in my riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka.

[Tourism, March 3rd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, there is no industry more important in my riding than tourism. It accounts for half the jobs in Parry Sound-Muskoka and it is an important economic generator throughout rural Canada.

The tourism industry supports over half a million jobs Canada-wide. It is a $26 billion industry and the Canadian Tourism Commission has been successful in achieving a 13 per cent increase in our international tourism receipts which is leading to even more jobs.

This year's budget builds on that progress. The $15 million annual increase to the Canadian Tourism Commission means that we will be better positioned to market Canada around the world. Our commitment of $50 million to the Business Development Bank of Canada will result in $250 million in new loans for tourism operators in rural Canada, in areas like mine where the operators have been starved for capital in the last few years.

Our government is committed to tourism. It is committed to creating jobs for Canadians. It is committed to rural Canada.