Tony Ianno

[Infrastructure, April 27th, 1994]

My question is for the Minister responsible for Infrastructure.

As the government moves forward with the renewal of Canada's environmental, communications and transportation infrastructure, many of my constituents in Trinity-Spadina are looking forward to the new jobs that will be created by the program for today's and tomorrow's economy.

Can the minister tell us how many jobs Canadians can expect to have generated by this program and its spinoffs and when will these badly needed projects commence?

[Consumer Affairs, April 19th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry.

As the Canadian telephone sales and telemarketing industry continues to grow, so has an increase in telephone sales fraud. Telephone sales fraud has become alarmingly commonplace with some studies estimating that it defrauds the public of up to $100 million. These fraudulent practices affect all Canadians but especially senior citizens.

What is the minister prepared to do or doing at this time to protect Canadians from this telephone sales fraud?

[Immigration, March 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, in the Toronto Star of Monday, March 14 I read about a visit by two members of the Reform Party to my riding of Trinity-Spadina. In their travels they visited Chinatown and Kensington Market where they felt they would encounter Canadians of origins other than English and French who would share with them their opinions of slashing immigration to Canada.

In the process they discovered that the majority of those with whom they spoke looked favourably on the government's immigration policy. One respondent business person, Mr. Danny Tran, a recent immigrant who creates jobs himself, said that more immigrants meant more jobs.

Because of these responses the title of the article was "Reformers Get An Education". To no one's surprise, least of all my own, they discovered that the multicultural mix of Trinity-Spadina positively contributes to the dynamic nature of Toronto.

If the hon. members had ventured around the corner to the Alexander Park Community Housing complex, they would have also learned of how three years ago a determined group of residents, multicultural in character, led by Mr. Sonny Atkinson, banded together and drove out the drug problem.

In conclusion, I would like to extend an invitation to all Canadians to visit Trinity-Spadina to discover these well kept secrets of the success of multiculturalism. In particular, however, I would like to extend an invitation to more of the members of the Reform Party so that they too may benefit from these lessons.

[The Budget, February 24th, 1994]

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

We wish that we did not have any debt to deal with and could just deal strictly with investment. However, as a small business person I can tell the hon. member that when one is searching for growth, one has to pay a price and that price is in investment.

I believe that we need to retrain our work force in Canada. I indicated in my speech that we have to give training to the lower echelon of Canadians, those who do not currently participate in the situation. We have to give them the opportunity to have the tools so that we, as business people and entrepreneurs, can develop the niche markets and expand internationally to bring all of that money back to Canada for growth. We must help Canadians, those who are not as fortunate as some of us, to be able to participate in the process.

I therefore believe that there is an investment. I am not afraid of having a debt in order to invest in the future.

[The Budget, February 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the question. I am not surprised. What we are doing in the budget is setting the framework so that we can invest in agriculture and forestry, but maybe not in the same ways that have been used in the past.

We have to get creative. There is a lot available for us with new forestry technology and agricultural technology. Not only will we serve our own purposes here as my father-in-law on his own farm and my relatives deal with. There will be a future. Their children will have a chance to participate in innovative ways. Not only will we be able to use the technology in Canada but abroad to the benefit of export markets for cattle and everything else our farmers utilize, and in our forest industries when we take into account depletion around the world and our concern for the environment.

I am not surprised by the member's question, but I hope in the next four years when the economy comes along with us we will be at the leading edge of a lot of these new industries that our communities will be able to participate in fully and vibrantly, especially the young.

[The Budget, February 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present my maiden speech to Parliament with honour, pride and a great sense of responsibility. I would first like to congratulate you on your election as Speaker. I believe your sense of fairness and calmness will help us in these uncertain times as we face the unique challenges of the nation.

I am honoured and humbled by the confidence placed in me by the people of Trinity-Spadina who have given me the opportunity to serve them in the House. In this capacity I hope to echo both their deepest concerns and their greatest hopes.

Trinity-Spadina is located in the heart of downtown Toronto by Lake Ontario. It is one of the most economically and culturally diverse ridings in Canada. It is an exciting place to live and a great place to raise a family. It is home to the University of Toronto and the world champion Toronto Blue Jays. Great theatres and some of the best restaurants in Canada are located in places like Portugal Village, Little Italy, Chinatown, the Annex on Queen Street and the waterfront.

I had the good fortune to be raised in Trinity-Spadina and have experienced many of its great attributes. My parents like many Canadians immigrated to this country because of the opportunities it provided. They instilled in me the belief that with hard work any dream can be achieved. They also instilled in me that sharing with and compassion for others must be integral parts of that dream.

I believe the government was elected to give Canadians their pride, dignity and hope. The way to achieve this is by charting a new economic course. As an entrepreneur this experience allows me to speak with some insight on the issues facing our economy. Too often in Trinity-Spadina I see small business people striving to keep their enterprises alive. I see single mothers struggling to raise their children. I see university graduates trying to find jobs that do not exist and working people who cannot make ends meet. I see a staggering number of people who

depend on the Daily Bread Food Bank, an appalling number of whom are children.

For us to move ahead as a nation we must ensure those without a voice, those who have fallen through the cracks, are not left behind. We must give Canadians the tools to realize their potential and their dreams and thereby fulfil Canada's. That is this government's goal.

The budget is the first step in achieving that goal by laying the basis for tomorrow's prosperity. In order to achieve this we must harness the initiative and creative talents of all Canadians.

The key to the success of Canada's economy is our small and medium sized businesses. There are over 900,000 of them across the country. If we as a government as we have started to do in the budget establish the proper framework for our small and medium sized businesses so that each of these businesses can hire just one person, many of our economic problems would be solved and the government would have a net gain of $18 billion from direct employment alone.

What small businesses need to achieve this is access to capital. The banks' rigid lending formulas and the arbitrary cancelling of lines of credit are cracking the backbone of our economy. Every time we allow a small business to close we not only lose jobs; we kill a dream. It is time Canadian banks recognize their responsibilities as partners in the development and growth of Canada's economy. Canadians through the Bank Act have given the banks special privileges. Canadians expect them to do more. We will work to achieve it.

The first step, as mentioned in the budget, was to establish a task force that would develop a code of conduct for small business lending. Small businesses also need access to the emerging new global economy to survive and grow. The opening of foreign markets to Canadian business will provide unprecedented opportunities for growth. Canada's cultural diversity, coupled with its entrepreneurial spirit, gives our country a unique advantage in this highly competitive world.

This government is going to play its role. Our international network of embassies and trade officers will provide a pro-active, ongoing link to these exciting new export markets. The economic engines of the future are the emerging technologies of today. We must participate fully in the technological revolution and be at its leading edge.

Through increased funding for the National Research Council and the technology partnership program, government will bring together our research institutions and the private sector to capitalize on the innovations of Canadians in such fields as environment, health care, biotechnology and telecommunications. In some of these fields we are already world leaders.

By the year 2000 environmental technology sales alone will be worth approximately $580 billion a year. We have great opportunities. The government's task is to ensure that Canadians have the capacity to meet these new challenges.

Let me give an example from my own riding. At Central Technical High School a partnership has already been forged between the school and the Canadian Tire Corporation. In the past Canadian Tire could not find graduates trained in computer based auto repair. To help remedy this situation they provided the school with $200,000 of equipment to modernize the auto mechanics teaching facility. Because of this, graduating students will now enter the workforce with the most up to date skills and Canadian Tire will not have to look abroad to fill the jobs.

We must keep up with technological change, not only in our educational facilities but also in the workforce and the workplace. We must use new technologies to reinvigorate our existing industries. As an example, Spadina Avenue has historically been synonymous with the fashion industry in Canada. Today, to remain competitive, this industry must embrace new approaches to design and manufacturing. By drawing on the creative talents of designers and by utilizing the most modern computer assisted systems we can put Toronto once again back on the leading edge of the global fashion industry.

It is only through this kind of creative leadership that we can accomplish these changes. The budget will help in the required transformation.

However economic growth is not just a matter of exporting abroad. It is drawing on the strengths we already have. In Trinity-Spadina we know first hand the benefits that can come from expanding tourism. Trinity-Spadina is home to many of Canada's most unique tourist attractions. From the art galleries and the museums to the theatres and the bistros, from the SkyDome to Ontario Place, from the CN Tower to Harbourfront Centre, millions of visitors come to my riding to enjoy music, art, theatre, history and sport. We must take advantage of this resource. Governments and business must work together to expand this industry by letting the world know of our treasures. These resources must be aggressively marketed. Tourism is a form of export. The difference is that foreign customers come here and leave their money behind.

I draw the attention of members to a potential infrastructure project in my constituency which will provide much needed construction jobs and will advance the long-term goals I have described. I am referring to the establishment of the World Trade Centre at Exhibition Place or the expansion of the Toronto Convention Centre. Either of these facilities would provide Canada with a venue that would allow us to compete with convention centres around the world. By drawing these shows to Canada we could help small and medium sized businesses bring

their Canadian products and technologies to the world marketplace.

Along with bolstering our export market such a facility would draw hundreds of thousands of visitors who would leave millions of dollars behind. The people of Trinity-Spadina want to be a part of a proud Canadian team competing in this international market. Canada has the tools and an intelligent educated workforce that can adapt to these new industries and technologies. We have the strength in our diversity and we have the desire and ability to succeed. We are not afraid of competition.

The budget set the foundation on which the future economic growth of Canada will be built. This government will be the catalyst to bring Canada's people, businesses and institutions together to harness our strengths and to achieve our common goals.

All Canadians must share in our growth. Everyone's dream is important. No one will be left behind.