House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 80% of the vote.
Health Care November 18th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, it is nice to see the other Kevorkian twin up, the man who actually administers the lethal injection to health care. It is nice to see him taking a little credit for that.
The minister has a stage right now. He can tell us right now after all these questions how much money he wants to contribute back into health care. He claims it is his number one priority.
If it really is his number one priority, what is his number? How much will he kick back into health care?
Health Care November 18th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe the Minister of Health. His government has the worst record on health care in Canadian history.
The government has cut $7 billion out of transfers to the provinces for health care. Fourteen hundred doctors have left Canada for the U.S. We have a situation where 190,000 sick people are on waiting lists today.
How big does the surplus have to grow and how long do the waiting lists have to get before the minister puts a number on what he claims is his number one priority? What is his number? How much for health care?
Employment Fund November 18th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I recently received the following letter from the owner of Toby Theatre & Video Rental in Invermere, B.C.: “Regarding this EI fund that our government thinks it has a right to use however it sees fit, what really upsets me is the fact that high school students who work for me have to pay EI even though the government admits that they are eligible to collect EI but do not qualify as long as they are going to school. Doing this to a group of Canadians that do not even have a vote is, if not legal fraud, certainly moral fraud. As to the rest of the EI fund, it belongs to the workers and business people of this country and not to the federal government. I think that it should be given back to the people that it is”—euphemistically—“borrowing it from, especially our young people”.
It is signed by Ron Peters, Invermere, B.C., and it is well said.
Finance November 17th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the auditor general is independent. He reports only to parliament. The finance minister has a political constituency to appeal to.
Does the minister not understand the need of parliament to have an independent person like the auditor general oversee the finances of the nation so we can avoid this kind of political trickery? Does he not understand that?
Finance November 17th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, today the auditor general said “In my opinion the 1997-98 surplus is understated by $2.5 billion, and accounts payable and accrued liabilities as well as the accumulated deficit are overstated by the same amount”. He goes on to say “I consider this stated accounting policy to be inappropriate”.
Does the finance minister really think that the top accountant in Canada, the auditor general, is wrong? Is he saying that the auditor general, the watchdog for taxpayers, is wrong and that the finance minister is—
Employment Insurance November 16th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, last year 2.5 million Canadians earning less than $30,000 a year kicked in $2.5 billion in EI premiums. That is the government's record when it comes to taxation of low income Canadians. I think the air is a little thin up there on money mountain. The oxygen is not getting to his brain.
The fact is that Canadians pay far too much in taxes, 56% higher than the G-7 average. There is a $7 billion surplus in the EI fund. When will the minister wake up and understand that the surplus is not his? It belongs to workers and employers. When will he give it back to them in the form of lower premiums?
Employment Insurance November 16th, 1998
Sadly, Mr. Speaker, it is taxpayers who pay for his mistakes: $10 billion right out of their pockets.
The fact is that the finance minister is sitting on a $10 billion mountain of money gouged right out of the pockets of Canadian taxpayers and a full $7 billion of that comes from workers and employers through EI overtaxation.
When will the finance minister come down off money mountain and make sure that Canadians get the tax relief they need through lower EI premiums?
Employment Insurance November 5th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the finance minister is trying to ignore what we are saying here. Three hundred and fifty dollars might buy a couple of rounds of golf for the Prime Minister, but it will buy a lot of groceries for a lot of Canadians. Now he might not feel it, but Canadians feel it right in their pocketbooks.
The Prime Minister is so out of touch with Canadians that he does not understand that $350 is a lot of money. Is that the position of the finance minister and the Prime Minister? Do they not understand that $350 is a lot of money to a lot of Canadians?
Employment Insurance November 5th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, just like George Bush's amazement at a grocery store scanner, the Prime Minister was amazed to discover that he does not pay EI taxes. Well we have news for him. Twelve million Canadians do pay EI taxes and they are getting pretty sick of it.
When will the Prime Minister wake up and give Canadians a $350 tax reduction? It is their money. They deserve it. When is he going to let them keep it?
Employment Insurance November 5th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister actually told parliament that he pays employment insurance taxes. We are willing to give the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt. We do not think he was trying to mislead the House. In fact, we just think he happens to be living in a fantasy world. He has imaginary homeless friends. He thinks he is Mark McGwire and now he is pretending to pay taxes that he does not actually pay.
In the real world, Canadian workers are paying $350 too much for employment insurance and it hurts. When will the Prime Minister come back to earth and let Canadians keep that $350?