Monte Solberg

[Taxation, April 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, that is nonsense and the minister knows it. According to CIBC Wood Gundy economist Jeff Rubin says: “Canadians' tax bills will be some $6 billion higher as a result of the cumulative impact of the last five Liberal budgets”. He said that in the wake of the last budget.

The minister knows taxes are up. We know taxes are up. Jeff Rubin knows it and Canadians know it. When is the minister going to acknowledge that Canadians have the highest tax burden in the G-7 and he has done zip about it?

[Taxation, April 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, as millions of Canadians are filling out their tax returns this week I have one simple question for the finance minister. Why are Canadians still paying the highest personal income taxes in the G-7?

[Yom Hashoah, April 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, today is Yom Hashoah, the day that Jews and Gentiles pause to remember the horror of the Holocaust.

From 1933 to 1945 six million Jews and millions of other innocent victims were burned in the ovens of Auschwitz and other concentration camps. This unparalleled crime against humanity must never happen again.

There is a Hebrew word that I would ask all members of this House to learn. It is “zachor” and it means to remember. We owe it to the dead to never forget their tragedy and we owe it to the living never to allow the Holocaust to happen again.

On behalf of the official opposition I would like to express my personal commitment to ensure that the world learns from the Holocaust. On this the eve of the 50th anniversary of the modern State of Israel, I promise to zachor.

[Taxation, April 22nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, in recent years Canada has lost two professional hockey teams. The third is now on the ropes.

The reason for that is twofold. First, Canadian taxes are about 50% higher than in the U.S. Second, the Americans unfairly subsidize their hockey teams.

What is the government doing to lower taxes? What is it going to do about these unfair subsidies so that we can keep hockey in Canada?

[Banking, April 21st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the minister said watches, but they are doing nothing. It is like watching paint dry, frankly.

Ordinary Canadians are terrified of what these mergers will mean to them and their businesses. The banks have the shareholders speaking up for them, the lobbyists. They even have high profile Liberals speaking up for them, but it is a one-sided conversation. The Minister of Finance is mute on this. Why will he not stand up for Canadians and let them know that they are always going to have some options? Why will he not stand up for competition?

[Banking, April 21st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we have the very real spectre of less banking choices in the immediate future for Canadians. The finance minister is hiding behind his task force report hoping the whole issue will go away. It is not going to go away and frankly, Canadians deserve an answer.

Our position is very clear: no mergers without competition. What is the minister's position anyway? Does he even have one or do we have to wait for him to phone Matthew Barrett, John Cleghorn and Charlie Baillie to find out what the position is?

[Request For Emergency Debate, April 20th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, to some degree I want to echo the comments of my colleague from the NDP.

I point out that we have two parties asking for this. I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, quite honestly that we did not get together to make this happen. I think it reflects the concern of the people of Canada over the possibility of a bank merger in what a lot of people would argue is a policy vacuum left by the government.

I want to point out that Canadians are facing the possibility of seeing our six big banks reduced to four, two of which will have the resources, really, to overshadow all of the competition.

My friend has pointed out that the government has no plan to deal with this issue, except to say that there is a group that is studying this right now, but it will not be reporting for several months.

We are very concerned that because many shareholders are involved in this and because the international investment community is watching this closely the banks will be allowed to drive the agenda to the point where the government will be forced to make a decision in their favour without proper public input.

Therefore, I am also asking that you give serious consideration to our request to have an emergency debate on this issue. We think it is one that Canadians are very concerned about and, again, the government has no policy on the issue.

[Banking, April 20th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister has lots of questions but he has no answers. He is the minister. He is supposed to have some answers.

The country has been waiting since last year for this government to open up the banking industry to real competition, yet the government delays. Why the delay? Why is the government delaying bringing in legislation that would provide competition for consumers and businesses in Canada? He promised the legislation. Where is it?

[Banking, April 20th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the official opposition's policy on bank mergers is very clear. If there is no competition, then there is no merger. On the other hand the Minister of Finance does not seem to have a policy. Why does he not admit that he is using his task force to cover up the lack of a policy? Why does he not admit that he is perfectly happy to let our big banks write the banking policy for this country? That is what he is doing.

[Income Tax Amendments Act, 1997, April 2nd, 1998]

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

Today we have a debt of $583.2 billion and as I mentioned in my address it is one of the largest debts in the entire world today in terms of per capita indebtedness, second only to Italy among industrialized countries.

The result is that we do not have the money often necessary to put toward programs that are vitally important. A third of every tax dollar today goes to pay just the interest on the debt.

Imagine if we did not have to pay the debt. We would be able to lower personal income taxes by 71%. Or could dedicate the money to things that are vitally important like helping people who, through no fault of their own, have been victimized by a federally regulated blood system.

We need $4 billion to help out all those people who have been victimized. We could do that today if the government would take the approach that the priorities are to start to pay down debt, focus spending on things that are most important and start the process of lowering taxes. That is the approach that will help all Canadians.