House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 80% of the vote.
Transfer Payments December 14th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, last winter the finance minister committed to bring together the provincial finance ministers to set the new terms for the Canada health and social transfer. They came together this week and could only agree on a dinner menu and that was about it.
Why in the world did the minister wait until three months before the decision was to be made to bring the ministers together? What is his game plan now if the provinces cannot agree? It certainly looks like that is the case.
The Economy December 12th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the fact is job creation has stalled in the country. The fact is the government is being forced to cut into social programs because the interest on the debt is undermining those programs. The fact is that the provinces are leading the way.
Will the Minister of Finance take a leadership role for a change, go to the conference today and tell the provinces that he is going to undertake to do what they have done and begin the process of balancing the budget. Will he ultimately hold out some hope to Canadians that there will be some tax relief, not in the 21st century but in this century?
The Economy December 12th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, a minute ago the finance minister made the absurd statement that somehow the government has cut more of its spending than it has cut transfers to the provinces. I point out that it did back flips to preserve Liberal pensions and the finance minister led the charge in that whole argument.
The people who have been showing leadership in the country are those in the provincial governments. The only leadership this minister has shown is in defending his interests.
Will the finance minister commit to taking a page from the book of the provinces? Will he balance the budget and will he hold out the hope of tax relief for ordinary Canadians who actually pay taxes?
Recognition Of Quebec As A Distinct Society December 11th, 1995
Madam Speaker, it is important to note on this important debate that the leader of the Conservative Party is not here.
The Economy December 7th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, that is absolute rubbish. The fact is interest payments on the debt are undercutting social programs, which is exactly why the government is cutting unemployment insurance and making all kinds of other adjustments.
If the Liberals had dealt with this in the first year of their mandate we would not be in the hole we are in today. The finance minister has got to start accepting some responsibility. He blew it right from the beginning.
When can Canadians expect to get some tax relief? The minister is saying, trust me. It will be sometime in the next millennium, over the hill and beyond the horizon. When exactly are we going to get some tax relief in this country?
The Economy December 7th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, obviously the Minister of Finance does not understand. The whole point of this exercise of eliminating the deficit and the debt is to lead the way toward social programs that we can sustain over the long run and also give people tax relief. That may be hard to understand if you do not pay taxes in this country, but that is what we are aiming for.
Why does the minister insist on prolonging the suffering of Canadians and denying them hope? Why does he do that with this narrow, inch at a time deficit elimination policy? Why does he refuse to completely eliminate the deficit and reduce taxes? Why does he not do his job?
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation November 22nd, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I just explained that to the minister. I am glad he was listening so carefully. The problem is he is $120 million short. Surely the minister picked that up when he read the newspaper this morning.
The CBC is at a watershed today. Will the minister show some leadership and give the president of the CBC the mandate he needs to go ahead and make further cuts so he can achieve the $120 million in savings and the scope he needs to fundamentally rethink the CBC, including allowing private broadcasters to play a larger role in delivering those services?
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation November 22nd, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage has instructed the president of the
CBC to come up with $350 million in spending cuts. Today he is announcing that he will be $120 million short in that department. There is no guarantee that the mandate committee report at the end of the month will give the president the scope to make the cuts he needs to make.
Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage show some leadership for a change and untie the hands of the president of the CBC and allow him to go ahead and make some fundamental cuts to the CBC, including allowing private broadcasters to start to deliver some of the services the CBC currently delivers?
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation November 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the minister is an excellent example, I am sure.
The point being that there are already all kinds of services provided through cable and over satellite. We do not need dedicated stations in all these communities.
The CBC, Telefilm Canada and the NFB are undergoing a mandate review and will be reporting to the minister soon. The people who should be giving this mandate are the taxpayers of the country. They already understand that the level of funding in any public enterprise should be based on how many people in this case are viewing it.
Is the government prepared to cut spending for services that taxpayers do not support? If so, will it direct the CBC to make its cuts accordingly?
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation November 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, in Edmonton the CBC French station has an audience of 300 people. In Quebec City the English CBC station has 1,700 viewers and in Regina it has an entire station dedicated to 40 viewers. That works out to about $230,000 per viewer.
Given these outrageous spending figures, why is the CBC continuing to fund these stations? When will the government end this ridiculous waste of taxpayers' dollars?