Lost his last election, in 2006, with 32% of the vote.
Banks June 11th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.
The TD bank and the CIBC wish to merge. Yet despite that, yesterday Charles Baillie, CEO and chairman of the TD bank, said he did not think that the proposed mergers are “necessarily good public policy or good for Canadians”.
I wonder whether the Minister of Finance agrees with the president of the TD bank.
Interest Act June 10th, 1998
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-421, an act to amend the Interest Act (interest payable on repayment of a mortgage loan before maturity).
Mr. Speaker, this issue is something that we have all been lobbied on by real estate people across the country. This bill would amend the Interest Act to make possible mortgage cancellation for mortgages of five years and under. That, of course, would be subject to the payment of a prescribed interest charge.
Mortgages of one year and under would not be included in this amendment to the Interest Act.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Bank Act June 10th, 1998
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-420, an act to amend the Bank Act, the Insurance Companies Act and the Trust and Loan Companies Act (repayment of a mortgage loan before the maturity of the loan).
Mr. Speaker, I have a short word of explanation with respect to the purpose of this bill. When people sign a mortgage, the language used for the cancellation provision should be easily understood by the majority of Canadians.
People have a right to know exactly what they are getting into, how to get out of it and how much it will cost. A number of people have been asking for legislation of this sort. It is important to the consumers of the country.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Nunavut Act June 2nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I want to go back to my friend in the Reform Party on the question I was asking before. What he wants to do is to elect a senator from Nunavut. The people right now are leaning more toward just straight abolition of the Senate and saving $50 million a year rather than trying to bring in a triple E Senate.
Even if he wants to bring in a triple E, I would like to ask him how that would be done. We have been stuck with an appointed Senate for a long time. We have a federation unlike any other in the world with one province which has almost 40% of the people. Another province with 25% of the people is unique and distinct in terms of a different language and culture. How do we persuade those two big provinces that they should have the same number of senators as Prince Edward Island in order to get a triple E Senate?
Even if that were to happen and the provinces agreed to it, what kinds of powers would be given to that Senate? I suspect the powers would be so insignificant, so ineffective and so irrelevant as to wonder why we need a Senate first place. We are stuck. How do we put a round post into a square hole?
This is a very real problem. We have dealt with it for many years in parliament when constitutional issues have arisen. New Brunswick has 10 senators and British Columbia has 6. New Brunswick has about 600,000 people while British Columbia has between two million and three million. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have between them 20 senators. We have 24 in the four western provinces. How do we persuade them to reduce their number of senators and have an effective Senate that makes the Senate worth while to justify spending that $50 million per year?
If we keep going around and around in a circle like a dog chasing his tail, in another 50 or 60 years we will still have an appointed senator from B.C., an appointed senator from Prince Edward Island and so on.
Are we not better off trying to abolish the Senate? That is the way in which public opinion is moving and the Reform Party tells us that it is a grassroots party that wants to listen to public opinion. I would be very interested in knowing how he would square that circle.
Nunavut Act June 2nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the Reform Party likes to talk about listening to grassroots. The most recent polling on the Senate shows that more Canadians would like to abolish the Senate rather than reform it.
If we elect a senator, does that not lock into place the existing Senate, the existing powers, the existing representation which is very unfair to our region of western Canada for example? If we are to do that how do we persuade Ontario, for example, to accept the idea of equality and yet leave meaningful powers with the Senate to make it effective?
All during the constitutional process during the last decade that was the most difficult question to answer, and there is no answer in my opinion to that. It goes right back again as to why I think more and more Canadians are now looking at the abolition of the Senate.
It would take a longer dissertation to make my questions even more clear and I think he would need more time to answer them but I would like a brief answer.
Parks Canada Act June 2nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I really enjoy listening to my friend from Wild Rose. I just want to know whether he has cleared his position with his new ally, the premier of Quebec, Lucien Bouchard.
Questions On The Order Paper May 25th, 1998
Can the Minister of Finance specify for each year starting in 1990: ( a ) how may requests for surplus refunds has the OSFI, Office of the Superintendant of Financial Institutions, received from sponsors of terminated workplace pension plans in the federal jurisdiction; ( b ) what was the total amount requested; ( c ) how many requests did the OSFI approve each year; and ( d ) how much money was involved?
Bank Act May 25th, 1998
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-407, an act to amend the Bank Act (bank mergers).
Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the bill is to make it a requirement, unless there is an insolvency where a bank is going down, that before any merger can take place there must be a vote in the House of Commons so every member of the House can have a chance to vote on whether it is a good idea. This would not leave the decision solely in the hands of the Minister of Finance which is the status quo. It is a way of democratizing this place and making our roles more meaningful on a very important issue that will face the Canadian population in the fall.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Seniors Benefits May 15th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. It is now well known that the government is making changes to the proposed seniors benefits package. Despite those changes, the seniors benefit would still end universality of old age pensions in this country. Universality is a principle strongly supported the Canadian people.
In light of that, will the Deputy Prime Minister today make a commitment to withdraw the seniors benefits package and maintain universal old age pensions for all Canadians?
Banks May 15th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, earlier this week in London at the opening of Canada House, an embassy that is really owned by the people and the parliament of this country, guess who held a dinner at Canada House? The BCNI, the Business Council on National Issues.
Guess who as at the dinner? The Prime Minister was there and Al Flood was there. He is the president and CEO of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Guess what they were doing? They were sipping champagne and eating caviar. And they were doing this at taxpayers' expense. Ordinary people of this country, senior citizens like George Armstrong in my riding, are paying for the Prime Minister to sip champagne and eat caviar with the president of a big bank.
Guess who this bank wants to merge with? It wants to merge with the Toronto-Dominion Bank. Who was on the board of the TD bank a few years ago? The Prime Minister was on that board a few years ago.
Earlier in the day the Prime Minister was also sipping champagne and who was he doing that with? Matthew Barrett, the president of the Bank of Montreal. That is improper—