Lorne Nystrom

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

Mr. Speaker, I will be brief. This morning I sent you a letter seeking leave under Standing Order 52(2) to seek an emergency debate on the two megabank mergers we have been hearing a lot about recently.

Four of our six big banks have plans now to merge. This will completely transform the financial services industry in our country. It will impact on the constituents of all members of Parliament. It is a very fundamental change, perhaps the most fundamental change in the Canadian financial services industry in the history of Canada.

The government said again today that it plans no parliamentary action until the report of the MacKay task force some time in September. That is about five months down the road, which is a long time to go without dealing with the issue in the Parliament of Canada.

I submit that an emergency debate is needed now. The financial markets have reacted starting back in January. They are still reacting to these announcements. It is about time we had some democratic parliamentary reaction from the floor of the House of Commons.

For those reasons I submit to you that this is a legitimate case of a request for an emergency debate on a very important issue that we as elected parliamentarians should deal with here in this House in a truly democratic manner. We owe it to our constituents.

[Banking, April 20th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, if the two bank mergers go ahead, the two large megabanks will have 70% of the banking assets in this country.

It would take about 100 banks in the United States to have 70% of the banking assets in that country. I submit this is obscene concentration.

In the name of democracy, is the minister now prepared to establish an all party parliamentary committee to study these two mergers and give Canadians a chance to say their peace?

[Banking, April 20th, 1998]

My question is to the minister of finance, that Bay Street banker, Mr. Speaker.

[The Late Douglas Alkenbrack, March 31st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I knew Doug Alkenbrack fairly well when he was a member of Parliament. I remember that in 1979 he sat roughly where the Conservative member for Ontario is sitting now, in the second row to your left, Mr. Speaker.

He was known around the House as someone who was a real gentleman as has already been said, as someone who was a very practical person, as someone who was not overly partisan in terms of being a member of Parliament.

Before he came to this House, he was involved in municipal politics. He was involved in his community. He was involved in the lumber business in his home community in northern Ontario.

I remember one of the last days he was in the House. As a matter of fact, we expected the government to fall. It was before the election of 1979. As it happened, I was to have the floor after question period. Doug came to see me during question period to see whether or not he could have the floor instead of me so that he could have a chance to give his farewell speech in the House. Of course I ceded my place to him.

On behalf of our party, I want to extend to his wife, his son, his daughter and his grandchildren, his family, our very sincere condolences on the loss of a great parliamentarian and a real gentleman who was well liked by people in all four corners of this House.

[Banking, March 31st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, it is a question of leadership, which is something this minister thinks about an awful lot.

For example, we have a banking ombudsman who is selected, directed and paid by the big banks in this country. It is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop.

I want to know if the minister can show some real leadership and bring in legislation for a truly independent banking ombudsman so people who have grievances about banks in this country have an independent body to go to.

[Banking, March 31st, 1998]

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

The Ontario minister of finance has approved tough new regulations banning tied selling in the mutual fund industry in that province, overriding the lobby of the Canadian Bankers Association.

Mike Harris is not exactly a raving lefty who reads copies of Karl Marx every night before he goes to bed. I ask the Minister of Finance, why does he not at least be as progressive as Mike Harris and show some real leadership in this country by bringing in legislation to enforce a ban on tied selling in the banking industry?

[Member For Sherbrooke, March 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, later in the day the leader of the Conservative Party will announce he will be a candidate for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party and the leader of the federalist force in the province of Quebec. We wish him well in his endeavours.

The response of the Reform Party has been a partisan call to unite the right in this country. Instead of a call to unite the right it should be a call to unite federalist parties and unite this country around common goals that all Canadians can feel at home in Canada. That should be the goal.

I call on all our colleagues to work toward that common ground for all Canadian people.

At the provincial level, there is already a process under way to ensure Canadian unity that led to the Calgary declaration. Public hearings were held and they were well attended.

It is high time Parliament took its responsibility. The time has come to act.

[Member For Sherbrooke, March 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, later in the day Jean Charest, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, will announce he is going to be a—

[Budget Implementation Act, 1998, March 24th, 1998]

I heard the Prime Minister. We can play clips of the Prime Minister on television where he said “Elect me and the GST will be gone”. He was going to abolish the GST. Liberal members have said that also. I heard the platforms of Liberal candidates in 1993 who said they would abolish the GST. That is exactly what they said.

Was that a mistake? Please answer the question very honestly and very straightforwardly. Was it a mistake?

[Budget Implementation Act, 1998, March 24th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, my question for the member across the way concerns the GST.

His solution now is to harmonize the GST. We are going to have the polls closing in Nova Scotia in about 55 minutes and one of the issues down there was the harmonized GST. I predict we are going to see the NDP rock and roll tonight and increase its seats massively in the province of Nova Scotia. We will see that in about an hour and a half.

I want to ask the member to answer very precisely a very precise question. Was it a mistake on behalf of his party in 1993 to go across this country and promise to abolish the GST? We saw what the deputy Prime Minister did. She resigned her seat and faced a byelection.

Was it a mistake? Does he feel guilty about it? Does he feel badly about the fact that they told the Canadian people one thing and are now doing something else?

Was it a mistake to promise to abolish the GST and then to—