Randy White

[Regional Development, December 5th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, Canada must stop the folly of regional policy. The Liberals continue their borrowing ways and the pork barrel rolls on and on. It is time to jump over the barrel.

Canada could learn from experiences around the world where these programs have failed miserably. The government knows regional development programs are doomed to fail, yet the practice continues.

The finance minister's budget will be quite telling. Will it be business as usual or will the minister heed the Reform message? Western economic diversification has not diversified the western economy. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency is not creating opportunity. The Federal Office of Regional Development is not developing regions in Quebec.

Since their inception, these agencies impoverished the Canadian taxpayer to the tune of about $1 billion a year. It is time to end the folly of regional policy.

[Department Of Industry Act, December 1st, 1994]

Madam Speaker, not to expand a tea room for $99,000. They call that regional development and it is not. Not to modernize a campground and facilities. That is up to the owner with his profits. It is up to the individual to expand in regional development.

Finally, this government really does not have a clue on regional development. We heard the separatist party here talking about what is wrong with it and we are saying the government cannot afford it. And I think I was relevant.

[Department Of Industry Act, December 1st, 1994]

Only when it is absolutely necessary should the government be in the business of private industry.

[Department Of Industry Act, December 1st, 1994]

What about the young people coming behind us? What about the debt load we have taxed to these people? What about the taxes the small business person is paying? What about the interest that Canada itself must pay to pay back the debt? It is all borrowed money on the backs of the taxpayers and the young people so that this government can shell out $1.3 billion a year to regions.

Do we need grants? Why do we need grants? Why do we need regional development? Regional development is important. But to the Liberal Party regional development means shelling out dollars to those you know. Next week in this House of Commons I will be disclosing some of those they know who get money.

[Department Of Industry Act, December 1st, 1994]

Well I am saying it and I mean it.

[Department Of Industry Act, December 1st, 1994]

As far as the value to industry, this is an industry bill. I am still relevant, am I Madam Speaker? I am just making sure.

I have a great deal of difficulty with the concept of regional development in industry and shelling out the dollars. We have to start eliminating these four regional development programs. This government is handing out $1.4 billion a year and a lot of that is shelled out not for the concepts I talked about. It is not necessarily for fostering entrepreneurship. It is not necessarily to increase the rate of new business formation and improve competitiveness. In fact, improvement of competitiveness philosophy really does not work at all in some cases from regional development grants.

For example, there are some regional development grants given by this government to motels and inns across this country, but the trouble is it gives to one and not to another. How do we get competitiveness by giving a grant on the backs of the taxpayers to one and not to another? I do not understand that philosophy at all.

Members of the Liberal Party stand in the House and say: "Big daddy is going to pass out your money", and another party says: "You should not be doing that. We have our own. You are wasting the money". Rather than doing that, maybe for a moment they should consider phasing them out. If a government has to borrow from Japan, Germany or the United States to hand this money out it should really consider its management style.

[Department Of Industry Act, December 1st, 1994]

Madam Speaker, I just heard these people here, these separatists, talking about regional development. That is what I am talking about. I am not going to stand here and justify to a member, Madam Speaker. I can justify to you. This is about regional development and that is what I am

going to talk about whether this government likes it or not. I will continue my speech on regional development if the member does not mind. I hope this time is added on to my speech.

The concept of regional development is what we are talking about here. We will try to get a concept through these minds here. As I understand it and as the Auditor General has so reported the concept, it is to support and promote the opportunity for economic development, to foster development of entrepreneurship, to increase the rate of new business formation and to improve competitiveness of small and medium size business.

I find the concept of entrepreneurship and government sponsored dollars incompatible. That is something this government has to learn as well.

For instance I have been tracking some of the payments made by this government. There is an individual who has received the entrepreneur of the year award in one of our great provinces. He has received something like seven or nine grants from one of the regional economic development programs. I find that hard to understand. It is an oxymoron. To be the entrepreneur of the year and have the government shovel money your way just does not fit, but I do not think this government understands this.

[Department Of Industry Act, December 1st, 1994]

Madam Speaker, I am surely not required to give an explanation to somebody from the Liberal government on how I express-

[Department Of Industry Act, December 1st, 1994]

You see how important this is, Madam Speaker. The Liberals are at me for my tie. Rome is burning and they are at me for my tie.

My point is that while we talk about taking credit for business cycles and so on, Rome is burning to some extent. The average taxpayer is wondering what these federal politicians are really doing in Ottawa.

Yesterday I also heard comments in the House from one of our colleagues in the Liberal Party who was very concerned about my criticisms of ACOA, the regional development agency in Atlantic Canada. The comment was Reformers do not like Atlantic Canadians because we have the audacity to complain about regional development grants.

The relationship between complaining about grants and not liking a certain region is ridiculous. Yesterday I heard from one of the Bloc members: "You had better be careful what you say about the east; you are talking about FORD-Quebec". It is not about the people and where they live. It is about how much money we have in this country.

Today we hear about the federal government's central control over regional development, about the funds that are going its way. We also hear the PQ, the separatists, talking about how this is so much of a waste: "We are doing it in our province anyway and the federal government is wasting its".

We hear the Liberals saying they are going to keep it the same and big daddy is going to hand out all the regional development grants to everybody.

What people are hearing from the Reformers is the logical approach. Should we be handing out in excess of $1 billion a year in regional development grants when we are overspending by $40 billion a year and we have a $530 billion debt load? We have to get some priorities in place.

The people watching and listening must think this is all a nightmare. We are talking about giving moneys out to regions and the amounts given out are not small dollars. ACOA, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, is over $375 million a year, FORD-Quebec is in excess of $437 million a year and western economic diversification is $452 million a year.

We have to borrow this money to give out. We are saying let us be a little more realistic here, folks. We have to cut back, if not over a period of time eliminate this. I have some ideas on where to eliminate. I will show today some of the ridiculous grants that have been given out by this government-

[Department Of Industry Act, December 1st, 1994]

We will give them the blame. They are suggesting that they should not get the blame but we will give you all sorts of blame in some areas.

This is a natural business cycle, my point being that as we stand here in the House of Commons taking credit for how well things are coming along the average taxpayer out there who is getting hit harder and harder and has less and less money looks at us on television and these other ways of communicating today and wonders what in the heck is going on in the House of Commons. These politicians-