Randy White

[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, February 8th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the finance minister in the absence of the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

The CBC recently issued a $380 million bond to finance the new broadcast centre in Toronto. This financing will cost almost $4 million a year for the next 30 years because the bond is being issued at a rate higher than a regular government bond would be. This $120 million is excess interest costs.

Can the minister tell the House if his government has had the opportunity to mitigate the loss by cancelling the bond issue and issuing a normal government bond?

[Social Security System, February 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. May I ask for a quorum call.

[Social Security System, February 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to compliment the hon. member on his speech. There are many things in his speech that I certainly subscribe to and many Reformers do as well.

There are a lot of organizations in this country receiving grants well in excess of what they should be. Perhaps by listening to such a speech there is a lot of room for reconciliation among parties in today's Parliament in trying to curb this kind of thing and spend money in the right places. Perhaps in the next four years we shall see, maybe the House of Commons will be very much together on that issue.

I would like to ask the hon. member how he would define slash and burn of social programs since it was mentioned once if not twice in his speech.

[Members Of Parliament, January 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my supplementary question concerns the $200,000 survey which was originally supposed to be $150,000. It was prompted by the comment of the Minister of Finance who mentioned a narrow point of view earlier. Could the Deputy Prime Minister explain to the House how asking senators and MPs, both past and present, what they think of their own compensation is any different from asking the fox to guard the hen house?

[Members Of Parliament, January 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister.

Last Monday the hon. member for Broadview-Greenwood rose in the House to express his concern about Canadians being fed up with consultation and I presume that meant through consultants.

The government is currently paying a consultant to conduct a study into such issues as perks and pensions for senators and MPs both past and present.

Why did the Deputy Prime Minister, as reported in the Montreal Gazette , recommend that all MPs take part in yet another study at taxpayers' expense, especially in light of the fact that the government has already announced its position on perks and pensions.

[Speech From The Throne, January 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I too would like to congratulate the hon. member for Central Nova. Having been raised in Nova Scotia myself, I have travelled the areas that she was elected in many, many times. It is indeed beautiful.

The member has spoken very earnestly and sincerely about unemployment in her area, but unemployment has been a problem in the maritimes and in her area for decades. I believe that the infrastructure program is once again more taxes-federally, provincially and municipally-on the constituents in that area. The infrastructure alone will not cure the problem of unemployment in that area and training in itself will not help the situation either, or at least will not cure it.

I am wondering if the member would perhaps suggest a new industry that could perhaps turn the tide in that area. Other than infrastructure and training, what new changes would help the people in Central Nova?

[Justice, January 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the people of Fraser Valley West and others in Canada are concerned about safety in the streets. It is especially troubling when criminals slip through the cracks in the system and are allowed to roam free due to technicalities.

Michael Lawrence Drake was convicted of molesting a young girl in Bellingham, Washington in 1992. He is now roaming the streets of greater Vancouver, a free man, while his immigration inquiry is adjourned. This man was born in the United States and has resident status in Canada but he is not a Canadian citizen.

I wish to ask the members of this House to work toward giving the law enforcement officers in this country the power to detain people like this and the courts the power to deport them immediately.

Reform of the criminal justice system has been a high priority of the Reform Party. It is my hope that this government makes this reform a high priority as well so we feel good about leaving our families in a safe environment.

[Speech From The Throne, January 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the hon. member from Brantford. I was in that community numerous times and it is indeed a beautiful community.

I am interested in asking the hon. member about the infrastructure program which she so adamantly supports. The question I have is, what does the hon. member see as the longest term effect on her community for infrastructure? Is it the bill that the taxpayer picks up from the municipal, federal and provincial portion or the short-term job that may be arranged as a result of the program itself?

[Speech From The Throne, January 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the hon. minister on his speech.

There are areas in Canada today that feel the government's policy on official bilingualism is expensive and unnecessary. In light of the comments of the hon. minister I would like to ask him whether he is aware of the real costs of the official bilingualism program. I would also like him to comment on whether another form of regional bilingualism would be more effective than universal bilingualism.

[Speech From The Throne, January 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I think I got my question across. I would like to find out how much employment the hon. member thinks this infrastructure program will actually add to long-term employment in Halifax West.