Gurmant Grewal

[The Budget, January 29th, 2002]

Madam Speaker, this is an issue which is bothering many of the seniors in almost every constituency. Senior citizens live on fixed incomes. The GIS is one tool which can facilitate their standard of living.

A few days ago I attended a seminar organized by Surrey's Social Futures. It highlighted some of the problems seniors are facing in various communities. The federal priorities of the government are not right. It should set its priorities so it takes care of special groups such as seniors who are living on fixed incomes. Issues such as RRSP, CPP and GIS need to be reformed and priorized.

[The Budget, January 29th, 2002]

Madam Speaker, I am splitting my time with the member for Edmonton--Strathcona.

The priorities of the government have been completely misplaced and this is what I have been talking about. Health care has been the number one issue and we do not see any improvement in it. Recent increases did not even come close to restoring health care funding to where it was before the Liberals came to power in 1993.

There is no contradiction between being fiscally prudent and increasing funding to priority areas like the armed forces, the RCMP, CSIS, health care and so on. However it can only be done if wasteful spending is eliminated.

As it stands now, none of these vital institutions had their funding increased to 1993 levels. The solicitor general did not mention that the recent increases do not even begin to make up for the damages to these organization which have been caused by the government since it took charge in 1993.

The Liberals are like arsonists who set fire to a building and then join others to douse the flames with a bucket of water, but they hide the fact that they set the fire in the first place. They caused the problem in the first place. They are the root cause of the problem, particularly in health care. How can we call them the saviours?

Another example of where the government has fallen short is in transportation infrastructure programs. The government rakes in about $4.3 billion from gasoline taxes and invests only less than 4% in transportation and infrastructure programs. In contrast, the United States of America invests 95% of the revenue generated from gasoline taxes on transportation and infrastructure programs.

The condition of our freeways and roads is bad. The Liberals have included $2 billion for the strategic infrastructure program, but the word strategic sounds a little suspicious to me. Based on the track record of the government, it probably means that the money will be used for political purposes to win strategic ridings. There will be no fair allocation of this funding based on the needs in various provinces and constituencies.

I have been to a few countries in the recent past. The leaders of these countries, such as Hong Kong and China, realize that transportation infrastructure is vital to their continued economic well-being. They make spending in this area a top priority. We do not see that in Canada.

The Liberals talk about trade promotion, but in practice they do not make significant enough investments to ensure Canada's place as a truly global player.

One reason behind the misplaced priorities of the budget is probably the political ambitions of certain ministers of the crown. The underground leadership race to succeed the Prime Minister is nothing new. Some people have said that departmental budget allocations are a good way of telling which ministers are favoured by the Prime Minister. Obviously our former industry minister saw the shortfall in funding for his broadband “hinternet” scheme to be a signal that he did not have the support of the Prime Minister for his leadership ambitions, and he quit.

Due to the wrong priorities of this government, many doctors, nurses, teachers and computer engineers are moving south to the United States of America where job opportunities are more and taxes are lower. That is brain drain, but we do not have as much brain gain in this country.

Any government truly committed to immigrants and economic growth would realize that recognizing foreign credentials is vital to our ability to attract world class talent from abroad. In this budget another missed opportunity is in the area of recognizing foreign credentials. Even though I lobbied for and raised the issue, the government mentioned only one line in the last throne speech. However it has done nothing to implement what it said in the throne speech. Why would a computer engineers or a scientists from abroad bring their skills to Canada if their credentials are not recognized once they get here?

I had a motion in the House some time ago but the government did not support it. I wanted a nationalized system to standardize education within the country and use that standard to recognize foreign credentials. In the U.S.A. if people apply for recognition of their credentials it takes less than 24 hours. It takes more than three months in Canada. We are again missing an opportunity to turn the brain drain into a brain gain.

Bill C-11 shows quite well the attitude of the government toward security. The government tabled a bill before September 11 and then tried to say that it met security needs after adding some ridiculous regulations.

Under the new point system of the Liberals, independent immigrants are penalized, meaning it will be harder for them to come to this country and contribute their skills to the country's economic welfare.

Also, the government is allowing Canada's reputation to slip by refusing to invest in our military and foreign missions, which is the first line of defence. This is shameful for a G-8 country.

Statehood means a country must be able to defend itself and make a contribution to the international community. There have been many allegations of corruption in foreign missions. The locally hired employees accept bribes and allow unscrupulous people through the system to come to Canada. Nothing has been done to address that issue.

One way the government could honour our country's historical record in the area of foreign affairs would be to shift its foreign policy focus toward preventive diplomacy. At one time Canada used to enjoy the reputation of a leading country in preventive diplomacy. Now we have slipped way beyond many countries like Bangladesh and even smaller countries like Nepal. The priorities of the government are wrong. It has given Canada a black eye.

Again, this would involve shifting resources from low priority areas, such as corporate welfare for Liberal supporters, to high priority areas such as deeper tax cuts, security, larger payments to the provinces for health care and paying down our debt which is the root cause for the low loonie. This would require the government to re-examine its strategy, something it has been unwilling to do.

The Liberals claim their budget is about security, but security only works when there are no gaps in the fence. One gapping hole I have brought to the attention of the government many times is the problem of corruption of our foreign missions, as I mentioned earlier. The government has done nothing to patch the big hole of corruption in foreign missions. More often they involve locally engaged staff and nothing has been done to deal with that issue.

According to the government, current economic uncertainties are causing problems for governments around the world. However other governments are making investments to mediate and prevent any conflicts so that there is not too much expense to deal with the damages caused later on.

My province of British Columbia has been completely ignored by the government. There are many issues which have been ignored in British Columbia which I will talk about at some other time.

In conclusion, the priorities of the government are wrong. It has not significantly reduced taxes. It has not paid anything significant on the debt. Those priorities should have been first so we could have made a better country for all of us.

[The Budget, January 29th, 2002]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House on behalf of the people of Surrey Central to take part in the debate on the budget. As members can hear from my voice, I am not feeling well. The misplaced priorities of the government have made me sick.

Budget is just another word for financial plan. When I say this is a non-budget what I am really saying is that the government has no plan for the country's finances. Its priorities have been totally misplaced. It would rather give the heritage minister $160 million for cultural programming than buy appropriate uniforms for our troops in Afghanistan, increase transfer payments to the provinces for health care or set its priorities right.

I do not know how the government can say it has responded to the needs of Canadians when an overwhelming majority say health care is the number one issue. The recent increase--

[The Economy, December 10th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, today's budget is supposed to restore confidence in our security and economy by setting the priorities right. The government should feel the pain of Canadians and jump-start economic recovery from the recession it created. Businesses not the government are the engine of the economy.

I want to remind the finance minister that economic growth and innovation potential of businesses are seriously undermined by the cumulative effect of complying with thousands of regulations, which costs the private sector $103 billion a year or 12% of GDP. This hidden tax of $13,700 per household is a spending second only to shelter.

The Fraser Institute, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, CFIB and others have underscored the need for regulatory reforms. Ontario and Alberta's red tape commissions have done an excellent job of deregulating and the B.C. government is on its way.

Many provinces have taken decisive steps. Will the finance minister take decisive action to remove this regulatory burden in Canada?

[Committees of the House, December 6th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 123(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations concerning the revocation of subsection 15(5) of the Northwest Territories Reindeer Regulations, C.R.C. 1978, c. 1238.

The text of the relevant subsection of the regulations is contained in this report.

[Supply, December 4th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question but I am appalled that he, being from Ontario, would take a personal shot at the premier of Ontario. It was not appropriate and he should not have done it.

The motion is about the economy, and while this debate is going on about the budget, I would like to congratulate the premier of Ontario, Mike Harris, for putting Ontario's economy on the right track when he took charge of the government. The economy of the province was in shambles under the previous government.

The hon. member opposite should have the guts to stand up and congratulate the premier rather than trash him on his personal record.

The hon. member is also forgetting to look at Ontario's economy in a broader way. I congratulate the premier of Ontario on the progress made on regulatory reforms. It is the premier of Ontario who set up a red tape commission which did an excellent job in cutting undesirable regulations from the government books.

I would ask the hon. member to remind his government to put regulatory reform on the government's agenda. I close my remarks by stating that the premier of Ontario has done an excellent job.

[Supply, December 4th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Edmonton--Strathcona, my seatmate, has asked an excellent question. He is absolutely right. We talk about government accountability but the weak, arrogant Liberal government, a lame duck government, lacks accountability.

The government has completely lacked the responsibility to present a budget in the House for 22 months which shows that setting the right priorities is not a priority for the government. It says it is not a priority. That is why it has not tabled a budget for 22 months. It has been operating without a budget for 22 months.

The economy is going downhill. The minister is held responsible for that but he is not showing any interest in sharing the responsibility for the downturn in the economy. I believe there is political background behind that. He is being touted as a potential candidate for the Liberal leadership and he does not want to take the blame for the economy. He does not want to share the responsibility which is rightly placed on him. He should speak to the motion and should be present in the House to highlight the importance of this issue and the federal priorities.

[Supply, December 4th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, when speaking to the debate on the Canadian Alliance motion before question period, I was talking about the government having to set the right priorities. The government must reallocate spending to national security from low priority areas such as corporate welfare, Canadian Heritage, regional development and the CBC, to the high priority areas like national security, the RCMP, CSIS and so on. Protection of Canadian sovereignty and safety has not been a government priority.

The tax and spend Liberals are back to their old tricks now. They have overshot budget spending promises by $40 billion since 1997. Each year, March madness spending averages $2.6 billion. With the lowest interest rates in 40 years, a prudent fiscal policy can contribute to economic recovery. Accelerating tax cuts can provide the stimulus to bolster consumer, business and investor confidence in the Canadian economy.

Recently I was in Hong Kong where I talked with members of the Canadian chamber of commerce. Investors say that punitive EI premiums and capital taxes, a tax on innovation, are a drag on the Canadian economy. Canada and its economy can no longer afford that.

Unlike the government, the Canadian Alliance feels that government waste is a problem which seriously threatens Canada's short term economic potential. The government has continued to pour hard earned Canadian tax dollars down the drain of failed regional development programs and corporate welfare for its Liberal friends. At the same time it has blamed the provinces for the crisis facing health care, education and so on, and for deteriorating transportation infrastructure.

The truth is that the government has failed to provide adequate transfers to the provinces to meet the needs of Canadians. Mike Harris is the latest provincial premier to take the federal Liberals to task regarding how they are starving Canadians of the services they have come to expect. While our provinces are crying out for more money to fund their programs, the government's priorities continue to be badly misplaced. It is all a question of priorities.

The weak Liberals are stuck in an old fashioned tax and spend mindset. As well, they do not address the other less visible drags on our economy such as wasteful spending. Under a Canadian Alliance government, the discussion we would be facing today would have to do with the reallocation of existing spending into priority areas that protect Canada's future.

Canada has continued to slip under the Liberals. The Canadian dollar has fallen 14 cents since 1993. That is a 20% drop in our currency. Our labour productivity relative to that of the U.S. has fallen by 7% since 1993. According to the OECD, Canada's standard of living currently ranks seventh while Ireland now ranks fifth, up from 19th position in 1996. We are going down the road in the wrong direction.

We have the highest corporate income tax rate in the OECD, over 42%. We have the highest personal income taxes in the G-7 countries, over 21% higher than the U.S. Today Canadians are only about 70% as well off as their neighbours to the south. While other countries race ahead, Canada is getting left behind in the global race in almost all major categories.

The Liberals have failed to improve our economic competitiveness. They have failed to spur investment and job growth. They have failed to improve our standard of living since they took office in 1993.

The government is not helping matters by maintaining personal tax levels and corporate taxes which are over 42%, the highest level in the OECD countries.

These are just the explicit taxes which show up directly on the books as costs of doing business.

The Fraser Institute highlighted another hidden tax in the form of the exorbitant compliance costs to the tune of $103 billion which Canadian businesses face in terms of regulatory burden. As a member of the Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations and with my business background, I understand the cumulative effect of the vast expanse of federal regulations affecting Canada's business community's ability to compete in today's global climate. These companies could have used most of this $103 billion to finance innovation or research and development instead of dealing with government red tape.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Canadian manufacturers and exporters, the Fraser Institute and others have highlighted the need for regulatory reform. Many provinces have formulated red tape commissions and have effectively pursued red tape reduction, but the issue is not even on the radar screen of the federal Liberals.

While talking about the economic priorities of the government, I should highlight the messed up priorities in the following areas: infrastructure and highways; transportation and traffic congestion which the government has ignored; mismanagement of resources, including minerals, oil and gas, softwood lumber, fisheries and agriculture; the development of industry, technology and skilful labour. Those are some of the priorities the government has missed. There are more but I believe my time for debate is over.

[Supply, December 4th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Selkirk--Interlake for allowing me to share his time. I am pleased to rise on behalf of my constituents of Surrey Central to take part in the debate on the supply day motion put forward by the Canadian Alliance regarding economic issues and the upcoming budget. Pressure from the Canadian Alliance finally scared this lame duck government from its apathy and moved it to table a budget 22 months after the last one.

Canadians are concerned that this budget will be politically motivated and be similar to the Liberal pre-election mini budget. It is shameful that rather than solving the needs of Canadians and setting the right priorities, this budget will serve the needs of Liberal leadership hopefuls in the underground campaign for the leadership. This form of patronage by stealth should not be a surprise to Canadians since time after time the government has shown that it has a habit of rewarding its friends with taxpayer dollars.

The Canadian Alliance motion asks the government to address a number of vital measures in next week's budget. We are calling on the finance minister to reallocate resources from low priority spending areas into higher priority spending areas; to reverse unbudgeted spending increases to a maximum growth rate of inflation plus population, which is approximately 3%; to increase national security and defence spending by $3 billion; to reduce employment insurance premiums by at least 15 cents for next year; to continue reducing premiums until the break-even point is reached; to enhance job creation by eliminating capital tax over three years beginning with a 25% cut this year; to sell non-core government assets; and to use the proceeds to accelerate debt reduction. The motion appreciates and strikes a balance between the current and future needs of Canadians.

Canada is in a recession and the weak Liberal government is asleep. It sleepwalked into a recession and stumbled blindly into this situation. Our leader and finance critic tried many times in vain to awaken Liberal members but they refused to be awakened. The finance minister is a mere spectator and unable to influence Canada's economic performance at this time. The government took over a month to make the announcement of an upcoming budget after the events of September 11.

The weak government's priorities have been wrong. The government cut the CSIS budget by $50 million which is about 20% and in real terms a massive $76 million or 28% since 1993. It cut defence spending by $1.6 billion or 14% and in real terms a massive $2.9 billion or 23% since 1993. The same story continues with the RCMP budget, the immigration budget and the customs budget. The government--

[Whistleblowers, November 21st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, our national security is only as strong as its weakest link. Knowing, exposing and correcting wrongdoings can only strengthen it.

I want to draw attention to those civil servants who, in good faith, have alerted Canadians to corruption, waste, mismanagement and wrongdoing in government departments and who are repaid with harassment and personal and professional ruin. Rather than investigating the wrongdoing they exposed, the government investigates them.

Yesterday, the leading U.S. advocate on whistleblower protection told us during a panel discussion I hosted that Canada lags behind, not only the U.S. but also many other countries. The culture of cover-ups and secrecy in government must end and the protection for whistleblowers must be put on a statutory footing.

I call on the government to heed this call for more accountability and transparency in government operations. When will this arrogant government introduce an effective whistleblowers legislation and perhaps keep one of its red book promises?