I think the member for Medicine Hat is speaking through his hat.
Lost his last election, in 2004, with 39% of the vote.
Supply February 5th, 1998
I think the member for Medicine Hat is speaking through his hat.
Supply February 5th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to address the motion before us today. It is a motion that tries to question this government's good judgment and its commitment to Canadians.
Our hon. Reform colleague would have this House believe that the government is about to suddenly change course to embark on a reckless course of overspending, throwing away in effect all that Canadians have worked so hard to achieve. This is absolutely untrue.
Committees Of The House December 11th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, I listened with a lot of interest to the hon. member, especially when he talked about rural Canada. As a farmer that is very close to my heart.
Right now we are moving into the next millennium and we have heard the hon. member for Victoria—Haliburton talk many times about his rotary dial cell phone. Quite frankly we just do not have the services in rural Canada that we should have in order to be viable.
In the last budget there was extra money put into the Farm Credit Corporation. There was extra money put into the Business Development Bank of Canada. I would like the hon. member to enlighten us on what he foresees should go into these good institutions that are helping rural Canada meet those challenges.
Committees Of The House December 11th, 1997
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to listen to a seasoned politician speak on any article of business that we deal with in the House, although I have to admit that some of the ideas on which the hon. member was expounding are half-baked.
For the last 24 months our interest rates have been at historic lows. Quite frankly it took about 18 months for the economy to kick in because of the low interest rates.
The member talked about tax breaks. That is something which will cost the government immediately. When tax revenue is taken away, the government has lost revenue. It has to be replaced in some way. On top of that, he talked about extra spending. That is more expenditure.
How much of a deficit would the hon. member like to see the government incur to implement the half-baked ideas on which he has been expounding? How much more would he like to put the country into debt?
Parliamentary Interns Food Drive December 9th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, approximately 120,000 people in the Ottawa region live below the poverty line and around 30,000 of them receive food assistance every month. Nearly half of those receiving food are children.
To help some of those in need during the holiday season, the parliamentary interns with the support of the Canadian Bankers Association have decided to organize a food drive. The food drive will take place between December 8 and 12. Boxes will be placed for the collection of non-perishable foods in five locations: the offices of the hon. members for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, Lac-Saint-Louis, Hillsborough, Calgary Southeast and Halifax West.
The parliamentary interns are also going to visit our offices for a reminder and to collect food or money for the food bank. We invite everybody working on the Hill to be generous. Many families count on our support.
Petitions December 3rd, 1997
Mr. Speaker, the second petition asks parliament to clarify the Criminal Code to ensure that public displays of nudity cannot be considered an infringement of an individual's freedom of expression.
The third one asks parliament to enact legislation to prevent women from appearing topless in public.
Petitions December 3rd, 1997
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I have the honour to present three petitions today.
The first petition ask parliament to urge the government to upgrade the national highway system in conjunction with the provinces.
Supply November 6th, 1997
Madam Speaker, there is a very interesting debate going on over there. It is quite comical.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in this debate and to describe the many ways that Quebec benefits from the actions of the Government of Canada and especially from the social spending benefits that Quebec gets. One of the most obvious benefits is being part of the country that the United Nations has recognized as the best place in the world to live. As Canadians and Quebeckers this is a shared privilege, one that we can all be proud of.
Canada is a respected member of the G-7, of the OECD, of NAFTA, of APEC and other international organizations. Membership in these important organizations provides Canadians with the commercial linkages that are necessary for success in a competitive global economy. This is something that benefits all Canadians and especially Canadian companies doing business in world markets.
The Minister of Human Resources Development recently attended a meeting of employment and labour ministers of 29 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. At that meeting his colleagues from these other countries referred to Canada as the Canadian miracle. Our ability to meet the challenges of economic, political and social change that so many others are going through is quite remarkable and has added to Canada's international strength and reputation.
At the federal level we have been successful in restoring the nation's finances. The deficit this government inherited will be eliminated no later than 1998-99. The Canadian dollar is sound. There is a feeling of confidence and optimism in the national economy. Quebeckers have been major beneficiaries of these positive developments through lower interest rates for mortgages and consumer loans, as well as in many other ways in business and improved prospects for export sales.
Because of the dramatic improvement in our financial situation, we have regained some flexibility in our social program planning. One of the most significant examples of this is the national child benefit that was presented in the last federal budget. This novel idea is an example of a new style of Canadian federalism that works. All levels of government of every political stripe are working together to bring forward a new social program to help children and their families. This may be the most important new program of this generation. There will be many potential benefits for the people of Quebec.
The mechanics are simple. The Government of Canada will increase the federal child tax credit and thus the income of low income families. This will reduce demands for social assistance payments at the provincial and territorial level. Each province or territory can then take its savings in social assistance and reinvest them in programs and services to directly help parents on social assistance move into employment, and low income working families to stay in the labour force. Thus each province will have new money freed up to use for its special needs.
Under the program as it is now conceived, beginning in July 1998 Quebec will have the use of an additional $150 million to provide programs and services directly to Quebeckers. This program shares the same objectives as the family policy proposed by Quebec and it will help Quebec to implement it. The national child benefit is good for Quebec families and children, but the Government of Quebec so far has opposed it.
Fortunately, Quebeckers are able to fully participate in the national employment insurance program and are among its major beneficiaries. The legislation passed by this House one year ago to set up the new employment insurance system introduced several new measures to improve the employability of Canadians.
For example, a system of targeted wage subsidies was introduced to encourage employers to hire EI claimants by offsetting a portion of their wages. We expect this will help some 8,000 Canadians to gain valuable on the job experience this year and many of these will be Quebeckers.
The new EI program also includes a self-employment assistance component to support unemployed individuals who want to start their own businesses. An estimated 6,000 new entrants will be supported under this part of the program this year, and many of them will be Quebeckers. Some 35,000 are taking training courses while receiving EI benefits, and many of these are Quebeckers.
It is clear that Quebeckers are benefiting very much from the new EI program. Of the $880 million that will be reinvested annually in active employment measures across Canada, by the year 2002 about $252 million, almost one-third, will be going to Quebec.
We are also concerned about providing support for areas of the country where unemployment is high and where jobs are hard to find. In these areas employment insurance eligibility requirements are the lowest and the benefit entitlements are the highest. A number of these special areas are in Quebec. We have introduced the transitional jobs plan to work with local partners to invest together in creating lasting jobs in high unemployment areas.
At the national level about 400 transitional job fund projects have been approved and 188 of them are in Quebec. There have been 22,500 jobs created and 14,500 of them are in Quebec. The Government of Canada has invested a total of $158 million in these projects to date, $81 million of it is in Quebec. The objective of the transitional job fund is to lever other source funds to create long lasting employment in high unemployment areas. It has proven to be a very useful program for employers and workers in the province of Quebec.
I refer to the labour market agreement that was signed by the governments of Quebec and Canada earlier this year. As well as demonstrating that federalism can and does work, this agreement signalled a transfer of active employment measures funded by the employment insurance account from the federal to the provincial levels of government. For the first five years of the agreement, the province of Quebec will receive some $500 million a year to offer to its residents a tailored employment program and measures that will help them integrate into the labour market. That is a historical agreement, a major change in the way things are being done in the federation.
Over the next five years we estimate that the Government of Canada will have made available more than $2.7 billion to Quebec under the labour market agreement.
Environment November 3rd, 1997
Mr. Speaker, a new federal study states that global warming will adversely affect the climate on the prairies: drier summers, thinning forests. As a farmer I would like the minister of agriculture to tell us in concrete terms what he is doing to protect Canada's soil and water systems.
Official Opposition October 23rd, 1997
Mr. Speaker, an effective official opposition is the conscience of Parliament. An effective official opposition poses well thought out and researched questions during question period.
The member for Edmonton North is quoted in the Ottawa Sun as having goofed not once but twice in the last three weeks in her campaign to dig up dirt.
Reform has promised to hold bingo fund-raisers at Stornoway to pay down the national debt.
One of the best examples of an oxymoron and government waste in this House is Reform research.