Paul Devillers

[The Budget, February 19th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct the statement made that this member is proud of the government's record on health care and education. My submission did not deal with those issues. My submission dealt with the jobs record. That is something which I dealt with at length. It is something which I stand by. It is not good enough. It is never good enough. Any rate of unemployment is too high. However, what critics such as the Reformers neglect to look at is the actual number of jobs which have been created.

The figure is there. The Statistics Canada figure indicates that 715,000 jobs have been created by the Canadian economy in the last three years, compared to 71,000 jobs that were lost in the last three years of the Tory reign.

The number is there. It is not an insignificant number. It is not good enough, but it is certainly something which I am prepared to stand by and be held accountable for during the next election campaign.

The member asked my colleague from Kenora-Rainy River the same question with respect to the 40 per cent cut to health care. All I will do is repeat the answer. That 40 per cent deals with the cash part only. It does not take into account tax points. We have to look at the entire picture; we cannot only look at the cash points in the transfers.

In the case of Ontario, the province with which I am most familiar, it amounts to 2.5 per cent of the total provincial budget. The provincial government is making draconian cuts to health care, education and to a lot of other areas. We know why. It is to fund the across the board tax cut of 30 per cent which that government, which is a friend of the Reform Party, promised the people of Ontario.

[The Budget, February 19th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Fundy-Royal.

The budget tabled by the Minister of Finance is good news as regards job creation. This budget is in line with the federal government's long term strategy to improve the state of public finances, so as to create conditions that will promote employment, as well as short and long term growth.

The government will also continue to invest in immediate and longer term initiatives to create jobs, which is a top priority for me and the federal government. Let us not forget that 715,000 new jobs were created since the Liberals took office, in 1993.

Extending the federal infrastructure works program is an excellent example. The government will spend $425 million on that program, for a total of $600 million this year.

I am also very pleased about job creation initiatives in rural areas, since my riding includes some large rural areas. In this regard, regional tourism will get increased support, through an amount of $50 million allocated to the Business Development Bank of Canada, as well as an additional $45 million, over a three year period, to the Canadian Tourism Commission, and additional funding to the Farm Credit Corporation.

Over the next three years, the federal government will allocate $1 billion for job creation initiatives for young people. The Minister of Human Resources Development recently announced that $225 million would be earmarked for the creation of jobs for young Canadians. These initiatives will provide a more promising future to many young Canadians who wish to join the labour force.

I also want to mention the creation of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, an investment of $800 million by the government, which will ensure that Canadians remain on the cutting edge of research and technology, areas which will help our industries to remain competitive and to create jobs in the future.

Given the Liberal government's sound economic management during the last three years, it is not surprising that private sector forecasters are expecting more than 300,000 jobs to be created this year and also next year. Having said that, I can assure the House that the Liberals will keep up their efforts to create jobs for all those Canadians who are still looking for work.

In the time remaining I would like to deal with some of the criticisms that the government has received with respect to job creation. I have already indicated that in the first three years of the Liberal government's mandate Statistics Canada confirms that approximately 715,000 net new jobs have been created by the Canadian economy. This compares to a net loss of 71,000 jobs during the last three years of the previous government's mandate. Under the previous Tory government the unemployment rate was at 11.4 per cent at the time that the Liberal government was elected in 1993.

The current rate of unemployment is 9.7 per cent. This is obviously much too high. One person in Canada unemployed, seeking work and unable to find it is a human tragedy. There will never be an acceptable unemployment rate until unemployment is eradicated.

I do not think it is a fair comment to indicate that because the official unemployment rate issued by Stats Canada is still at 9.7 per cent that the Liberal government's record on employment and setting the conditions that lead to employment creation is bad. Look at the 715,000 jobs that have been created by the Canadian economy in that time period.

We still have 1.5 million unemployed people which is certainly not acceptable and is certainly a cause for concern to everyone, particularly to those people who are unemployed, but 715,000 people have found jobs. The reason that the rate still remains as high as it does is because more people have come into the work force. This is something that the government cannot control. It can encourage people to obtain more training so that they will be in a

position to seek employment, but it does not preclude people from coming into the workforce.

I do not believe the official unemployment rate is the proper indicator one should be looking at to measure the government's performance in job creation. It should be the total number of net jobs created.

The opposition parties are saying that the government should provide tax relief. By giving Canadians tax relief, more disposable funds would be available for them to make purchases and this would stimulate the economy.

I would like to draw the House's attention to the low interest rates which have the same effect. The government has managed the economy and has been able to reduce the deficit. It has shown responsible fiscal management and interest rates have dropped dramatically. They are at their lowest of the last several years.

I have two examples of the savings and benefits that people can obtain. I quote a Royal Bank report from October 1996 on home ownership indicating that a five-year $100,000 mortgage has a payment of $765 per month. The same mortgage for the same term except for the higher interest rate in 1990 required monthly payments of $1,200. The Royal Bank indicates that this is the equivalent to receiving an $8,000 raise in salary. This is as a consequence of the lower interest rates.

Similarly, on a new car loan of $15,000 over a four-year period, the lower interest rates today are resulting in savings of almost $500 per year. Again, that is an example of where money is being made available and is being freed up as a consequence of the fiscal management of the government and the lower interest rates.

It has been necessary to have certain cuts in spending in certain programs that have led to the reduction of the deficit. That leads to the more favourable interest rates. Now that the deficit is being reduced and is below the finance minister's targets, he is able to start paying the dividend for the suffering that all Canadians had to endure over the last few years to reach this point.

This budget shows Liberal vision. It shows Liberal values. The investments being made are in areas of child poverty, education, benefits for the disabled, research and development and also for the community action program for children.

CAPC is a program that is receiving increased funding when it was scheduled to receive a reduction in funding. The community groups and agencies in my riding with which I have met were very concerned about the scheduled reduction in funding. I am sure they will be very happy to see that the CAPC program is not going to be reduced but will be increased.

[Ferry Service, February 7th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, Christian Island and Georgina Island are home to the Beausoleil and Georgina Chippewa Bands. The islands are the location of cottages belonging to hundreds of non-natives and they are the destination of thousands of visitors.

In 1995, the Governments of Canada and Ontario agreed to jointly fund the replacement of the ferries that provide service to the islands, an improvement essential to economic development. The Government of Ontario, a Conservative government, now refuses to honour its commitments in spite of the fact that transportation is a provincial jurisdiction.

This is not unlike the unilateral and arbitrary decision made by the Government of Ontario to renege on the agreement reached with the First Nations on the distribution of the Casinorama's revenues.

An agreement is an agreement. It is sad enough that our history is littered with agreements we did not honour but it is an outrage that agreements with the ink barely dry are being unilaterally and summarily dismissed.

[Petitions, December 13th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, and on behalf of my colleague the hon. member for Don Valley West, I am pleased to present a petition which was received from the riding of Don Valley West.

The petitioners pray and request that Parliament support the immediate initiation, with the conclusion by the year 2000, of an international convention which will set out a binding timetable for the abolition of all nuclear weapons.

[Health Care, December 2nd, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in the House on the matter of public health care in Canada. Many Canadians, I included, hold dearly to the principle of publicly funded health care services for all Canadians.

Several constituents from my riding, namely Helen Heeney, Jay Cody, Donna Kumagai, Judy Rogers, Doug Sneyd and Merle Larsson Totten, were instrumental in the publication of a book entitled Life Before Medicare .

The book was launched on November 21 during an intergenerational ceremony with the Minister of Health in attendance. Through actual life experiences of contributors, the book conveys a sense of sacrifices required of Canadians before universality in health care services became a reality.

Free health services are the sign that a society supports all its members regardless of their financial means. We cannot afford anything less either for ourselves or for future generations. Let us all be courageous and clear-headed enough to oppose those who want free health services to disappear.

[Petitions, November 22nd, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present to this House, pursuant to Standing Order 36, a petition which contains 25 signatures of constituents of the riding of Simcoe North. The petitioners request that Parliament regulate the longstanding Canadian practice of marketing generic drugs in a size, shape and colour similar to that of their brand name equivalents.

[Employment, November 22nd, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in the House on the matter of employment.

Many Canadians, including me, are concerned about the employment situation in Canada. Jobs are a source of income and dignity for Canadians. Jobs are also crucial to the economic well-being of this country and remain one of my top priorities.

To create more jobs we must get Canada's public finances under control. The reduction of the deficit is of course essential to job creation and growth. The present government is well on its way to meet its targets and the country's economy is already reaping the benefits through the lowest interest rates since 1964.

I am happy that the economy has created 669,000 jobs since the Liberals took office. Even though this number bodes well, I will continue to work with the government and to encourage it to put in place programs that will lead to the creation of more jobs to the benefit of all Canadians, including the constituents of Simcoe North.

[Speech From The Throne, November 7th, 1996]

Madam Speaker, I guess we are going to beat this horse to death. It is simple. There are grey areas in the Constitution. The member says the law is clear. Well, it is not. There are many areas. The Constitution does not cover every possibility. There are

unclear areas which the court has to interpret. I am not saying it. Mr. Justice Dickson is saying the court takes into account the difference that Quebec has by reason of its French language, culture and institutions. That is what we are trying to get to make that a law. It is not a law now. It is a constitutional convention. We are saying let us entrench it into the Constitution. It should be of some comfort to some Quebecers and it is not taking anything away from the other provinces because it is what is happening now.

[Speech From The Throne, November 7th, 1996]

Madam Speaker, that is the case with the government's policies on official bilingualism and that is being done by the government at the present time. The French speaking minorities in the other provinces are protected where the demand is sufficient and they can obtain the services they need in the French language.

However, that is a different issue from recognizing that Quebec as a province has a majority of French speaking people; whereas in the other regions the member referred to, the French speaking people are the minority or perhaps in the case of New Brunswick it is almost a 50-50 split. In the other provinces, save New Brunswick, French speaking people are in the minority.

It is the recognition that Quebec is predominantly French speaking, although it has many other people from various backgrounds, that we are talking about. It is about recognizing that fact and the consequences of its culture and its institutions as well.

[Speech From The Throne, November 7th, 1996]

Madam Speaker, I agree with the proposition that the hon. member has put forth that the courts should not become involved in politics. We need to maintain the separation between the judiciary and the political procedures in the country.

I was quoting an article by Mr. Justice Brian Dickson, retired chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was not talking about politics. He was talking about when the Supreme Court of Canada is called on to interpret grey areas of the Constitution; in other words, areas where the jurisdictions are not clearly aligned.

The convention now is that the Supreme Court of Canada in those grey areas takes into account the fact, not a political policy, that Quebec is the only jurisdiction in Canada which has a predominantly French speaking population. There are French speaking people in all other regions but they are not the majority. Therefore in Quebec they are different by reason of the first language of use, by reason of their culture because they are of French origin and have a different culture than the multiplicity of cultures we have in Canada and because their legal system is the Napoleonic code, le droit civil, which is an entirely different legal system which therefore leads to different institutions in that province.

He is not playing politics. He is saying that the Supreme Court of Canada takes those actual facts into consideration when it needs to interpret areas that are not black and white in the Canadian Constitution.