Nick Discepola

[Committees Of The House, June 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 108.1, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 19th report of the Standing Committee on Finance.

In March the Minister of Finance gave the Standing Committee on Finance the mandate to strike a standing subcommittee to consider the tax system and the system of transfers to families with dependent children.

The subcommittee travelled across the country to solicit many views of Canadians. A number of individuals and organizations participated in the hearings, including some of our very youngest citizens.

The terms of reference were very precise. I would like to thank the committee members for their diligent work on such a broad subject. There were very different points of view, but we felt that the government, as a first step, should take note of the report. Those points are captured very well in the report entitled “For the Benefit of Our Children: Improving Tax Fairness”, which has been adopted by the Standing Committee on Finance and which I am presenting today.

[Privilege, June 8th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, that is correct. I would also like to point out for the House that these meetings were not in camera. They were public meetings.

[Privilege, June 8th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to clarify this situation.

I have too much respect for the House of Commons and the Speaker to leak any document. I find the comments of the member for Sherbrooke, who claims that over three years these kinds of documents have been leaked, a bit exaggerated since he has only been in the House less than eight months, I believe.

To get directly to the point, I did give an interview to the Toronto Star . From the outset it was clear to the reporter that it was my personal opinion. If members take the opportunity to read the headline of that article, they will see that it says “MP Report”. It does not comment at all on what I reported in the House of Commons and in the subcommittee per se.

I was also approached by another newspaper reporter as early as last Friday who told me that they had in their possession the said draft report, and I refused comment again.

I draw the attention of the House to a quote in that article of the Conservative member for Fundy—Royal who proposed a $700 refundable tax credit per child. In the subcommittee last Wednesday the member for Fundy—Royal admitted to talking to the same reporter that I talked about.

In my opinion all I did was reflect my personal opinion. I made that clear with the reporter when I spoke to him. I might have erred in judgment, but in no way did I ever disclose the contents of the report which will probably be tabled in the House tomorrow.

[Scientific Research, May 31st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, last week the Canadian government announced good news for the Quebec City region, and the scientific world in particular. Laval University will be heading up a Canadian photonics institute and will receive $13 million in funding over the next three years from the Canadian government.

This institute becomes the 15th centre of excellence to receive funding from the federal government. It will bring together 64 researchers from 22 universities across the country, with Laval University co-ordinating activities as head of the network.

This announcement highlights the region's importance in this sector and is another example of how the Government of Canada is helping Quebec's regions.

[Bombardier Inc., May 27th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, good economic news at the start of the week as we learned that Bombardier will provide, at a cost of $655 million Canadian, 192 commuter trains to the Metropolitan Transportation Authorities—Long Island Rail Road, which wants to replace its rolling stock.

In addition, the contract obtained by this Canadian company is worth celebrating. It includes options for the production of 800 additional cars to meet the needs of two rail transportation agencies of the Metropolitan Transportation Authorities, the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North Railroad.

If all the options are exercised, the contract will be worth a total of $2.7 billion.

Here is an example of the Quebec economic model. A business from home showing leadership on the international market, just—

[Fishing Industry, May 6th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, on May 3, the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec reached an agreement on the joint implementation of an early retirement program for workers in Quebec affected by the decreased activity in the Atlantic groundfish fishing industry.

We will recall that it is a joint program, with the Government of Canada paying 70% of its cost, and the Government of Quebec, 30%.

This type of program bears witness to our government's commitment to working in partnership with the Government of Quebec in an area as important as the quality of life of the fishers affected by the decline of this industry.

We have here another example of the benefits of Canadian federalism and its flexibility, especially when there is co-operation.

[Alliance Conseil En Marchés Financiers, April 29th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, this morning in Montreal, the Government of Canada expressed pride in its involvement in the creation of the Alliance conseil en marché financier.

This organization is the only one in Canada working to promote Canadian know-how in infrastructure development and capital market regulation abroad.

The main goal of the alliance is to connect the financial world with the expertise in Montreal, a marvelous opportunity for our financial community to further expand its operations internationally.

This is another example of the Government of Canada's co-operation with Quebec's economic stakeholders. Co-operation is always the best approach to carrying out our projects.

[Government Of Quebec, April 27th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the referendum campaign is off and running.

The odds are strong that the PQ government will be tempted to use public funds in the coming months to promote Quebec's separation from the rest of Canada.

Quebec would still face a period of political instability with consequent economic repercussions. Separatists will be sending unsettling messages to possible investors.

But Quebeckers will not fall for these PQ tricks. They will be able to distinguish between the messages of separation sent by the PQ over the next few months and the federal government's call for co-operation in improving the Canadian federation.

[The Environment, April 21st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, on March 25, the Government of Canada announced it would invest $175,000 in the Multimedia Exchange Tour on Climate Change.

This tour is to show young Canadians what simple things they can do each day to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at home, at school, on the street, in their neighbourhood and in their community.

This sort of action demonstrates the Liberal government's intention to work to protect our resources and to inform future generations about protecting the environment.

I invite all Canadians to do their share to protect the vital resources of our country and planet.

[Kosovo, April 14th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, for a number of days now, all the refugees—men, women and children—who have fled Kosovo and the threats have been in our thoughts.

I fully support our government on this matter so vital and important to the people of Canada, which we debated when the House resumed sitting on Monday.

Canadians are aware of the suffering of the Kosovar people, and they can count on our government to speak on their behalf and especially to act, as we are doing, in a timely fashion.

We all want this war to end as soon as possible so the refugees may return home and, most importantly, recover their dignity.