Deborah Grey

[Liberal Party, October 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said we voted against gun control. I would like it on the record here today what the truth is. Two of our members, the members for Calgary Centre and North Vancouver, supported Bill C-68 according to their constituents' wishes.

It is the responsibility of all of us as members of Parliament to represent those people who we came here to represent. I know there are many members of the public across Canada who are disgusted with what they have seen in this and what they are listening to on talk shows. They are tired of this kind of political smear campaign and all this dreaming and dressing up that the Prime Minister is doing right now.

Canadians want to talk about tax relief. They want to talk about increased funding for health care because they have seen the system ravaged under these Liberals. They want to make sure that my party's leader, who offered a one on one debate with the Prime Minister, a one on one debate with no gimmicks, no frills, no gadgets, just the two of them, dancing toe to toe.

Will the Prime Minister debate with the leader of the Reform Party of Canada, one on one, on the issues, only on the issues and the facts of lower taxes and more jobs?

[Liberal Party, October 29th, 1996]

Yes, Mr. Speaker, out of respect for the House and for you I withdraw that comment.

May I also say that when I sat back here as the only member of my party when we went through the Meech Lake debate and the Charlottetown accord debate I was labelled an enemy of Canada and someone who had no respect for Canadianism. I refute that. Just remember which side won on the Charlottetown accord.

We thought we had seen the end of this kind of stuff when the Tories were turfed out of office in 1993. These kinds of smear campaigns just go on and on. We are wondering if we see the ghost of Mulroney past in the Prime Minister's Office now.

I ask the Prime Minister this. Is this kind of smear stuff the Liberal way? Does this malicious fax attack reflect Liberal values? Does this American style smear campaign represent the Liberal way? How is this integrity in action?

[Liberal Party, October 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the type of arrogance you have just heard voiced by the Prime Minister right now is exactly an indication of what is wrong in this country, just because there are differences in political beliefs, just because we happen to have differences on policies about the Official Languages Act.

This kind of behaviour from this Prime Minister is nothing more than a bold-faced lie. It is as simple as that.

[Liberal Party, October 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, at the Liberal convention last weekend the Prime Minister bragged at great length about the Liberal way and Liberal values. Today Canadians have seen exactly what that Liberal way means: a dirty, American style smear campaign full of distortions and misrepresentations.

Canadians want to debate the real issues facing us. Reformers want to debate those same issues as well. Yet it seems the Prime Minister and his very Prime Minister's Office would rather wallow in the political mire.

I ask the Prime Minister this. Who authorized this political smear campaign? Was the Prime Minister aware of this fax attack? If not, does he approve of his party's and staff's dirty tricks?

[Top Gun Fighter Competition, October 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all members of the House and all Canadians, I congratulate the outstanding performance of Canada's air force team who last week defeated six U.S. competitors and won the world renowned top gun fighter competition in Florida.

This was a real team effort by pilots, maintenance and other ground support personnel from Canadian forces bases right across Canada. The fighter pilots are based at 4 Wing Cold Lake in the riding of Beaver River.

I congratulate Captain Ross Granley of Red Deer, Captain Brian Murray of Markham, Captain Dave Mercer of Montreal and Captain Steve Nierlich of Toronto who won the best individual score in aerial combat competition.

Nothing else inspires wide eyed, heart thumping excitement quite like the flash and thunder of fighter jets streaking across our skies. I experience this thrill often when I am home in Beaver River as they race overhead.

The Canadian men and women who equip, fly and maintain these marvellous machines for training, active duty or international skill competitions have our deepest admiration and appreciation. Way to go, top guns.

[Committee Of The Whole, October 28th, 1996]

And he is a Liberal.

[Committee Of The Whole, October 28th, 1996]

You weren't even here.

[Employment, October 28th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, each hospital in this country that has empty beds should have a banner over it saying: "This brought to you by the Liberal Government of Canada". That is shameful.

I am surprised the Prime Minister will not make any firm funding commitments because in his keynote speech on the weekend he seemed all too eager to get back to his free spending, big government Liberal roots.

The real reason why the Prime Minister rejects any talk of tax relief is that he would rather spend taxes than cut taxes. The best way to create jobs in this country is to balance the budget and lower taxes through smaller government.

Why will they not give Canadians some tax relief, not tax increases?. Why is it that Liberals always think a dollar in the hands of a bureaucrat or a politician does more good than a dollar in the hands of the Canadian taxpayer where it belongs?

[Employment, October 28th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, you will hear it now. Will they admit that $3 billion of cuts in health care is hardly the Liberal way? Will they admit they have gone too far with their slashing? Will this government commit to putting more federal money back into health care, as it promised in the sixties?

[Employment, October 28th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, when they talk about 600,000 jobs gained, they never seem to say how many hundred thousand jobs have been lost since this government's inaction.

While we are on the topic of Liberal arrogance, let us take a look at the government's record on health care funding. Surely that answer will not be quite as easy.

At the Liberal love-in over the weekend, the Prime Minister tried to downplay his government's cuts to medicare by saying that it was simply a squeeze. I do not know how he could call that a squeeze. It seems it was a choke hold with a body slam thrown in. The Canadian Medical Association-