Lost his last election, in 2000, with 28% of the vote.
Petitions April 7th, 1997
Madam Speaker, another petition is from the residents of Kamloops and a number of nearby communities pointing out that it is important that the GST be removed from reading material.
The petitioners state that education and literacy are critical to the development of our country and that the existing tax is a regressive tax. They call on the House of Commons to do away with the GST totally but in particular in this case as it refers to reading material.
Petitions April 7th, 1997
Madam Speaker, I have another petition which brings the total to over 19,000 names of people who ask the federal government to revoke the decision to fire 10,000 ad mail workers, to direct Canada Post to stay in the ad mail and courier business so it can improve rural post office service, extend door to door delivery by letter carrier and create jobs at duty post offices.
The petitioners also urge the federal government to keep its promise to create jobs by supporting the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and its actions to expand services and to defend and create more jobs in the postal business.
Petitions April 7th, 1997
Madam Speaker, it is my duty, privilege and honour to rise pursuant to Standing Order 36 to present a petition on behalf of a number of residents of Kamloops who call on the Parliament of Canada to urge the Government of Canada to join with the provincial governments to make a national highway system upgrading program possible. They urge that be commenced in 1997.
Prime Minister April 7th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's nephew who is Canada's ambassador to the United States is quoted in this morning's paper as saying that there are no big disputes between Canada and the United States to complicate the Prime Minister's visit to Washington. "Things are very, very smooth", he said.
I guess the Pacific salmon treaty negotiations which have been deadlocked for years and which show no sign of coming to a conclusion as we approach the fishing season is not a big deal for the Liberals. I guess the Americans flagrant infringement of Canada's sovereignty and their refusal to back down from the Helms-Burton law is not a big deal to the Liberals. I guess the ongoing attack by the Americans on our forest industry is no big deal as well.
We know for sure that the American attack on Canada's cultural policies under international trade rules is not a big deal to the Liberals because the Prime Minister's nephew described the dispute which threatens Canada's entire magazine industry as simply peanuts.
I hope the Prime Minister finds the time between pre-election photo opportunities to actually do his job of promoting Canada and Canadian interests in Washington.
World Trade Organization March 4th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, the United States has served notice that it will invoke section 20, the national security clause of the World Trade Organization, to keep the regulatory body from adjudicating a European Union challenge to the controversial Helms-Burton law.
The Americans argue they fear a Cuban invasion and that their national security is threatened. Therefore they will boycott a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel struck to examine the trade legitimacy of the Helms-Burton legislation.
If the Americans can use section 20, why does Canada not invoke section 20 to maintain a secure supply of food as a national security issue? Why not invoke section 20 to keep an American attack on our cultural industries at bay, or to ward off an attack on our generic pharmaceuticals, or perhaps most important to protect the eventual invasion by the United States to direct our water from our rivers and lakes into the United States mid and southwest?
If Americans can use section 20 of the World Trade Organization to protect the most powerful military nation on earth from a Cuban invasion, surely we can use the same argument to protect our cultural industries, our food supply, our Canadian-
The Budget February 19th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Minister of Finance who, we will all remember, four years ago stood in his place and said that jobs were a priority when 1.5 million Canadians were out of work. This afternoon 1.5 million Canadians are still out of work; youth employment is at 70 per cent; bankruptcies are at an historic high; 1.5 million children live in poverty because their parents live in poverty. I could go on.
Would the Minister of Finance admit that this budget gives no hope to those who are unemployed or underemployed and that the only jobs he is creating are con jobs and snow jobs?
Pensions February 14th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, while thousands of corporations like Bombardier receive huge federal handouts and families like the Bronfmans receive unbelievable tax holidays, somebody has to pay for all of this. Today the Liberals will announce who that will be. It will be future seniors, the disabled, widows and the working poor. This is nothing short of outrageous.
In a cruel and mean act, the Liberals will cut pension benefits to widows and the disabled. Pension exemptions will no longer be fully indexed, which will hit low income workers. The poor will pay more yet receive fewer pension benefits.
One can tell a great deal about a society as to how it provides for its elderly, its poor and its disabled. To introduce this regressive legislation that victimizes these individuals in our society says that Canada has turned its back on those most in need.
Petitions February 12th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, again pursuant to Standing Order 36, the petitioners in this petition call upon Parliament to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and to adopt all the necessary measures to recognize the full equality of same sex relationships in federal law.
Again, these are primarily from students and faculty at the University College of the Cariboo in Kamloops.
Petitions February 12th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, in this petition hundreds of students at the University College of the Cariboo point out that the House is considering the legalization of assisted suicides. They are calling upon Parliament to refrain from enacting any such legislation and to give priority toward making palliative care available to all residents of Canada.
Petitions February 12th, 1997
Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present a petition pursuant to Standing Order 36. Thousands of Canadians have signed this petition. I suspect many of them are from Kingston, although I have not been able to identify them specifically.
The petitioners point out that corporate contributions to the public revenues of Canada are already the lowest among the seven major economies of the world. Whereas the corporations' share of that has fallen to less than 10 per cent, the share borne by individuals has skyrocketed. The petitioners also draw to our attention a number of problems with the existing tax system, including the GST.
The petitioners ask Parliament not to proceed with the GST scheme that is now before the House, or any other plan to further reduce the remaining corporate taxes at the expense of middle class working individuals and families in Canada, and to undertake fair tax reform of a comprehensive nature.