House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 36% of the vote.
Canadian Wheat Board May 4th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board.
The U.S. department of commerce was due to release a report today on whether the Canadian Wheat Board is depressing feed grain prices in Canada, thereby giving western Canadian livestock producers an unfair competitive advantage in producing and exporting livestock to the U.S.
Can the minister provide a status report on this latest American allegation against the Canadian grain marketing system?
Small Business April 28th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for Western Economic Diversification.
The Prime Minister's task force on the four western provinces heard from a number of small businesses and business groups during its recent meetings in Manitoba. These groups consistently called for additional federal support for small and medium size businesses.
Will the secretary of state tell the House what his department is doing to meet the needs of small businesses across western Canada?
David Milgaard April 22nd, 1999
Mr. Speaker, David Milgaard served 23 years in Canadian prisons for a murder he did not commit.
To compensate Milgaard for that terrible injustice, the Saskatchewan government has made interim payments of $350,000, which is to be deducted from the final settlement.
David Milgaard has waited nearly two years for the final settlement but the Saskatchewan government continues to drag its feet.
Forcing Mr. Milgaard to wait for the compensation due to him is just more injustice for a man who is already deeply scarred by a criminal justice system that went terribly wrong.
“Waiting for compensation”, says Milgaard, “is like another prison sentence”.
I urge and implore the Saskatchewan government to do the right thing, pay the compensation, close this issue once and for all and let David Milgaard get on with his life.
United Alternative April 14th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, the Reform leader's grand dream of a united alternative continues to implode as more and more Reformers see it for what it is; an attempt to gain power without regard for principle.
As the Reform member for Yorkton—Melville said in today's paper, “the byelection results should be a serious wake-up call for us. We've got some serious problems”. He was referring to Reform's last place finish in the Windsor—St. Clair byelection.
Reform has spent two years and all its resources trying to create a united alternative that will win seats in Ontario. What did it get for its efforts? It got a drop in the party's popular vote from 14% in 1997 to an embarrassing 6% this week.
There is a lesson in this for the Reform Party: you do not gain support by playing divisive regional politics; you do not gain support by undermining public institutions, and you certainly do not gain support by merely changing the name of your party.
You gain support by working hard, listening to Canadians and above all, showing respect for every citizen in this country.
Supply April 13th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I am absolutely flattered that this gentleman from North Vancouver really thinks I can table a motion which would have to be properly tabled by the Prime Minister of Canada. I am quite sure that when the appropriate motion has to be tabled, the Prime Minister will do that job very adequately.
Let me tell the hon. member for North Vancouver that all of the task force will be going to the beautiful province of British Columbia, a province where I lived for three wonderful years. We will be there during the break week in the month of May.
We are still taking requests. We are still taking submissions from people who want to appear before the task force. When we get the schedule all together, I will be more than happy to share the schedule and itinerary with the hon. member for North Vancouver. Let me say that if the hon. member for North Vancouver does not have an opportunity to make an oral presentation to the task force, I would be delighted to receive a letter from him. I am sure that he can write.
Supply April 13th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I just love the rhetoric. Let me tell the member for Medicine Hat something.
Last Friday we in the task force went to Brandon, Manitoba. I will tell him about a couple of witnesses we heard from.
There was one gentleman by the name of Bob Friesen from the town of Wawanesa, Manitoba. I grew up 19 miles from Wawanesa. Who is Mr. Friesen? He happens to be the president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the largest farm organization in the country. I can say that Mr. Friesen appreciated the opportunity to spend more than an hour with us talking about farm issues, very relevant agricultural issues. And he did not raise one word of concern about the Canadian Wheat Board.
Who else did we meet at lunch in Brandon? A gentleman by the name of Don Dewar. He is from the community of Dauphin, Manitoba and he is hardly a Liberal. As far as I know I have never seen him walk in Liberal corridors. Who is Mr. Dewar? He is the president of KAP, Keystone Agricultural Producers, the largest farm organization in the province of Manitoba. Does the hon. member think that he did not appreciate meeting with the Prime Minister's task force? You bet your britches he did. He appreciated every minute.
That is what these meetings are about. That is what consultations are about. This is what we mean by going out and meeting people directly.
Supply April 13th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to take part in today's debate. As the chairman of the Prime Minister's task force on the four western provinces I must admit that I rise to speak today with mixed emotions. On the one hand I welcome the extra publicity that this debate will give our efforts to consult with Canadians across the prairies and in British Columbia. I did not expect this kind of a gift from the Reform Party of Canada.
On the other hand, I cannot imagine a more frivolous use of parliament's time. At a time when our nation is engaged in the most assertive military operation since the end of the Korean war the members of the Reform Party come forward with a motion that can only be described as silly. I strongly believe that Canadians do not appreciate silly stunts and that perhaps explains the Reform Party's dismal performance in yesterday's byelection in Windsor—St. Clair.
Simply put, the Reform motion claims that this government has not addressed regional concerns and calls upon the government to rename the task force which I am honoured to chair.
This motion, however, speaks to much more than renaming a task force; it speaks to a fundamental difference between the Liberal vision of this country and the Reform Party's vision.
The Liberal vision is of one Canada, stretching from sea to sea to sea, with all Canadians confidently working together to build the greatest country on earth.
The Reform vision is one of petty regionalism, a vision in which one region competes with another for attention, a vision in which the politics of division are more important than the politics of unity.
We, as Liberals, seek out the common threads that strengthen our nation, not the device of shards that would tear us apart. We recognize that as the national governing party we have a responsibility to all Canadians, regardless of where they live.
I suspect that the timing of this motion has something to do with the fact that the Prime Minister's task force on the four western provinces recently spent a very rewarding Easter break consulting and meeting with many Manitobans.
As I mentioned yesterday, the response to the task force was indeed overwhelming. In just three days task force members met with over 60 individuals and organizations from across my home province. Manitobans shared with us not only their concerns, but also their dreams for tomorrow. So popular were the meetings that we found it necessary to break into two teams to cover as much ground as possible.
The response we had throughout Manitoba and the number of requests we had for meetings in other western provinces proves one thing: western Canadians reject Reform's parochial regionalism.
Canadians in the four western provinces, in fact Canadians right across this great land, want a national government, not a bunch of regional ones. They want a national government that reaches out to all Canadians, regardless of where they live.
It is interesting to note that whenever the regional parties, be it the Reform Party or the Bloc Quebecois, realize that they are becoming increasingly irrelevant to most Canadians, they try to play the regional card. That is what we are witnessing today.
The Reform Party is sitting still in the polls. In fact, in yesterday's byelection, as I pointed out earlier, Reform placed fourth overall, behind the third place Tories. Combined, those two parties received a paltry 4,000 votes, compared to nearly 14,000 for the winning Liberal candidate. So much for the so-called united alternative. Rather than uniting it is splitting apart.
The Prime Minister's task force is being well received across western Canada. I can only conclude that the Reform Party feels so threatened that once again it is trying to divide Canadians into “them and us”.
The Prime Minister's task force on the four western provinces was established to meet with and listen to western Canadians. It is a mandate to build on the work of the government's western MPs and senators by simply providing western Canadians with another opportunity, one of many, to shape the national decision making process.
Despite what the Reform Party wants us to believe, there is actually really nothing new in the government's approach. It is simply the time honoured practice of consulting, talking to people, listening to people and hearing their concerns. There is no hidden agenda. There is no radical departure from what this government has done in the past.
While we were meeting with Manitobans a similar caucus task force was meeting with and listening to Quebecers. Another caucus task force was meeting with and listening to young entrepreneurs from across the country. In fact we heard from the chairman of that task force about an hour or two ago in the Chamber.
Since 1993, the year that we came to power, the government has established no less than nine such caucus task forces to meet with Canadians on issues as diverse as the impact of information technology on Canada and the future of our aging population.
The Liberal government has made a regular habit of consulting with Canadians from every region of the country and it will continue to do so.
Why have we made it a habit to consult with Canadians? Simply put, it is because the Prime Minister understands that we cannot run a country as large as this and as diverse as this from behind a desk here on Parliament Hill. We have to get out and meet with the people. We have to understand their concerns. We have to understand their dreams.
The Reform Party simply does not understand that government has to consult with the governed. That is why we are government and they are the opposition. That is why they are wasting parliament's time today with this silly motion.
The government's record shows the influence that Liberal parliamentarians from across the west have in setting government priorities. Every week western voices speak for the west in our national caucus meetings. Western Canadians told us that we had to restore faith and credibility in the nation's finances. The government listened and acted. We introduced the first balanced budget in 30 years, reduced taxes by $16.5 billion in our last two budgets and began paying down the national debt.
Western Canadians told us that we had to do something to ensure better access to education and improve the health care system. Again we listened and we acted. The government introduced the millennium scholarship program and increased health care spending by $11.5 billion. My province of Manitoba will receive $425 million in increased health care funding. When the farm income crisis erupted on the prairies we listened to western farmers and we acted. We introduced a $900 million farm aid package.
Are these the actions of a government that is indifferent to regional concerns? I do not think so. As someone who was born and raised in western Canada, as someone who has lived and worked most of his life in western Canada and as someone who represents over 77,000 western Canadians in this place, I can assure members of the Reform Party that western Canadians are not interested in playing regional games. They want a responsible national government that will help them create opportunities for the future.
Western Canada is a vibrant and exciting place. The region has experienced strong economic and population growth. The people have confidence in themselves and in their future. They are comfortable with their regional identities, but consider themselves Canadians first. The sooner the Reform Party recognizes this, the sooner the Reform Party will stop wasting parliament's time with silly motions.
Supply April 13th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to the last speaker from the Reform Party and I heard some conciliatory words from him regarding the good province of Quebec. That is pleasing to my ears because all parliamentarians should always reach out to every part of the country.
I am sure the member remembers those embarrassing election ads in the election campaign of 1997 when the Reform Party actually said that it did not want any more prime ministers from the province of Quebec. That is what those ads said. Does the member remain embarrassed by those election ads almost three years hence?
Western Provinces April 12th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report to the House that the Prime Minister's task force on the four western provinces, which I chair, spent the Easter break meeting and consulting with Manitobans.
The response to this initiative was overwhelming. Over three days, task force members met with over 60 individuals and organizations across the province. Manitobans spoke to us about issues as diverse as the plight of our aboriginal peoples, the need for another infrastructure program, immigration issues and social programs.
This initiative was announced to complement the work of our western caucus and give western Canadians another opportunity to shape the national agenda as the government nears the middle of our second mandate.
The response we had throughout Manitoba proves one thing, western Canadians welcome opportunities to have input into the government's decision making process. I look forward to our future visits to Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C.
On behalf of the task force members, I would like to thank all those Manitobans who took the time to come and speak to us.
Agriculture March 18th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, further to the PSAC strike on the west coast, it has disrupted grain shipments from Vancouver and that seriously affects Canada as a grain supplier and costs farmers millions of dollars.
Could the minister of agriculture tell the House what long term effect the strike might have on Canada's reputation as a reliable supplier of quality grain?