Sarkis Assadourian

[The Economy, April 12th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, during the campaign the hon. leader of the Reform Party made the statement that the government's $2 billion infrastructure program to help kickstart the $700 billion economy would be like using a flashlight battery to start a 747 airplane.

With our unemployment rate being reduced from 11.6 per cent to 10.6 per cent and with the creation of over 114,000 jobs nationwide in the last two months, I think Canadians would like to know what kind of battery the Prime Minister used. I hope he uses the same batteries over and over again to create more jobs.

[Canada Elections Act, March 22nd, 1994]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-229, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act (registration of political parties).

Mr. Speaker, as members know this is my very first private members' bill. The purpose of this bill is to amend the Canada Elections Act to allow the registration of political parties by the chief electoral officer only when the party nominates candidates in at least seven provinces that have an aggregate of at least 50 per cent of the population of all the provinces and in at least half of the electoral district in each of those seven provinces.

For the purposes of the Canada Elections Act, "province" includes Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

[Immigration Act, March 17th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, I second the private member's bill of the hon. member for Scarborough-Rouge River. In my riding of Don Valley North about 50 per cent of the population are new Canadians. Of course I am one of them.

This bill will help the system in many ways. It will cut the red tape in our embassies or visa offices overseas. It will help the families living here. It will give them the opportunity to celebrate holidays, important days, religious days or weddings together.

It will help tourism in Canada. The more visitors we have and the less restrictions there are on visitors, the happier they are to spend their money and generate revenue to Canadian businesses.

I am more than happy to second this bill. I urge this House to accept this recommendation and take it to committee. In committee we will certainly support this bill. I hope the other committee members will do so when it comes to the vote in committee.

[Business Of Supply, March 17th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, I enjoyed the hon. member's speech, as I do all the speeches in the House.

My questions to him are these. First, what is his position on gun control and second on capital punishment? On this side of the House we are proposing changes to the laws. Is he prepared to let us know what his positions are on these two issues so that they can be taken into consideration by us and by Canadians watching us today.

[Supply, March 14th, 1994]

Mr. speaker, the speech was not worth a million dollars to me. He asked for $1 million.

On this motion paragraph (a) asks for a cut in the budget for the youth service corps, the court challenges program, the residential rehabilitation assistance plan, the engineers program and infrastructure program. That is one paragraph.

Paragraph (c) says that we should spend money to produce quarterly reports. We are going to spend money to produce reports but we will not spend money to create jobs. How does one explain this in the motion?

[Supply, March 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, when reading the opposition motion I came across two sections which say"with all parties". This party has a plan and we want to get it through with the co-operation of the other parties. I hope hon. members on the other side will support our plan.

I also mention that statements made today in the House sound very similar to the statement of the former Prime Minister who said that there would be jobs for Canadians by the year 2000. The government does not have the time to wait for the year 2000 to put Canadians back to work. We have to put Canadians back to work now.

This morning in my constituency office I met two young people who used to be in a position of giving jobs to others. Now they are looking for a job. These people cannot wait until the year 2000 to get a job. We all know what happened to the previous Prime Minister.

[Labour Force Survey, March 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my statement today is under the heading "Good news gets better with the Liberal government".

I am extremely happy to rise at this moment to make mention of a few encouraging points from last month's labour force survey. The survey has indicated a decrease in the unemployment rate while an increase in the help wanted index has grown. The help wanted index of job advertisements rose for the fourth time in the last five months, the largest increase of the recovery. I was particularly encouraged by the strong gains in employment in sectors that had experienced recent declines, such as manufacturing and retail trades.

The other good news is that all regions of the country experienced growth in the employment rate. In my province of Ontario alone 11,000 new jobs were created. The government's commitment is to put-

[Borrowing Authority Act, 1994-95, March 7th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, today I am privileged to rise to speak about the first Liberal budget of the 35th Parliament. I might add that this is the first budget I have had the pleasure and honour to address.

Today we are considering Bill C-14 respecting the borrowing authority for 1994-95. The passage of the bill will raise funds for public works, for general purposes and for the operations of government. I fully support the bill because it limits the government's borrowing authority. The people of Don Valley North and many other ridings across the country voted for cuts in government spending. They gave their approval to the government's plan for fiscal responsibility.

The budget is only the beginning of a new process which started on October 25, 1993. This process will deliver a major promise made to Canadians in the red book. We are committed to bringing down the deficit to 3 per cent of GDP in the next three years. A great deal of credit must be given to the hon. Minister of Finance for his part in consulting with Canadians from all regions and all walks of life before bringing down the budget.

This first budget is a good beginning as I said earlier. It tackles the problem in three ways. First, it is building a framework for economic renewal to help small businesses and create jobs. Second, it is a reduction in the spending on government operations, on defence operations, on subsidies to businesses and on international development agencies. Third, it is a progressive reform of Canada's social programs which will include unemployment insurance reform, review of services for our aging population and social justice issues.

On February 17 I made a statement in the House in support of full funding for the national literacy program. I am especially pleased today that the Minister of Finance pledged on budget day to restore full funding to this program. No budget can please every Canadian and this budget is no exception.

On October 25 the Canadian people gave the new government a mandate for change. I am very happy to be part of the mandate. I will take the challenge very seriously.

I represent the riding of Don Valley North which is located in the city of North York at the northeastern boundary. There are approximately 90,000 constituents from all corners of the world resulting in a diverse mixture of cultures and languages. Don Valley North is a riding we can all take pride in. It is a success story for our government's multicultural policies.

I came to Canada in 1970 after three years in Chicago, Illinois. I first joined my parents in Montreal, Quebec. Afterward I moved to Toronto. I married in 1975 my wife, Zaza, and we are proud parents of four children: Raffi, Tamar, Vatche and

Gacia. I thank all of them for their continued and generous support over the last few years.

My election to the House of Commons is a significant part of Armenian history in Canada. The first Armenian immigrant came to Canada in 1887 and settled in Port Hope, Ontario. I am the first Canadian of Armenian descent to have the honour of serving in the House of Commons.

On the first day I came to the House as a new member of Parliament I was so moved that I had tears in my eyes, tears of joy and happiness. I reflected on 127 years of Canadian history. I remembered former prime ministers, past leaders of the opposition and members of Parliament. I noticed the flag on the Prime Minister's bench and the Speaker's chair. There were so many significant symbols of this House of Parliament that I felt overwhelmed to be a part of its history. I rise to the challenge to do my best to change the course and prepare Canada for the 21st century.

It has been a long journey for me, over 20 years, but I can say it was worth every day of it. I am no longer dreaming the Canadian dream. I am living the Canadian dream. I thank first and foremost the residents of Don Valley North for their trust and confidence in me. Second, I would like to thank the Don Valley North executive, my campaign manager, the team and the hundreds of volunteers. I would not have been here without the support of my colleagues and the captain of the A team, the right hon. Prime Minister. During the campaign I was very honoured to have my leader visit my riding of Don Valley North on a Sunday morning for breakfast. Over 600 constituents came to breakfast and learned firsthand what a great leader the Prime Minister of Canada was.

In the next four or five years we will be judged by the people who gave us our mandate. We have been asked to bring back Canadian values. We have been challenged to bring prosperity and hope to Canadians. The budget is an important step for ourselves and for the next generation. I fully support the budget. I invite Canadians to join us in formulating the next budget. The process was started today. Let us work hard hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder toward a better future.

In closing I remind the House of President Lincoln's speech on his second inaugural address when he said:

Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it.

[Toronto Daily Bread Food Bank, February 23rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise at this moment to make an urgent appeal on behalf of the metro Toronto Daily Bread Food Bank.

It has been brought to my attention that the food bank has been enduring difficult times this winter. Currently there is only a three week supply of food. It needs at least seven more weeks worth of inventory in order to sustain itself until the Easter food drive.

Food banks serve approximately 160,000 children and adults per month. With public donations on the decline the food bank is finding it increasingly difficult to meet such high demand.

Traditionally Canadians have understood the importance of groups and organizations which provide assistance to those individuals less fortunate.

In keeping with this tradition, I call on my colleagues from the metro Toronto area to ensure their food bank is not forgotten and to encourage all the residents of their respective ridings to provide all possible donations for the continued survival of such a worthy cause.

[Literacy, February 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, today marks the second anniversary of literacy action day. In an effort to increase awareness of literacy issues and to keep them on the national agenda, groups such as Movement for Canadian Literacy and others will be reaching out for the support of all members on this issue.

In Canada there are over seven million adults with low literacy skills. In my riding alone, Don Valley North, there are over 12,000 residents with just such a problem. This is not only disheartening, it is absolutely unacceptable.

In keeping with our policies outlined in the red book, the government has promised to restore funding for the National Literacy Program to its original level. Further, I ask the government to increase this funding in order to overcome this difficulty.

I call on my colleagues to make every effort possible in removing barriers that prevent a number of Canadians from enjoying a never ending world of cultural enrichment.