Bob Wood

[Kate Pace, February 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all Canadians and in particular on behalf of the people of Nipissing I would like to congratulate Kate Pace of North Bay, Ontario for her outstanding performance in the women's Olympic downhill race this past Saturday.

As the reigning world champion, Kate once again finished among the best downhillers in the world and is looking forward to competing in the remaining World Cup races to defend her world championship title.

A capacity crowd of over 1,000 people jammed the North Bay Art Centre at four o'clock in the morning in order to watch Kate compete in her race. This show of support for Kate Pace by the people of North Bay and area is due to Kate's commitment to her sport and to her community and to her country, Canada.

I am very proud to congratulate Kate today after a terrific performance at the Olympic Games and I wish her all the best as she defends her World Cup downhill title later this year.

[The Budget, February 8th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to relay to the finance minister a few of the concerns regarding the possible content of the upcoming budget which have been expressed to me by many of my constituents.

Many people in Nipissing feel it would be unfair for this government to lower the maximum contribution which individuals may place in registered retirement savings plans. Many of these people are self-employed with no access to corporate pension plans, making RRSPs their primary retirement investment mechanism.

Furthermore, I would like to encourage the finance minister to extend the RRSP home buyers plan which will expire this month. Approximately 200,000 homes across Canada have been purchased through this plan, contributing of course millions of dollars to local economies.

I realize the minister faces many difficult choices in making his budget, but it is my hope that he considers some of the suggestions which have been brought forward today when doing so.