John Manley

[Transport, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, of course the first concern of the Department of Transport, and I might add its minister, is the safety of Canadian air travellers. While of course I am unaware of the particulars of this situation, I am sure that upon investigation, if the minister finds that the situation indeed has not been improved, he will want to instruct that those improvements occur with the appropriate haste.

[Transport, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, as acting Minister of Transport today I will simply have to take note of the hon. member's question. I am sure the minister will want to respond to him directly.

[Shipbuilding, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we already have tax shelters to help the shipbuilding industry.

We have systems to help them with regard to exports. There is already a lot of support provided to this industry.

[Shipbuilding, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we are not prepared to give subsidies to the shipbuilding industry.

I also want to reiterate that we have made changes in recent years, particularly as regards our support to exports. EDC changed the rules and increased support.

If the hon. member really wants to change things, he should give us examples which do not involve subsidies.

[The Economy, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, what I do not agree with is the foolish representation of those views by the hon. member for Edmonton North.

If the hon. member had the faintest understanding of what she is talking about, she would be standing in shame and saying that she regrets that she voted against support for research and development in the private sector. She would say she is sorry that she has not put a focus on the lack of training in Canadian firms. She would say she understands the years of Tory governments that she supported ran up a debt load that is still burdening this country.

Those are the real causes behind Canada's productivity challenge.

[The Economy, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, as usual the Reform Party tries to simplify a complex issue and to confuse people about what it is.

If the hon. member would look at the speech the deputy minister gave, it is very consistent with the Empire Club speech that I gave.

We acknowledge that productivity is a key to growing a stronger economy, to creating economic growth and to increasing the standard of living in Canada. The issue that the hon. member raises, trying to simplify it to simply one or two minor questions, is misleading. The reality is that we have to look at issues like research and development, like the commercialization of scientific research in universities, like—

[Industry, March 25th, 1999]

What is happening increasingly, in particular in technology related sectors, is that the world is becoming smaller and much of the market is global and international. It might be interesting for the leader of the NDP to realize that while investment in Canada has been growing, Canadian investment abroad has also been growing, so much so that in 1997 income from Canadian direct investment abroad reached $11.5 billion, the highest figure ever, which is almost equal to the amount that has been paid on foreign direct investment into Canada in the same year.

[Industry, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the acquisition of an interest in Bell Canada is what the member is commenting on. As she well knows, there are foreign investment limits in our telecommunications sector. We are not proposing to change those.

The growth that is happening in the telecommunications business is increasingly North America-wide. We should be looking at the job and growth opportunities that will exist for our companies as they expand into the U.S. market. I remind the hon. member of some important high tech acquisitions that have occurred going the other direction, Nortel's acquisition of Bay Networks for example.

[The Economy, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the biggest danger to the standard of living when we assumed office was that the Canadian government was running deficits of $42 billion a year. It has been reversing that trend, the key to building success in the next century.

Meanwhile we work hard on issues like increasing R and D performance in the private sector, encouraging the adoption of new technologies, encouraging training in the workforce. These are the things that will make a difference, all of which have been measures that party has consistently been opposed to.

[The Economy, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, let me quote from the same report:

Canada is well equipped to be a leader in the knowledge based economy of the 21st century. We have the people, the institutions and the research excellence. We know the challenges that we face, and the opportunities afforded to us. By mobilizing our resources, we can be a leader in the new economy. By working together, we can ensure continuing success as we embark on the new millennium.

The policies we have been pursuing over the last five and a half years are the very policies that will turn around that gap and successfully lead us into the 21st century.