John Manley

[Shipbuilding Industry, December 8th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I am forced to admit that the policy is the same as the one the previous Conservative government followed. However, let me say that does not mean it is all bad. In this case we have support for the shipbuilding industry. A straight line depreciation rate of 33.3% is faster than most other rates of depreciation. There is a 25% tariff.

What they want is something that will amount to nothing more than the kinds of subsidies the world is engaged in within this sector. We cannot afford it.

[Shipbuilding Industry, December 8th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, if the low Canadian dollar is hurting Canadian exports, the hon. member must have been reading her question upside down.

There is a policy of a 33.3% straight line depreciation rate. Canadian built ships can be written off faster than any other asset. There is a 25% tariff on ships that are being imported into Canada. There is support for the shipbuilders from the Export Development Corporation. There is a government procurement policy on Canadian shipping.

The problem the hon. member for Saint John has is that she wants subsidies for the shipbuilding industry. We are not prepared to give them. A Tory government developed a deficit of $42 billion giving handouts like that.

[Shipbuilding, December 8th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, the preamble to the question is false.

We have an accelerated capital cost allowance of 33.3% on ships built in Canada. We have a 25% tariff on non-NAFTA foreign built ships, a policy of domestic procurement, and financing for commercially viable projects through the Export Development Corporation.

These are components of a strong shipbuilding policy in Canada.

[Gm Plant In Boisbriand, December 4th, 1998]

The best thing Messrs. Landry and Bouchard can do to help the Boisbriand plant is to declare that there will be no referendum for at least ten years.

[Gm Plant In Boisbriand, December 4th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working in close collaboration with GM management in the discussions on the future of the Boisbriand plant.

I am convinced that a solution can be found. It must be realized that, if GM invests in Boisbriand, some political certainty will be necessary.

[Montreal Convention Centre, December 4th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the preamble to the question is erroneous.

I must say that we did hear Montrealers' views on the convention centre. At this point, there is no program available to help with this project. There was the infrastructure program, which was used for the Quebec City congress centre. It was also used in Toronto for the same purpose. However, it was decided not to use it for the Montreal convention centre.

[Research And Development, November 30th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I was quoted in the newspapers as saying that, in my opinion, to increase funding in the TPC is a good investment for the federal government. It is so important for the Montreal region that we will continue to invest in key sectors of that region, including the aerospace industry, but also the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and telecommunications industries. These are the winning sectors in the greater Montreal area.

[Bill C-54, November 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, at the meeting of ministers responsible for the information highway held in Fredericton in June, at which Minister Beaudoin was present, the ministers decided, and I quote “to support the adoption of the model code for the protection of personal information developed by the Canadian Standards Association as the minimum standard”. That was what was done.

[Bill C-54, November 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is quite simple. We have a bill that could complement the very good legislation passed by the Johnson government in Quebec to protect the interests of Quebeckers in provincially regulated areas.

This bill will make it possible to protect the interests of all Quebeckers in federally regulated areas, as well in other provinces that perhaps prefer to leave this up to the federal government.

[Bill C-54, November 24th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I would simply like to quote privacy commissioner Bruce Phillips, who said, when the bill was introduced, and I quote “Today's tabling of private sector privacy legislation in the House of Commons is the most significant advance in protecting Canadians' personal information since the Privacy Act regulated federal government handling of personal information in 1983”.

It is simple. This is a good bill. It will protect individuals. It is a bill for—