House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 51% of the vote.
Minister of Finance November 4th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is mistaken. The association was in favour of reducing the taxes on microbreweries. I have before me the proposal that the association made to the Standing Committee on Finance. I did not accept it, but despite that, Mr. Morrison is still my friend. I paid the full value of that trip.
Minister of Finance November 4th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Morrison is a friend of mine. There is no doubt about that.
He is the former president of the Brewers Association of Canada; he no longer is the president. But the association made a presentation before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance when he was the president, and I did not accept what the Brewers Association was proposing. He remained my friend anyway.
We took a vacation, and I paid all my expenses. Ask a travel agent how much it costs; they can tell you. As far as I am concerned, it is a privilege—
Minister of Finance November 4th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I pay my own way.
Ethics November 3rd, 2003
No, Mr. Speaker.
Gasoline Taxes November 3rd, 2003
As I said, Mr. Speaker, we already discussed it. Certainly I did with several of the ministers when we met. I think the ability to put a formal arrangement together will require a great deal of work.
In the meantime, I remind the hon. member of the $3 billion of additional funding that was made available for infrastructure in the February budget. Much of this is flowing to Canada's municipalities to take care of important needs.
Gasoline Taxes November 3rd, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the motion did not call for negotiations. I can tell him that the discussions commenced on October 10 when I met with the finance ministers from the provinces.
Minister of Finance November 3rd, 2003
Mr. Speaker, that is none of his business. I can go on vacation with whomever I like, wherever I want, at my own expense. He has no right to ask such questions.
The Economy November 3rd, 2003
Mr. Speaker, that is untrue. In fact, we had a program review. I was Minister of Industry; I know the facts very well. We reduced the department's expenditures by 50%.
The federal government we has reduced expenditures more than the provincial governments did during program reviews. We have also reduced interest rates, meaning that Canada has now earned the world's respect for its fiscal position. That was very beneficial, not only for us, but for each of Canada's provinces.
The Economy November 3rd, 2003
Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, the greatest risk for Canada's social programs is the burden of the debt and the interest payments on that debt. When we were elected, the debt was eating up 37 cents of each dollar of tax revenue. We have been able to reduce this to 21% of revenue and we have reduced the debt and the burden of the debt, because that is the best way to save social programs in Canada.
Health November 3rd, 2003
Mr. Speaker, apparently the member has not had an opportunity to review the update. The commitment clearly was that if there were a surplus in excess of $2 billion determinable in January there would be a payment of additional money to the provinces for health care.
It is clear now that we will be unable to make that determination in January. Therefore we have assured the provinces that as long as we do not go into deficit the first $2 billion will go to the provinces for health care in the current year.