House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 51% of the vote.
Airport Security December 11th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I suggest the Leader of the Opposition review the release that we put out on November 9 in which we propose discussion around the structure of the air tax going forward.
However we do not agree with him and his colleagues that the cost of additional security, which was necessary in the air service sector, should be paid for by taxpayers who do not use it.
Motion Picture Production December 9th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that I have received representations. All representations will be closely examined during budget preparation.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board December 4th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will know that we do not direct the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's investments. Any policies of that nature that would be adopted would need to be agreed upon by all ministers of finance, including provincial ministers, prior to any such policy being adopted.
This is a matter which can be discussed among ministers when we next review the Canada pension plan investment policy.
Employment Insurance December 4th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, first I can assure the House that I am not sitting on a pile of cash.
Second, what the hon. member ought to be recognizing is that even this year alone the Canadian economy has created over 450,000 jobs.
People do not want unemployment insurance benefits. They want jobs. That is what we have seen being produced.
Employment Insurance December 4th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, there has been a $100 billion reduction in total taxes and charges to the Canadian public. The employers and the employees benefit from that also. That is a lot of money, even for the NDP.
Employment Insurance December 4th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the point that the hon. member fails to acknowledge is that we have a variety of taxes and charges that we can reduce. If we compare Canada to the United States, we would see that on payroll taxes Canadian businesses in fact are in a rather favourable position. On income taxes, perhaps we are a little high. With--
Employment Insurance December 4th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, they do not want to listen so perhaps I should just wait.
Employment Insurance December 4th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I know the arithmetic is really tough for the hon. member. Maybe he can try to figure it out for himself if I give him a little help.
We have a whole series of sources of revenue. Relating to EI premiums, they include taxes of a variety--
Employment Insurance December 4th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I am sure the hon. member was paying attention when the announcement was made in October 2000 to reduce a whole series of taxes and charges on the Canadian public, amounting to $100 billion over five years. Included in that has been reduction in EI charges, and the member will know that next year alone that amounts to over $800 million.
Health December 3rd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, as the member points out, Mr. Romanow did not precisely recommend a change to this. I would also point out to the hon. member that in a particular advertising campaign which has been supported by the smaller provinces, they continue to only include cash transfers under the CHST despite the fact that it is noticeable that large amounts of money transferred to provinces under equalization also go to expenditures on health care.
I think it would be useful if we had an informed discussion with all of the provinces about the appropriate method of funding the needs of health care.