John Manley

[Taxation, October 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, it is up to the Government of Quebec to set its own priorities. If it is a priority for the province to have representatives around the world, it is up to Quebec to explain it to their constituents. It is not my place to decide.

However—and this is what I said in Montreal on Friday—if we could work together by reducing the problems between the different levels of government, by reducing the overlap, we might be able to pursue objectives that we have in common.

[Taxation, October 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, does the member comprehend that there is no fiscal imbalance, since both levels of government have the same right to raise taxes or decrease spending?

It is not for me to suggest how a provincial government can deal with pressures. However, it is important to recognize that, for the past 20 years, provincial revenues have exceeded federal revenues.

[Government Contracts, October 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I think the process does speak for itself. There is a process in place to deal with contracts. Where they are let in the circumstances such as in this case, they do need to be published on the MERX system. It gives a right to anybody who may be interested in the contract to apply for it. Those steps were followed in this case in accordance with Treasury Board guidelines.

[Government Contracts, October 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, we have a certain declaration of the facts by the Solicitor General. He put out a clear list a couple of days ago of what happened, including the publishing of this contract on the MERX system which gives rise to the possibility of a contract being objected to. Furthermore the ethics counsellor is looking into the situation which is an appropriate step to be taken.

[Finance, October 3rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear enough. We are not planning an increase in the GST. We are not planning an increase in taxes. We are planning a decrease in taxes; this year alone, $20 billion. That is the tax plan.

[National Revenue, October 3rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Winnipeg--Transcona asked the same question earlier and the answer remains the same.

[National Revenue, October 3rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I understand what the member is asking. He is asking about a very targeted area which was determined in the view of the department to broaden the definition quite considerably beyond that which was intended.

A number of members of Parliament have raised this issue with me. I have agreed with them that we will review it very carefully.

It is important for us to pursue a broadening and deepening of the disability tax credit to ensure that the benefits flow to those who truly need it, and not that we allow it to flow to people who perhaps do not.

[National Revenue, October 3rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, in the Speech from the Throne just the other day the government said that it would put in place targeted measures for low income families caring for severely disabled children to help them meet the needs of the child and the family. That is on top of about a 70% increase in the amount that has gone out under the disability tax credit over the past three years.

Rather than tightening, we have seen a broadening of those able to access the disability tax credit.

[Softwood Lumber, October 2nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister for International Trade, I will start by saying that we have already announced financial assistance. Second, we have already been successful at the WTO. Our government is committed to working hard with the industry to find solutions promptly for the softwood lumber industry.

[Canada-U.S. Border, October 2nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have met about every four to six weeks with the director of homeland security, Governor Tom Ridge. We were able to conclude a historic agreement which was acknowledged on September 9 at an important meeting in Detroit between the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada.

I can honestly tell the member I do not know her source of information, but in all those months of meetings dealing with issues that have bedevilled both governments for years, I have never heard any of the U.S. officials, political representatives, or secretaries of the cabinet suggest that they had any doubts about Canada's security.