Mark Assad

[Revenue Canada, October 23rd, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, Revenue Canada strives to offer its services directly to small businesses, provided they have modest means.

The main services already in place include the electronic filing system, the payment of the GST and the transfer of funds.

Eventually, customs processing will be made possible through the use of Internet and the implementation of an electronic system as simple as the sending of a fax, as well as the release and reporting of goods, and the payment of duties and taxes, without having to go to the customs office.

Canadians want less paper but more services. This is what Revenue Canada is in the process of achieving.

[The Premier Of Quebec, October 9th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the premier of Quebec, Mr. Bouchard, asked businesspeople to make efforts to help create jobs. The leader of the Quebec government is seeking help to create jobs and reduce the deficit. He is asking for help and support, because of the cuts he will make regarding education, health and social programs.

Businesspeople and Quebecers in general do not forget that Mr. Bouchard's primary objective is the separation of Quebec from Canada and that, because of this option, the economic situation will continue to remain difficult. Will Mr. Bouchard realize that such a contradiction is very costly to Quebecers?

[The Death Of Robert Bourassa, October 2nd, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, Robert Bourassa was a man who represented Quebecers throughout Canada, and his political career was devoted to promoting the collective prosperity of his fellow citizens. He was, in brief, one of the architects of modern Quebec and he had a vision of Quebec of the future.

Everyone who has known Mr. Bourassa has been struck by his strong democratic values and his particular sensitivity to the most disadvantaged in our society.

Throughout his entire career, his prime objective was the economic development of Quebec, but he was also concerned about social justice. Robert Bourassa was a real human being and easily approachable. No matter how busy he was, his door was always open.

All of his colleagues and activists in the Quebec Liberal Party liked Mr. Bourassa and had the utmost confidence in his leadership.

Our most sincere condolences to Mrs. Bourassa and the family.

[The Parti Quebecois, September 16th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, Parti Quebecois militants from Quebec City just passed three resolutions aimed at determining who will have the right to vote in the next referendum.

First, the minimum age to qualify as an elector would be reduced from 18 to 16; secondly, immigrants will not be able to vote in a referendum until 18 months after becoming Canadian citizens; and thirdly, voters outside Quebec will have to prove that they own property in Quebec or that they have been paying taxes in Quebec over the past two years.

While the Parti Quebecois brags about how democratic it is, these new measures it has put forward must be seen not as an improvement but rather as a departure from our democratic traditions. This is a totally unacceptable situation that the people of Quebec must condemn.

[Taxation, May 27th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, some time ago, the auditor general drew the attention of lawmakers to decisions regarding the transfer to the United States of funds worth at least $2 billion which were held in family trusts in Canada.

These 1991 decisions did not reflect the legislator's intent. The legislator's intent is first and foremost to protect the tax basis against possible erosion. This was not the case. Regardless of diverging opinions and decisions, the fundamental principle which is the protection of Canadian taxpayers was clearly set aside.

The operation which frustrated the legislator's intent and the lack of documentation and analysis regarding the adoption of such significant positions fly in the face of the principle of tax fairness. We are concerned and perplexed by the non-publication of these decisions over at least the past four years, and this will have to be looked into.

[Quebec Director General Of Elections, May 17th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, it is, to say the least, surprising and deplorable to note in the report he tabled this week that the director of elections in Quebec gives little importance to the rejection of several thousands of referendum ballots, even though it compromises our democratic system.

The director of elections even goes on to say: "In a way, the rally for Canadian unity compromised Quebec democracy in general during the referendum".

Again, it is disturbing and deplorable that Pierre F. Côté did not focus on the systematic rejection of thousands of ballots, knowing full well that the right to vote is the most basic, the most crucial aspect of our democratic system.

In a way, this is a fine example of a double standard.

[Maclean's, May 10th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I draw to the attention of the House a column written by Barbara Amiel in Maclean's on March 18.

She repeated the most malicious statements allegedly delivered by President Yasser Arafat, full of crude anti-Jewish slurs likely to make any reader abominate the speaker and his people.

The alleged story had been repudiated by Prime Minister Peres of Israel as well as President Arafat. The Economist of March 16 published a very effective explanation of how it was fabricated, and many other papers followed suit.

It is surprising that Barbara Amiel or Maclean's would print such a detrimental fabrication without verification. What is unconscionable and disturbing is that so far neither Barbara Amiel nor Maclean's has had the sense of justice to tell their readers that it is a fabrication and apologize. Otherwise it borders on fostering race hatred in Canada.

[Raw Milk Cheese, May 7th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health.

On March 30 of this year, the Canada Gazette printed draft regulations on raw milk cheese. Numerous Quebec manufacturers and some Italian delis in Vancouver have expressed their concerns about these proposed regulations.

Can the Minister of Health bring this House up to date on the situation concerning raw milk cheese?

[Premier Of Quebec, April 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago the premier of Quebec gathered together business people and union leaders and, in response to pressure from these people, everyone agreed to talk not about the referendum but about economic and social matters in Quebec.

And now, this past weekend, the premier of Quebec threatened not only the Government of Canada, but the people of Quebec, with an early election and another referendum if the Government of Canada took it into its head to clarify the rules on referendums.

Quebecers are not pawns that are moved about on a board to satisfy the ambitions of political parties to the detriment of the economic recovery and prosperity of the people of Quebec.

[Middle East, April 25th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, this is the first time I have seen the Lebanese community in Canada so affected by the situation in Lebanon. Its religious and its civil leaders have told me how helpless they feel and how concerned they are for their brethren in the Middle East.

I ask the House to observe a moment of silence in memory of the innocent victims of the tragic events in Lebanon.