John Solomon

[Judges Act, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, members of the NDP present vote no on this motion.

[Division No. 217, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, members of the NDP will vote yes with the inclusion of the member for Bras D'or who has just arrived.

[Division No. 216, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the New Democratic Party members present vote no on this motion except for the member from Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar who stepped out to hold a press conference on his Internet child pornography prevention act.

[Parliament Of Canada Act, June 11th, 1998]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-423, an act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (meetings of the Board of Internal Economy.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce an act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act with respect to the meetings of the Board of Internal Economy.

As parliamentarians know, the Board of Internal Economy is a very secretive operation. Decisions taken there are very important not only to this precinct but to the public as well. The public is not allowed at this point to attend meetings. Nor are members of parliament.

The purpose of the bill is to allow members and others with an interest to attend and observe meetings of the board. The bill makes board meetings public with the exception of those devoted to certain specific topics like management, personnel or matters before the court.

This follows up on many other jurisdictions like Saskatchewan which has public attendance at board of internal economy meetings.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[The Ukrainian Famine, June 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, almost a lifetime ago in my grandparents' home country, seven million Ukrainians starved to death at the hands of Joseph Stalin. Determined to bring the Ukraine under Soviet control, Stalin starved the very Ukrainian farmers whose grain he then shipped to Russia and sold to western countries. The food left the Ukraine, but the people were barricaded in. The results devastated and nearly destroyed an entire generation of Ukrainians. In the words of one Soviet writer, people were “dying in solitude in slow degrees—trapped and left to starve, each in his own home”.

Moreover, it was a crime in the Ukraine to discuss the famine. Many international observers dismissed it as a rumour until documents surfaced in the 1980s.

Canada became the new home for many Ukrainian famine survivors after the second world war. All Canadians join with them and their families as they mark this month, the 65th anniversary of the Ukrainian famine. We pledge: “We remember. Never again”.

[Railways, June 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Transportation Act took any decisions about the railways out of the Liberal government's hands. Since those changes took effect the track record of the railways has been a failure.

Will the minister today stand up for western farmers and demand a standstill in rail line abandonments now? Will he back that demand with legislation if necessary?

[Railways, June 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport has said that he was counting on the goodwill of the railways not to close branch lines until Justice Estey's federal review was complete.

CN Rail is closing two more branch lines including the Imperial subdivision in my riding. Why does the government delay acting to save our banking system until that task force reports but lets CN dismantle a rail system that is still under review? Why the double standard?

In the name of consistency why will the minister not order CN and CP to stop ripping up branch lines until Justice Estey's review is complete?

[Lieutenant Colonel William Barker, June 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, on May 8, I asked the Liberal government to support my motion before the industry committee to hold hearings into the impact of the bank mergers on small business, consumers and rural Canada. The minister misunderstood my question, believing it was a private member's motion.

There is a new math in Canada. It is the math of mergers. It is not the math we learned when I went to school. In this math the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, the big get bigger, the small get smaller, the centre gets the cream and the regions get overlooked. Here is what it adds up to for the people in my riding.

Of the 42 bank branches in Regina, 33 belong to one of the merger partners. Customers and employees can read the writing on the wall and it is not good news.

Lesson number one in the math of mergers is bank branches. The Royal Bank has nine branches in Regina and the Bank of Montreal has eight. Will the new bank really keep 17 branches in Regina open? Will the second megabank really keep 16 branches open? I think not.

These are the questions people are asking. In the math of mergers, 9 plus 8 will not equal 17 branches and the CIBC and TD merger of 9 plus 7 will not equal 16 branches. When some of those branches close, jobs will go with them.

Lesson number two in the math of mergers is executive's salaries. Look at the salaries of top 19 executives of the 4 banks that want to merge. They have combined salaries and bonuses of almost $50 million and unexercised share option gains worth almost $222 million. That is a total pay package for 19 people of over a quarter of a billion dollars. In the math of mergers, that would also pay the salary of 10,000 bank tellers.

Here is the catch. When the bank executives negotiate the mergers, the market goes up and the value of their unexercised stock options goes up. Once the mergers are approved, the tellers lose their jobs.

Lesson number three in the math of mergers is bank profits. The banks say they need to merge to become profitable and compete in the global marketplace. The last week's second quarter earnings report show they are certainly already profitable. Earnings increased 15% at the Royal Bank, 19% at the Bank of Montreal and 28% at TD. Meanwhile depositors get dinged with one service charge hike after another.

I should mention there was a year about 10 years ago when the Royal Bank as a corporation actually paid less tax than one of its tellers.

Lesson number four in the math of mergers is fewer banks equal more consumer choice, or at least some people like the C.D. Howe Institute today are trying to make that argument.

The Bank of Montreal has even written me a letter making more or less the same promise, but CIBC chair Al Flood was a little more frank with the Toronto Star editorial board. He said last Wednesday: “We've got more consumer choice and corporate choice if we leave it the way it is, but I think it's too late for that”.

The NDP is the only party saying that the bankers' math does not add up. You do not cut the number of banks without risking the number of branches and the number of jobs. You do not build incentives for bank executives to hike their salaries with mergers and expect them not to take the opportunity. You do not get more consumer choice with fewer banks.

Opposition to the bank mergers among small businesses and consumers in Saskatchewan is growing every day. The provincial government is taking steps to strengthen our credit unions so they can step in to fill some of the void in rural Saskatchewan.

The bankers' math does not add up and Canadians are going to want a thorough audit. That is why the NDP has been pushing for immediate hearings with all five political parties into the impact the bank mergers will have on Canadians. We are sorry the government and the other parties do not share that sense of urgency.

[Canadian National, June 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, one year ago today the people of Saskatchewan defeated all but one of their Liberal MPs. It is not hard to see why.

One by one the Liberals have let the cornerstones of rural life in Saskatchewan slip away; no more crow benefit, no more post offices, fewer bank branches and abandoned rail lines.

When CN built its rail lines in Saskatchewan it received land, minerals and money in return for providing a public service for farmers. Now it has sold off the minerals, hived off the land to a separate company, taken the money and run.

CN wants to shut down the Imperial subdivision in Saskatchewan. The process set up by the Liberals allows it to shut down this branch line within 30 days of announcement then call a public meeting before that 30 day period expires.

CN will hold its public meeting tomorrow in Imperial, Saskatchewan and I will be there fighting to keep rail service for our farmers.

What we need from the Liberals is a commitment to farmers. I call on the member for Wascana to join me at that meeting and to join me in calling on CN to place a standstill on further rail line abandonments until Justice Estey has handed—

[Nunavut Act, June 1st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, NDP members vote no on this matter.