Brenda Chamberlain

[Reform Party, March 27th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are tired of political parties that do not keep their promises. As the Reform Party dusts off its reform blue sheet Canadians see a political party, like so many others, failing to keep its promises.

Promise No. 1: end double dipping. Reality: one of their own collects a provincial pension while sitting as a member of Parliament.

Promise No. 2: adequate punishment for young offenders. Reality: vote against a bill that does just that.

Promise No. 3: fiscal responsibility. Reality: a party that cannot control its own finances. Newspaper reports say the party is in debt.

Promise No. 4: representation which reflects the wishes of a majority of its constituents. Reality: vote against gun registration, despite majority support.

Reform supporters and all Canadians see the list of broken promises in the blue sheet of the Reform Party. It is enough for all of them to see red.

[Patricia McCraw, March 14th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, on March 8, Guelph-Wellington Liberals met to elect a new president for the Guelph-Wellington Federal Liberal Association. At this meeting we also paid tribute to outgoing president, Patricia McCraw.

Patricia has been a longstanding member of the Liberal Party at both the federal and provincial levels. She has worked hard for her party and her country. Besides her work in politics, she volunteers for many organizations, including Canadian Save the Children.

Patricia's work and dedication has again proven that liberalism is more than a political party. First and foremost it is people, people who care deeply about Canada, people who are never satisfied with the status quo and who work hard to make their country the best in the world.

I join Pat's family and her many friends in thanking her for her service to our association and her commitment to me as member of Parliament. Well done, Pat.

[Privilege, March 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to respond to a question of privilege raised by the hon. member for Sherbrooke on March 3, 1995.

On March 2, I was contacted by the chief government whip. He informed me that a possible question of privilege could be raised in the House. Following the conversation, I prepared a written statement for the chief government whip and for all members of the House of Commons.

This statement was put on the record by the government whip on March 3 and I thank him. The Hill Times column discussed at length by the hon. member for Sherbrooke on March 3, 1995 contains a quote by me regarding the budget.

In my comments to the Hill Times I was referring to the measures announced by the President of the Treasury Board on February 21, 1995. These measures were presented publicly prior to the budget and resulted from concerns as expressed by members of all parties, including the Liberal caucus, for the future downsizing of the public service.

The number of public servant reductions was not known until the budget, although measures such as the early retirement incentive and the early departure incentive were announced earlier.

While never informed of the details, we were told the budget would be tough but fair. I was not privy to any confidential information, nor am I aware of any other member's having knowledge of the contents of the budget before it was presented to all Canadians.

We know the importance of budget secrecy. It is a tradition, respected and practised by the Minister of Finance. I appreciate the opportunity to provide my response to the question of privilege raised the previous sitting day.

[Borrowing Authority Act, 1995-96, March 2nd, 1995]

Madam Speaker, as I indicated in my speech, the budget touched everyone. The hon. member knows that.

It is important to understand that we all share a pain and a burden. It is important that we all shoulder it together. It will make for a better country, as my comrade across the way said. It will make for a better country and a united Canada.

[Borrowing Authority Act, 1995-96, March 2nd, 1995]

Madam Speaker, I will face my constituents very well. Already in my riding the budget is being received well and the hon. member across the way knows it is.

This has been a desperate attempt on the part of the Reform Party to try in some way to discredit a good budget. The budget will begin a process of honest reduction in all phases, at levels which our constituents have asked for. I am sure the hon. member's constituents have also asked for this.

I would ask the hon. member how he will face his constituents when they ask him why he would not support a budget that would support reductions in costs and reduce the deficit.

[Borrowing Authority Act, 1995-96, March 2nd, 1995]

Madam Speaker, I wish to advise the Chair that I will be sharing my time with the member for Prince Albert-Churchill River.

It gives me great pleasure to rise today in support of this legislation and with it, to provide support for the budget presented to Canadians on February 27. I congratulate the Minister of Finance. His was not an easy task. He has worked in bringing together this country's varied interests and has delivered a budget that deserves the support of every single Canadian and every single member in this House.

The premier of Ontario has called it the most reactionary budget the country has seen in his lifetime. We had a choice. We could whine or we could take action. This budget is not reactionary but it does react to the concerns expressed by my constituents, the people of Guelph-Wellington. The Minister of Finance and the government have heard their concerns regarding tax fairness, government spending and deficit reduction.

The people of Guelph-Wellington made it clear to me they wanted action from this federal budget. They wanted a clear indication that we were to keep our promise to reduce the deficit to 3 per cent of the GDP. They wanted their money better spent. They wanted a reduction in federal expenditures. They wanted most of all tax fairness.

Last December 1 I rose in this House and reminded hon. members that my constituents believed the only way to show the world that Canada was committed to real deficit reduction was to prove our commitment to fiscal discipline. On February 27 the government presented its budget to Canadians and the world. The reaction has been very positive.

Each generation has few opportunities, if any, to fundamentally change and better its public institutions. The people of Guelph-Wellington have asked me to offer them a better way of delivering public services.

In the last election they rejected politics as usual and they rejected parties that offered only a negative view of their country. My children and the children of every one of my constituents have asked me to come to this place and restore opportunity for them and for their children. This budget gives them that opportunity and challenges all of us to create a new and better Canada.

On the surface, Guelph-Wellington has fared well in this budget. We do not have a large population of civil servants, nor do we rely on a military base. My constituents welcome the news that there are no increases in personal taxes.

A recent editorial in the Guelph Tribune described my community as populated by those ordinary Canadians who are fed up with high taxes, anxious to keep their social fabric and critical of government waste and spending. For my constituents' sake, the measures before us here today and the entire budget must be approved as soon as possible so that we can continue to improve their lives and the lives of all Canadians.

The people of Guelph-Wellington are anxious about the future. They are not wasteful in their spending. They support the government in its efforts to not only reduce spending but to spend more wisely and more efficiently. As the Minister of Finance said in his budget speech, they do not judge on the rhetoric of political parties. They judge on results.

While Guelph-Wellington may have fared better than some Canadian regions, my constituents know the budget calls on them to share the burden. They know that when the Minister of Finance completed his speech, the country changed. They know that with this change they were challenged.

The challenge they accepted is to expect less from government and to rely on resources other than government, and to work with government to redefine itself in order to make this country stronger than it has ever been. My constituents are aware that this new challenge will mean more sacrifice, and sacrifice necessary to ensure fairness, economic growth and job creation.

They have asked me to spend their money on programs that build and assist. Guelph-Wellington is a proud community. Strong and independent, it is a community whose people want what is right.

Throughout our history we have supported government that works. We have rejected the notion government should be the answer to everything that is wrong. They know government can create problems as well as solve them.

They want their federal government to serve them, to act on their behalf and to concentrate on doing what it does well. They want action and renewal, and they want us to act now.

In the last 15 months I have heard from constituents whose comments were addressed in this budget. They asked me to cut spending. Spending will be cut by $29 billion in the next three years and we have initiated the lowest program spending in relation to the economy since 1951. They wanted no taxes on RRSPs and group health and dental plans and we have for the second year in a row introduced no increases to personal taxes.

They wanted tax fairness and were concerned about bank profits, family trusts and tax evasion. We have delivered, ensuring that every region and every Canadian will pay their fair share and contribute to ensure that we will succeed.

Most of all, they wanted the deficit reduced. They were tired of governments offering unrealistic goals and giving targets that could never ever be reached.

During the election I met cynicism and skepticism at the door. Guelph-Wellington people were tired. They were fed up with representation that did not deliver and governments that could not and would not face up to the challenge.

This budget is for them. It offers them targets that can be met. It gives them goals that can be reached. It provides realistic strategies that can be measured. For the first time in years, they know government is serious about what it says and that it does what it promises.

Faced with the other option of irresponsible slashing and uncaring principles, the people of Guelph-Wellington said yes to the Liberal Party and they say yes to this budget.

It is not often that members of Parliament can debate a change so profound that future generations will look at them and thank them for making history and giving them a better country. We have this opportunity. We have the choice of criticising, of making desperate statements which support desperate policies, or we can rise above the negative and reach for the new and bold horizon.

My constituents demand nothing less of me. They demand nothing less of this government. This is not an easy budget to

accept. Change is never easy. The measures announced on February 27 will be hard on Canadians.

The Guelph Mercury stated in an editorial following the budget, and I quote for the Reform Party: ``The finance minister did not say it would be a painless budget. He said it would be a tough budget. And make no mistake, a tough budget is what he has delivered. Tough, but alas, necessary''.

As difficult as these measures are, we can only imagine what failure to act would mean for us, our children and our grandchildren in the years to come.

What we do in the next few months will be judged not by us but by the people we serve and by the generations that follow. We must act and these actions will mean hardship, adjustment and pain, meted out with compassion. This is the Liberal way of doing business.

Our country, like the community of Guelph-Wellington, can survive. The people of Guelph-Wellington demand no less. It is for their sake that this bill and this budget are worthy of support. It can be done and it must be done. The best country in the world deserves no less.

[The Budget, February 28th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, Guelph-Wellington residents wanted responsible deficit reduction and spending cuts and the Minister of Finance has responded.

They know it is easy to cry for cuts but more difficult to ensure that any deficit reduction is fair and equitable. The budget ensures fairness. They know it is easy to criticize, but more difficult to make the good and necessary decisions which the government has made. They know that it is easy to release figures and offer ideas based on principle rather than reality. Yesterday's budget recognizes that deficit reduction will affect the lives of real people.

The people of Guelph-Wellington are not looking for the easy solutions found in 1-900 numbers and cable programs. They believe in this country and our ability to overcome our problems. They want Canada to succeed. They wanted a tough budget. They wanted spending reductions. They wanted fairness. For their sake, we have delivered.

[Young Offenders Act, February 22nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak on these amendments to the Young Offenders Act. Like most communities, Guelph-Wellington is concerned about crime and the safety of our community. Its people welcome any initiative that encourages public protection and crime prevention.

Young offenders are not new. The House of Commons enacted the Juvenile Delinquents Act in 1908. The government of the day believed that youth were not to be treated as criminals. Rather, the act stated that they should be treated as misdirected children in need of aid, encouragement, help and assistance. It sought to save children through social intervention. Almost 90 years later we are still concerned with giving children aid, encouragement and assistance.

My community of Guelph-Wellington knows the importance of children. We pride ourselves in providing quality education and preparing our children for their future. Our industry is one of the finest in the country, built to withstand radical changes in the marketplace and designed to be the forefront of technology so our children can remain in our community and become active participants in our society.

They are concerned about deficit reduction, not for their sake, but so their children and grandchildren will not be burdened by our excesses. Like almost every community in Canada, we are concerned about youth crime. We know the majority of our children are good and live their lives free of crime.

However, others do demand our attention. We are concerned about them. Programs like Guelph Change Now, a crisis and counselling service for youth, and START from the Second Chance Employment Counselling, aim to help young people, some young offenders, in housing and life skills.

My community knows the causes of youth crime are many. It wants this government here and now to deal with the issues of family violence, poverty and illiteracy. It also wants us to respond now to its dissatisfaction with the current treatment of violent young offenders.

Last June 16, I attended a community forum sponsored by the Guelph Mercury. The forum dealt with the Young Offenders Act. During the discussion it became apparent that Guelph-Wellington residents are concerned with the prevention of crime. They want more respect for the law by putting emphasis on the home, in the schools and on preventing young people from becoming criminals. They also want more money spent on rehabilitation. This was a clear message I received.

Following the forum I wrote to the Minister of Justice and informed him that these people do not see the problem with legislation. Rather, they see the problem in the court room. They look at the courts as too lenient and so much so that our young people are no longer deterred by the sentencing. They ask me in this government to make sentencing tougher so that young people will realize that their actions will be punished.

This legislation today responds to their concerns. My constituents have asked us to increase sentences for teenagers convicted of first and second degree murder. They believe that five years is not enough.

They want more young offenders tried in adult court when charged with serious personal injury offences and they want improved measures for information sharing between professionals. They know that it is often too easy for a young offender to fit between the cracks because school officials, police and child welfare agencies sometimes do not share information when the public may be at risk.

At that forum and in letters and telephone calls I received from constituents, they recognize the need for rehabilitation services. They contact me seeking ways to improve the judicial system and I have heard from parents whose children disregard their authority because they believe that they can safely hide behind provisions of the Young Offenders Act. This is not right.

These children may lose respect for authority because they believe that our system is too lenient. Mothers worry that their children from a very early age have learned not to respect the law. These parents and in many ways their children have asked us to respond. It is a clear call for help.

Guelph-Wellington residents want stiffer penalties for young offenders who commit serious crimes. They want victims to be able to make a statement if they so wish about how crime has affected them and they want stricter controls over the young offender who is in the community while serving probation and a quicker response if a youth should break the conditions of that release.

They want the courts to have as much information as possible when a young offender is sentenced. Currently young offenders must consent to treatment. This legislation responds to my constituents' concern for an effective response to chronic and serious young offenders.

I have said before that my constituents demand excellence in many of my speeches. They want legislation passed by the House that effectively deals with their concerns and improves the quality of life for them and their families.

This bill betters the Young Offenders Act and enables it to deal more effectively with serious youth crime. The changes proposed in this legislation help further protect our community where you and I live. Their aim is to make young people more responsible for their actions while recognizing the special circumstances of their youth.

They respond to the concerns of people in Guelph-Wellington and elsewhere in order to make our community better. Sergeant Brent Eden of the young offenders branch of the Guelph police force described to the people who attended the forum on the Young Offenders Act as concerned with making things better, not just blaming the system, not just blaming the police and not just blaming the government.

These people know that this legislation will make things better. They have told me that the police support this legislation. That is what they want from this government, that it is what they demand from this government.

These amendments continue our goals of offering aid, encouragement, help and assistance to our children. The goals are simple. Punish those who commit the crime and help rehabilitate these young people so that they can contribute to our society.

We want tough legislation which gives a clear message. We will not tolerate murder, assault and other criminal acts. We want to help our young people but we will not accept certain behaviour. This behaviour will be punished.

During the last federal election I promised the people of Guelph-Wellington that I would support reforms to the Young Offenders Act. It was asked many times of me. They want things to deter young people from committing crime, something to provide real justice and to rehabilitate our young people to help them build better lives. This legislation and the broad review which will be taken by the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs does just that.

These deserve our support. These respond to the concerns expressed by my constituents and people across Canada.

In its own platform, the Reform Party promised Canadians adequate punishment for young offenders. I look forward to its support for this bill because it keeps that promise as well.

The majority of our young people know that hard work and education will be the key for their success. They want to contribute to making our country better and to be a part of the Canadian dream. They want children of their own.

For their sake and for ours, I will support Bill C-37 and call on this House to vote in favour of this bill; legislation that aids, helps, assists and encourages our children and our future.

[Guelph Storm Hockey Team, February 17th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, on February 2 the Guelph Storm became the first Ontario Hockey League team to secure a play-off berth.

The Storm has enjoyed a very successful year and is currently fighting Sudbury for first place in the central division. It is in a tight race with six other teams for first place overall.

Coach Craig Hartsburg deserves much of the credit for the team's success, along with every Storm player. Coach Hartsburg stresses the philosophy of team work both on and off the ice.

Guelph-Wellington fans look forward to the remaining games in the chase for the Memorial Cup. Like everything else we do, our hockey team has proven that Guelph-Wellington takes its opponents by storm.

[Infrastructure, February 14th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board and the minister responsible for the national infrastructure program.

The national infrastructure program has been a catalyst for growth in Guelph-Wellington and in every community in Canada. Can the minister provide an update as to the status of the program and the number of jobs it has created in Ontario and in this country?