House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 1997, with 54% of the vote.
Income Tax Act April 24th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, in recent years the government has shown what it was prepared to do to decrease and eliminate discrimination, and allow the full exercise of human rights.
Again, in this case, the ruling was handed down only yesterday. We are going to study it and, within the 60 days, make a satisfactory reply.
Income Tax Act April 24th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the ruling was published yesterday. The government has 60 days in which to respond. We are now going to look at the legal, social and political consequences of the ruling and respond within the time allowed us.
Taxation April 24th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, there are many small communities and small rural centres that find it extremely difficult to pay their emergency volunteers. They can only give them a small contribution. The federal government has decided not to tax them in order to help these emergency service volunteers and we intend to continue that practice.
Taxation April 24th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, this tax deduction has been offered in the case of essential services for small municipalities that may have trouble paying their emergency volunteers more than they usually give.
In this case it would be extremely costly to extend it more than has been done in the budget.
Reforestation April 23rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I will look into that question and give an answer to the hon. member as soon as possible.
Year 2000 April 20th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, in fact the information contained in the article was wrong. We already have six packages that have been put forward by six departments and of these two already have been asking for funds.
But what is reassuring is that we already have retainers for $100 million where we get the resources necessary in order to fill up the needs of the year 2000 bug if ever there is a problem. We feel we have put our systems in place and we are properly equipped to deal with the problem.
Official Languages April 2nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, in recent years the government has undergone changes, it has privatized, it has devolved and it has commercialized.
In such cases, as the Commissioner of Official Languages has reminded us, the Official Languages Act must continue to apply. The federal government has long been committed to this and will continue to be.
So, we set up a task force with the mandate of examining changes within the government, determining their effect on the application of the Official Languages Act and providing the best possible recommendations to ensure that the Act—
Pay Equity April 2nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the question of principle is clear. It has been endorsed by the government and it has been put into place by the government.
Two weeks ago a few questions were raised by two judgments of the federal court which indicated that at present the rules applied by Treasury Board to determine pay equity were put into place. However, we are still willing to offer a compensation package of $1.3 billion. Once again I would ask that the “syndicats” accept their responsibilities, help the employees and finally start negotiating in good faith.
Questions On The Order Paper March 27th, 1998
a) The federal government has defined the year 2000 compliance issue as a high government priority and is working aggressively on all fronts to monitor the level of year 2000 readiness within departments, implement common initiatives and encourage action.
In 1996, the chief information officer, CIO, project office was established within Treasury Board secretariat, TBS, to co-ordinate and monitor activity across all federal government departments and agencies. In September of 1997, a government industry task force was formed under the Minister of Industry to help Canadian industry address this unique challenge. The task force is chaired by Jean Monty, chief executive officer of Nortel, and includes representatives from a number of key economic sectors including banking, insurance, transportation, manufacturing, telecommunications, information technology, small and medium size business, agriculture, and the retail and service sectors.
The CIO year 2000 project office has completed two comprehensive, government-wide surveys and a third one is in progress. The results of the second survey indicate that all departments are aware of the issue and all departments with government-wide mission critical, GWMC, systems have active year 2000 plans in place. Additionally, the level of readiness within government is consistent with accepted industry standards, and many departments are even further advanced.
b) The CIO year 2000 project office is committed to ensuring that key federal government systems will continue the delivery of essential services to the Canadian public and its businesses, beyond the year 2000. Defined as government-wide mission critical, GWMC, these systems have a direct impact on the health, safety, security and economic well-being of Canadians, and are the government's first priority.
Departments are responsible for all year 2000 repair, testing and replacement work of their systems, but in order to ensure that there is no interruption of services, departments will be asked to provide full contingency plans for any systems that are deemed at possible risk by fall of 1998. At present, however, the focus and number one priority of the government is to ensure that departments complete the necessary repair and replacement work on GWMC systems.
c) The Government of Canada recognizes that not addressing the year 2000 challenge could result in significant costs to Canadian taxpayers. Treasury Board secretariat estimates that the price tag for federal government year 2000 compliance will be $1 billion. The total federal information tehcnology, IT, budget is $3 billion to $4 billion annually and it is anticipated that the majority of the $1 billion required for the year 2000 effort is being drawn from existing budgets during the conversion period.
Income Tax Amendments Act, 1997 March 26th, 1998
moved that Bill C-28, an act to amend the Income Tax Act, the Income Tax Application Rules, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the Canada Pension Plan, the Children's Special Allowances Act, the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, the Cultural Property Export and Import Act, the Customs Act, the Customs Tariff, the Employment Insurance Act, the Excise Tax Act, the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, the Income Tax Conventions Interpretation Act, the Old Age Security Act, the Tax Court of Canada Act, the Tax Rebate Discounting Act, the Unemployment Insurance Act, the Western Grain Transition Payments Act and certain acts related to the Income Tax Act, be read the third time and passed.