Sheila Finestone

[Goods And Services Tax, March 6th, 1996]

Take your jacket off, Deb.

[Speech From The Throne, March 5th, 1996]

Madam Speaker, I listened to my colleague for Burin-St. George's with a great deal of interest as he addressed the questions of youth, youth training and the amount of attention we are paying to youth unemployment.

It is a very serious question in my riding as well. We do not want youth taking to the 401 because of the referendum that is hanging over our heads in Quebec. I bring to the attention of my constituents that as long as that referendum question hangs in the air, we have an obligation in this government. We have a responsibility to ensure that the debate is conducted with all the facts on the table, that there are clear rules of procedure, that the process is fair, that the consequences are clear and that all Canadians have a say in that.

I am very pleased that my colleague clarified the question on the goods and services tax. We never said we would get rid of the goods and services tax. We said we would harmonize it and we would raise equivalent revenues in the process of trying to deal with a new method to ensure that it is fair, understood by all and that small business will not be crushed by the mechanisms that have been put into place.

Does my colleague not get a sense of comfort because Newfoundland has developed such outstanding and creative artists in the field of song and dance? For example the CBC program "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" is so uniquely from Newfoundland. Was he not encouraged to see that we are focusing on cultural industries recognizing their worth and are supportive of the CBC?

We look forward to the budget speech tomorrow and seeing how well we are going to do with respect to our interests in cultural industries.

[Speech From The Throne, March 5th, 1996]

Madam Speaker, welcome to your post. We look forward to a very pleasant and interesting House with your guidance and leadership.

I am very proud to rise in the House today to speak behalf of my constituents, the people of Mount Royal riding.

In the past weeks I have received remarkable outpourings of support from Côte-St-Luc, Hamsptead, Snowdon, Côte-des-Neiges and the town of Mount Royal. My constituents have really renewed and re-energized my commitment to them. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

What is a throne speech? It is words. What are words? Words are the key to communication. They can comfort and confront. Words can build harmony and social cohesion or they can lead to violence and death.

The Heinous and vile acts which took place through the Hamas terrorists and which destroyed the peace and lives of men, women and children are unacceptable, beyond belief and beyond description. My sympathy and the sympathies of the House expressed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and particularly by the Prime Minister go out to all those families where words led to sharp differences and where there has not been a way to lead to peace, social cohesion and to the ability to live together in a way reflective of respect for differences.

That is what our throne speech is all about. It expresses our shared values as Canadians and the values of the Liberal government. It is about our aboriginal people and the two broad national groups and their communities, the broad language groups, central to our national vision.

By reinforcing our economic and social union we are building solid foundations for a strong and united home, a home for all Canadians from all parts of Canada regardless of gender, origin, race, language or creed. We are determined to renovate our home as we have done over the last 125 years, to make room in it for all of us with respect and dignity.

These are not words. These are found within the Constitution of our country, within the laws of this land and within the concepts behind this throne speech. It is a blueprint to a remodelled Canada, a prosperous Canada, a united Canada.

It speaks to my constituents in Mount Royal in a very special and direct way. My riding is a microcosm of the macrocosm that is Canada. It is as diverse as our country. It is the mosaic of many ethnic minorities where French and English are heard, mixed with many other languages, where young and old, men and women, rich and poor, of all hues, races, languages and religions live together in harmony.

However, it is a riding that is deeply nervous, very concerned and very upset about the future, living daily on the fault line of the national unity issue.

My constituents should take heart. I believe firmly that stability with economic growth and social cohesions will prevail. That is the message of this throne speech. It reaffirms our commitment to the people of Mount Royal and to all Canadians to build a strong social and economic union that will keep the country together.

We all know the United Nations has called Canada the best country in the world. We know that in our gut. We never get around to expressing it. We get around to expressing it only if we are taking our luggage and going out of the country. We put a Canadian flag on, a Canadian button on, and all of a sudden we are very proud to be distinct with our wonderful maple leaf.

We get around to saying it only when we are in trouble, which we were on October 27. That was the discussion around the referendum. That is why Canadians came together, to express the desire as a country to live together and to stay together. I suggest we start saying that more often, thinking that out loud and being proud of all the things we do.

Moreover, the referendum results clearly showed that Quebecers want some changes to the federation. Their wish is no different than that of people in the other provinces of the country. People everywhere in Canada want change. As I already said, we have to reorganize our house. Indeed, what is the House of Commons? What is the National Assembly and what are all the other bodies of elected representatives? This is a big house and we have to run it and be aware of what goes on inside. We have to take care of our elderly and of our children; we have to ensure that people have a

decent life with their spouse and that they have a job. This is, in essence, what the speech from the throne is all about.

We have a federation that has been in evolution for the last 25 years. There are many more things that unite us than divide us. It is about time we started to look at all those things for which we can count our blessings, particularly as we look around the world.

We are working with the provinces and individual Canadians to ensure the federation is modernized to act and operate effectively and efficiently within clearly defined jurisdictions.

For example, the federal government pledged not to use its spending power to create new programs in areas that come exclusively under provincial jurisdiction, except with the consent of a majority of provinces.

There are also other areas in which the federal government does not have to get involved. More specifically, we are prepared to withdraw from the manpower training, forest, mines and recreation sectors.

We will work to continue the process of reducing barriers to internal trade and labour mobility. We will end costly duplication because we propose to work with the provinces toward the development of the Canadian securities commission, a single food inspection service and a national revenue collection agency.

The Prime Minister will meet with the first ministers. I am pleased to note that Quebec will focus on the economy, the people and their needs. I think if we get together to look at what we are responsible for and remove that duplication we will be a much more efficient and effective country. The problem is most people do not know what is federal jurisdiction versus provincial jurisdiction versus municipal jurisdiction. We need clarification.

This speech today on the throne speech is a generic speech. It addresses what I consider to be the global words that affect the atmosphere in which we live. We all live in a major envelope. We live where the environment has to be in balance with work, the economy, security, children, addressing questions of poverty, the social and economic problems that beset us.

I hope that with more time and the ability to examine and put into focus the economic forward movement we find in this speech as it addressed the particular issues I have just alluded to, so the scales of justice will be in balance, older people will not have to worry that they will not benefit from their pensions because their pensions will not be touched. My goodness, if we do not touch the Canada pension plan our children and grandchildren will not be protected because they will have to pay too much and they will not be able to support it. That is just one example for the elderly. There are other examples for child support and for children.

It is time for my colleague to add to what I have said and to give his own perspective from his part of the world. In the meantime, I hope the constituents of Mount Royal will appreciate the beauty of the words encapsulated in the throne speech and the forward look with care and devotion which is behind the thoughts and the values of the government.

[Speech From The Throne, February 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is a very real country, diverse and world renowned. Everyone must have a fair chance to participate in its daily life.

The throne speech reinforces our commitment to social and economic equality as a basic Canadian value. It opens the dialogue to partnership and flexibility for an evolving federation as it sets out the terms and conditions for change. It harnesses the energy of Team Canada to create hope and opportunity.

English speaking Quebecers, skilled and bilingual, are a vital part of this team. They must have guarantees of fair access as an official language minority community to health care and social services, education, jobs and cultural institutions to ensure our collective prosperity.

Visiting with parliamentarians today are over 200 members of Alliance Quebec who work diligently to inform, enlighten and ensure intercultural and linguistic harmony in our multi-ethnic communities and provinces.

Good luck in the continuing dialogue both inside and outside Quebec, and congratulations to all on your efforts toward unity and understanding for all peoples.

[Constitutional Amendments Act, December 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, unfortunately a truck got in my way and so I was delayed. If I had been here I would have voted with my party.

[Small Business Loans Act, December 12th, 1995]

moved that Bill C-99, an act to amend the Small Business Loans Act, be read the third time and passed.

[Alliance Quebec, December 11th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the Official Languages Act of Canada recognizes minority groups, francophones outside Quebec and anglophones within Quebec.

The official languages office has been in the process of negotiating with a variety of different groups based on principles of equity and gender. It will certainly not cut out other groups at the expense of Alliance Quebec. Nor would Alliance Quebec expect that to happen.

[Status Of Women, December 6th, 1995]

We implemented laws to take similar action.

[Status Of Women, December 6th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, today is a day of remembrance.

Today, we reflect on the tragic December 6th, 1989 when 14 women died in the prime of their lives. Today, we also want to reflect on the thousands of women who face violence as a daily reality.

It was also 25 years ago tomorrow that the royal commission on the status of women tabled its report in this House.

The report was a landmark study of the status of women in Canada. It contained 167 recommendations ranging from equalizing women's opportunity in the workplace to recognizing the equal contributions of both partners in the division of family assets upon marriage breakdown. Most of its recommendations have now been implemented. For example, sex discrimination is now prohibited under all of Canada's labour laws. Minimum wages are the same for both men and women. Maternity leave and parental leave benefits can be claimed.

The royal commission, however, did not identify violence as a major issue, but its members had a vision about what it would take to achieve equality. They predicted that as we uncovered the root causes and consequences of women's unequal status new issues would emerge that would need addressing, and they were right. In the last 25 years we have uncovered a close relationship between a woman's lack of equality and her vulnerability to violence, and we have brought it out of the shadows.

At the fourth United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing, Canada made a commitment to implement the conference's platform for action, a powerful global agenda for the advancement of women. Among the 12 main themes it contains a plan of action to address violence against women. The global platform reaffirms that violence against women is not a private concern and that states must exercise diligence to ensure that violence is not occurring in homes, in schools, in the workplace or on our streets.

Another commitment is the federal plan for gender equality, released in August. The plan is a framework for federal action to bring about equality for women in Canada.

We created the plan in conjunction with our preparations for the Beijing conference, and it includes several commitments to address violence against women.

There have been significant changes since the royal commission report. At that time, only one woman was a member of the House of Commons, Grace MacInnis.

There are now 54 women in the House. Whatever our political persuasion, we share a debt of gratitude to the royal commission, for without its vision the road here would have been longer and harder. Women's voices are now heard in the Chamber. Violence against women is now openly discussed. Women and men are working together to find solutions. I am confident that together we can find solutions at all levels of society.

Today in particular I wish to commend the House for its support of the historic legislation on firearms control. The weapon used at l'École polytechnique will soon be banned.

All of us want to make the country safer for women. We will succeed with the help of our partners, the men in the House and the men of the country, the NGOs, individuals, labour, business and other levels of government.

In memory of the women who died six years ago, let us pledge to continue our campaign against violence to prevent such tragedies and to give women and girls their rightful place in society.

[Violence Against Women, December 6th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, at the outset I recognize and thank the member for London West and particularly Dr. Greaves from the Centre for Violence Against Women which undertook this study at the behest of Status of Women Canada.

The question of the pervasive nature of violence against women and children and its negative impact in a social, economic, health and criminal sense is very serious. There is no doubt the issues described in the study are vital and important to us all.

I will study the findings. I will recommend certain actions to the Minister of Justice and to the Minister of Health, notwithstanding which I would suggest to all members of the House, to all levels of government and to societies and municipalities that the problem is beyond just this government which has done a very good job through the Minister of Justice with respect to the criminal element.

The social and economic aspects still need to be addressed. Until the economic interests of women are looked into, we will have ongoing violence against women and children.