Gordon Kirkby

[World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act, November 29th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on the question of the hon. member with respect to backtracking, it has been made clear by the minister of agriculture that this type of wasteful practice must be dealt with.

The minister has already conducted extensive consultations and they are still ongoing. I think there is general agreement among all players across the country who see this type of backtracking presently going on that the practice must stop. The

consultation process must continue and will continue. Action will be taken once the appropriate legislative changes are made.

It is certainly our desire to implement all changes necessary to ensure that Canada complies with the international agreement on tariffs and trade. We will take those steps. The minister of agriculture is working very hard and will be coming up with a solution to the particular issue.

[World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act, November 29th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to speak in support of Bill C-57, a bill to implement the Uruguay round of agreements of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

In excess of 120 countries are signatories to this agreement and this bill will make Canada party to the most comprehensive trade agreement in history.

This government was elected on the basis of a number of factors. These same factors have kept the government in high regard. We have the leader, we have the team and we have the plan, the red book. The focus of the red book was all about job creation and getting Canadians back to work, to give all Canadians an opportunity to participate in the economy, to allow all people the dignity that comes with having a job, and the pride that comes with the ability to put bread and butter on one's own table.

Since the election of our Prime Minister and the new government over 300,000 new jobs have been created, most of them being full time. In addition, business and consumer confidence is way up. This is because the government has been single minded about its promise to create jobs. The government, together with all Canadians, is succeeding.

Whether we are talking about the infrastructure program which has resulted in the construction of roads, sewers, sidewalks, health care facilities and other valuable projects, tens of thousands of Canadians are now back at work as a direct result of this program.

Whether we are talking about the review for science and technology, whether we are talking about the Minister of Human Resources Development and his review of the western diversification program or his very important and necessary review of the social safety net, in all of these areas we are looking to see how best we can create a climate of economic growth and jobs in this country.

We look to see how we can make Canada a better competitor on the global marketplace. The success of our Minister for International Trade and our Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food at the GATT is no exception to the government's direction which is to create jobs and economic growth in Canada.

The Uruguay round of GATT is an international agreement but it has many significant, positive local impacts in Prince Albert, Churchill River and all throughout Saskatchewan.

A significant industry that will be helped in Saskatchewan is the agricultural machinery manufacturing sector. Tariffs on these products will be eliminated internationally over a five-year period. Western Canadians and Saskatchewan based farm machinery manufacturers are particularly well positioned to take advantage of this new economic reality as exports of our large scale dry land farming technology is on the cutting edge worldwide both in terms of environmental protection and encouraging economic efficiency and effective production.

These industries are already very competitive because of a close proximity to the American market and good access at the present time. Therefore we can effectively take advantage of these new market opportunities.

I believe in Saskatchewan farmers because they have been through drought. At the same time they were subjected to low commodity prices brought on by the devastating grain subsidy war waged between the Americans and the European Union.

There is no doubt that Saskatchewan farmers are among the most efficient producers of agricultural products in the world. A reduction in subsidies on the international level is going to be good news for our farmers because they are already so efficient.

One of our most significant changes produced by this agreement is the end to this terribly damaging international grain subsidy war between the Americans and European Union. The volumes of European Union and American wheat exported will be reduced by over 40 per cent over the next six years. This will significantly improve the access and the market prospects for Canadian farmers who grow grains and oilseeds.

This is good news for farmers. As the subsidies are reduced the economic incentive for the growth of industries in the area of processing of agricultural products in western Canada will also increase. For too long we have in western Canada been hewers of wood and drawers of water. For too long we have been shipping our produce outside the province and outside the country to be processed.

We will see the day when we will achieve a much greater economic diversity in Saskatchewan. We will see the day when our farmers will not have to ship such a large percentage of their agricultural products out of the province or out of the country for processing. Saskatchewan people will do it right at home.

We will soon see secondary processing of agricultural products in our province. We will be less dependent on the uncertainties of international raw commodity prices for our economic stability, diversity of economic activity and diversity of markets. It is a sure formula for economic improvement and stability.

The GATT also provides greater protection for the Canadian farmers in that the United States will no longer be able to use existing repressive trade laws and other regulations against imports of Canadian wheat or other agricultural products.

This agreement is also good news for the red meat sector of the Saskatchewan economy. There will be greater export opportunities and greater likelihood of investment in the meat processing industry. The mining sector will also benefit from having more trade rules which will ensure continued and more certain access to markets with respect to raw products. In addition we will see more secondary processing of metals which are now precluded from economic export opportunities by tariff barriers in other countries.

The GATT will also help the pulp sectors of our economies again by the reduction of tariffs. This will enhance the viability of the Canadian industry and enhance the economies of Weyerhauser Canada Limited, the owners of an already successful pulp and paper complex in the riding which I represent. The production of wood products and wood will also be enhanced for the same basic reasons.

The GATT is certainly a big help in terms of specific primary production sectors that will benefit from the reduction in tariffs and in terms of secondary or processed products.

One of the largest benefits to Canada from the GATT is the fact that clearer trading rules have been established and more effective measures for settling disputes have been put into place. This is particularly important and beneficial to Canada which has a mid-size economy. This will also ensure that the rule of law determines trade disputes and not simply have trade disputes resolved by who has the biggest economy or who can throw their economic weight around on the international scene.

This is particularly helpful to third world economies that for too long have been controlled by arbitrary economic interests outside their borders and by the economies of industrialized nations. This allows them access to fair treatment. When they can rely on the rule of law as opposed to economic might they will achieve greater economic self-sufficiency. This will allow the economies of such third world countries to grow. When their economies grow they will have greater economic wherewithal to achieve and to purchase more goods and services from countries like Canada.

This deal is good for all of Canada but it is good for western Canada, Saskatchewan and Prince Albert-Churchill River. Whether we are talking about opportunities of a more substantial nature in the pulp and paper industry, the mining sector, the agricultural sector, the wood products sector or any manufacturing or value added industries or activities associated with primary resource production, all these opportunities will have a very positive impact on the good people of my riding.

The agreement will free up the truly entrepreneurial spirit which already exists in fine measure in my riding and across the country. Over time increased wealth and opportunity will result, which is good for all our people.

Once again I congratulate the Minister for International Trade and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food for their efforts, their vision and their success in doing their part to ensure the government will live up to its commitment contained in the red book to create jobs and bring dignity back to the lives of many Canadians who are out of work through no fault of their own. This is what we promised to do. This is what we are doing. This is what we will continue to do with the help of all Canadians to create jobs and economic opportunity and stability.

The GATT is a good agreement. The bill and consequent amendments supporting the agreement are in the best interests of all of Canada, and I speak in favour of it. Finally, I thank all members from the opposition parties who supported this excellent initiative and agreement.

[Committees Of The House, November 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development regarding Bill C-55, an act to establish a board having jurisdiction concerning disputes respecting surface rights in respect of land in the Yukon Territory, and to amend other acts in relation thereto, without amendment.

[Standing Committee On Industry, November 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I noticed the members of the party opposite are not keen on questions about merit. I can see why.

With respect to the issue of merit, obviously these projects are chosen on the basis of those which are likely to succeed as in the case of western diversification. They are not picked when there are competitors in the marketplace. They are picked when there is innovation or something new which is not done in the region in which it is proposed. This is the type of thing that I know western diversification picks. Probably ACOA has the same rules, to pick subjects and projects which are meritorious, which have an excellent chance of success, which will aid the diversification of an economy that too often has been based on a single or a narrow group of industries.

This is the type of progress our country needs. We are doing it and we are making things happen. I know that the hon. member will be grateful when he looks at the job statistics and sees how many new jobs are created all across the country by a government that is doing what it said it was going to do.

[Standing Committee On Industry, November 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, one thing this government has done very successfully is adopt its election platform, carry it through and do what it said it was going to do.

I recall in the red book it indicated that we would be reducing our annual deficit as a percentage of the GDP to 3 per cent. Mark my words, this government through program review and through a number of initiatives has gone a long way in doing what it said it would do.

I think in the budget over the next few years when we are dealing with our expenditure problems we will be moving in that direction. We are going to meet that target. We will be dealing with the deficit. I hope when people react to the types of budgets we will be bringing forward the Reform Party will be proud to say it did it twice as fast as we did.

With respect to the success of western diversification and ACOA, I know these have been picked on mercilessly today by members of the Reform Party. We were also elected to enhance and encourage regional development right across this country. We have to utilize the wealth of this nation to make sure people all across this country have access to economic opportunity.

We will do likewise with the deficit. We will do what we said we would do by utilizing these agencies to properly and intelligently promote regional and economic development. I know the Reform Party would like to leave the impression that somehow money is handed out willy-nilly. Such is not the case. The people who manage these, whether it is western diversification or ACOA in the Atlantic provinces, are extremely capable, qualified individuals who select business propositions on grounds of merit. Over the years we have seen a tremendous number of successes come out of these types of operations.

As I have indicated, this government will do what it said it would do. We are going to reduce the deficit and we are going to enhance our regional economies by the sensible spending of the taxpayers' dollars.

[Standing Committee On Industry, November 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to address this motion to take note of the second report of the Standing Committee on Industry entitled "Taking Care of Small Business".

The committee report contains a thoughtful analysis of the financing problems small businesses face and provides a series of extensive and helpful recommendations on the financing issue. The committee is to be congratulated for its hard work and its excellent report.

In a similar vein, I would like to formally acknowledge the work of the federal Ontario Liberal caucus task force which has also made valuable recommendations on financing for small businesses.

All members of this House are aware of the great importance of small business to the Canadian economy. In fact the government is carrying out a wide ranging small business policy review of which the report will form a very important and integral part.

However, I am particularly interested in the recommendations as they relate to the growth of knowledge based, high tech firms. Both these reports have suggested ways in which the banks could better respond to the financing needs of small and medium size businesses. It is encouraging, as both reports have pointed out. Canada's banks themselves are also aware of the need to do more to assist in the development, growth and stability of Canada's small businesses.

In today's business climate, banking needs are evolving rapidly as are the demands on business itself. The pace of technological change is accelerating while the product cycles are shortening. Flexibility and capacity to adapt and respond quickly to changing market conditions are more important than ever before. These are some of the things that small businesses tend to do best.

It is encouraging to see the beginnings of change in the banking culture. As important as it is to match banking practices with the demands of today's marketplace, that is only one piece of the puzzle. If any one single area is critical to the success of Canadian business in general and small and medium size businesses in particular, it is technology.

In one sense, technology is an investment issue for many small firms since access to financing is often required to be able to utilize technology. Over and above financing considerations however, technology itself is key to the ability of small businesses to compete and thrive in the global marketplace. The whole area of technology presents a critical challenge to Canadian small businesses. For the Canadian economy to prosper this is a challenge we must meet.

Small businesses created 87 per cent of all new jobs in the decade from 1979 to 1989. In the first six months of this year small businesses have created over 80 per cent of the net new jobs created in Canada. Since last year's election this government has presided over an economy that has created in excess of 320,000 new jobs. This is good news for all Canadians.

Yet, there are specific areas where the performance of Canadian small business could improve and innovation, research and development and the use of technology are among them. Canadian companies, especially smaller firms, fall behind their foreign counterparts in a wide range of industries when it comes to protecting advancements in a number of technologies important to Canada. Among the OECD countries, Canada's share of international patents is lower than the population would warrant. Many small businesses are slow to innovate or to apply technology to improve competitiveness. Small businesses may lack the time or resources to become well informed about technological change or its implications for what they do.

They might not even recognize that solving a particular problem or taking the advantage of a market opportunity might depend on technology. Too few small businesses have the expertise or the capacity to absorb the ideas in technology that can mean success if adopted or failure if neglected.

Businesses increasingly compete on their abilities to innovate in product development, marketing production, distribution, after sales service and internal administration. A rapidly changing innovative business environment helps create jobs by attracting and retaining international investment.

The government is well aware of the special problems that small businesses face when it comes to technology and is committed to helping business resolve them. One of the most interesting and revealing approaches we have taken was a study designed to find out what makes growing small businesses successful. The strategies for success report is a joint product of Industry Canada and Statistics Canada. It provides an analysis of growing small and medium size enterprises in Canada. It examines the reason for the success of groups of firms that grew rapidly in the 1980s and provides entrepreneurs with the clues they need to see how they can do the same.

The report focuses on the tactics used by small firms to make themselves successful and how to implement these strategies. For example, the more successful firms place greater emphasis on their ability to adopt technology and research and develop capabilities.

These companies focus on developing new technology, refining the technology of others and improving their own technology. Successful firms were generally more innovative. A large proportion of them, 30 per cent, attributed success to an R and D based innovation strategy. An even larger proportion, 55 per cent, reported having successfully introduced innovation.

The lessons of the strategies for success report are clear but those lessons will remain theoretical unless they can actually be put into practice on the shop floor or during a service call or in the laboratory. That is why the government is implementing a number of important practical programs to help small business take advantage of the technology it needs to succeed.

In August, for example, the government announced the Canadian technology network to deliver solutions to technological problems through an integrated package of business services. The Canadian technology network will help small and medium size businesses acquire, adapt, commercialize and manage new

and complex technologies in partnership with the Canadian research community.

The CTN is in effect a major consulting service which will be available to businesses of every size. It will provide firms with rapid and effective access to data, intelligence and services from across Canada and from foreign sources. It will build upon the current network of the National Research Council's industrial research assistance program, IRAP. The program's 260 industrial technology advisers draw upon the work of a host of organizations across Canada, including provincial research organizations, universities and colleges, industrial associations and other professional bodies.

The CTN will give the small business community easy access to the broad array of technology, services, skills and expertise offered by IRAP, together with other business related services through an integrated electronic network.

The work of the CTN is nicely complemented by the activities of another partnership in which the federal government is playing a leading role. This is the Canadian network for the advancement of research industry and education, CANARIE.

CANARIE is a joint project by the government and over 140 private and public participants. CANARIE is a cost sharing research and development program to develop the next generation of networking technologies, products and applications. It will also help create a network to test and showcase advanced technology.

CANARIE will facilitate access to and use of the information highway by Canadian business. It is working to upgrade CA*net, the Canadian branch of Internet. Essentially the information highway is going to be a private sector project. Business is doing most of the building and most of the investing but government has a part to play as well.

It must help to write the highway traffic code. In other words, make sure the highway develops to meet the needs of all Canadians in all regions and in all sectors. This is why the government has set up the information highway advisory council comprised of 30 Canadians. The members of this council have been given a year to set up a fairly broad set of questions to answer, all aimed at recommending how the government can speed up the development of information highway services.

As Canadian businesses strive to innovate and make the best use of technology that can help to compete, a very important resource it can use is the Canadian intellectual property office. Within CIPO one can find a gold mine of innovation. For example, in the patents office there are 1.3 million Canadian patents. In addition, the patents office contains millions of foreign patent documents including 5.5 million U.S. patents.

Small businesses can use the information available through the patent office to keep abreast of technological innovations and to avoid investing R and D dollars in projects that have already been explored. Patents can provide state of the art information on particular technologies. They can indicate which technologies are ready for development or which ones are viable but unprotected. They can help business anticipate, identify and respond to foreign competition or to launch a new product.

The practical value of this information is directly related to the ease with which it can be accessed. The patent information exploration program can provide research for the information and patent documents about technologies, about competitors, about patents which have expired and can now be exploited.

Eventually in the not too distant future information from the trademark office as well will soon be available from electronic databases using vehicles such as the information highway.

Small businesses and individual innovators will be able to do so from their own stations. The automation of CIPO databases will contribute to developing and marketing new products and technologies.

In my remarks today I have covered a wide range of topics relevant to small business from financing to technology, from the information highway to the use of patents. In all of these areas the federal government is doing things that are important, that will help small and medium size firms to take advantage of new and emerging technologies that are so essential to business growth.

The work of the standing committee and of the Ontario caucus will undoubtedly help to shape and improve the course of these future policies. So too will the report of the small business working committee which will report soon.

Technology and financing are ultimately linked, intimately linked and are key to the growth of an innovative small business sector in Canada. The small business community is central to our jobs and growth strategy. Helping it optimize the flexibility that its size gives it is a key element to our agenda for small business.

With the support of this House and the other governments across this country small and innovative firms will continue to create the highly skilled jobs Canadians all across this country need.

[Leader Of The Reform Party, November 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I note with interest that the leader of the Reform Party is planning to reconsider the advisability of his taking a 10 per cent pay cut. The rationale for his change of heart is that because he is not getting enough credit for the great sacrifice he may start taking his full pay.

It has always been my view that you took an action because you believed it was the right thing to do and not simply to get credit.

The leader of the Reform Party said he decided on a month by month basis whether to take his pay cut. The hon. member made such a big deal over his frugality I would urge him to stick to his guns, take the cut and not decide his pay on the basis of how many fancy suits he wants to buy or get dry cleaned in a given month.

Many hon. members from each and every party in the House make sacrifices for what we do but do not get credit for. We do it because we believe in it. We do it because we want to do our part. We do it because it is the right thing to do. I urge the hon. leader of the Reform Party to do the same.

[Unemployment Insurance Act, November 2nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to debate the bill presented by the hon. member for Saint-Hubert.

Like my colleagues, I recognize the hon. member's intent in presenting this bill which is to correct a perceived injustice. I would ask her and all hon. colleagues to remember that the bill received first reading prior to the government's discussion paper on social security reform. Perhaps if the hon. member had known the extent of the proposed revisions to the unemployment insurance program she would have seen fit to wait and put forward her ideas in that context.

As the old saying goes, I do not want to keep flogging a dead horse, but I honestly believe that Canadians want their elected representatives to consider revisions to the UI program in the context of social security reform. I am sure the hon. member sees the logic of evaluating her suggestion in that context.

The hon. member for Saint-Hubert talks about injustice but there is no injustice in doing everything possible to maintain the integrity of our unemployment insurance program. I can state unequivocally that the majority of UI claimants are honest, law-abiding citizens and we need not fear that they will try to take advantage of the unemployment insurance system.

However that does not preclude us from being diligent in ensuring that UI benefits go only to those who meet the necessary conditions. We must be accountable. Canadians expect their elected representatives to do everything in their power to ensure the viability of our social security system.

I would ask the hon. member to look at it another way for a moment. Just last week the Minister of Finance made it abundantly clear that the government will fulfil its commitment and meet its deficit reduction target, that is 3 per cent of the gross domestic product at the end of the third term in office. It has been made very clear that this goal will be met. There is no doubt about that. We can help by keeping costs as low as possible in our social security programs.

We have already tried to do what we can to save UI funds through other measures. I am thinking of such things as lowering the premium rate which we estimate will create or preserve about 40,000 additional jobs. These jobs mean that people will pay into the fund rather than take money out of it. Besides that, we have to do everything possible to ensure that the system is used for the purpose for which it was intended.

Now that we have heard hon. members argue that arm's length provisions discriminate against women since they are often the ones employed by their husbands in a family business, as the kids say today: "Let's get real". When it comes to making

revisions to UI, we have been mindful of the particular needs of Canadian working women.

One measure we have taken, as hon. members have mentioned, is to bring the dependency benefit rate of 60 per cent for low income earners who are supporting a dependant or whose spouse is supporting a dependant. We estimate that approximately 240,000 claimants are helped by the dependency benefit rate. I can assure my hon. colleague that the majority are working women. If hon. members want to do more for women then I encourage them to study the proposals for social security reform and to come up with positive, constructive ideas on how we an make improvements.

It is easy to criticize but it gets us nowhere. It is just the easy thing to do. The hon. member whose bill we are debating today is down on the government because the government is being responsible and protecting the integrity of the unemployment insurance system, a system that has served Canadians well for more than half a century.

Just what are we asking under this provision of the Unemployment Insurance Act? Are we asking workers to do anything more than ensure the UI branch that they are genuinely in an employer-employee relationship? No, we are not. We are simply requesting that workers fill out the required forms and let us know the precise nature of their working relationship with a family member. This is not too much to ask if it helps reduce the UI deficit and maintain the fund's integrity.

It would not surprise me at all if the majority of individuals in this situation would support this requirement because it will guarantee that working for their relative fulfils their obligations under the act of employer-employee relationship.

I implore the hon. member not to use the scattered shotgun approach to fixing problems to UI and other social problems. Let us look carefully at the whole package, as we are presently doing. During our review of the system the hon. member for Saint-Hubert and all hon. colleagues will have every opportunity to present constructive ideas on changes to UI. I encourage them to do so in that context.

[World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act, November 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member mentions that the market should determine by what mode of transportation grain or agricultural products should be shipped. Near the end of his speech he indicates that there is a shortage of grain cars because the companies have decided to use them to ship grain into the United States. It would suggest that he has been quite inconsistent in his approach and I would like him to explain the inconsistency.

[World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act, November 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to know this. You indicated earlier in your speech that grain or whatever agricultural product is being transported should be moved by whatever means to whatever destination that the market sees fit.

At the end of your speech, you are criticizing the rail companies for-