Doug Peters

[Securities, March 4th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Securities Commission was mentioned in the speech from the throne. Its genesis was from the suggestion of the provinces. We were quite clear that it is a provincial jurisdiction but several provinces have been asking us about it. We have put forth an optional proposal to the provinces and they will be allowed to opt in or opt out. Anyone who has ever worked in the securities business in Canada realizes that the proliferation of agencies one has to go through is a dreadful thing. A national Canadian securities commission would be appropriate and would be of great benefit to Canadian business and the Canadian people.

[Goods And Services Tax, March 4th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, our position on the GST remains completely unchanged. We said in the red book that we would replace it with a tax that generates equivalent revenue, that was fairer to consumers and to small business, that minimizes disruption to small business and promotes federal-provincial co-operation and harmonization. That was our position in the red book. That is our position now.

[The Economy, March 4th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I would love to to see their budget this year. We did not get a chance to.

Last year they put out their ideas and those ideas would have condemned Canadians to lower pensions. It would have condemned Canadians to less social benefits. It would have condemned Canada's youth to even higher levels of unemployment. We are doing something. The Reform Party is just talking.

[The Economy, March 4th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the Reform Party is not willing to listen to answers, they just want to ask questions.

The real answer to the question is that we will. If the hon. member listened to the throne speech, youth unemployment was a key part of it and she will have to listen to the results that come up later on.

We have committed to a balanced budget. We have committed to two-year rolling targets. We have not only done that, we have met our targets which is something new in this country.

[The Economy, March 4th, 1996]

The finance minister has consistently said that.

I would like to read something from the Globe and Mail in case the hon. member missed it. It states: ``It is worth noting that Mr. Martin has yet to report a deficit bigger than the one he predicted. This week he will probably say the deficit was less than that, which works out to 4 per cent of GDP or less than any deficit since 1976-77''. That is not a bad record. It is a darn good record.

[The Economy, March 4th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, we have consistently believed that a two-year rolling target is the best system to get to a balanced budget.

[Financial Institutions, February 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the heart of the matter the hon. member brings up is an issue of corporate governance. The issue of corporate governance is one that the Minister of Industry is looking at in his department. They have released a series of papers. The Senate banking committee is looking at the issue of corporate governance. The studies will form part of my own white paper on the financial institution legislation.

To refer to the actual incident the hon. member brings up, I will not give him a legal opinion as I am certainly not a lawyer and as a matter of fact, he is a lawyer. However, I can say generally speaking that the fiduciary responsibilities of financial institution executives are taken very seriously. Where a conflict occurs, they can of course abstain from voting on those matters.

[Canada Pension Plan, December 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the question relates to the Canada pension plan. There is a study being done by the provinces and by the federal government on the Canada pension plan which has not yet been completed. There has been no decision on that. Sixty-seven is not the issue.

[Ways And Means, December 12th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1), I wish to table a notice of a ways and means motion to amend the Income Tax Act, the Excise Act, the Excise Tax Act, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act, the Old Age Security Act and the Canada Shipping Act. I ask that an order of the day be designated for consideration of the motion.

[Banks, December 8th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, that is a question in which a large number of Canadians have an interest.

The government believes that consumers are best served by an environment where financial institutions compete for business and where consumers have access to adequate information.

With regard to service charges, federal financial institutions have to disclose all fees applicable to an account at the time of opening an account. When there is a change in any fees they must give at least 30 days' notice. That is a requirement of federal legislation. I understand that Canadian banks charge substantially lower service changes than U.S. banks for comparable services.

The government is also working with the provinces to improve the consistency of legislation on the cost of consumer borrowing so that the consumer will have better information.

Finally, in our financial institution legislation that is going to be reviewed, we are looking very carefully at consumer issues.