Denis Coderre

[Judges Act, March 30th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the measures and the strategies of the previous Conservative government have nothing to do with the current government.

[Criminal Code, March 30th, 1998]

Open your eyes.

[Budget Implementation Act, 1998, March 24th, 1998]

Yes, I did listen to you. The budget had a positive effect, not only for child care centres, but also for SMBs and young people. I did not receive one complaint at my riding office. Everyone knows how much I am present and I get a lot of calls and mail.

[Budget Implementation Act, 1998, March 24th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, would you ask the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot to be quiet and stop calling me a liar? A chihuahua on the other side has started yapping too much for my liking.

Could you ask him to cool his jets and settle down? When he spoke, I let him speak.

One thing is sure—

[Budget Implementation Act, 1998, March 24th, 1998]

I would send him packing, but that is my problem.

One thing is sure, when you look at the facts—

[Budget Implementation Act, 1998, March 24th, 1998]

The member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot is calling me a liar—

[Budget Implementation Act, 1998, March 24th, 1998]

An excellent question, Mr. Speaker.

The proof that truth hurts and that the budget has had an impact comes when I hear members of the Bloc on the other side constantly whining and making comments. I understand how extraordinary a budget it was.

When you take a rational look at the budget—without the venom—it is clear it has a positive impact and represents a fine beginning.

You have to understand one thing. Quebeckers look at the financial impact, the impact in terms of bursaries, for example. What do they say? They say “Finally, we have a government that keeps its promises”.

[Budget Implementation Act, 1998, March 24th, 1998]

Thirty-four.

We are giving opportunities to young people. I believe in dynamism. The budget is not the only thing. We have also introduced measures relating to small and medium size businesses, via my hon. colleague, the member for Outremont and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada, which in conjunction with this budget will enable us to create jobs.

I remind my hon. colleague that this is working amazingly well, as close to one million jobs have been created in the past five years. These are facts that attest to good management.

[Budget Implementation Act, 1998, March 24th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell my hon. colleague that this budget clearly contains tax relief measures.

Not only are we investing in knowledge, but a decision has also been made to make a substantial increase in development, in research councils. These are things that will have an impact.

I will also remind the House that lightening the debt load will also have a psychological effect on motivating young people. It is hard for a young person not to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have a saying in my part of the country “If you're not a revolutionary at 20, you'll end up a pastry cook by the time you're 40”.

[Budget Implementation Act, 1998, March 24th, 1998]

—equitable solutions to achieve a zero deficit.

But we also did something that hurt sovereignists even more. We talked directly to young people. We decided to invest in knowledge and to make sure young people can reduce their debt load and also—thanks to this government's vision—have their place in the sun, like the baby boomers before them.

Of course they are going to come up with examples. They are always going to come up with an editorial. They will tell us that the president of such and such a union opposed it. But those of us from Quebec know how it works: some plant, some little pequiste, some little separatist expresses his opinion. They are good at it. There is no denying it.

When we watched the news, what was the first thing we saw about the millennium fund? Three students from no particular party were interviewed at random. Members opposite will say that journalists are federalists. The young people were asked “What do you think of the millennium fund?” What was their unanimous response? They replied “What we want is not to get involved in these squabbles. The important thing is that, if we can benefit, then, yes, we will”. The moral of the story is that the government has understood that sometimes it is preferable to speak directly to students, to speak directly to young people, because they understand how it works.

Members opposite are also going to tell us we are interfering in education. We are not. Access to education and reducing student indebtedness are shared responsibilities. I would like to remind the House that the loans and scholarships program was created with assistance from the federal government, and each year we pay a percentage. They have decided to run things their way. We have no objection to that. We will sit down with them and use the same parameters.

The important thing—and I represent this generation—is that young people be given an opportunity to have access to education. When young people graduate from universities, CEGEPs and high schools, they are in debt. Young people want to enjoy equal opportunities and to be part of society. They want to join the workforce as soon as they graduate.

The debt reduction strategy includes seven components. There are, of course, the Canadian scholarships. The millennium fund is great. About 100,000 young Canadians will receive scholarships. The government also wants to increase support for advanced research and for graduate students, by increasing the budget of the three granting councils. We will help graduate students to better manage their debt, through a tax break for the interest paid on student loans, and through improvements to the Canada Student Loans Program. How can anyone be opposed to these initiatives?

We heard what the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot had to say. He said they had been energized. Does this mean they had no energy before? It is their problem. He said they had been energized, that they would keep a watchful eye and not let anything go through. The sovereignists can go ahead and tear their shirts. We can give them the addresses of some stores that sell shirts at a good price. Given the number of shirts they tear these days, it will still cost them a bundle, but it will probably benefit the shirt industry.

What is certain is that young people will realize the importance of the government's action.

We are also being accused of not caring about the elderly and the handicapped, and of not providing tax relief for the poor. What is extraordinary in this budget—and I will give you an example because they will surely have questions or criticisms for me—is that we are the first government to eliminate a tax. We said “We will remove the 3% surtax that was put in place by the Conservative government”.

If this is not a sign of credibility, a clear demonstration that this government is listening to the people, then I do not know what is.

I rely on the public's judgment. Many of my constituents phoned me. I spend a great deal of time in my riding. My constituents did not criticize the budget. Quite the contrary. They said it was a good budget, a good start, and that the priority was to eliminate the deficit. Then, we should preserve and strengthen existing social benefits—which is what we did in this budget—and tackle the debt. The facts speak for themselves.