Jean Charest

[Employment Insurance, December 3rd, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance and it is a very simple question. It is a question that I asked him last week, a question the minister did not answer. Instead, I got some warmed over rhetoric.

I would like to ask the Minister of Finance whether he and his Liberal government believe that the employment insurance account should be used, yes or no, for the purpose of reducing the deficit.

[Employment Insurance, November 25th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the worst abuser of the unemployment insurance fund in Canada, the Minister of Finance.

After three years of Liberal government, Canada is experiencing the longest period of high unemployment we have known since the thirties. Nevertheless, the Liberal government continues to put a surtax on employees through the unemployment insurance fund.

I simply want to ask the Minister of Finance whether he thinks it is legitimate for the government to use the unemployment insurance fund to reduce its deficit?

[Homage To Robert Bourassa, October 2nd, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, today is a day of great sadness for all those who had the pleasure, indeed I would term it a privilege, of knowing Robert Bourassa.

I would like to pay tribute to his courage, his constant companion throughout his political career, as well as throughout his illness. My most heartfelt condolences, and those of my party, to Mrs. Bourassa, their children and grandchildren.

Robert Bourassa was the incarnation of modern Quebec. Throughout his long career, economic issues were his main concern. In 1970, he headed the government at a crucial time in Quebec history. In that context, he was able to stay the course and focus on his fundamental objectives: Quebec's cultural security and its economic progress.

Quebecers' unshakeable belief today in their ability to be the masters of their own economy is, in large part, the work of Robert Bourassa.

Mr. Bourassa was the incarnation of modern Quebec in all of its dimensions. He spoke to us knowingly of our own ambitions and also reflected our ambivalence.

Canadians would often remark that Mr. Bourassa for them was an intriguing political figure. Those of us who knew him well and

were from Quebec were always tempted to reply that he was a true reflection of the people of Quebec.

Robert Bourassa too felt ambivalence, the ambivalence of a person with a very great responsibility. He was always concerned with protecting and furthering the interests of a mainly francophone population.

This concern was ever-present, whenever discussions and negotiations were held on the future of Quebec and of Canada, in Victoria in 1971 and in the 1980 and 1995 referendums, and especially in the negotiations around the Meech Lake accord.

What needs to be kept in mind concerning that event is that he had obtained an agreement which satisfied both Quebec and the other Canadian partners. Events, unfortunately, took a different turn, and history will be the final judge.

On a personal note, I remember Mr. Bourassa as a generous and affable man, one who was able to resist the temptation to lower debates to a personal level and one who, of all the politicians I have had the opportunity to observe, was without a doubt the one who always treated his colleagues, his opponents, the media and the general public with the utmost respect.

The second quality that characterized Robert Bourassa was, without a doubt, his exceptional perseverance. Who, after the 1976 election, would have dared predict that he would return to public life? Yet he did, and stronger than ever, at the head of majority governments in 1985 and 1989. Twenty years ago, who would have thought that people would one day hold him in such affection?

We shall all keep in our hearts the undying memory of an exceptional head of government and, what is more, a great man who never admitted defeat.

[Unemployment Insurance, October 2nd, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

Even when he is reminded of the very high level of unemployment, the Prime Minister does not seem to want to budge on the unemployment issue. When he is reminded that the unemployment rate in Canada has remained above 9 per cent for 71 consecutive months, the longest stretch since the 1930s, he does not seem to be moved to action either. A report released by the Conference Board this week shows that the real unemployment rate among young Canadians exceeds 25 per cent.

I would like to give the Prime Minister another chance to tell this House he welcomes this opportunity to announce a reduction to Canadians in their unemployment insurance overcontributions-an extra $10 billion that will be taken out of the pockets of small business workers.

Will he not reconsider, cut unemployment insurance premiums-this tax on employment-and restore hope to those who, at present-

[The Late Bert Hargrave, September 30th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with some sadness to speak on behalf of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to pay tribute to a former member of this House from the riding of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Mr. Bert Hargrave, who passed away last week.

Aside from being extremely well known and liked in his province and in his riding, Mr. Hargrave selflessly devoted a large part of his public and private life to the promotion of agriculture in Canada.

Aside from being a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, Mr. Hargrave also served in World War II as a captain in the tank brigades. Following the end of the war he returned to Canada and took over the family farm in Walsh, Alberta in 1945.

In 1972 he ran and was successfully elected a member of Parliament. As a side note to his victory back then, he defeated the person who was then the minister of agriculture in the government of Mr. Trudeau. He then took his seat in the House as a Progressive Conservative member until his retirement in 1984.

He spent his whole career in opposition, except for the brief term in government in 1979 under the leadership of Mr. Clark where he served, as members probably have already guessed, as parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture.

Following his career as a parliamentarian he served as president of the Walsh Cattle Marketing Association, the Western Stock Growers Association and the National Cattlemen's Association, to name a few. He was also southern Alberta chair of the Farm Debt Review Board until the late 1980s and early 1990s.

His tireless and constant dedication to agriculture was recognized when he was inducted into the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame.

Mr. Hargrave was a true gentlemen and was well respected, I understand, on all sides of the House of Commons. He was unquestionably considered one of the most informed and knowledgeable parliamentarians on all sides in the realm of agriculture. Although I did not have the opportunity or the privilege of knowing him personally, I am told he was recognized as being someone who was tough, sincere, but most of all a very generous man.

He passed away last Tuesday at the age of 79 and will be laid to rest today in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

On behalf of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, I would like to pay tribute to Mr. Hargrave today for his years of service to Canada, to his community, to his province. I want to offer my personal condolences on behalf of my party to his family members and wish them well. But most of all, I would like them to know that this place, this Parliament, his province and his country will forever remember him as being a statesman.

[Somalia Inquiry, September 25th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister and it has to do with the Somalia inquiry.

I want to make a constructive suggestion to the Prime Minister today. I think he will acknowledge that this inquiry has deeply affected the morale of Canadian troops and that there will be a very long delay between the report and the proceedings. We also know that there are two different sets of events here, the events in Somalia and what happened afterward.

Given these circumstances, will the Prime Minister not do the sensible thing and ask for an interim report?

[Employment, September 16th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

He will remember that three years ago he and the Liberal Party of Canada ran on the issue of jobs. Here we are, three years later, with the highest consecutive period of unemployment, above 9 per cent, that we have had since the 1930s. In the meantime, his government has rejected out of hand any suggestion that the federal government cut taxes.

Today, the first day of the return of the House, I want to make a concrete suggestion to the Prime Minister and the government. Will he not recognize that the EI premiums will lead to a $5.5 billion surplus this year and $5.3 billion next year? That is a total of over $10 billion in tax on jobs. Will he not return the money to workers and small businesses in the country, cut taxes and create jobs as he promised to do three years ago?

[The Late Hon. George Hees, June 17th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, only a few days ago we lost one of the longest serving members of this place. Mr. Hees served with great distinction as a member of Parliament for 37 years.

Mr. Hees had a very distinguished career. He also had a full life, full of brightness and joy. He was kind enough to share his unlimited talents with Canadians.

Mr. Hees studied and graduated from the University of Toronto. He also studied at Cambridge in England. He was an athlete who played for the Toronto Argonauts and had the privilege of being on a Grey Cup winning team.

He served in the Canadian Armed Forces in the second world war as a brigade major in the Fifth Infantry Brigade. He was wounded and returned home in 1945. One of his good friends at the service in his honour mentioned a typical Hees story regarding his return to Canada. He came home, the dashing war hero with his arm in a sling, and enjoyed the attention he received everywhere he went, at receptions and elsewhere. The friend told the story of one evening Mr. Hees returned home after one those receptions with the wrong arm in the sling.

Mr. Hees then went on to take an interest in public life. He ran unsuccessfully for the House of Commons in 1945, but was elected in 1950. He subsequently became president of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in the years that preceded the election of the Diefenbaker minority government in 1957, and the majority government in 1958.

In the Diefenbaker government he was appointed minister of transport and served with great distinction in that portfolio. He went on to the department of trade and commerce and is remembered with a great deal of fondness by those who worked with him at that time.

Mr. Hees was an unabashed cheerleader of Canada. He was a supporter of his officials and his department and could be a fantastic person for whom to work. Those people who worked with him in the department at the time remember the presence of this minister who demonstrated that, yes, a minister can make a substantial difference within a single department.

Under his leadership in trade and commerce, the department went on to promote trade with other countries and it did this with an unprecedented level of success.

Mr. Hees left politics in 1963. This was a difficult time, as some members will remember, for the government of Mr. Diefenbaker. Mr. Hees, at the time, chose to retire from active politics. He went

on to become president of the Montreal Stock Exchange. He, who had been from Toronto, was now living in Montreal. He also did very well in that responsibility.

He returned to active politics in 1965 and was re-elected. He then went on to serve until he was again named to cabinet in 1984 in the government of Brian Mulroney. This time he was appointed minister of veterans affairs. Of all the accomplishments of his life, at no point did Mr. Hees distinguish himself more than in that portfolio. To this day people who work in that department, who I know and see from time to time, and veterans, remember him very fondly.

Mr. Speaker, you may remember the VIP program that he extended to 10,000 veterans at the time. Mr. Hees, at every opportunity, used to say to people when he was minister of veterans affairs, how every Canadian was a special person. He would pause and remind us that those who had served in those extraordinary circumstances were, in his mind, exceptionally important to the country. He is still very fondly remembered for what he did for each and every one of them.

Mr. Hees served until 1988 when he decided not to run again and was named an ambassador. He is also remembered fondly for some of the work he did in that capacity.

I have a personal story to tell from the first cabinet meeting that I ever attended. I do not think I am sharing any great secret here. As we sat around the table on that very first day, the prime minister reminded us that two people there, who because of their ages could not get into the Senate. Of course I was under 30 years old and Mr. Hees was over 75. Mr. Hees' reply was: "At least in Charest's case it can be fixed".

Mr. Hees also had a great deal of enthusiasm for his country and his fellow citizens. What impressed me the most about him was how at ease he was with himself. Here was a man who had a good sense of who he was and of the experiences of his life. He was extremely generous and shared a great deal. His wife, Mabel, also shared his political life. Mibs was her nickname. She was an extraordinary person. I want to extend to his three daughters and, as well, to all those Canadians who remember Mr. Hees our sincere condolences.

Mr. Hees was an alumnus of the Royal Military College and-something I would mention in passing as being of interest to the people of Quebec-did battle with George Drew here in this House to get the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean created.

I recall that we found, in researching the history of the creation of that military college, a House of Commons discussion between George Hees and Léon Balcer-the former MP for Trois-Rivières, I might point out-in which Mr. Hees defended the idea of creating a royal military college in Quebec. He felt, based on his experience, that this was extremely important. This was a man with a profound sense of what Canada was, and we will miss him.

To his family, all his friends and those who have had the pleasure of working with Mr. Hees, our sincere condolences.

[Trade, June 17th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister for International Trade. It has to do with the issue of trade and the environment. It comes in the wake of an assessment made by environment groups relative to this government's record on this matter. They described it as probably being the worst administration in the 25 years of Environment Canada.

In its negotiations with Chile, is the government insisting on the Government of Chile signing into a side agreement on the environment as a condition of entering into a trade agreement? Does it intend to respect that commitment?

[The Late William Kempling, May 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my colleagues in the Senate and the hon. member for Saint John, as well as a colleague who worked with him, the hon. member for Beauce, I rise to pay tribute to Hon. William Kempling, an esteemed parliamentarian and a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

Bill Kempling, as we knew him, was an outstanding parliamentarian. He was an exceptional Canadian and a great man.

As I rise today I cannot help but think that the timing of our tribute could not have been better planned. This is the day the House has chosen to commemorate the memory of the men and women who have served in this place from its very beginning in 1867 to this day. If we had to choose one person, one single outstanding example of a member who had served his country, we could not have chosen a better example, a better person than Mr. Bill Kempling.

Mr. Kempling was tested early on in his life. This is not known by a number of people. Very early on in his life he was affected by polio, as were a number of Canadians of his generation. This was a great challenge for him.

I learned last week at the religious service in his honour that he had come to know his present wife Muriel, who is honouring us with her presence in the gallery today, by being introduced by a young boy on the street next to his who equally was suffering from polio. I will refer to this later. However, this would be, as we can imagine, one of the first great tests of this young man's life.

At the age of 19, Mr. Kempling went on to serve as a flight lieutenant in World War II with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He served in Burma in an exceptional capacity. He was part of a group of soldiers who were flown behind enemy lines to raid the installations of the enemy. He flew on these exceptional and very dangerous missions.

He was among a group of soldiers who not only fulfilled the mandate they were given, but also had a great deal of difficulty surviving. One of these encounters resulted in a six month trek through jungles and across mountains before he would finally reach peaceful territory and rejoin forces with the allies. This exceptional and outstanding service in Burma was only a prelude to what he would offer to Canadians in his later life.

In 1964 Mr. Kempling founded a business in Hamilton, Ontario. As a businessman he was also concerned about government, the way it operated and its accountability. He went on to found a truck body equipment association to lobby government so that he could bring about some changes. As his experience increased, so did his dealings with government.

Mr. Kempling had a fervent desire to represent the interests of small business and of the constituents of Burlington. In 1972 he successfully ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate. As a parliamentarian he spent over two decades in the House of Commons. He was considered by many as a father figure in this House.

I first ran into Bill Kempling in 1984 as a member of the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Association. I have a very fond memory of Mr. Kempling carrying the brief on steel and steel issues at a meeting of this association. In my first experiences, I was faced with exceptional parliamentarians from both countries, on the American side very experienced congressmen and senators. I remember being very, very proud of the performance, of the arguments and of the force of knowledge Bill Kempling brought to this file as he defended the interests of Canada's steel industry with our American counterparts. In fact I would venture today that Bill Kempling, with regard to the steel caucus that he formed in this House, has not been replaced since 1993.

His lengthy parliamentary service included chief government whip in 1979 and the chief opposition whip from 1980 to 1983. He was appointed deputy finance critic in 1983. He also served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Immigration. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the President of Treasury Board until his retirement in 1993.

Just recently I had the pleasure of meeting with Bill. He reflected upon how satisfied and proud he was with the more than 20 years he had dedicated to serving the people of Canada. His integrity, generosity and honesty are benchmarks that Canadians will strive to uphold. As a fellow parliamentarian and an upstanding Canadian citizen, Mr. Kempling was a true friend and also true to his word in his forthrightness.

He will be missed by a number of us but we are honoured today by the presence of his wife Muriel who was, in every true sense of the word, his partner through his political career. Everywhere Bill went Muriel would accompany him serving the people of Burlington and the people of Canada. I also want to recognize the service of his sons Angus and Bruce and his daughter Jane who also made a great contribution to his public life.

In my opening remarks I referred to Bill's bout with polio and what a challenge that must have been for this young boy. At his funeral service his brother-in-law told a story of how Bill had been challenged by his parents to walk to the end of their backyard where there were animals. They hoped that this young boy, who they were told may never walk again, could learn how to walk and survive this bout with polio. We can all imagine the young man walking a step and falling, getting up and walking another step and falling and getting up and walking, until the day he reached his objective and his destination.

There was in that episode of his life a great metaphor for all of our lives. Bill Kempling represented the best that this House of Commons has to offer. In the end, I think he offers the best that Canada has to offer to the world.