House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 54% of the vote.
Saskatchewan Francophones March 21st, 1996
Mr. Speaker, of course, I will do everything I can to help them, I always do. But if the hon. member is so worried about the future of French speaking Canadians outside Quebec, she should realize that the best way to help them is to keep all French speaking Canadians within a united Canada and not to divide them. If they are divided, some will perish.
Immigration March 21st, 1996
Mr. Speaker, in order to achieve this great unity they must have reverted to caning. It had a great effect. It was surprising to all of us to see the hon. member for Wild Rose hugging the member from out west. What the hon. member for Wild Rose did was a bit silly.
We have very good guidelines for ministers. They run their departments and they use their best judgment.
Immigration March 21st, 1996
Mr. Speaker, coming from the Reform Party, it should consult with its members for Calgary Centre and Calgary Southeast.
I said yesterday, and I repeat today, that the minister made a decision after she became minister and decided not to proceed with the distribution of the pamphlet. That was her privilege and her right. It was the privilege and the right of the minister to work on that.
Some people claim he made too many references to the red book but really the red book is the program of the Liberal Party. If the Reform Party does not understand that, the Government of Canada now is formed by the Liberal Party.
When we talk about the success of the Government of Canada we talk about the success of the Liberal Party. They are together.
Goods And Services Tax March 21st, 1996
Mr. Speaker, I think that if he translates page 22 of the red book into French, he will know what we said.
Goods And Services Tax March 21st, 1996
Mr. Speaker, I know why. How many flip-flops has the leader of the Reform Party made on that over the last few years?
If the hon. member were to read the red book on page 22 he would have his answer.
Taxation March 21st, 1996
Mr. Speaker, I find it totally deplorable that the official opposition's finance critic does not have enough confidence in himself and his team to defend his views.
I know full well that Liberal members on the committee will take whatever action is necessary to protect the interests of the most vulnerable in our society, as the Liberal Party has done throughout its history.
Taxation March 21st, 1996
Mr. Speaker, any tax reform would lead to the introduction of a bill in the House of Commons, which then decides if the bill is good or bad. Whether or not there is a roving commission, what counts is the bill that comes before Parliament.
So far, the Minister of Finance has shown that he can bring down very balanced budgets, from which he himself has eliminated a considerable number of tax loopholes, including family trusts, an issue that was raised by the hon. member. I think that the method used by Canada's Minister of Finance is quite effective.
As I was saying earlier, Canadian interest rates have dropped by three points in the last year. Our interest rates are now lower than those in the U.S. Everyone has their own way of doing things, but I am quite satisfied with the method that has been used so far by Canada's Minister of Finance.
The Economy March 21st, 1996
Mr. Speaker, the leader of the third party is getting up for his fourth strike.
We are ahead. We started two and a half years ago and we are ahead of our program. Interest rates will recede again. At this moment they are below the interest rates of the United States. Interest rates in Canada have dropped three points in the last 12 months. We managed to do that while making sure that the people who are the weakest in Canadian society were not the ones who paid the price.
The Economy March 21st, 1996
Mr. Speaker, we are way ahead today. We are also way ahead of the Ontario government. We have managed to do that in a civilized way, in the Liberal way. It will not be by slashing and burning or by not caring whether people are suffering in our society like the Reform Party would do.
The Economy March 21st, 1996
Mr. Speaker, we have a program which is very well known. We said that this year we will be at 3 per cent of the GDP and we will meet that target. The Minister of Finance set another target of 2 per cent for next year and again we will meet that target.
People are so impressed by the way we are managing the situation that today Canada's interest rates are lower than those in the United States. With the way it is being managed, interest rates have gone down by more than 3 points in one year.
I am delighted with the decision yesterday in Quebec about setting the goal of reducing its deficit. Ours is going down. We will be at 2 per cent. The most important thing is to have a realistic target and meet it.
The Gingrich friends of those in the third party have passed about six bills in the United States about a target and they never met it. Here, we have a short term target that is met. The business community is applauding.