House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 54% of the vote.
Members Of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act November 21st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, we have replied to that question. I said that there was a commitment made by this party that some elements of the pension plan would be reviewed in legislation that will be introduced in the House of Commons in the next couple of months at the latest.
Members Of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act November 21st, 1994
I have to smile, Mr. Speaker, because some of these members were grandstanding when they offered to cut their pay by 10 per cent. Now they say that they have not received any credit for that so they will stop. I think they are just grandstanding again. The people of Canada understand that that party has been a complete failure since the election.
Members Of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act November 21st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I have always defended the compensation that members of Parliament receive.
I understand the Reform Party believes that they are overpaid. I do not understand why. They look at themselves and they think they are overpaid.
Members Of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act November 21st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, we said clearly in the red book that we would deal with some problems regarding pensions of members of Parliament. We talked about double dipping and the situation that prevails when some retire very early in life and get a very big pension.
These two problems are mentioned in the red book and will be corrected when the President of the Treasury Board will introduce legislation within a month or two in this House.
Matthew Coon Come November 21st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I was saying earlier that there is freedom of speech in Canada as well as in the United States. No one, anywhere, is supposed to have his or her speeches cleared by the ambassador. People make speeches and if the hon. member does not agree with them, he can answer them. The audience of the Cree grand chief is known. The hon. member can write and put the facts straight.
I know that Crees in Canada have many long-held grievances. I was Minister of Indian Affairs and I know that the citizens of the First Nations have been complaining for a long time. They did not always get justice, and they have reason to complain.
As for his choice of words, when I was minister, I was the target of some inflated vocabulary but I am not the one to rescind their freedom of expression.
Matthew Coon Come November 21st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I did not read this speech by the chief of the Crees of New Quebec. I believe that it is not the government's role to go and make speeches whenever someone says something we do not quite agree with.
This Cree chief makes speeches; he has opinions and he expresses them. This does not mean that we must agree with him. In a country where freedom of speech exists, all citizens are entitled to express their own point of view. When someone says things with which the Bloc Quebecois does not agree, it can respond. It has the right to do so. If the Liberals do not agree, they can do the same.
International Trade November 21st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is always looking at our country's needs everwhere in the world. Of course with the restriction that every department is facing at this time there is a review of all the posts that are open. We will keep those that are absolutely needed in accordance with the amount of money we can spend.
There is no such proposition whereby we want to reduce the level of trade with the United States. At the same time we want to increase trade with the Pacific rim. Our economy will benefit through good trade relations with the United States and better relations than now with the Pacific where the growth and potential is at this time.
International Trade November 21st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we signed NAFTA, and I have had discussions with, for instance, the President of Chile and the President of Mexico, and in those discussions we supported the inclusion of Chile in NAFTA, because we believe it is important
to have more than just three countries in this association, and we will definitely talk about this at the summit next month in Miami.
International Trade November 21st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, certainly not. However, everyone realizes that the Pacific is becoming increasingly important. At the APEC Conference held in Jakarta, where the United States and Canada were represented, everyone was in favour of free trade in that area, because that is where the world's population and economic growth are concentrated. And that is why Canada wants to participate. In fact, the Americans do as well. This will not affect our trade relations with the United States. There are considerable opportunities there for Canadians and Canadian industry. I think this was a joint decision by all Canadians, since nine Premiers representing three political parties were there, and they all agreed with our decision to take advantage of expanding markets in the Pacific to create jobs in Canada.
Guidelines November 2nd, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I made a speech on Monday and I explained the guidelines, the distinction between the two. I have asked everybody to table the letters and so on.
I think the people of Canada think the members of the Reform Party are just trying to score some political points because they cannot attack the government on its economic policy. They cannot attack the government on the performance of the economy. They cannot attack the government because unemployment is down. They cannot attack the government because the mood of the country is much better than it was a year ago.