Jean Chrétien

[Government Finances, October 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the question put by the Leader of the Opposition is a very broad one. He is talking about fat and unconscionable spending, without being more specific, which is exactly what the Minister of Finance is being now. He is talking to committee members. As for family trusts, the problem, as suggested by the Finance critic for the Bloc Quebecois, was referred to the committee that is looking into the matter right now, to see if family trusts are paying the taxes they should be paying. We will act on the committee's recommendations as soon as the committee has finished its work.

[Government Finances, October 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we brought down a budget in February, and we predicted a deficit of $39.7 billion. We are confident that at the end of the year, we will be below that level.

At the time, we also predicted that the deficit would be around $32 billion at the end of the second year and would drop to $25 billion-the level required to meet our objective of 3 per cent-by the end of the third year. We said, I said so myself as did the Minister of Finance, that we would do what it takes to meet our objectives.

[Government Finances, October 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, when you are $500 billion in debt, you have a serious problem. That is what the Minister of Finance said yesterday, and we are taking steps to remedy the situation by reducing the annual deficit. The objective we clearly stated in our campaign platform was to bring the deficit down to 3 per cent of GDP after three years. We will do what it takes to get there.

[Social Program Reform, October 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for confirming what Mr. Parizeau said. They want the status quo, they do not want changes. They do not want the well-being of Canadians, they do not want them to regain their dignity by working. They have only one obsession, which is their petty constitutional fight for the separation of Quebec, but they do not even have the courage to say to Quebecers that they are separatists.

They invent words like "souverainiste", which is not even in the French dictionary. They sometimes use the word "indépendantiste", and the first time this word appeared in the dictionary, it said that it was a regional term meaning Quebec separatist.

[Social Program Reform, October 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should have listened to what the minister said. He referred to a series of statements in this paper. It is clearly stated, on page 27, that we are committed to respect the Constitution. We are proposing, on page 40, a transfer of money and responsibility for manpower to provinces. We are proposing, on page 62, the possibility for provinces to opt out in relation to education and so on.

However, the members opposite are stuck in the rut of their doctrine. Besides, last week, the head of the government of Quebec, Mr. Parizeau, in answer to a journalist's question-and that is why the Opposition is taking this approach-stated, and I am sorry to quote him in English:

But I mean after all we are not there to have the system operate as smoothly as possible. We are there to get out of this system.

The people across the way accuse us of unwillingness to co-operate, but it is the separatist leader of Quebec who stated that they do not want to have anything to do with the federal government.

As for us, what we want to do with this reform is give to all Canadians and to the workers, including those of Quebec, the dignity that comes with a job. People are tired of hearing about separation and Constitution. What they want is jobs, dignity, training and education. And we will help them.

[Social Program Reform, October 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is a very important document. The minister is addressing a fundamental problem in our society. We have had social programs that have served us well until now. However, as the minister explained in his speech this morning, the context is completely different today.

The minister was not afraid to tackle the issue and go to the bottom of things. But we do not want to impose all the solutions. The minister has offered several alternatives. We will discuss these alternatives with the provinces and with all those interested in taking part in these discussions, and we will introduce legislation next year.

As for the fiscal parameters, everybody knows that we have made a clear commitment to reduce our country's deficit to 3 per cent of the GDP by the end of the third year. And as the minister was saying, all the departments are encouraged to make cuts in order to help us reach our goal as easily as possible, without destroying the good things that we have now.

[Social Program Reform, October 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, earlier the minister explained very clearly the government's position. In the budget brought down by the Minister of Finance, we indicated, as the minister mentioned a while ago, that we would not cut transfers to provinces but that we would freeze them for a year. We passed unemployment legislation that led to reductions. That is the context in which these discussions with the public will take place.

As for the document to which the hon. member is referring, it is not a Cabinet document, but rather an internal memo from a particular department. I receive many documents of this nature every day; very often, several of them end up in the waste paper basket.

[Social Security Programs, October 6th, 1994]

We have signed an agreement with every one of them but one.

[Social Security Programs, October 6th, 1994]

I have been around for 30 years.

[José Mendoza, October 5th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we have laws in this land and we have a Charter of Rights and Freedoms that protects the citizens of Canada and the people who are legally in Canada. We respect the law.

This man is not legally in Canada at this moment. He will be found. We have asked the police to find him. We have issued a warrant for his arrest across the country. When he is arrested due process of law will follow.