Jean Chrétien

[Goods And Services Tax, June 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we were very clear in the red book. We said that the system was not functioning well. We forgot to mention in the red book that the Leader of the Opposition voted for the GST. We also forgot to mention in the red book that he promised very solemnly to the Tory Party at that time that he would defend the GST when he got out.

I just want to say that we will consult with the provinces. The Minister of Finance will have his budget next February. We have a lot of time. We will not get excited. We will take all the time to consult with the provinces to find a good solution.

I am still amazed that the Leader of the Opposition is always trying to get at me because I am too nice with the provinces.

[Goods And Services Tax, June 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to consulting the provinces and trying to harmonize taxes with them. I see that the Leader of the Opposition wants me to give him a final answer without consulting anyone at the provincial level. He should make up his mind. Either he wants us to do in all circumstances, as was the case last week, when we were asked to impose a solution concerning interprovincial trade on all provinces and we said, "No, we are taking the time to consult on taxes. We want to harmonize the tax system". I myself talked about it with the Premiers last

December. Everyone wants harmonization. We are unable to give a final answer. If we did, we would not be a good federal government that likes to consult the provinces.

[Goods And Services Tax, June 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the commitments we made in the red book remain our commitments as a government. We asked a committee of the House of Commons with representatives from the three parties to try to come up with a unanimous proposal for us and they could not agree. The Liberal members on the committee considered four or five different proposals for us; they chose one which is not at all binding on the government. But I would like to thank all members who worked on that committee because their work will help us see the issue a little more clearly.

In any case, I repeat that our commitment remains clear, and I would like to let the Leader of the Opposition know that on April 10, 1990, he voted for the GST and when he resigned on May 22 that year, he assured everyone in the Conservative Party that he would continue to defend the policies which he had the privilege to work on with them.

We received the committee report, but we say that the GST must be replaced by another tax, and we clearly showed in the red book the conditions which must be met to satisfy us.

[National Referendum, June 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, when we debated this question under the previous government I was the one who proposed the national referendum which led to the vote on the Charlottetown accord.

There is a law on referendums but it is not an instrument we use for every question. I believe that the fundamental responsibility in democracy lies with members of Parliament to stand and vote representing their people.

If the hon. member does not have enough confidence to use his own judgment and wants a referendum on everything, if he does not have the guts to make up his mind and cannot stand the heat, then he should get out of the kitchen. We are here to make decisions and we will make them.

[Pearson International Airport, June 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the member is attacking a person who cannot defend himself in this House.

Mr. Bob Wright is an extremely competent lawyer who was the head of a commission for the Ontario government and was kept on by the NDP government. He is an extremely honourable person. Yes, he helped me in 1984. Yes, he did what some people do for members in their ridings. When someone makes a contribution to get someone else elected he should not apologize for it. What he is being paid at the moment is less than what I charged when I was a lawyer.

[Ethics, June 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, tax exemptions are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. He is informed of all the suggestions made by ministers and members when he drafts his budget. Consequently, any recommendation in that regard should be made to that minister.

This is therefore a technical issue which will certainly be of interest to the Minister of Finance.

[Ethics, June 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, as regards the Toronto Airport issue, we did what was our duty and what we said we would do: We cancelled the contract. What else can we do? The ethics counsellor has the necessary power to conduct any inquiry which he deems appropriate.

This is a new Parliament and, unless I am mistaken, the legislation provides no compensation for those who paid lobbyists regarding the Pearson Airport contract. Mr. Nixon conducted an investigation and reported his findings within 30 days, which was faster than anything we had seen before. A decision was made. The contract was cancelled, period. The ethics counsellor will fulfill his mandate in compliance with the provisions of the act, which go a lot farther than what was unanimously recommended by the committee last year.

[Interprovincial Trade, June 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am very surprised by the question because in matters of trade, we have our federal jurisdiction. We could impose things, but we do not want to do so. The Constitution clearly states that it is a federal responsibility. While we want to respect the provinces'

opinions, those who favour the status quo in Canada do not want anything to change.

If the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe tells me that I must use federal powers, we can settle this in two minutes. However, I am so nice that the hon. member criticizes the federal Prime Minister for consulting too much. Now that is a switch!

[Interprovincial Trade, June 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we are consulting the provinces. They have their jurisdiction, we have ours and we are working toward an agreement that will satisfy all the parties involved. We strongly favour the elimination of as many interprovincial trade barriers as possible in Canada. Some provincial governments are reluctant, however, and I am surprised that the hon. member from the Bloc Quebecois is blaming the Liberal government for being too nice to the provinces.

[Interprovincial Trade, June 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we are quite confident that an agreement will be reached by June 30 and that it will be substantial.