Jean Chrétien

[Cigarette Smuggling, February 10th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that Quebec is still part of Canada.

I know they will remain in Canada for a long time.

[Cigarette Smuggling, February 10th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, there is no need to restore the credibility of a minister who is not afraid to tell the truth to other ministers and to the people of Canada.

[Cigarette Smuggling, February 10th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, they met yesterday with the Solicitor General and they had a very good meeting. They are preoccupied, like everyone in the House, with making sure that the law is respected. They want us to work with them in order to make sure that the law will be respected by everyone without causing too much of a problem on the reserves. It is complicated for them because they are there and it is happening in front of their eyes. They just want to make sure that the results are good for us and for them.

I think that the meeting they had yesterday with the minister was very good. This afternoon the minister will meet with Ovide Mercredi. I know that many leaders have been in touch with the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. We are consulting with them. We have to make sure that smuggling is eliminated in every part of Canada. They know and understand that.

[Cigarette Smuggling, February 10th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we have a national program to make sure that the smuggling of cigarettes no longer exists in Canada.

Under this program we have made exactly the same offer to all provincial governments. They will decide if they want to participate, yes or no.

I said in the House that we have to proceed with a reduction in taxation at the request of the head of the RCMP. I took that advice very seriously and I hope that the premiers will look at it very seriously as well.

As everybody knows, cigarettes are smuggled everywhere into Canada, mainly in Quebec and Ontario, certainly more than in the west. There were, for example, some arrests this week in Edmonton and in B.C. and they are spreading. We want to kill the disease. We want the law to be respected by everybody in the land. I hope that the provincial governments will realize that the

goal of the government is to have the law respected and to ensure that all citizens are treated equally.

[Equalization Payments, February 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the formula is a very complex one and every component is incorporated. If we extract one we can come to all sorts of conclusions.

This system has been established for a long time and it is now guaranteed in the Constitution.

[Cigarette Taxes, February 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I said in the House yesterday that the person who convinced me about the reduction of the tax was the head of the RCMP of Canada, who said that if we want really to cure the problem quickly we have no choice but to take the wind out of these sails.

I have done it. To try to make it a question of Quebec and the rest of Canada is not right. The problem is in Ontario which has a premier who wants to keep his head in the sand and not face reality.

[Cigarette Taxes, February 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I must be doing something right when I have the tobacco companies mad at me as well as the NDP in Ontario.

I am very surprised at the statement of the hon. member because Premier Rae knows the truth. On December 13 we started to discuss matters with provincial officials in Ontario and Quebec. I have spoken with Mr. Rae many times. I talked with him again on the telephone on Friday night. On Sunday he sent his officials, led by his chief of staff, Mr. Agnew. They spent Sunday with Mr. Shortliffe, people from my office, people from the police and so on. They knew all the facts, the whole package. We discussed what should be and what should not be in the package.

To go on TV last night and say that we had made a deal without talking to them I think was very cheap politics.

[Fight Against Smuggling, February 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to point out to the House that the RCMP met last Friday with the three chiefs in question. They held rather lengthy and substantive talks, the outcome of which was reported that very same evening on television. The Minister of Indian Affairs is still in contact with them and today, they will have a meeting with the Solicitor General who is responsible for the RCMP. Therefore, I do not think that my presence would help matters any further.

I believe that our ministers are capable of carrying out their duties and that the Prime Minister must intervene only when he has no other choice. Right now I think that the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs and the Solicitor General are doing an excellent job.

[Cigarette Smuggling, February 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, this is exactly what I have said for two weeks and I will repeat it. The law of Canada will apply in every part of the land.

[Deficit, February 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member should be a little more patient. He will get his answer in a few weeks when the finance minister tables his budget.