Jim Flaherty

[Transfer Payments, November 28th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the member is quite right that it is important that the fiscal balance be addressed. Part of the way to do that is to make sure, as we set out in “Advantage Canada”, that we address the issues of stable long term funding, predictable funding for post-secondary education, and stable long term funding for infrastructure, which is vitally important. Nancy Hughes Anthony of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said that the “Advantage Canada” plan is a great road map. It has all the elements of the things we need to do and we intend to do them.

[Transfer Payments, November 28th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, 8 out of 10 provinces are in surplus. The total surplus of the provinces in the past year is larger than the surplus was for the Government of Canada at $13.2 billion. That is a surplus that we used to pay down the public debt.

Having said that, we know that we are on track with respect to the issues of equalization and fiscal balance. We are on track to address them in the coming year in budget 2007. It was an important part of the plan that we set forth in budget 2006.

[The Economy, November 28th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, according to the international gold standard of net debt, by the year 2021 the net debt of the governments of Canada will have been eliminated.

I am not surprised to hear that sort of thing when I see that the former minister of finance of the party opposite is supporting a fellow named Rae, who increased the public debt in the province of Ontario 113% when he was the premier of Ontario, to the point where the people of Ontario were paying $1 million an hour in interest when he left office.

[The Economy, November 28th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, as I explained to the House yesterday and to my friend opposite, the net debt is the balance of the liabilities with the resources of the country, and we are going to accomplish that by 2021.

This is an important national goal for Canada, for all of Canada's governments, to fight back against the accumulation of debt that has happened in the past generation in Canada. Within half a generation, within 15 years, we as Canadians can eliminate our net national debt, and we are going to do it.

[Ways and Means, November 27th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1), I wish to table a notice of ways and means motion to amend the Excise Tax Act, the Excise Act, 2001 and the Air Travellers Security Charge Act, and to make related amendments to other acts.

I ask that an order of the day be designated for consideration of the motion.

[Infrastructure, November 27th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I regret the member's ideological opposition to public private partnerships, but they are a way of financing and a way of transferring risk that sometimes works well on large public projects. It has been done with respect to two hospitals in the province of Ontario by the Liberal government of the province of Ontario and they are being pursued with roads and bridges, and other initiatives by the Liberal government of the province of British Columbia.

[Infrastructure, November 27th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, so that the member is clear in what is being proposed, in projects of national economic significance the proponents will be asked to consider public private partnerships which have been done around the world and are being done now in British Columbia, Ontario and other places in Canada. This is an obligation to consider an option in the best interests of the best financing available for large public projects in Canada.

[The Economy, November 27th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, as I am sure the member opposite knows, the Minister of Industry has that power under the Foreign Investment Review Act to ensure the best interests of Canada and the net interests of Canada. It is important that we protect Canada and we protect Canada's assets in certain circumstances where foreign state controlled interests might be involved.

[The Economy, November 27th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, we are a trading nation. We are one of the great trading nations of the world and we intend to continue that practice. There are foreign investment reviews as the member opposite knows. There is concern from time to time, were it to happen, that a state controlled enterprise would be interested in acquiring assets in Canada. That is something that we would review in the normal course.

[The Economy, November 27th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the member, I am sure, has forgotten, and that must be why. He should look at page 67 of his fiscal update last year to see how he used net debt at that time.

On tax reduction, we will guarantee tax reductions each and every year going forward. About his purported tax reductions, I do not know if that was budget number one, or the budget that was done in the hotel room in Toronto with the NDP, or the wish list of last November.

The member should relax. He is going to hurt himself.