Judy Sgro

[Supply, February 28th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I stand corrected. The new minister has clearly been listening with respect to the issues. He has made changes to enable us to meet the demands on us and go forward on the issues. I am pleased the government is responding to the pressures it is hearing about from cities regarding their need for help in a variety of forms.

I will speak to the issue of child poverty. Our commitment to children has been reaffirmed in every speech from the throne since the National Children's Agenda was announced in 1997. In the 2001 Speech from the Throne the government challenged Canadians, stating:

Now Canadians must undertake another national project—to ensure that no Canadian child suffers the debilitating effects of poverty.

To this end we have invested $2.2 billion in the Early Childhood Development initiative which increased the child care expense deduction and the Canada Child Tax Benefit.

We are continuing our commitment to our country, our cities and our citizens. We are continuing to look for solutions to all the problems. Finding answers will not be easy. However as true Canadians who care about the issues we are setting out to find new ways of dealing with our cities and the stresses they are under, all the while respecting the constitution and working with our partners to achieve our goals.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to the issue today. We will go forward and build a country of which we can all be proud

[Supply, February 28th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to resume debate on the New Democrat Party's 12 point solution to save Canada. As I indicated before, I am quite confident Canada does not need to be saved because of the work our party has done in a variety of areas.

One area I have been working on at the request of our Prime Minister concerns our red book commitment to strengthening our cities. We recognize the challenges cities face given amalgamation. Cities throughout the country have been under many pressures. We all recognize that cities are the front line in delivering a variety of necessary services. They are struggling to meet those needs. We are trying to sort out where we can fit in and be of assistance.

One of the things that has clearly emerged in our travels has been what a great country we have. People are proud to be Canadian. The talent we have in Canada makes us all proud to live in such a great country.

Along with other members of our task force we have established a dialogue with professionals et cetera throughout the country to talk about where the weaknesses and opportunities are. A variety of areas have challenges in them. I hope that through co-operation with governments and private industry we will meet the challenges before us when it comes to providing housing, transit and infrastructure. A variety of issues clearly need to be addressed in Canada. It provides a great opportunity for us to continue our work and look for opportunities to work in partnership with others.

When urban regions undergo stresses and strains as they do with amalgamation it puts enormous responsibility on them to deal with complex situations. They often cannot do it on their own and need the support of partners in government. In our role of working to see how we can strengthen our urban regions the opportunity presents itself to work with all parties involved to solve the problems cities are experiencing.

I will talk about the infrastructure needs of our cities. In Budget 2000 we committed $2.65 billion to infrastructure. More than $2 billion of it will go to municipalities for water, sewer systems and so on. These are major commitments that cost millions of dollars. Given the pressures cities are under it is difficult for them to do these things without partners coming to the table to help them.

The things we have done as a government clearly indicate our commitment to working with municipalities. The Kyoto targets are another example. With the consultations that are going on it will be our urban regions that have the opportunity to see them implemented.

There is also the issue of amateur sports. We were proud that the $82 million we invested in amateur sports spelled out victory last weekend when Canada took home 17 medals. It shows the investment we are making in our young people, an investment that will ensure we have strong, dynamic urban regions and can go forward and build the country in a way we are proud of.

Immigration is another important issue for our urban regions. It has always been at the heart of Canada's social, cultural and economic fabric. Canada is a nation of immigrants. It is a destination of choice for people seeking a new and better life. This has been going on for more than 300 years. It is what built our country. The new immigration and refugee protection act would enshrine the principles of generosity and compassion toward immigrants and refugees while ensuring the security of Canadians.

One issue that has arisen is the need for skilled workers in Canada. We need skilled workers to continue to build apartments, industries, factories and so on.

We must also do what we can to meet the needs of an aging population.

I was pleased to see that one of the first things Minister Coderre has done is change the point system with respect to--

[Supply, February 28th, 2002]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to respond to the NDP's 12 point program.

It is quite clear when it talks about saving Canada that it was the Liberal government elected in 1993 that approached its avenues to do exactly that and it started out by sending the Mulroney government packing. It was the Liberal government and the hard work of all Canadians that saved Canada from the $42 billion budget deficit that was left by the Tory government which included the current leader of the fifth party in the House today.

We saved billions of dollars in interest payments. With budget 2001 we brought down our fifth balanced budget, a first in 50 years. That is a major accomplishment for any government. We are forecasting balanced budgets or better for the two following years through to 2004. Canada will be the only G-7 nation to balance its books this year. Again, these are major accomplishments.

We made sure Canadians could save and take home more of their income. Canada has implemented the largest tax cut in its history, through which personal income taxes would fall on average by 35% for families with children.

In 2000 the Government of Canada announced that the general corporate tax rate would be reduced from 28% to 21% by 2004. Corporate tax rates would fall about 5% below the average of U.S. rates.

When we talk about who is saving Canada the Liberal Party of Canada and the present course that we are on would indicate how we propose to save Canada and ensure that we have the right plan, agenda and vision.

In particular to the 12 point plan to save Canada which is the new NDP platform I would like to speak about number 8 which talks about strengthening Canadian communities.

In our red book and in the throne speech we talked about establishing a dialogue with urban regions to look at how we could work better as a federal government with our cities. Cities are the product of the provincial governments and not directly under the responsibility of the federal government. As a federal government we are looking for a role to play. We established a dialogue. The Prime Minister established the urban caucus task force in May of last year made up of a cross-section of members of our party throughout the country.

We have toured eight specific urban regions. We have consulted with over 400 people. We have talked to academics, to professionals and many people about what the role of the federal government should be when it comes to our urban regions. Clearly this country is truly blessed with having such fine people in it, people who are so committed to this country that makes us all very proud to be Canadians.

[2002 Winter Olympics, February 27th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, millions of Canadians followed our Olympic athletes on their road to gold. Thanks to the wonderful power of TV and radio, Canadians from coast to coast watched and listened as the CBC broadcast the thrilling performance of these extraordinary Olympians.

Our public broadcasting network deserves the highest accolades for its outstanding coverage. The CBC gave us a dazzling show of athletes performing at their finest hour, and by doing so drew the country together in a spirit of passion and national pride. It was a special time for all of us.

I congratulate the producers, the directors, the technicians and the announcers who made it all possible, who brought the Olympic Winter Games into our homes and entrenched them into our hearts. Just as we have every reason to be proud of our athletes, so too we take pride in the CBC which truly showed us what Canada is all about and what we are made of. I thank the CBC.

[World Trade Organization, February 20th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to announce that Sergio Marchi, Canada's ambassador to the World Trade Organization, has been chosen as the new chair of the general council of the WTO. The general council will oversee the work of all the various bodies of the WTO, including trade negotiations launched in Doha last November.

Progress on these negotiations promises significant benefits for Canada with opportunities in agriculture as well as goods and service exporters. These negotiations are also vital for the future of developing countries and will contribute to their economic growth and reduction of poverty.

By appointing Sergio Marchi as head of the general council the WTO is demonstrating a strong vote of confidence for Canadian leadership and for Canada's record of trade diplomacy.

On behalf of all members of the House I congratulate Mr. Marchi on his appointment. He has earned the respect and trust from WTO members to move these negotiations forward and we wish him well in his new position.

[Golden Jubilee, February 6th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, today, February 6, marks the 50th anniversary, the Golden Jubilee, of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the Throne, a significant event for Canada.

It was 50 years ago today that Princess Elizabeth became Queen of Canada, and a relationship with our country that was already close and personal became one of mutual devotion; it is a relationship that continues.

Over the past 50 years our country has developed into the modern and cosmopolitan Canada of today, and Her Majesty has been present for many of our defining moments and has championed our most cherished Canadian values.

All Canadians have been invited, by proclamation dated February 6, 2002, to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Her Majesty's immeasurable devotion, Her dignity, Her presence and Her sense of duty, and to reflect upon the myriad of accomplishments of Canadians over the past 50 years.

Here is to many more years and a future abounding with hope and possibility.

[Research and Development, January 30th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of HRDC.

The government indicated in its December 2001 budget and in its throne speech its commitment to promoting the social development agenda in Canada.

Since our government recognizes the importance of social research and developing social policies, what is the government planning to do to ensure that this research is promoted throughout Canada and the world?

[The Budget, December 11th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, one thing which gave me great happiness yesterday was when I turned to page 125 of the budget. It talks about a brand new program of $2 billion as one example. It talks about the issue of brown fields. These were recommendations that the task force made to the Minister of Finance. They were specifically in a budget far ahead of the time I would have expected them to be there. It is certainly clear to me that the government is listening and responding.

[The Budget, December 11th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the transport committee at one point in its deliberations had recommended that it was a good idea to create the foundation. The big advantage of creating the foundation is that it will lever other money. It is hoped that the $2 billion we are putting place very quickly could end up being $4 billion, $6 billion or $8 billion that could be used to improve the infrastructure.

[The Budget, December 11th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the issue of fuel taxes is something we talked a lot about when doing our work with the urban regions. People have been pointing out that issue. They think that getting four cents of the fuel tax would be very helpful. If we transfer $100 million but then decide to only transfer $60 million and give back four cents on the fuel tax, at the end of the day I am not sure that the province is that much farther ahead.

The issue is to keep the flexibility in government. When we see the need, the government can shift the money around as the need arises. To recognize and deal with all the pressures needs government flexibility.