House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 48% of the vote.
Taxation June 13th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member would see us go beyond what is the largest tax cut in Canadian history.
The fact is that throughout this whole session virtually every spending measure that has been recommended has come from the Alliance. The Alliance has essentially said that it wants the government to spend massively and yet it wants us to cut taxes. That would put us into deficit. Is that the Alliance's official position?
The Economy June 13th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I have a news flash for the finance critic: The Internet is in fact a product of the Pentagon. The last time I looked at the Pentagon, it was part of the U.S. government. It is a fact.
The Economy June 13th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member ought to know that the spending in this area will be within our projections and will be well controlled.
It is amazing to hear the dinosaur party opposing all those things that are modern, all those thing that will enable the Canadian government to better serve their people and all those things that will make the Canadian economy the most modern in the world.
The Economy June 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I am not surprised at the Alliance, but I might have expected something better from the hon. member for Kings—Hants. He knows that the 2.4% came from the consensus of 19 economists, and a number of them were much higher.
Following that we then met with the chief economists of four major economic projecting firms and the chief economists of the major Canadian banks. In all cases they said we were not in a recession, as did the article this morning.
The Economy June 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I have stated that the government will make a decision as to when a budget is required, depending upon the circumstances.
In the meantime, extensive consultations are going on with the finance committee and indeed with the minister himself going across the country, and those will continue.
The Economy June 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, what I am happy about is the fact that Canadians' real disposable incomes are now at a record level. I am happy about the fact that the Canadian economy is creating jobs. I am happy about the fact that it is projected that the Canadian economy will have one of the strongest growth rates of any of the economies of the world.
If the hon. member wants to see us cut taxes, why did he take such pride a couple of months ago in stating that he specifically voted against the government's tax cuts?
The Economy June 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, given the fact that it is the same preamble, let me give the hon. member exactly the same answer in case he missed it.
The fact is that the chief economist of the Rotman School of Management has given the numbers on why we are doing very well. The majority of economists, as referred to in that article, have said that we are not in a recession. In fact one economist does not a recession make and the hon. member ought to stop fearmongering.
The Economy June 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition should look at what we just did.
Not only did we lower the Canadian debt by a record $33 billion over a four year period, including $15 billion just for last year, but at the same time we helped our economy with $17 billion in tax reductions and $7 billion in spending. This far exceeds what the Americans have done.
The Economy June 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. members knows, in the October statement we brought down the largest tax cuts in Canadian history.
The hon. member ought to know that in the spring update we announced the largest debt reduction in Canadian history.
If the hon. member wants to take a look at the numbers what he can see is that while Canada is currently creating employment, the United States is losing employment.
The fact is that we are weathering the storm, and those are the real facts.
The Economy June 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, perhaps it is too much to ask the research department of the Canadian Alliance to go beyond the National Post , but rather than simply reading the headlines, at least members opposite ought to read the article. The article states that Canadian indicators remain healthy, that employment levels are stable, that trade continues to be standard, that tax is steady and that tax rates and interest rates have fallen.
I just do not see the weakness that would lead to a recession. Peter Duncan from the Rotman School of Management in the very same article.