Paul Martin

[Equalization Payments, May 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, in September, at the time of the signing of the accord with the provinces, the Prime Minister agreed to lift the cap for one year. I am pleased to say that the government has carried through on that commitment of the Prime Minister.

The hon. member also ought to know that equalization is at an all time high. Equalization was one of the few programs that was not cut in 1995, recognizing the constitutional, social and economic responsibilities the Canadian government has to the provinces. Equalization has grown consistently ever since the government took office and it is now at an all time high.

[The Economy, May 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the Washington consensus in place for a number of years now states that economic growth is a prerequisite to poverty reduction in the poorest of the poor countries. We agree with that, but as well we believe we must go beyond the Washington consensus.

Industrialized countries must recognize that health care, education, a quality environment, investing in the young and protecting the aged are also essential constituents if poverty reduction is to occur. That is known as the Montreal consensus.

I am pleased to say that it was endorsed yesterday at the United Nations, at the economic and social committee.

[Highways, May 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member ought to know that the Canadian government receives tax revenues from a multitude of sources and those revenues are then invested. They have been invested heavily in the British Columbia health care system. They have been invested heavily in the British Columbia education system. They have been invested heavily in research and development throughout British Columbia.

The federal government is working in partnership with the people of British Columbia to improve the quality of life of the people of British Columbia.

[Tax Treaties, April 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has played and continues to play a lead role within the OECD.

In this connection, as the hon. member must be aware, there is real agreement between all countries involved, that is to say all of them are going to take multilateral action, not unilateral. That is the only way to solve the problem.

[Post-Secondary Education, April 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely right. All members on this side of the House share the recognition that in the knowledge economy, knowledge and skills are key. That is why in the 1998 budget we put over $7 billion into post-secondary education.

I could go through the list of measures about everything from registered education savings plans to $3,000 grants to help single parents return to school, to the millennium scholarship fund and to the amount of money we have put into research and development.

All these are part of a very comprehensive package on behalf of the Canadian government to essentially help Canadians thrive in the knowledge economy.

[The Economy, April 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it is very hard to deal with a firm that spends most of its research money on spies and not doing basic economic research. The fact is that he is wrong in terms of growth. If he looks at the job creation rates, last month our job creation numbers were substantially higher than any economist expected across North America.

[The Economy, April 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult to understand the Alice in Wonderland from which the Alliance members happen to come. The fact is that their numbers are wrong. Our growth rates compare very favourably with those in the United States.

I will go back. I raised this the other day in terms of legislated debt paydown. The problem with it is that as soon as governments get into trouble they amend it. They welsh on the deal. If the member wants an example all he has to do is go back and take a look at what the Leader of the Opposition did when he was the treasurer of Alberta. Six months after he brought in legislated paydown he welshed on the deal.

[The Economy, April 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly do not know where the hon. member is getting his information. The chief economist of the IMF has said that Canada's tax cuts were fortuitous and very well timed. The chief economist also said that the policy actions taken by the government are exactly what were required. The chief economist also pointed out that the amount of stimulus in our economy is virtually double that of any other major economy.

What economists around the world are saying is that the policy actions that have been taken by the government are exactly the actions that were required.

[The Economy, April 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the situation is very clear.

But it must be said that the current growth figure in the United States is much higher than what economists expected.

We can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel, but this is not to say that there is not a slowdown in the United States that is affecting us.

This is why our efforts to reduce taxes for instance are worth mentioning. Our figures in relation to debt reduction are very impressive.

Again, the job creation rate in Canada is twice that of the United States.

[The Economy, April 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that whenever any job is lost in Canada it is of great concern to the government in terms of the families involved.

At the same time, I think we need to recognize that we are going through a situation where there is extreme volatility. There has been a slow down in the United States and we are all aware of the situation in Japan. Those things will have an effect in Canada.

It is important, when we look at the job numbers, that we understand, for instance, that in the last eight months Canada has had twice the amount of job creation as the United States, which means that we are coming through this well. That does not mean that we are not very concerned about any job loss.