Paul Martin

[Women's March, October 4th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I consider the hon. member to be making representation with her question. It was well put, and we will give it due consideration.

[Women's March, October 4th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, first let me say there is no doubt this is a very important measure, and we support it 100%.

Next, it may be seen from past budgets that we have always taken the needs of women into account, and we certainly intend to do so in the future.

[Budget Surpluses, October 4th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the answer I gave last week is based on our budget, which cut taxes.

The answer I gave last week is entirely true, which is to say that, according to our forecasts, a family earning $35,000 will not pay any net taxes to the federal government.

[Budget Surpluses, October 4th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, we have always said that our priority was to cut personal taxes, with priority going to middle and low income earners.

When it comes time to bring down a budget, I assure members that I will do so here in the House, not in an airplane or bus, as the leader of the Canadian Alliance suggested.

[Budget Surpluses, October 4th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I just said that a consensus will be reached based on the projections of the economists. These projections are not yet ready. As soon as they are, we will present them.

That being said, the reason for these surpluses is certainly our economic growth, which is one of the strongest in the world, our job creation, which is the strongest in the world, and the economy in general, which is doing very well in our country.

[Budget Surpluses, October 4th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, we had preliminary discussions with the economists, but the Bloc Quebecois leader must know that there are other meetings to come. Once all these meetings have taken place and the economists have completed their work, because it is their projections, we will present these projections.

[Foreign Affairs, September 27th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member of all of the members in the opposition ought to understand that this was a celebration. It was a celebration by Canadians who had come together to celebrate their new year. That is the kind of people who were there. The Prime Minister has asked if there are specific allegations against people who were at that meeting then why does the member not say who they are.

Let me simply say that the Leader of the Opposition says that he is the new sheriff in town. It sounds to me like he is trying to organize a lynch mob.

[Foreign Affairs, September 27th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has said, there were over 25 elected politicians there. There were representatives of the Harris government. There were representatives of Toronto city hall. There was the managing editor of the Toronto Sun as well.

For the member's information, this minister and this government do not take orders from the U.S. State Department.

[Foreign Affairs, September 27th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, what I am concerned about is the sense of values that is being demonstrated by the official opposition.

Let us make it very clear, and I do not believe I am only speaking for the government but I am speaking for all Canadians, that there are not two kinds of citizenship in this country. When people land upon our shores they are entitled to celebrate their heritage and they are equal Canadians with all of us.

[Foreign Affairs, September 27th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the young woman at this dinner there were doctors, there were lawyers, there were business people, there were teachers, and there were educators who had come together to celebrate their new year.

All of us on this side of the House have attended group festivities and celebrations of people from other parts of the world where there are also problems, but never once has it occurred to any Canadian to simply make the allegation that because in somebody's country there is a problem these people are not Canadians but these people are terrorists.