Paul Martin

[The Budget, February 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we brought in tax relief in the last budget. We are going to bring in tax relief in this budget.

On the other hand, I can understand that this member might have missed it. He might have slept through the budget.

[The Budget, February 9th, 1999]

Wait for the budget.

[Taxation, February 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, either the Reform program and those tax cuts are real, in which case there are spending cuts that will justify them, or the numbers are pulled out of thin air.

The only issue now before the Canadian people is do Reformers have some kind of policy or are they nothing but windbags?

[Taxation, February 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, in order to have a legitimate debate over tax policy it is important for each political party to lay down its assumptions.

In the budget next week we will do ours as we did ours in the last budget where we cut $7 billion.

The Reform Party has said it will taxes substantially but it has not said where it will find the spending cuts to pay for those tax cuts. The Reform Party owes it to the Canadian people to basically set out its agenda. Whether it is hidden or not it should now see the light of day.

[Taxation, February 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member raised the spectre of cuts to health care.

I would ask him to do two things. First, I would ask him to wait for the budget next Tuesday.

Second, I would ask him to answer the question that was put to him yesterday. Where is he going to find the $7 billion to $16 billion in cuts his party is advocating as a result of its tax package? How will it justify this and when will it tell Canadians it wants to cut pensions, equalization and health care? It wants to slash the fabric of the country. That is its agenda.

[Taxation, February 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that government revenues from personal income taxes have increased. It has done so because over the course of the last 12 months there have been 526,000 new jobs created. That why it has happened. Over the course of the last year there have been over 200,000 new jobs created for young Canadians, 44,000 in the last month. The Canadian economy is clicking on all cylinders and it is because the Canadian private sector is operating in a climate of—

[Taxation, February 8th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, once again the hon. member is trying to jump the gun on next week's budget, but we can look at last year's budget which exempted 400,000 Canadians from paying taxes.

At the same time, my hon. colleague introduced the national child benefit, which put $1.8 billion into the hands of the least well-off families in our country.

[Taxation, February 8th, 1999]

Again I go back, Mr. Speaker. In terms of intelligent debate in the country and in terms of political morality, why is the Reform Party afraid to put the facts behind its tax proposals? What is it afraid of?

It is afraid people will truly understand what in fact it stands for. As far as the Canada pension plan is concerned, we and the provinces saved the Canada pension plan and we are proud of it.

[Taxation, February 8th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, one must discuss documents one has in front of the House, but the fact is that in last year's budget we cut taxes by $7 billion over three years. Next week the government can present its budget and we can discuss that budget at that time. The other document we have in front of us is the Reform Party proposal.

The issue is: Why is the Reform Party afraid to tell Canadians what its real agenda is? Why will it not tell us where that $7 billion to $16 billion worth of cuts in social fabric will come from?

[Taxation, February 8th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, in order to pay for the Reform Party's tax cut we would have to gut old age pensions, substantially cut health care and education, and virtually decimate equalization.

Why will the Reform Party critic not stand in the House and tell us where he will find the $7 billion to $16 billion to pay for those tax cuts?