Paul Martin

[Taxation, February 8th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said in the House, the difference between ourselves and the Reform Party is not in the desire to cut taxes. It is in fact the pain that the Reform Party would inflict on the Canadian social fabric to accomplish its aims.

Last week the Reform Party presented its plan to the House. In order to effect its plan in the third year there would be required between $7 billion and $16 billion worth of cuts to Canadian social programs to pay for them.

Would the hon. member now rise in the House and tell us what programs he would cut?

[Bankruptcies, February 5th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I really do not know why the hon. member does this to himself and his party. When we took office we inherited an 11.5% unemployment rate from the Tory government. It is now 7.8%.

Let us understand something. The 400,000 new jobs that have been created in the last seven months were more jobs than were created in the entire last mandate of the Tory party.

[Bankruptcies, February 5th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is mistaken. In fact the rate of bankruptcies both personal and business is on the decline.

I would just like to add a couple of facts to the numbers of the Minister of Human Resources Development. The member may want to know that not only were 44,000 new jobs created for youth this year. It has been over 200,000 since January 1998.

Since December 1996 there have been 909,000 new jobs created in the country, with 526,000 created in the last 12 months. In the past seven months, 400,000 new jobs were created—

[The Budget, February 5th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, it is particularly apt that I should be asked this question by the member for St. Paul's who is herself a medical doctor.

I am delighted to announce that the government will table its budget at 4.15 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16.

[Poverty, February 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, as the member must know, in the last budget we substantially increased the national child benefit, for the very purpose of helping poor families.

I can assure the member that it is this government's intention to remain concerned about our society's most disadvantaged.

[Employment Insurance, February 1st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, if I understand the hon. member's question, when we took office, the previous government was planning to raise EI premiums to $3.30.

We, on the other hand, have lowered them every year and, this year, they are down to $2.55, a reduction in excess of $1.5 billion over last year. This is money in the pockets of Canadian workers and small businesses.

[Health Care, February 1st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the government has made it very clear ever since last spring, the Prime Minister did so in a speech and the Minister of Health has made the same statement as indeed have most of the ministers on behalf of the government, that health care is indeed a priority for this government in this particular budget.

I would simply remind the hon. member that in fact health insurance was brought in by the Liberal Party in 1957, that medicare has been supported by the Liberal Party throughout the whole piece. The foundation for health care in this country was an innovation of Liberal governments and this government is going to protect it in the future.

[Taxation, December 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I have not seen dancing like that since the last time I saw the movie The Full Monty .

They are going to take $25 billion out of federal government revenues. They have a responsibility to the Canadian people to tell us where they are going to get it from.

[Taxation, December 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian people are entitled to know. To pay for that $25 billion is it going to cut health care? Is it going to cut research and development? Is it going to cut aboriginal funding? Is it going to cut agriculture? Or is it going to cut them all? To what extent is it going to gut the Canadian fabric?

[Taxation, December 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian people are entitled to a more intelligent debate than the Reform Party is putting forward.

The Reform Party would take $25 billion out of government revenues. The issue is, what programs would it cut to pay for that $25 billion? It owes that to the Canadian people. Is it health care? Is it—