Paul Martin

[Ontario, November 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, in the last budget, as the hon. member knows, we cut taxes by $7 billion over three years.

But if what he would like to do is talk about job creation, in the five years since we have been in office private sector jobs have grown by 1.4 million.

In the five years under the previous Tory administration jobs were up by only 180,000. In fact full time jobs under the Tories were down by 97,000 and in our case they are up by 1.4 million. In the last five years of the Tory regime the unemployment rate went up by 3%.

[Employment, November 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, in fact what Statistics Canada has pointed out are the very problems we raised when we were in opposition, the problems with the then government's administration of the economy. That is why we brought in the changes we did. That is why today we have low interest rates, we have eliminated the deficit and it is why we have one of the best job creation records of any of the G-7 countries. As I mentioned, it is paying off. Since 1996 over 800,000 new jobs have been created, better than any other G-7 country.

[Employment, November 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, blah, blah. Another brilliant policy insight from the Reform caucus.

The simple fact is we have reduced payroll taxes every year since we have come into office. Payroll taxes are such a clear indicator. Why is it that our payroll taxes are the lowest of the OECD and in fact are lower than those in the United States?

[Employment, November 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, when we were in opposition we repeatedly pointed out to the government the principal defects in its economic policy which led to the very situation that has been described by Statistics Canada.

That is why when we came into office in 1993 we immediately began to remedy the situation. I am delighted to say that since 1996 job growth in Canada has been substantially higher than in the United States.

[Canada Pension Plan, November 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister did not fire the chief actuary. He was fired by the Superintendent of Financial Institutions which is an independent agency. The superintendent was acting within his full scope. I was not asked for my opinion. I did not give it and would not have given it if I had been asked.

I met with the provincial finance ministers. The acting chief actuary has met with the provincial finance ministers. The actuary's report will be made available to all of the provinces and they will authenticate it.

[Canada Pension Plan, November 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, to replace the chief actuary the government has brought in that person who was responsible for the outside review who has extensive experience in this area. He will do a very thorough, very comprehensive review.

[Steel Industry, November 24th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member is no doubt aware, steel companies have raised the possibility of putting a motion before the international tribunal to make this kind of import stop, in which case the government is certainly prepared to help further the process.

[Unemployment, November 24th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, now we know that it was his question.

The fact is, as the hon. member knows, employment increased by over 57,000 new jobs in the month of October. As he also knows, over 321,000 new jobs have been created this year alone, and over 1.5 million jobs have been created since we took office.

When we took office the unemployment rate was 11.5%. Today it is 8.1%. That is the lowest rate in over a decade.

[Canadian Farmers, November 24th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I will be meeting with the presidents of financial institutions, including the large banks. Obviously, as in the case of other areas that are in severe difficulty, we will certainly ask those institutions to be as understanding as they can be.

[Health Care, November 24th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, this year in terms of tax point transfers alone the provinces will be receiving over $13.5 billion. The equalization transfer this year is $8.5 billion, up from $8.1 billion when we took office. The child tax benefit is $1.8 million. That is money that is going into provincial coffers and into the hands of Canadians with children to enable them to protect their health.

Whether we put money into research and development or into the health transition fund, this party, the party that created the Canada Health Act, stands behind the health of Canadians.