Paul Martin

[Banks, September 21st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that prudential matters of safety of the Canadian banking system are uppermost in the government's mind.

That is why following receipt of the MacKay report in which there will be public hearings, and it has been referred to the House of Commons finance committee, we have asked the office of the superintendent of financial institutions and the Competition Bureau to report on that matter.

We are dealing with one of the most fundamental changes in Canadian financial institutions in history. It is important that we have public debate. I thought the member would support that.

[The Economy, September 21st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, when I was not here in fact I did spend some time in the member's riding. I want the member to know his constituents want me to say hello to him.

[The Economy, September 21st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I suppose there is no better indication of the intellectual bankruptcy of the Reform Party than once again they come up with the same old refrain that we need a mini-budget in the fall.

Throughout the whole last mandate we could count on it like clockwork. Every single September the Leader of the Opposition would stand up and say “You are not going to hit your deficit targets. We need a mini-budget”.

They have no plans. They have no ideas. The only thing they want to do is get together and talk.

[Banks, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the member there will be full public hearings and plenty of opportunity for debate. I do intend to concentrate and think about it this summer.

Hull, a small restaurant, the moon in the sky, the member from Rimouski, the member for Wild Rose, a tourtiere, a bottle of wine, she talks about flags, he talks about prisons—it's going to be wonderful.

[Banks, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, it is our intention to monitor all the mergers, Bank of Montreal, Royal, TD, CIBC, the Bloc and the Reform Party, all summer. We will check them all out.

[Year 2000, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we are prepared to take immediate action. On behalf of the Minister of Industry and the President of the Treasury Board I am pleased to announce that retroactive to last January 1 and until June 30, 1999 all small and medium size businesses in Canada will be entitled to take a 100% capital cost allowance on all purchases up to $50,000 in hardware, software and information technology.

Retroactive to January 1, SMBs gearing up for the millennium bug will be allowed to deduct 100% of their purchases in this area in the first year.

I would like to thank the industry community, the members of this House—

[The Economy, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that the Minister of Finance will not comment on the value of currency.

However, if one wants to talk about the fundamentals of the Canadian economy, we have the strongest growth we have had in decades, in fact the strongest growth of any of the G-7 countries. Over the course of the last four years the country has created over 1,200,000 jobs. At the present time our unemployment rate is down to 8.4% from 11.5%. Our inflation is low. Our productivity is up. The country is leading the G-7. Those are our fundamentals.

[Health, June 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Rochon went on to say, and I quote “Whatever the government's budgetary constraints, the need to transform Quebec's health services could no longer be ignored”.

Dr. Rochon himself said that. For him, it was not a money issue.

[Health, June 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Roberval mentions Dr. Rochon, but two can play at that. Dr. Rochon said, and I quote “It has been over two years since we began to transform the health and social services system in order to adjust to the evolving needs of the public, to take advantage of new technologies, to bring services closer to the public, and to shift the emphasis to prevention and health promotion”. It was not a money issue for Dr. Rochon.

[Health, June 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the member should know that this year, for the first time in ten years, there has been an increase in the average family's disposable income.

That means that, because of this government's economic policies, the economic recovery is truly taking place. The recovery is a reality and Quebeckers and Canadians across the country are benefiting.

Today, Professor Marchon of the University of Montreal released his study, which indicates that, of all the G-7 countries, Canada has the best economic management—