Paul Martin

[The Budget, March 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, when we took office in 1993 we discovered to our amazement that there were a number of obligations of the government that had not been accounted for. There were commitments looking ahead which had not been booked into the numbers. In fact a fair amount of clean-up had to be done. I wish the auditor general at that point had insisted on a far greater degree of transparency.

We took the decision at that point that the books of this government would be more transparent than anybody else's books and that Canadians would understand exactly the financial situation of the country, and that we would not hide numbers. That is what we have done in this particular case.

[Points Of Order, March 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, in a reply to the hon. member for Longueuil, it appears that I referred to a consultation process that started in 1976. The year was 1996. Let me explain: it was not my father who did this in 1976.

[Seniors' Benefit, March 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, since the basic principles of the reform were set out in 1976, we have consulted with a number of groups, including the AFEAS. It is our intention, following the consultations, to introduce legislation this year.

[Taxation, March 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the measure to which the hon. member refers has in fact been in place for a considerable number of years. This is not a new procedure. What is happening is that it is being extended to other forms of property.

I would point out to the hon. member that one would not be obliged to pay taxes when leaving the country if in fact one was able or desirous of posting security.

[Child Care Expenses, March 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, this tax measure will greatly help parents in Quebec and I find it unbelievable that the hon. member would oppose such initiative.

[The Budget, February 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, it is very clear. Over the last year this country created 372,000 jobs and over a million in the last four years. There is no reason why we cannot maintain this momentum.

The hon. member asked what our target is. It is that every Canadian in this country who wants to work can get a job.

[The Budget, February 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the entire budget is in fact directed to creating jobs in this country. Whether it be the youth at risk program of the Minister of Human Resources Development which will take care of those students who have left high school and who are looking for job experience, or whether it be the very real relationship between education and job creation, it is the responsibility of a government to equip its citizens to succeed. That is what we have done in this budget.

[The Budget, February 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, first of all there are very few political leaders in this country who have defended medicare and who have fought for the social fabric in this country as hard as Russell MacLellan has for Nova Scotia.

The Minister of Health referred to the Conservative program to eliminate cash transfers and go to all the tax points and what affect that would have on the ability to preserve the health care in this country. What the Atlantic members ought to know is if that was done, given the relative value of tax points across the country, the area that would suffer the most is Atlantic Canada. How can—

[The Budget, February 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, let us take a look at what we have done. In fact, there are targeted tax decreases for students, for families, for poor families, for caregivers. Then there are general tax decreases. We increased the threshold by $500 for an individual or $1,000 for a family. We eliminated the 3% surtax for 13 million Canadian taxpayers.

[Employment Insurance Fund, February 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, this is one of the reasons we were able to waive unemployment insurance premiums over two years for employers hiring young people between 18 and 24. That is what we did.