House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 48% of the vote.
The Economy February 17th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I find it difficult to understand why the Leader of the Opposition would oppose the millennium fund. What better way is there, as the Prime Minister said in this House, to celebrate the millennium than by investing in the education of young Canadians, by investing in the future of young Canadians, by investing in the intellectual capacity of this country so that we can succeed in the modern economy?
Income Tax February 16th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that, last year, the Minister of Human Resources Development proposed to the provinces and to this House—in fact, it will become effective in July—the national child benefit, specifically designed to help children living in the conditions described by the hon. member.
At the same time, the Prime Minister announced in June our plans to double the amount earmarked for the national child benefit by adding a further $850 million because we can clearly see how difficult a situation many Canadian families are in.
Taxation February 16th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member wants to talk about the Tory record while in power between 1989 and 1993: employment down by 100,000 jobs; real disposable income down 8.1%; net worth of incomes down; consumer confidence down 6.9%; housing starts down 26.4%; vehicle sales down 16.6%. I have a whole book about the Tory record.
Taxation February 16th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, it was not this Prime Minister's policy. It was the previous Prime Minister's policy that brought us high income taxes.
In fact since this government has taken office we have not raised income tax rates. We have brought down the deficit. We have brought down interest rates. A million Canadians have gone back to work and this country is now imbued with an optimism that it has not seen in over a decade and a half.
The Budget February 16th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, we would far prefer to be judged by our results than by rhetoric.
I simply remind the hon. member that when we took office the deficit was $42 billion. Today the deficit is on the cusp of being eliminated. I think we will have to let Canadians judge that result.
The Budget February 16th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, there is no problem, since the government wants to avoid any future deficit.
The problem is with the Reform Party asking for huge exemptions. Such exemptions would invalidate the act.
The Budget February 16th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, we have made it very clear that the government will operate in an open and transparent way.
We simply do not believe that when somebody goes out for dinner they should leave it for somebody else to pick up the cheque.
The Budget February 16th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, when we took office in 1993 one thing we found was that in fact a number of commitments which had been taken by the previous government had not been booked in the statements of account. As a result the deficit was in fact larger than the Canadian people understood it to be.
We took the decision at that point that we would always book any obligations of the Government of Canada so that Canadians could see them up front and they would not be hidden.
That is the process we followed in this case and we will continue to follow it.
Ways And Means February 13th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1), I have the honour to table a notice of ways and means motion to amend the Excise Tax Act, along with explanatory notes.
I ask that you designate an order of the day for consideration of the motion.
Taxation February 13th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, what I would really like to do is to give that software to the Reform Party members who every January seem to engage in some kind of a flip-flop on their basic policies.
Perhaps if the Reform Party had been able to engage in some proper analysis since it came into this Parliament it might well understand that what Canadians are looking for is a consistent and well thought out plan, which is what we set out in 1994. It is working and Canadians support it.