Paul Martin

[Taxation, October 27th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, indeed today I will be meeting with the premier of Nova Scotia. He is coming here with a number of items to discuss with myself and with other members. I look forward to this particular discussion.

The premier of Nova Scotia, long time a member of this House, is an outstanding Canadian. He has a very clear vision of the future of Nova Scotia. We will do everything we possibly can to make sure that Nova Scotia continues to progress.

[Finance, October 23rd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, no one, and certainly not this government, wanted to find themselves in the financial difficulty that we found ourselves when we took office. The fact is that if we had not acted our ability now to take positive action to help the people the hon. member is referring to would have been severely circumscribed.

We are now in a position to do that which a Liberal government and a responsible government wants to do. I would simply say that the hon. member ought to read what some of her own people have said. Don't be misled by politicians who make expensive promises. Saskatchewan followed that path in the 1980s and—

[Finance, October 23rd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, no one can remain impervious to the terrible scenes of homelessness. No one can remain impervious to the degradation in which a large number of our fellow citizens find themselves.

As a result the government has consistently refused to engage in scorch and burn policies advocated by others. When we had to cut, which we had to do, we did it in a humane way with plenty of notice. At the same time we engaged in a series of programs such as the child tax benefits and the reinjection of $6 billion into the CHST to enable the provinces and the municipalities—

[Customs Tariff, October 23rd, 1997]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-11, an Act respecting the imposition of duties of customs and other charges, to give effect to the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, to provide relief against the imposition of certain duties of customs or other charges, to provide for other related matters and to amend or repeal certain Acts in consequence thereof.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Banking, October 22nd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Industry and I have on numerous occasions met with the banks. We have discussed the issues of service charges. We have looked at their adequacy. We have looked at the loss provisions that are there, and it is something we will continue to monitor.

Incidentally, Allan Taylor is no longer the president of the Royal Bank.

[Health, October 22nd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Health outlined very clearly, the fact is that the way the set-up was occurring and because of the increase in tax points to the provinces the cash was going down. It was going down far below $12.5 billion, far below $11 billion, far below $8 billion and far below $6 billion.

As a result of the actions of the government it has been frozen at $12.5 billion. That is not a ceiling; that is a floor. It is an absolute guarantee to every single province and to every single Canadian citizen that the federal government stands behind the principles of the Canada Health Act.

[Deficit Reduction, October 21st, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is well aware that, when we took office, employment insurance contributions had been increasing for three years. Since we took over, contributions have been lowered. The Minister of Human Resources Development and I have announced that contributions would drop to $2.80 in November. And we will continue to lower them every year. But one has to look at all of the government's financial statements.

[Deficit Reduction, October 21st, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, that is precisely what we have done. That is why the Prime Minister announced in May that we intended to return $6 billion in social transfer payments to the provinces. That is why the Minister of Human Resources Development announced not just an initial contribution of $850 million for the child tax benefit, but a second contribution of the same size.

When you look at the things we have done, such as extending the infrastructure program to create jobs in Quebec and in the rest of Canada, it is very clear that the federal government is using its leeway for the very purpose of helping the most disadvantaged and creating jobs.

[Education, October 21st, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member would like to take a look at the 1997 budget, what she would see is that the government elevated registered education savings plans to a new level. In fact they have taken off so that parents can save for their children. We have brought in tax credits and allowed students to transfer them to other people so that they can pay for their education. We brought in a new measure to enable students to postpone their student indebtedness. This year we brought in the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the millennium fund for scholarships.

Over the last two years this government has done more for higher education than any government in this country.

[Education, October 21st, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is as per a meeting yesterday, right across the country university students and professors, those who are funding universities, those who teach in the universities and administer the universities are congratulating the government for the Canada Foundation for Innovation. They are congratulating the Prime Minister for his announcement on the millennium fund.

The fact is that what the universities have said is that this government is responding to their needs and the needs of young Canadians.