Paul Martin

[Airline Industry, February 26th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, number one, the government was facing an unprecedented situation and obviously had to respond. It was deemed necessary to ask those who were utilizing the services to do so.

However, if the hon. member will take a look at the map that was produced by the Department of Transport, he will see as an example that many northern airports are not covered by the tax, are exempted from the tax. In fact, the tax really applies where the security needs are greatest.

[Money Laundering, February 26th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, internationally this is a file which evolving. Canada is one of the leaders in dealing with IOSCO, the international organization of securities regulators. Canada is a leader with the financial action task force. Obviously the whole question of customer identification and how this is working is evolving from country to country.

We also understand that this cannot be done in only one nation which is why the Canadian leadership in this area, exhibited through the G-20 and the IMF at the meetings in Ottawa, has become so important. The fact is that Canada is a leader in this area.

[Money Laundering, February 26th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the hon. member did not get all the documents. The fact is that Fintrac is up and running. It was up and running as of November last year. It is already reporting on suspicious operations. Obviously it is adding to its files as time goes on. That is the reason for new regulations.

Fintrac is alive and well and has been operating since November.

[Taxation, February 26th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have just given the hon. member the numbers for the CIBC. Those are published numbers. She can check them. In fact, probably something does not add up and I think Tony Blair pointed that out to her in this House.

[Taxation, February 26th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, in 2000 Canadian banks and their subsidiaries paid about $3.5 billion in income taxes and capital taxes to the federal government. In fact they paid close to $6 billion to all levels of government.

The hon. member talked about the CIBC. The numbers I have in front of me show that 35% of CIBC's net income came from Canadian operations and that the banks paid substantial income tax. In fact their tax rate is close to 47%.

[Health, February 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows very well that his figures are all wrong.

Transfer payments to the provinces are at an all time high; this includes the Canada health and social transfer and equalization payments. They are at an all time high, showing our determination to protect Canada's health care system.

[Infrastructure, February 19th, 2002]

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker, and that was in fact the reason behind our meetings yesterday. I congratulate the Minister of Transport on an excellent meeting with his municipal counterparts who laid out a series of plans.

I would like to congratulate the Minister of the Environment. The fact is that doubling the green infrastructure fund shows this government's commitment to getting behind our cities as they clean up our air and the water we drink.

[Infrastructure, February 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all of my colleagues who met with the mayors yesterday, I have to say that the meetings were excellent and very informative. The discussions went very well. There is no doubt that our cities do require a new deal. They are in the front line of most of our social programs and they have shown tremendous initiative.

As a result of our meetings yesterday, there is no doubt about the commitment of the Government of Canada to furthering the social fabric of the country, especially as it is handled by our major cities and our smaller cities.

[Canadian Currency, February 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned before, the Bank of Canada is simply looking at technologies around the world.

While I am on my feet, I certainly would like to congratulate the member for Beauharnois--Salaberry who has been very active on this file. He ensured that we met with officials of the company, and I would like to congratulate him on his continued interest in the file.

[Canadian Currency, February 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, at the present time all Canadian banknotes are produced on Canadian paper. The new $5 and $10 notes are on Canadian paper. I also said that the Bank of Canada, to counter counterfeiting, is looking at technologies all around the world.