House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 48% of the vote.
The Budget December 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the only thing I can do is do exactly what I did with the Alliance, which is to point out the wasteful spending to which the hon. member is referring. It is money for health care, for pensions, for international assistance and for labour market training.
I cannot believe that the hon. member, who up until now I thought had a social conscience, would identify with the Alliance Party in the gutting of the social fabric of the nation. Maybe they ought to merge.
The Budget December 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's information is correct. The government will not have to go to the markets to borrow new money.
What the government is doing, which is being financed internally, is providing institutions like Canada Post and a number of other institutions with the funds to go into the market because it is more important for them to do so for pension fund liabilities.
The Budget December 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I must say that it is quite clear we are getting to the end of the year and running out of questions.
The fact is the Minister of National Revenue and myself met with Mr. O'Neill. We told the Americans what we intended to do. We then confirmed it in a press conference after that particular meeting and then we asked the Americans to follow our lead.
The Budget December 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely ludicrous.
There is already the $2 billion infrastructure program that we are ready to move on, if the provinces are ready, if Quebec is prepared to stop delaying the situation. There is the $680 million affordable housing program. We have just doubled the money set aside for municipalities to undertake green projects, such as water treatment.
Now we have created a new structure that will ensure that there is continued confidence in the economy, and that these infrastructures are put in place. So, the member should be supporting us.
The Budget December 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the foundation is to ensure that funds are being allocated constantly, because there is an incredible demand for infrastructure throughout Canada, including in Quebec. We intend to satisfy these demands, be they from the provinces, the municipalities or the private sector.
The Budget December 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the purpose is the one identified by the representatives of the Union des municipalités du Québec, when they said “We are pleased with the added investment of $2 billion in major infrastructure projects. As for the mechanism planned for the new strategic foundation, we consider it to be a reasonable approach, at first glance”.
The Budget December 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, we were very clear about the fact that, as soon as the legislation is passed, by March 31 next year, the foundation will be ready to function and certainly ready to meet with anyone, province, municipality or private sector, in order to begin work as soon as possible.
The Budget December 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, why does the hon. member not tell the Canadian people what his real agenda is? The fact is the Alliance members talk about agriculture. Of the $16.5 billion that they said was wasteful spending, $800 million of it went to farmers; $1.1 billion went to universities to support research and scholarships; $5 billion went to aboriginals for health care, education and social services.
The real agenda of the Alliance is to gut the social fabric of the country and the Canadian people will not put up with it.
The Budget December 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, Canada is not in deficit. We are the only G-7 country not in deficit. We are not in deficit this year and we will not be in deficit next year, nor will we be in deficit the year after.
The hon. members talk about wasteful spending. I would like to talk about the $16 billion in wasteful spending, so I have gone back to take a look at what they are talking about.
Let me tell the House what their wasteful spending is: $1.5 billion pension and health benefits for veterans; $1.1 billion for labour market training, employment assistance to persons with disabilities and helping the homeless.
The Budget December 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, on the one hand, the member must know that we saved the industry $62 million annually, which will be covered by the new charge to travellers.
On the other hand, the member must realize that confidence in the airline industry as a whole is very important. Our comprehensive security plan will ensure that confidence.