Paul Martin

[The Economy, November 7th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, last week the United States announced the loss of some 400,000 jobs. Over the last three months Canada has created 67,000 new jobs. The fact is our economic growth is superior to the vast number of other countries in the G-7.

There is no doubt that we are an open and transparent economy and are obviously being affected by the global slow down. However the fact is that the massive amount of stimulus, as a result of our tax cuts and our investments, is flowing through the economy. That is what is sustaining us.

[Interest Rates, November 7th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, what the big financial institutions will say, is that, first, credit cards are very competitive, there are many different cards, different types, and second, there is the whole issue of fraud, and this has to be paid for.

That being said, it is quite normal, and interest rates should come down in any event.

[Interest Rates, November 7th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, as the member must know, there are some credit cards with much lower interest rates. There is a whole range of credit cards.

Some cards offer different services and have higher rates, while others have lower rates.

[The Economy, November 7th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I honestly do not know what to say.

First of all, the hon. member has just stood up and has essentially said that what we should do is emulate the monetary policy in Mexico where interest rates are fluctuating between 14% and 16%, and then his example of the kind of economy to follow is Argentina. Only a Tory would think that.

[Bank of Canada, November 7th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, all that I said was that monetary policy and fiscal policy work much better when they work together, toward an objective.

The example to follow is the one we have today. The example to avoid is the situation that existed in 1990, when his government was in office.

[Employment Insurance, November 6th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, first, over the course of the last four to five years the government has cut over $6.5 billion in premiums. They are now substantially reduced.

Second, the hon. member talked about job creation. Under the Minister of Human Resources Development, almost 67,000 full time jobs have been created in Canada over the past three months.

There is a final thing I would raise. In this difficult time, when I am preparing a budget and dealing with each of my cabinet colleagues, I would really appreciate it if the opposition would not set me up.

[The Economy, November 6th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the government's position is very clear. One has only to look at what we have done. We have stimulated the economy to the tune of more than $25 billion. This year, Canada has allocated over 2% to economic stimulation. Compared to the Americans, even Mr. Bush's plan will not exceed 1.5%. So, we will continue in this vein. We will create jobs. We will create a brighter future for our youth.

[The Economy, November 6th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the member made suggestions. We will take all perspectives into consideration when we bring down the budget.

[The Budget, November 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is one budget behind. As he knows, in the last budget we brought in an extensive program in environmental infrastructure, in road infrastructure and in housing. The fact is that a number of these programs, because of delays in provinces, have not gone ahead as quickly as we would like.

We are certainly prepared. The minister in charge of the treasury board has said that she would accelerate all these programs, as has the minister of energy who is responsible for climate change. I can assure the hon. member that we are prepared to proceed with these as quickly as possible.

[Canadian Economy, November 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that according to the figures released, our surplus in mid-summer stood at approximately $11 billion.

She is well aware that this surplus will now drop, depending on the impact of September 11.