Preston Manning

[National Defence, March 28th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the removal of Anne-Marie Doyle as a commissioner on the Somali inquiry because of her connections with Bob Fowler, the former deputy minister of defence and a key figure in the inquiry, raises some disturbing questions.

Her appointment and removal is just another in a long list of events that suggest the minister of defence simply does not know what is going on in his department. He was kept in the dark about the third airborne video. He was not briefed about high level reports on morale and now this.

If the Somalia inquiry commissioners were investigated and chosen for their knowledge and their impartiality, as he said, how could he have possibly been unaware of the connection between Ms. Doyle and Bob Fowler? Everyone else seemed to know about it.

[The Economy, March 23rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the minister gets cheers in the Chamber for that type of statement, but every time we stand in the House and demand deficit elimination rather than deficit reduction it is investors, lenders and rating agencies that cheer when we make those types of statements.

This is very straightforward. If Moody's does not downgrade it is because the finance minister told it something he has not told the House or Canadians. If Moody's does downgrade it is because the minister's budget does not go far enough fast enough to restore lender confidence.

The Minister of Finance has one way out of this box. Will the minister end the secrecy and uncertainty and tell Canadians how and when he intends to eliminate, not just reduce, the Canadian federal deficit?

[The Economy, March 23rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the minister can keep talking about rolling targets all he wants, but the fact of the matter is that if all the minister told Moody's yesterday was what he said in the House or told Canadians, he is simply inviting a downgrade of the credit of the country.

Even today Dominion Bond Rating Service, a Canadian agency, has reviewed its outlook on Canada's credit rating from stable to negative.

I have a supplementary question. Is the finance minister prepared to take responsibility for any downgrading of the country's credit rating and all the negative effects that will flow from that?

[The Economy, March 23rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, since the February budget the President of the Treasury Board, the Minister responsible for Public Service Renewal and officials of the finance department have all predicted that the federal deficit would be eliminated by the year 2000.

The Minister of Finance has yet to deny or confirm the predictions publicly so I ask him if in his meetings with Moody's yesterday, the bond rating agency, he gave a target date for the elimination of the federal deficit.

[The Economy, March 22nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question was quite simple.

When the minister meets with Moody's is he going to present a plan for deficit elimination? If he is going to do that, why does he not present that plan to the House and to the Canadian people, not simply to an American bond rating agency?

[The Economy, March 22nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have a right not only to know who is representing them at that meeting but what they are going to be saying. If no timetable or plan is presented for deficit elimination as distinct from deficit reduction, our credit will be downgraded, our dollar will fall, our interest rates will rise and thousands of Canadians will be hurt.

Who is talking to Moody's and what are they saying about deficit elimination? Canadians have a right to know.

[The Economy, March 22nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, today a meeting is supposed to take place between the Government of Canada and Moody's, the bond rating agency, to discuss Canada's credit rating.

Will the finance minister tell us when that meeting will take place, where it will take place and who will be representing Canada at the meeting?

[The Economy, March 21st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the markets are not asking for short term targets. They are asking a simple question. When and how will the minister eliminate the deficit and not just reduce it?

Given the uncertainty in the financial markets, the government should stop being coy and plainly tell the House when and how it plans to eliminate the deficit. If there is not a plan then the minister should tell us and we will help him develop one.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Is there or is there not a government plan and a timetable to eliminate the deficit? If there is will he tell his finance minister to disclose that to the Canadian people and not just to Wall Street?

[The Economy, March 21st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, to balance the books as the minister says, he will have to reduce federal spending by $24 billion.

There is no indication in the budget of how that is going to be done or when it is going to be done. In my discussions with lenders and investors last week the one question they all had was when and how is the federal government going to eliminate the deficit and not just reduce it.

I ask the Minister of Finance this question. When and how does the Canadian government plan to eliminate the federal deficit? Will he tell Canadians and Parliament what he is being asked to tell Moody's and investors? When and how?

[The Economy, March 21st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, Department of Finance officials will be meeting with Moody's to try to persuade them not to downgrade Canada's AAA credit rating. It is widely believed that what Moody's wants to know is the timetable and the plan for bringing the federal deficit to zero, something that was not contained in the finance minister's budget.

My question is for the finance minister. What will his officials be telling representatives of Moody's?