Preston Manning

[The Economy, June 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

The stock market index is down by 2 per cent as of noon today. At two o'clock the bank rate was raised to over 7 per cent and the long term bond rate is now almost 3 percentage points above that assumed in the budget documents.

This implies that lenders and investors continue to lose confidence in the government's ability to meet its deficit cutting projections.

Does the Prime Minister now not agree with his finance minister that further spending reductions beyond those contained in the budget are necessary to meet the government's deficit reduction targets?

[Small Business, June 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I have a further supplementary to the Prime Minister and to the minister.

Canadian entrepreneurs say the best thing the government could do to promote job creation would be to reduce government spending and provide tax relief. According to the Arthur Andersen survey 97 per cent of the entrepreneurs surveyed said that the government should have cut more deeply in the federal

budget and 86 per cent of them did not believe that the government is serious about deficit reduction.

If the government is serious about reducing the deficit, if it wants to send a strong, clear message to these job-creating entrepreneurs over the summer, will the Prime Minister commit to bringing in a minibudget in the fall which redoubles the government's deficit cutting efforts?

[Small Business, June 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of burdens then, 70 per cent of the entrepreneurs surveyed by Arthur Andersen said that the biggest single obstacle they faced was high taxes. The next largest group said that their biggest problem was intrusive government legislation and regulations. These are the obstacles that small business people themselves say prevent them from expanding and creating more jobs.

I ask the Prime Minister what new measures the government is prepared to take to remove the two greatest government created obstacles to job creation in this country which are high taxes and red tape.

[Small Business, June 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

On numerous occasions spokespersons for the government have referred to the small business sector as the major engine of the economy and a major job creator. Yet a recent survey of small business conducted by the Financial Post reveals that only 14 per cent believe that the government's small business initiatives will create jobs and 87 per cent believe that the government is not representing their interests particularly with respect to the deficit.

When will the government formally recognize that the only thing most small business people want from the federal government is for it to get off their backs and out of their pockets?

[Peacekeeping, June 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure it is important for the government to know it has public support for whatever criteria it uses to determine Canada's role in supporting UN sanctions or peacekeeping operations.

Recently Switzerland in its democratic decision making tradition conducted a national referendum on whether or not to play a more active role in United Nations sponsored peacekeeping.

What plans does the government have for securing public understanding and public endorsation of its criteria for determining how Canada will respond to future United Nations peacekeeping requests?

[Peacekeeping, June 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I have a supplementary question.

Many Canadians are concerned that Canadian foreign policy in regard to UN peacekeeping operations is either adrift or is being made up on a peace by peace basis. They would like the government to be more precise on the criteria and guiding principles which determine whether Canada supports UN sanctions or peacekeeping operations in particular situations.

The next hot spot in which Canada could find itself enmeshed is Korea. Northern Korea has said it would consider any imposition of UN sanctions as a declaration of war.

Could the Prime Minister tell us what criteria the government is applying to determine what role Canada should be playing to ensure a peaceful and positive outcome on the Korean peninsula?

[Peacekeeping, June 14th, 1994]

And now down to business. On his trip the Prime Minister visited Bosnia. He expressed dissatisfaction with the situation there and threatened to remove Canadian troops. This comes at a time when American proposals to lift sanctions against Bosnian Muslims have caused the Russian foreign minister to threaten that such action might bring the world back to the cold war.

My question to the Prime Minister is what criteria will determine whether or not Canadian peacekeeping troops remain in Bosnia?

[Peacekeeping, June 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by welcoming the Prime Minister back home and thanking him for his moving representation of Canada at the D-Day ceremonies.

[Government Expenditures, June 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, if members wanted to demonstrate that, the way is not through words but by supporting some of the motions to reduce spending below budget levels.

My supplementary question is for the minister. Earlier this year the government changed the standing orders to allow committees to make recommendations on next year's spending provided it was done before June 23.

Will the minister assure the House that he welcomes such recommendations and that he is predisposed to support them, including proposals to reduce spending below those that the departments may desire?

[Government Expenditures, June 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.

Over the past six months both the House and the committees have scrutinized the spending estimates. Numerous proposals have been put forward to reduce spending estimates even further than contained in the minister's budget. Yet none of these proposals for reducing spending have been supported by government members. In fact last night even a modest proposal to reduce by $20,000 was defeated.

Would the minister please stand in the House today and tell all hon. members, those to the left of him, those to the right of him, those behind him, those in front of him, that it is okay to vote in favour of reductions in spending that go beyond his budget, that this is the nineties and not the seventies, and that he would welcome action by his colleagues to reduce spending levels below those contained in the budget?