Preston Manning

[Provincial Byelection, February 22nd, 1994]

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

Last night PQ candidate Marcel Landry stormed to victory in the Bonaventure byelection.

[Government Expenditures, February 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, a further supplementary for the Deputy Prime Minister. The last Parliament, as some members will remember, considered a spending control act which provided that program spending would not exceed certain specified limits.

Could the Deputy Prime Minister tell the House whether the government agrees in principle with legislated spending controls as yet another tool for getting spending under control?

[Government Expenditures, February 21st, 1994]

A supplementary question, Mr. Speaker. The Lambert commission recommended the introduction of sunset clauses whereby statutory authority to spend on certain programs would cease after five years unless Parliament voted specifically to renew.

Could the Deputy Prime Minister tell the House whether the government agrees in principle with sunset clauses as a tool to control government spending?

[Government Expenditures, February 21st, 1994]

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

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Whatever proposals the budget contains for deficit reduction, most members agree that their effectiveness would be strengthened if Parliament had more and better tools to control overspending.

Can the Deputy Prime Minister tell us whether the government has any specific plans and proposals for giving Parliament such tools and, if so, what those plans might be?

[The Budget, February 18th, 1994]

My third question is this. As the Deputy Prime Minister knows, Canadian business, capital and jobs have been leaving the country in recent years, citing high tax loads as one of the principal reasons for leaving.

Does the federal government believe that Canada has room to further increase the total tax load carried by Canadians without driving more businesses, more capital and more jobs out of the country?

[The Budget, February 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we can see why the Deputy Prime Minister is not Minister of Finance.

[The Budget, February 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, what I am asking is something that is relatively straightforward. I asked whether the federal government was co-ordinating its activities with the provinces, the answer to which is not dependent at all on the budget being brought down.

My supplementary question is this. All three levels of government raise their revenues from the same taxpayer, yet no government budget in the country to date explicitly acknowledges the total tax load carried by Canadians.

Does the federal government believe that total tax load must be taken into account in making any changes to federal taxes? Will it ensure that background information on total tax load is included with its budget presentation next week?

[The Budget, February 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister and deals with the fiscal reality facing the House.

Yesterday the Government of Saskatchewan brought down a provincial budget with no tax increases and a 33 per cent reduction in its deficit figure. Yesterday the Quebec premier said that his next budget will feature deficit reduction and a possible tax cut.

Can the Deputy Prime Minister tell the House the extent to which federal deficit fighting measures are being co-ordinated with those of the provinces and whether the federal government is leading or following?

[Underground Economy, February 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I have a supplementary question.

The government knows there is a direct link between high tax levels and the growth of smuggling in the underground economy. The government has set targets for deficit reduction and job creation.

I ask the Prime Minister: Has the government set a long-term target for tax reduction and can he tell the House what it is?

[Underground Economy, February 17th, 1994]

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

The CBC reports liquor smugglers to be making profits of $105,000 per truckload and bribing Canada Customs officials to facilitate their trade. The finance minister talks of closing minor tax loopholes while smugglers are finding huge loopholes big enough to drive trucks through.

Does the government intend to expand the principles of its action plan on cigarette smuggling to include a broad attack on all sectors of the growing underground economy?