Preston Manning

[National Unity, February 16th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, today the supreme court begins its hearings into whether Quebec can secede unilaterally under Canadian or international law.

The separatists and some muddle-headed federalists are saying that it is the democratic will of Quebeckers that needs to be respected, not the rule of law. The reality is that both have to be respected.

Why has the Prime Minister failed to make it crystal clear to Quebeckers, including his federalist allies in Quebec, that it is both the law and democratic consent that need to be respected?

[The Economy, February 12th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize paying bureaucrats what they deserve, but what we want is to pay taxpayers what they deserve.

We still do not have the answer to our question of what is happening to the vanishing surplus. What worries Canadians is the finance minister's reports say there is a surplus right now. The spin doctors are now saying there will not be a surplus at the time when the budget comes down, that in fact there will be a $2 billion deficit.

Why are the finance minister's spokesmen predicting a deficit if the books say surplus? What is his explanation for the vanishing surplus?

[The Economy, February 12th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I wish the finance minister was as concerned about the dedication of taxpayers as he is about the dedication of bureaucrats.

This is just what Canadians were afraid of, that the finance minister would spend any surplus on made in Ottawa projects, not on tax relief for ordinary Canadians: pay raises for the top bureaucrats, the $3 billion memorial fund for the Prime Minister, a sop to this minister, a trinket to that minister.

After the finance minister is done with all these Liberal spending projects how much money will be left for broad based tax relief?

[The Economy, February 12th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, today the finance minister showed what is happening to this year's budget surplus. His priority is not tax relief. It is not debt reduction but more spending, pay raises for the top 3,300 government bureaucrats.

All Canadians would like a pay raise and the finance minister could give it to them by simply giving Canadians broad based tax relief.

Why does the finance minister think it is okay to leave his bureaucrats with more money in their wallets but not Canadian taxpayers?

[State Of Israel, February 12th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, this week marks the Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shvat, a festival that the people of Israel and Jews around the world celebrate by planting trees.

Over the past 50 years trees have had a very symbolic status in Israel. Zionist settlers have planted literally millions of trees, truly living up to the biblical passage about making the desert bloom.

This year Tu B'Shvat is much more than just a celebration of Arbour Day. This time it marks the beginning of a year long celebration of the jubilee of Israel's independence.

Fifty years ago this spring the modern state of Israel was born, ending thousands of years of exile for the Jewish people. Yesterday marked the birthday of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, one of the few freely elected chambers of democratic deliberation in the entire Middle East.

Happy birthday, Israel. Canadians salute 50 years of democracy. We look forward to the development of peace and human rights among all peoples of the Middle East.

[The Economy, February 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, this surplus is not the finance minister's money. On behalf of Canadians I want to tell him who this money belongs to. It belongs to the hard-pressed Canadian taxpayers. It belongs to Canadian families. It belongs to Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs that create wealth.

Has the finance minister not heard that his budget will be judged this year not by the hot air that surrounds it but by how many dollars it leaves in the pockets of hard-pressed Canadian taxpayers?

[The Economy, February 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians understand from this publication and elsewhere is that the minister has a lot of their money and they want it back in the form of tax relief.

According to the

Fiscal Monitor

the government has a surplus mainly because it is taxing the hide out of Canadians.

Who is the finance minister trying to hide the surplus from: from his spendaholic friends in cabinet or from hard-pressed Canadian taxpayers?

[The Economy, February 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the finance department publishes a monthly newsletter called the

Fiscal Monitor

. It is full of statistics, including updates on the deficit.

According to the January 28 edition of this newsletter the government has a public accounts surplus of $1.4 billion and a financial surplus of $11.3 billion. Yet in today's newspapers finance department spin doctors are estimating a year end deficit of $2 billion.

What is the finance minister's explanation of the disappearing surplus?

[Aboriginal Affairs, February 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of Indian affairs attempts to deflect these criticisms of her department by saying that Reform would cut the spending of her department. I want to tell her why we want to cut the spending. It is because we do not believe that a fraction of the money put in the top of that department ever gets to grassroots aboriginal people.

Will the minister tell this House how much of the money poured in the top of her department gets to ordinary aboriginal people and how much gets sucked off by consultants, Liberals—

[Iraq, February 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has a moral duty to assure Canadians that our personnel have been committed to support action with a clear mission, a clear vision of their role and adequate resources to do the job.

The time for these vague answers and vague assurances has passed. Will the Prime Minister provide that plan, that mission and that resource detail, or will we find out about it from CNN and Bill Clinton?