House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 65% of the vote.
Viet Nam October 22nd, 1996
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister on two separate occasions has asked for the release of Mr. Quan. The finance minister has asked for the release of Mr. Quan. The minister says that he is carrying on negotiations in this direction.
Why, if this is the object of the Government of Canada, would it give unconditional foreign aid to a country that is deliberately violating the human rights of a Canadian citizen?
Viet Nam October 22nd, 1996
Mr. Speaker, earlier this year Quebec businessman Tran Thieu Quan was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Viet Nam.
The Canadian government, after an investigation, is well aware that Mr. Quan is being used as a scapegoat and is a victim of fraud, that his family is suffering from this injustice.
Yet last week, as was mentioned, we find that the Canadian government gave the Viet Nam government $11 million in unconditional foreign aid. The minister's explanation of this would be cold comfort to the Quan family.
My question is for the Minister for International Co-operation. Why would the Canadian government give unconditional foreign aid to the Government of Viet Nam when it continues to perpetrate human rights violations, especially against a Canadian citizen?
Employment October 22nd, 1996
Mr. Speaker, the debate on jobs in this House and in the country is going to come down to this. Reformers are going to offer Canadians a $94 billion a year federal government. The finance minister is going to offer Canadians a $109 billion a year federal government.
We will take the $15 billion difference and give it to taxpayers and entrepreneurs to create jobs. The finance minister will put $15 billion in the hands of the tax man.
Why does the government believe that $15 billion in the hands of the tax man will create more jobs than that $15 billion in the hands of Canadian investors and consumers?
Employment October 22nd, 1996
Mr. Speaker, the secretary says that the government has no targets for jobs. The reason that it does not have targets is because it cannot meet them in the first place. Big government, big spending and high taxes kill jobs. The best way to create jobs is to lower taxes by making government smaller.
When will the government give the House some firm targets for reducing the numbers of unemployed and underemployed in this country?
Employment October 22nd, 1996
Mr. Speaker, the finance minister never tires of telling the House that the government has deficit targets, but the finance minister fails to provide targets when it comes to the government's number one promise of jobs, jobs, jobs.
Under the Liberals we have 1.4 million unemployed, we have one-half million to one million people who have dropped through the cracks, we have youth unemployment in excess of 18 per cent, two million to three million underemployed and one out of four Canadians fearful for their jobs.
The government says it believes in measurable targets. What are the government's targets for reducing the numbers of unemployed and underemployed?
The Economy October 10th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, in this House we ask the questions and the finance minister can bluster all he wants. He can avoid the question all that he wants, but he cannot escape the fact that he has failed to deliver on the government's promise for jobs. The reason he has failed is that he cannot deliver on tax relief.
I will ask him one more time. Why has the finance minister failed to deliver tax relief to Canadians and the more and better jobs that tax relief would bring?
The Economy October 10th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, if the finance minister wants to debate, he has to face unpleasant facts.
The unpleasant facts are the Liberals have cut transfer payments by 40 per cent. They have cut health care payments by $3 billion. They have cut benefits to seniors. They are dismantling social programs to pay the interest on the ballooning $600 billion federal debt. The finance minister has gone through all of this without being able to translate it into benefits of lower taxes and more jobs for Canadians.
My question again is: Why has the finance minister failed to give Canadians lower taxes and more and better jobs?
The Economy October 10th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, yesterday a number of us sat patiently through the presentation by the Minister of Finance but his economic statement failed completely to address the principal concerns of Canadians. The finance minister failed to address the needs of the 1.4 million unemployed, the two to three million underemployed, and the one out of four Canadians who are worried about their jobs. He failed to address tax relief, the principal route to job creation.
Why has the finance minister failed to deliver what Canadians really want: lower taxes and more and better jobs?
Ethics October 9th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister apparently feels that ethics are a private matter between himself and the ministers. He will not release the guidelines and he only uses them when it is to his political advantage, as in sacking the Minister of National Defence.
Ethics are a public matter. For the public to judge whether the conduct of the Prime Minister's ministers is ethical, they need to know what the guidelines are. How are Canadians supposed to know whether the ethics guidelines followed by cabinet ministers are ethical if the Prime Minister will not make them public?
Ethics October 9th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister gave the House an unbelievable excuse for not releasing his secret ethics guidelines for cabinet ministers. He said that it was British parliamentary tradition that prevented him from making the guidelines public. The Prime Minister must know that the British government released its guidelines in this connection in 1992.
I ask the Prime Minister again, will he now make the ethics guidelines for cabinet ministers public?