Rick Casson

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1999]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for that question. It is interesting that just last week while I was in the constituency a young man came to me. He has been offered a job in the states. This young man has been looking for a job in Canada, but he can get a job in Nebraska. The benefits are better, the pay is better, the take home pay is much more, and the prospects are better for him.

I have come across a document. The National Post published some headings from e-mails it received from Canadians about the budget. I would like to let members know how Canadians feel about this. These are the headings from e-mails received at the paper: Taxed to death and back. The non-stop robbery. Bludgeoned dry. Feeling milked dry. Overtaxed. Tax depression. Taxpayer ready to revolt. Tired of no value for my taxes. Drowning in taxes. Lament decay of incentives. How dry I am. Bludget:Bloodget. Excessive taxation. Milked and bludgeoned. Support for a tax revolt. The bludgeoning of taxpayers. Milked and fed up. Ottawa bludgeons. The tax bite. Hate this country and government. I have the bludget blues. Taxed into oblivion. Bludget alias big joke.

That is not coming from this side of the House. That is coming from Canadians across the country. That is how Canadians feel.

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1999]

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to address the latest version of the Liberal budget on behalf of the citizens of Lethbridge. I have been looking forward to this chance to chronicle the assault of this government on the Canadian taxpayer, the unfortunate soul who is paying more but getting less.

This is now the sixth straight time that Canadian taxpayers have had to suffer through a Liberal budget. For the last six years, Canadians have endured slash and burn budget cuts that have devastated health and social transfers.

The Liberals have downsized our armed forces as my colleague just mentioned to a hollow shell, sacrificed environmental protection, tightened and restricted EI benefits, reduced portions of our national highway system to gravel, and worst of all, increased taxation revenues. Simply put, taxpayers in Canada have been paying more but they have definitely been getting less.

When this government took office in 1993, Canadians were paying $51.4 billion in personal income tax for the year. At the end of this year, personal income taxes will have risen 46% to $75 billion, an increase of $24 billion. This is an increase of $650 for every Canadian. This shell game which has been foisted on Canadians by the finance minister has forced Canadians to pay personal income taxes that are 56% higher than the G-7 average.

Of course, we can forget the infamous promise to scrap the GST. We heard a bit about that today. When the Liberals took over, Canadians were paying $15.7 billion in GST per year. By this year's end, Canadians will be paying $21.6 billion, an increase of $5.9 billion, or about 38%. That translates into about $156 more per Canadian for a tax that this government promised to abolish.

As if these increases were not bad enough, the government is set to hike CPP premiums by 73% over the next six years. Sadly, the former chief actuary of the CPP, before he was fired for not singing from the Liberal song sheet, estimated that this increase would likely not even be enough to save the plan.

To top it all off, the government has added insult to injury by ripping off taxpayers by overcharging them on their EI premiums. According to the chief auditor for this program, the government has been overtaxing Canadian workers by an average of 37% for the last five years. Canadians now pay more of their hard earned money for a plan that delivers them fewer benefits, that is, if they even qualify under the strict new rules.

This is the sad truth that the Liberal government refuses to tell. The Liberals hide behind their sleight of hand accounting practices, practices the Auditor General of Canada does not approve of. They hide behind their spin doctors and their rhetoric machines. They boast about EI reductions but say nothing about CPP hikes.

When the Liberals took over the reins of government from their partners, the tax and spend previous government, total federal tax revenues were $94.3 billion and total government revenues totalled $107.3 billion. At the end of this year, the federal tax revenues will top $131 billion, an increase of $36.8 billion and total government revenues will be $149.4 billion, an increase of $42 billion. Members opposite can claim that the government is raking in these record revenues because of the strong economy, and they do. But how do they explain that when the economy only grew by 3%, government revenues grew by 8%?

I think I have made myself perfectly clear. Canadians are paying more than they ever have before and they are getting less. What are they receiving for these astronomical increases in taxes? What do they have?

They have a two tier health system. The health care system that Canadians have come to rely on is under siege. Waiting lists have increased 8.5% in one year to over 187,000 in 1997. Almost 200,000 people in Canada are waiting for health care services. The waiting time to see a specialist has increased 38% and the number of hospital beds have decreased by 25% in some provinces. My own daughter in Edmonton with a severely broken ankle waited 42 hours for surgery to repair it just a month ago.

In 1993 when the Liberals first took power, CHST payments were about $1,453 per taxpayer. But today after this budget, these payments per taxpayer have dropped to $1,005. That is a drop of 31%. So Canadians are paying more and getting less.

The government has announced with great fanfare that it is putting back $11.5 billion over five years into the transfer payments for health care. But if we look at the Liberal record at the end of this five years, we will see that cumulative CHST reductions will total $50 billion by the end of the five years. The Liberal government has taken $5 and it will give $1 back.

This budget was to be the cure to what was ailing the health care system, but Canadians are still paying more and getting less. They are paying more for out of pocket medical expenses and will be getting $4.3 billion less in health care in 1999 than they did in 1993. That is the legacy of this government.

Our soldiers have suffered. The Canadian armed forces, the brave men and women who have dedicated themselves to their country, those who are willing to put their lives on the line, have borne the brunt of the government's politics. These politics have put the well-being of our troops at risk. The defence policies of the government have led to a serious deterioration in the morale of this once proud force. It has left the armed forces with equipment that is 20 to 40 years old. It has cut personnel levels by almost 25% and has threatened to cut even more to balance the books.

The effects of the government's cuts have cost the defence department about $7.8 billion since 1993-94 and now the finance minister offers a pitiful $175 million per year. It is an insult to treat our soldiers with such disrespect. They deserve more, not less.

Nothing seems sacred to the government. With this budget the Liberal track record on the environment went from bad to worse. Across the country contaminated sites sit like a cancer on the land. These sites are affecting the health of Canadians, yet the government refuses to take a leadership role in their cleanup. Look at Sydney, Nova Scotia, the tar ponds. Nothing has been done. Lots of talk but no action. We are paying lots and getting nothing.

In six years the government has not made any serious effort to protect our endangered species through legislation despite its international commitments.

In May 1998 the environment committee released a report that outlined the serious deficiencies in the enforcement capabilities of Environment Canada. Funding levels have been cut to the point where enforcement officials are stretched so thin that they are falling behind in training and cannot enforce many of the increasing number of environmental regulations.

It is beyond belief that when the government was sitting on a $10 billion surplus it did not take the environment more seriously. Contrary to what the finance minister may think, the environment cannot survive on empty promises of relief for next year. Time is running out now.

I think the point has been made. Canadians are definitely paying more and they are getting less. They are paying $2,000 more in taxes since the government took office and they are getting at least $1,500 less for health and other services.

Another fact is the savings that Canadians have are dwindling. Canadians are unable to put any money away and they are starting to use their savings just to get by from day to day. Canadians do not deserve this. They bore the burden of the deficit cutting and deserve to share in the benefits. Nine out of ten Canadians say they want tax relief, not new spending, as their number one priority.

A Reform government would deliver comprehensive tax reform beginning with $26 billion in total tax relief phased in over three years. These reforms would simplify the tax system and, combined with the elimination of marriage and child care penalties, will deliver thousands of dollars per year back into the pockets of the average Canadian family of four.

Our health care is on life support and needs a major federal cash infusion. Reform would deliver immediately $2 billion to boost federal transfer payments. Wasteful government spending in other areas would be eliminated to give health care the priority it rightly deserves and Canadians are demanding.

Canada needs a reliable health care system with stable funding, funding that does not wildly fluctuate from year to year. Reform would also right the injustice done to Canadians like Joey Haché and compensate all victims of the hepatitis C tainted blood system. This is not a question of money, it is a question of fairness and a question of equality for all Canadians. It is doing the right thing.

Our soldiers earned our respect. A $1 billion increase in defence spending would equip our soldiers with the tools they need to do the jobs that we ask them to do.

Reform would introduce a credible plan for reducing the size of our national debt. The debt will consume $43.5 billion in interest payments alone this year, robbing Canadians of funding for programs that they really need.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding. Under this government Canadians will continue to pay more and get less.

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1999]

Yes, $20 billion. I apologize. I see the dollar figure on the debt stays exactly the same for the next three years; not one dollar less than it is this year.

How can he say there are $20 billion less of debt and in his own books it is the same for the next three years? That is funny arithmetic.

[The Budget, March 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the minister questioned everybody's arithmetic in the House today except his own. He mentioned that the debt was going down, that they had been paid it down by $20 million.

[The Budget, February 18th, 1999]

Madam Speaker, we keep hearing from the government side about how wonderful this budget was. The fact is many people in this country, after having a day to digest what they have heard, have come up with some different ideas. One is KPMG.

Trying to get through the smoke and mirrors is a problem with this. Some of the issues that were promised last year have been repromised. Some of the things the government is taking credit for now will not happen until next year. Some of the things the government is saying will create a savings of $300 or $400 will actually create a savings of $57. The fact is Canadians are paying more and getting less. We will keep saying that until they get the idea.

The member keeps saying how well his area has done. His area happens to be in Ontario. The other area in Canada that is doing well is Alberta. Most of the jobs created in this country have been in Ontario and Alberta.

If we count in the fact that the Canadian pension plan is going up and EI premiums are going up, which the government forgets to mention, I wonder if the member would like to tell us how much Canadians are saving after those two factors are figured in.

[George Brown, February 11th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House to join me in honouring broadcasting legend George Brown.

On Saturday night friends of radio in southern Alberta lost a true pioneer. George began his distinguished radio career in Lethbridge in 1939. During World War II he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals where he helped the allied forces intercept enemy communications. After the war George returned to southern Alberta where he embarked on a long and illustrious career on the airwaves.

A dedicated community member, he served on many voluntary boards and societies sharing his talents. George was a distinguished performer himself performing in choral groups across southern Alberta. A member of the Broadcasting Hall of Fame, George reminded us of an era when radio was our window to the world. George used his love and knowledge of music, particularly his love for big band music, to create a bond with the listeners of his unique Sunday morning radio program.

Our prayers and condolences go out to his family. Thank you George, thanks for the musical memories.

[Supply, February 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, certainly discussions should take place at a very high level, the highest level possible because of the importance of the issue.

[Supply, February 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, my home province of Alberta recently passed a water act to control water and to deal with the issues we have come up with. When it comes down to it, the fact that parliamentary secretary has said it is a federal issue, it is not. The provinces have to be involved from the start to put the policy together.

[Supply, February 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for Churchill River for his question. We spend a lot of time together on the environment committee and I appreciate his concern and his background in environmental issues and certainly in aboriginal issues and how they pertain to the environment. Some of the member's revelations have been very revealing to us in how our native people look at the environment and how it interacts with their lives. Certainly the member's comments are what we are here for today.

We have a resource that is important; it means life to everything. Without properly managing this resource many scenarios and different laws come into effect. Some people think that after building a dam, the lake behind that dam is a container. Once that is done, is that water in a container? Is it then treated differently? Aquifers are treated differently.

Certainly we have to take the time and the government has to take the time to sit down with the provinces and work this issue out. We have called for it. It has not been done. The fact that it has not been done has added to the confusion, has added to the concern of Canadians. Canadians want control over their water. Plain and simple. Overwhelmingly. Very few issues can stir up emotions as discussions of water can.

Over the 20 years of my involvement with municipal politics, clean water and a source of water to feed the citizens of our communities has been on the top of the list for every municipality in this country. To ensure that we have the sovereignty over that, we have to get this government on the road to developing that policy.

[Supply, February 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to speak to the issue of control over our water.

I come from an area that was initially explored by Palliser, who went back to the old country and said “It is uninhabitable. People cannot live there”. However, we do live here and we have turned it into a garden of Eden where we grow specialty crops.

We have created cities, towns and villages in the area. We have a strong diverse agricultural base and it is all because of water irrigation.

My constituency is also unique because the Oldman River flows through the city of Lethbridge and eventually flows through Medicine Hat goes east and north and ends up in Hudson Bay. The Milk River in the south end of my constituency flows south and eventually flows into the Gulf of Mexico.

Water is a diverse, strange and important part of our lives. Actually water is the backbone of our life. It is our most important natural resource. It is not a resource like any other; it is unique because without it, we cannot live. We could learn to live without coal. We could learn to live without wood and we could probably learn to live without precious metals. Technology today has enabled us to become less dependent on raw natural resources but it has not enabled us to live without water.

Although every Canadian household pays for water every month on their utility bill, it is impossible to put a price on the value of freshwater to people, plants, animals and ecosystems.

In Canada especially, water has a certain mystique. It has the power to evoke strong emotions in the hearts and minds of Canadians. It is no wonder then that when it is threatened, it provokes powerful emotions. Today we are here to discuss the root cause of these strong emotions. We are here to discuss the future of our most precious resource, a resource that is being threatened.

My NDP colleagues have introduced a motion that would immediately act to protect Canada's control over its water. The motion with the amendment reads:

That, in the opinion of this House, the government should, in co-operation with the provinces, place an immediate moratorium on the export of bulk freshwater shipments and interbasin transfers and should introduce legislation to prohibit bulk freshwater exports and interbasin transfers and should not be a party to any international agreement that would compel us to export water against our will, in order to assert Canada's sovereign right to protect, preserve and conserve our freshwater resources for future generations.

Although I am glad that we are finally being given the opportunity to discuss this issue in the House, I am sorry it has taken so long. The Liberal government has promised time and time again that it would introduce legislation that would protect our water. Still there is nothing.

In 1993 the present Prime Minister promised that he would obtain a special exemption for water under NAFTA. Exemptions were already obtained by Canada's negotiators for raw logs, cultural industries and some fish products.

In November 1993 our Prime Minister assured Canadians that our water was not for sale. He said “Water is not in NAFTA. Water remains under the control of the Canadian government. I want Canada to maintain control over our own water. It is not for sale. And if we want to sell it, we will decide”.

Of course, we know all to well that NAFTA was signed into effect without exempting water. The problem was that water was never discussed in the appropriate fashion. It was never given the weight of importance it needed to have in those discussions, the importance that it has to Canadians.

In March 1996 the member for Kamloops introduced a bill that would prohibit the export of water by interbasin transfers. It was during debate on that bill that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for International Cooperation assured the House that the Liberal government was consulting Canadians, that his government was currently conducting a review of its programs and legislation relating to sustaining Canada's water resources. He promised that through this review a comprehensive approach to water could be developed, including legislative measures to address water export. This debate ended several years ago, and we have not seen a single line of legislation that would protect Canada's sovereignty over its water.

On May 15, 1998 the member for Davenport asked the Minister of the Environment if she had plans to introduce legislation to ban the export of bulk freshwater. The member was assured that he had nothing to worry about because the introduction of legislation respecting our water was a priority for her government.

Again in October when the government was asked about a national water policy, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs assured the House that water was of prime importance to the country and that his government would be laying out a comprehensive strategy on the issue in the fall. I have not seen any comprehensive strategies laid out by this government since the fall, let alone one on the protection of our most valuable resource, freshwater.

As time goes on, the issue of freshwater and its control becomes more and more important. We have seen in recent times some actions by foreign countries in regard to our water.

Time and again this Liberal government has failed to protect the interests of Canadians. I am concerned about the future of our freshwater resources. We all know that Canada has the world's largest reserves of freshwater, possessing 25% of the world's supply and 9% of the world's renewable freshwater. I would like to give some scenarios and examples of what has happened in the world and some of the things that have been proposed for our water.

In the last century many of the wars fought across the world were fought over oil. Oil was always considered our most precious resource. It was worth more than its weight in gold. During the 1970s oil crisis our economies were almost shut down because they were denied access to cheap oil.

We have here a resource far more valuable than oil. We have a freshwater resource. It is estimated that the world's consumption of freshwater is doubling every 20 years. By 2025 almost two-thirds of the world's population will be facing restricted water supplies.

The U.S. is the world's largest per capita user of water. Much of the pressure to export our water has come from the Americans. Because of this, some scenarios have taken place in the past. One scenario which has been looked at is the North American water and power agreement, an agreement that would divert the headwaters of the Yukon, Skeena, Peace, Columbia and Fraser rivers for storage in a huge Rocky Mountain trench before it would be diverted to the thirsty American south. The Grand Canal was another massive engineering project that would divert Canadian rivers to feed American industry. I might also add that a member of the Liberal government has recently called for studies to re-examine the feasibility of some of these plans.

As populations shift and move and as droughts intensify, more and more water becomes the topic of discussion. The point I want to make with these examples is that it is more critical now than ever before in Canada's history to protect the power to manage our freshwater resources in the best interests of Canadians. We need a comprehensive water policy, one that has been negotiated with the provinces to ensure the control over our water stays in the hands of Canada and the Canadian people.

The provinces were given control over their natural resources under our Constitution. The federal government is responsible for international trade. It is crucial therefore that this government move immediately to enter into discussions with the provinces to establish a clear and comprehensive policy.

The Reform Party supports the protection of Canada's sovereignty over its water and waterways. It recognizes Canada's unique position as a steward of freshwater resources and the need to protect the quality of our water as an inherent part of our national heritage to maintain biodiversity, to protect health and safety, to support the quality of life for Canadians and to facilitate responsible economic development. It is unfortunate that this government does not share those views.

It is true that water is not specifically mentioned in NAFTA. We allow the export of bottled water. However it is still recognized through a side agreement that water in its natural state in the lakes and rivers of our country is not considered a good. There is concern among trade experts that this side agreement does not go far enough. My colleague from Peace River mentioned earlier that we must open NAFTA through a trilateral discussion and demand that water be given an exemption similar to the exemption that is given to some other natural resources.

The government, in fact the Prime Minister promised to all Canadians that he would protect Canada's water. He guaranteed that water would remain under the control of the Canadian government to be managed in the best interests of Canadians. He has not done that. He has not reopened NAFTA and he has not obtained an exemption for freshwater. In short, he has not adequately protected Canada's freshwater resources. This failure to enact legislation has led to chaos and confusion, and as we have seen, some challenges to our sovereignty not to mention hundreds of millions of dollars in lawsuits.

It is time for this government to act immediately to protect Canada's freshwater resources. The time for talking has passed.