Stephen Harper

[Canadian Economy, October 23rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, according to a recent article in the Vancouver Sun the Minister of Finance made reference to the fact that the premier of Quebec, Mr. Parizeau, acknowledged Quebec's liability for one-quarter of Canada's debt in a 1990 speech. This would be consistent with the stated desire of the separatist government to use the Canadian dollar.

Has the minister sought any public reassurance at this time from the Government of Quebec to the international financial community that it would maintain its full share of Canada's financial obligations regardless of the outcome of the Quebec referendum?

[Canadian Economy, October 23rd, 1995]

I know the Bloc does not take this matter seriously but I would like to ask the question anyway.

International investors know that the prospects of a yes vote do not mean a new and better economic union between Quebec and the other provinces but the end of the economic union we have today.

What measures has the minister taken to assure the international financial community that Canada will fulfil all the financial obligations it has contracted on behalf of all Canadians including Quebecers and that it will fulfil these obligations regardless of the outcome of the Quebec referendum?

[Canadian Economy, October 23rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to change the subject from constitutional ills to the over-riding economic interests of all Canadians, including Quebecers.

My question is for the Minister of Finance. The minister will know that the Canadian dollar is continuing to fall today in international markets.

[Department Of National Defence, October 6th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians know it is not the army that is terrible, it is the Minister of National Defence's running of that portfolio.

We have been pursuing this inquiry. The opposition Liberals, as he knows, called for this two years ago. We had to call for it for nearly two years before we got it.

My question to the Prime Minister is the Minister of National Defence has been sitting on this material, which has been under his nose for two years. Was there complicity in this? Did he know this was happening, or was he simply incompetent and did not provide this material in the first two years of this administration?

[Department Of National Defence, October 6th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, earlier in question period I think that most Canadians would have been appalled to see the Prime Minister defending some of the things going on at DND by wrapping himself in the name of the peacekeepers and the job they are doing, putting their lives in danger, trying to defend the country.

Does the Prime Minister really think that when we read about the stonewalling of police investigations, about the cover-up of criminal activity, and about the falsifying of documents this in any way does any service to the men on the ground who are defending Canada and trying to keep peace in foreign countries?

[Petitions, October 5th, 1995]

Madam Speaker, it is my honour and duty to present to the House a petition containing the signatures of 7,953 people, part of a larger petition of nearly 10,000 signatures, mainly from people in the city of Calgary.

These residents are opposed to the closing of CFB Calgary and are increasingly concerned as they learn that the move of CFB Calgary to Edmonton will not save taxpayer dollars. The move is not designed to do so.

[The Economy, September 29th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I think the minister should not display to us his lack of knowledge of the beef industry.

It is domestic spending that has not recovered since 1991 because federal and provincial government tax increases have pulled more than $12 billion out of the pockets of consumers, an additional $155 for every Canadian every single year.

Will the government admit that it has increased taxes because it has only rolling deficit targets instead of a firm date for deficit elimination?

[The Economy, September 29th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I left the Conservative Party in 1986 because of economic policies such as this minister's. It is surprising that it has taken him ten years to figure it out.

Yesterday investment dealer Wood Gundy released a scathing indictment of the government's policies on jobs and growth. According to the report, we have "experienced the weakest recovery in domestic spending in the post-war period because of high taxes and tax increases".

Would the Minister of Finance agree the country needs fiscal policies that allow for tax relief in the next budget?

[The Economy, September 29th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, in the last election campaign the government ran on a policy of creating jobs and growth. This year there have been absolutely no new jobs and today's GDP figures confirm there has been no economic growth this year.

Since the Minister of Finance has failed to deliver on his promised financial and economic statement what is it exactly that he intends to do?

[Alliance Quebec, September 29th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, before the quiet revolution, there were people in Quebec saying: "Keep quiet, stay there, and speak English". We do not hear that line in Quebec any more, but thanks to Alliance Quebec, it can now be heard in Alberta. Yesterday, in Calgary, Alliance Quebec warned the Reform Party to keep quiet during the referendum campaign.

The people of Alberta are aware that Alliance Quebec is an organization without public support, a front funded by the federal government to fuel misunderstandings between francophones and anglophones in Quebec and elsewhere, for partisan purposes.

The message from the Reform Party that Alliance Quebec does not want people to hear is that a No vote is a vote against separation while saying No to the status quo means no more subsidies for groups like Alliance Quebec.

If Alliance Quebec really wants the No side to win the referendum, they should keep quiet and remain in Alberta, where they could speak English all day long, like in the days before the quiet revolution.