Stephen Harper

[Members Of Parliament Pensions, February 24th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board.

A few moments ago he disputed the fact that the MP pension plan is far more generous than a private sector plan. Will he confirm that his plan has the following elements: a 4 per cent benefit rate that is double the rate of a very good private sector plan; full inflation protection that is unheard of in the private sector; age of receipt at 55 with full benefit that is also unheard of in the private sector; and on top of that, by lowering the MPs' own contribution rate from 11 per cent to 9 per cent, he slipped in an increase in take home pay for MPs?

[The Budget, February 21st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I do not smoke.

The Minister of Finance has come up with a unique explanation of the failures of the previous government. He is the first one to explain that the Tories had standards that were just too high.

Today interest rates went up, the bank rate went up to 8.38 per cent, the highest level since this government took office. This is with increased warnings from not just Moody's but now Wood Gundy, Dominion Bond Rating Service and others that the targets are not adequate.

Will the minister not admit that the markets are already saying that with this government's targets Canadians will pay millions of dollars more a year on higher interest rates, higher borrowing and higher mortgage costs?

[The Budget, February 21st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I noticed the Minister of Finance's attack on the Reform Party's suggestions for eliminating the deficit.

After the minister presents his budget, even if he is able to reach his weak interim targets, he will have added $100 billion to the debt or approximately $10 billion in annual interest payments and he will still have a deficit of $25 billion.

Is he going to tell Canadians where exactly he intends to find that $25 billion in additional cuts or is this party going to continue to try and hide the truth from Canadians?

[The Deficit, February 20th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the minister who also has some economics knowledge will know that a 3 per cent GDP target at the top of a cycle is a very high structural deficit.

On Friday, once again, the Minister of Finance blamed the previous Conservative government for the problem, saying that it had left a huge accumulated debt. The House will remember that the previous Conservative government used to blame the Liberals before them for the large accumulated debt.

When will the government stop with these excuses, stop saying it suddenly discovered compound interest and abandon the go slow, go nowhere policies that caused millions of Canadians to abandon the Conservatives?

[The Deficit, February 20th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, we all know about the imminent downgrade of Canadian debt by Moody's. Moody's primary concern is not the deficit for this year or next year. It is mid-term factors. It knows full well that the 3 per cent target will leave the government open and an inevitable downturn in the U.S. economy will cause an escalation once again in the debt-GDP ratio. The minister knows that.

Once again, will the minister tell the House, if he has no idea how the government is going to achieve its ultimate target, how they can assure investors that the deficit-GDP ratio will not again spiral out of control once we have a downturn in the U.S. economy?

[The Deficit, February 20th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday the Minister of Finance said his deficit target of 3 per cent of GDP was an interim target and that the ultimate target was to eliminate the deficit. A target without specifics is no target at all; it is just political grandstanding and wishful thinking.

My question is for the Secretary of State for International Financial Institutions. In its upcoming budget will the government specify clearly how and when it will reach its ultimate target?

[Canada's Credit Rating, February 17th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, it was the government's decision to ignore that advice and to lose the valuable first year in office. It is irrelevant to the money market whether the government hits a target of nearly $40 billion.

To help restore credibility to his fiscal policy in the budget, will the minister set definite targets beyond 1996-97 and specify the tough actions necessary to reach them?

[Canada's Credit Rating, February 17th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the money markets are judging the performance of the government and they are not judging that performance favourably.

The minister must admit the 3 per cent target will add at least $100 billion in debt over the short term. At best with current growth rates and interest rates, the markets are discovering that this means a likely continued deterioration in the debt-GDP ratio.

Will the minister admit that the 3 per cent target is inadequate and must be revised on more fundamentally sound economic grounds?

[Canada's Credit Rating, February 17th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.

He will know that despite his assurances, which are widely believed, that the government will meet its short term targets, a downgrade of Canada's credit rating now appears to be inevitable. This will lead to higher interest rates, higher borrowing rates and higher mortgage rates for all Canadians, rates that have risen considerably since the government took office.

Will the minister admit that his targets, whether or not they are met, are totally inadequate? That is what the markets are saying.

[National Defence, February 10th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I think Canadians would agree there is nothing silly about these incidents.

On November 16 and 17 I raised questions in the House concerning the allegations of Major Barry Armstrong about events in Somalia, irregularities in the investigation of those incidents and reports that have occurred in Esprit de Corps and other publications about alleged cover-ups.

What steps has the minister taken in the interim to personally inform himself about the allegations of Major Armstrong or others or to better inform himself about what happened in these particular events?