Stockwell Day

[The Economy, February 28th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, he loves to talk about the United States, so let us do that for 22 seconds.

The consumer confidence index in the U.S. dropped 8.9 points in February. That is a drop that economists are telling us could signal a recession. Just this morning U.S. federal reserve chairman Alan Greenspan says the U.S. slowdown has not run its course yet. That was just this morning and he loves to talk about that.

In light of this continuing economic weakness in Canada's large export market, to which he constantly refers, why is he not adjusting our financial plan by bringing in a new budget of tax and debt reductions?

[The Economy, February 28th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, our GDP growth for the last quarter slowed to 0.6%.

This is the lowest it has been in three years, but the Minister of Finance continues to assure us that things are just fine.

Why is the minister refusing to bring down a new budget to reflect these economic realities which are constantly changing and which changed today?

[The Economy, February 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, is he saying that he has polled each one of the provinces and they have said, no, that they do not want to reopen discussions? Is that what he is saying?

Let us hear clearly today what the result was when he asked each and every one of the provinces, as he has said he did. Which provinces said no to discussions, absolutely ruled them out, and which ones said yes?

[The Economy, February 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, he needs to talk with his own Minister of Industry who, when he was premier of Newfoundland, wanted the discussion opened on this. That is who he should be talking to.

Has the minister asked these other provinces individually if they are willing to have a discussion about economic hope and opportunity for Atlantic Canada? He may be surprised with the response. Has he done that, will he do that or has he decided on his own that the future economic hope of Atlantic Canada will just be based on the whim of federal Liberals?

[The Economy, February 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday Atlantic Canada took another slap in the face from the federal government in a response from the finance minister.

Atlantic Canadians want to advance their provinces from have not to have status, but the finance minister is intent on holding Atlantic Canadians back by not allowing them to go ahead, and by continuing to claw back the natural resource revenues at close to 100% rates. Yesterday he told the three Atlantic ministers that there would not be any changes to this transfer payment until 2004.

Why is the finance minister making Atlantic Canada wait almost four more years for economic growth?

[Immigration, February 26th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the situation is not usual, because the letter is not usual. This is not the letter of an MP asking about the status of a file with Immigration Canada on behalf of a citizen of the riding. The letter clearly requests that a visa be, and I quote, “issued shortly”.

Does the minister acknowledge having acted in this matter not as an MP but as an activist?

[Immigration, February 26th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about a lot more here than just visiting. It is very clear that Mr. Amodeo's wife approached the public works minister to get assistance with the visa application in spite of the fact she is not a constituent of his. The issue could not have been language because in Mrs. Amodeo's constituency, which is different from that of the public works minister, those particular services are offered in Italian by that member of parliament.

What was it and why was it that Mrs. Amodeo felt she could get some special treatment from the minister rather than from her own member of parliament?

[Immigration, February 26th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, we hope to hear directly today from the Minister of Public Works and Government Services because we want to ask the question again related to the fact that the government issued a visa to Gaetano Amodeo.

Mr. Amodeo is an alleged hit man and he is on Interpol's most wanted list. Why would the government allow safe haven to one of the world's most dangerous criminals?

[The Economy, February 22nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, that is about as on topic as me talking about him registering his ships in other places and avoiding taxes and having people in other countries build his ships when the shipbuilding industry here could use that business. Some of us cannot avoid those taxes.

A falling dollar means a weakened economy. It zaps the buying power of Canadians. It puts our economy at a disadvantage. He might be at an advantage by taking his business offshore but how much lower will the dollar have to go? It fell below 65 cents just a few minutes ago. That is not my fault. I did not talk it down.

[The Economy, February 22nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance is the only person using the recession word in the House. I am not. And I was not talking to the market this morning when it fell below 8,000.

Falling markets do not just affect so-called rich people. It affects many Canadians: those who invest in union pensions, in RRSPs, and in the CPP. All of those investments have taken a hit. As a matter of fact, about half of all Canadians are invested in some way in the markets.

How much money will Canadians need to lose before the Minister of Finance brings in an up to date budget and shows that we have a plan to take us through these choppy economic times?