Division No. 354  Madam Speaker, I rise today actually in disappointment as this is the 50th time in the Liberals' reign that they have invoked closure. We talk about a democracy in this country. It is actually a capitulated democracy. I preface my remarks around something that farmers would understand.

Standing Orders And Procedure  Mr. Speaker, as a new member of the House I am extremely proud to take part in this important debate which focuses on the rules and practices of the House. This is one of the few occasions when the House is required to consider its practices. Parliamentary procedure is as much a part of the Constitution as are the written constitutional statutes.

The Public Service Of Canada  Mr. Speaker, as with free trade and the GST, once again the Liberals are breaking one of their campaign promises. This time they are breaking the 1993 election promise to eliminate regional rates of pay, a policy that pays 11,000 federal government workers a different salary depending on where they work in the country.

Programs For Young People  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud, on behalf of my hon. colleague for Halifax West, to speak on behalf of the 223 Volvo workers and their families in Nova Scotia. The other day in this House the Minister of Industry said the closure of the Volvo plant has nothing to do with Bill C-11, the auto tariff reduction bill, and that the plant is not moving to Mexico.

Supply  Madam Speaker, I listened with great interest to the remarks of the hon. member. He spoke of his government's accomplishments. He spoke of the fact that the budget has now been balanced. He mentioned that the unemployment rate is now coming down. These are all positive things and Canadians should be pleased with them.

The Constitution Act, 1996  In 1979, it got elected by promising not to tax gasoline or not to increase the tax. Once elected, it did the opposite. In 1989, it promised, if elected, to tear up the Free Trade Agreement. As we know, the Free Trade Agreement is still with us today. In 1993, it wanted to scrap the GST, we should know, we talked about it for one full week, but it never did.

The Budget  My hon. friend from the Reform Party is alluding to the fact that my contribution will be small, and I agree, but it will be a contribution of some use. I will dwell a little in the history of where we were, how we got to be the way we are and where we may be going. It is necessary to put this budget and previous budgets into of context to address the financial situation of the country.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, on November 17, 1997 I asked the government, in light of the millions of dollars and the forced apology of the Liberal government, who was responsible for the Airbus affair scandal. Scandal is the appropriate word. I also asked the government when it would withdraw the bogus letter and accusations which were sent to the Swiss authorities.

Income Tax Amendments Act, 1997  Madam Speaker, if I had closed my eyes for a moment I would have sworn that was an NDP member of Parliament talking about education, health care and workers. My God, something is happening to the Reform Party. I rise in opposition to Bill C-28. I find it rather amusing when my Reform colleagues talk about people making $15,000 a year and how difficult that would be.

Canadian Withdrawal From Nafta Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-359, an act to require the withdrawal of Canada from the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mr. Speaker, this bill is a mirror bill to legislation introduced in the United States congress by Peter De Fazio, a Democrat from Oregon and Senator Byron Dorgan from North Dakota.

Criminal Code  Exactly. Let us change each piece of legislation every year, depending on whether or not certain groups can present their case on television and in the media and gain the most public opinion. Those people who were put to death between let us say 1997 and the year 2000 when the legislation might come up for review, well, they were on the wrong side of public opinion for three years.

Amendment To The Constitution Of Canada (Quebec)  Canadian constitutional history is premised on building minority rights and not on repealing them. Peter Hogg, Canada's renowned constitutional scholar, has described section 93 as “a small bill of rights for the protection of minority religious groups”. In its reference decision in 1993 on Bill 107 the Supreme Court of Canada declared that section 93 is the “basic compact of confederation”.

Customs Tariff  Sorry. The Canadian Labour Congress, for those on the other side who do not understand the labour groups. I did not hear him once say that he had spoken with the CAW, the Canadian Auto Workers. Not once did I hear him say that they referred this bill to working people. There is one point I forgot in my submission.

Income Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 1997  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to address this bill in the House. Before I do I feel I have to make some comments with regard to the statements made by the previous two speakers, the members of the government. I take the hon. members at their word when they talk about things like fairness and a caring government.

Speech From The Throne  Madam Speaker, I was trying to make the point about how forgotten the people of Cape Breton feel in the nation today and I found myself speaking to an empty government, empty of ideas, empty perhaps of compassion and empty of concern for the people I represent. I was speaking about the truths that I hope to convey to some of the government members on the other side.