Supply  Madam Speaker, earlier today the leader of the Reform Party said that it took 15 years for Canadians to wrestle this deficit monster and to beat it and he was absolutely right. It did take 15 years. And it took more than this Liberal government to beat the deficit; it also took a Conservative government.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member's comments, and perhaps we should ask him to translate yadda, yadda, yadda. Sometimes these are very complex, mathematical and economic equations and perhaps I could lend him a calculator. One-third plus one-third plus one-third equals one, and what we are suggesting is one-third for debt reduction, one third for tax reduction and one third for sound, strategic investments in the future competitiveness of Canadians.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of the member for Medicine Hat. On government by polls, I do not pay a lot of attention to polls. My party and I determine economic policy which will best lead Canadians into the 21st century. His party had polled that my riding would go Reform last election.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, sound economic policy requires courage, diligence and, very important, consistency. Last year the Reform Party wanted to cut spending by $12 billion. Now it wants to put a cap on current spending. Its policy has changed somewhat on that. Last year the Reform Party was focused on tax reduction and now its current strategy is to focus on attacking the debt largely due to recent polls of Canadians.

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I address the House today on Bill C-223. The Progressive Conservative Party feels strongly about encouraging the opportunities for Canadians to purchase their homes. Our party introduced a home buyers plan where Canadians could borrow up to $20,000 from their RRSPs for their first home and first home loan insurance program through CMHC.

Income Tax Amendments Act, 1997  Madam Speaker, when I hear some of the members of the Reform caucus describe Canada and the mess we are in, they never really seem to acknowledge the achievements we have made in this great country of ours. I think it is very important not to simply be sensationalist opposition members.

Income Tax Amendments Act, 1997  Mr. Speaker, the economic revisionism that pervades this House sometimes is really astounding. The fact is that between 1989 and 1993 it was the Conservatives that started a trend of reduction in income taxes as a per cent of GDP from 14% of GDP to 13% of GDP by the time our party was asked politely to leave in 1993.

Income Tax Amendments Act, 1997  Mr. Speaker, I listened to the hon. member's speech. I welcomed the defence of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. It has certainly been a long time coming. At some point it is at least good to see that people give credit where credit is due. When he spoke of a heart condition I cannot understand his firsthand experience because I do not think there are a lot of them in that caucus, hearts I mean.

Income Tax Amendments Act, 1997  Mr. Speaker, the issue of transfers to the provinces and the transition to tax points was addressed in our recent platform. The fact that decisions should be made at the provincial level and that the provinces should have the ability to chart their own course on some of these issues as long as national standards are met is very clear.

Income Tax Amendments Act, 1997  Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary in his duties should take some time to read a little of what the international economists are saying about the Canadian economy. It is not simply what The Economist said a few months ago. They quote selectively from what some publications say.

Income Tax Amendments Act, 1997  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for what I assume must have been his maiden speech because he certainly went on for a long time and said very little. We talk about debt to GDP ratio, but if we were to talk about substance to rhetoric ratios, he would certainly have a very low ratio in that case.

Income Tax Amendments Act, 1997  Mr. Speaker, the issue we are now facing as a country is the fiscal dividend, the potential of a surplus. The PC Party takes great pride in this moment that our country has reached. The structural changes which were made in the Canadian economy by the Conservative government in the early 1990s have allowed Canada to seize the opportunity as we are poised to move into the 21st century of a fiscal surplus.

Committees Of The House  Mr. Speaker, I commend the hon. member on his provocative discussion about the importance of education and his position and opinion relative to the potential of the federal role in terms of leadership in some areas of education. The member is quite right that Nova Scotia was a cradle of education and to a certain extent, perhaps, that led to the intelligence of the electorate in the recent election.

Committees Of The House  Madam Speaker, in our platform we actually called for national testing as one way of ensuring that Canadian children across this great country received the same educational opportunities. Young Canadians going to school in Port-aux-Basques should be provided with the same level of education as children growing up in Toronto.

Committees Of The House  Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. His depth of knowledge on economic issues is obviously only exceeded by his height. The fact is that economic policy takes years to have meaningful impacts. I cannot explain an international phenomenon. For instance, the U.K. is enjoying one of the most unprecedented levels of economic growth as a direct result of Conservative policy.