Supply  Twenty years later, in 1993, his house is mortgaged at 95 per cent, because that is the maximum amount he can borrow. He has a loan for the full value of his automobile because it is rented, and he has reached the spending limit on his credit cards. All the while, he has maintained the same standard of living. That person is inclined to say: My standard of living is very good and I have maintained it for the past 20 years.

Supply  In doing so, we are responding to an expectation that was repeatedly expressed by the people during the election campaign. The urgency of the situation speaks for itself. The deficit is reaching a record high and is out of control to such an extent that, as a percentage of the gross national product, it is 63 per cent higher in Canada than the average in the G-7 countries. Half of this deficit is due to structural problems.

Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements And Federal Post-Secondary Education And Health Contributions Act  This includes personal income tax, corporate income tax, sale taxes in general, taxes on fuel, tobacco products and alcohol, fiscal levies on natural resources, property tax and many more not so far-reaching taxes. Each year, the fiscal capacity of the provinces is compared on the basis of their individual estimated revenues if the same tax base and tax rate were applied in each case. This requires a standardized tax system known as representative tax system in which provincial governments' revenues are divided up based on 33 different revenue sources, each having a base representative of those actually used by the provinces.

Bosnia  Rose, the military officer in charge of the forces in Sarajevo, said that an agreement had been reached a few minutes ago with the Serbs, who agreed to place their arms in the Sarajevo area under the control of the United Nations. I understand that the Muslims will do likewise, which means that if the ultimatum is accepted, there will be no need for airstrikes in the region.

West Coast Ports Operations Act, 1994  We can recognize that and not try to impose any enforcement action in those periods as long as it is done in a reasonably short time after the deadline is reached. I say this as a passing amendment. (Clause agreed to.)

West Coast Ports Operations Act, 1994  It seems to me that under the circumstances, the minister should give both parties the opportunity to reach an equitable settlement. I want to stress that the state of the economy is different in British Columbia than it is elsewhere. I would like for things to be this way in Montreal. This may not be an interesting problem to resolve but, just between us, I would much prefer to solve this problem than some of the other ones that are tied to the state of the economy.

West Coast Ports Operations Act, 1994  Speaker, regarding the minister's comments to the effect that the two parties had a lengthy history of confrontation which could only be settled with legislation, in defence of the parties, one has to say that the last two agreements were reached by mutual consent. No doubt this is the reason why legislation was not introduced early on. To my understanding, all issues have been settled, except for the question of salaries. The last attempt at mediation brought the parties closer together than was reported in the newspapers where mention was made of a gap of 25 cents.

Health  That is why the Government of Canada is introducing a four-pronged strategy to make sure that we have a strategy that encourages every single Canadian to stop smoking by ensuring that the base price level for cigarettes is at a level that is out of reach of young Canadians and hopefully very soon out of the wish of most Canadians.

Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements And Federal Post-Secondary Education And Health Contributions Act  However, the process is quite similar in that elected representatives sit down together to discuss issues and reach some agreement. The agreement is not imposed: it is negotiated. I do hope that the hon. member will recognize that other side of the coin. Of course, nothing can be perfect but this is not to say that there is no similarity, because there is some similarity.

Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements And Federal Post-Secondary Education And Health Contributions Act  Those who have worked at official levels and at ministerial levels have worked it through. They have reached agreement with the provinces and the provinces support the equalization formula that is here and the basic concept. That is important as we as legislators pass this piece of legislation.

Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements And Federal Post-Secondary Education And Health Contributions Act  The principle of transfers to the provinces has existed since after World War II. Inequities are still visible across Canada; all regions have not reached the same level of development. That can be explained and I will do that while commenting a bit on the speech of my colleague, the hon. member from Calgary West, who said that what counts is not the amounts spent but the quality of the spending.

Department Of Citizenship And Immigration Act  On Monday, the minister tabled another bill, Bill C-44, to amend the Immigration Act, the Citizenship Act and the Customs Act. Under this bill, persons convicted of a major crime will no longer be able to claim refugee status to gain entry into or postpone their deportation from Canada. We agree with these principles, but we want to look very closely at each and every one of Bill C-44's provisions.

Yukon First Nations Land Claims Settlement Act  I always thought Indian time was on the longer side rather than on the shorter side. I thank the hon. member for Churchill.

The Economy  Yesterday, the government changed strategies. It used to blame everything on a Conservative government that no longer exists. Now it blames a Parti Quebecois government that does not exist yet. Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that the real problem is federal management and that a $500 billion federal deficit is not one of the benefits of federalism.

House Of Commons Standing Orders  The quote I would like to take from the red book is: "The people are irritated with governments that do not consult them or that try to conduct key parts of the public business behind closed doors". That is the truth which we are reaching for here. I pledge, and I am sure that I speak on behalf of all the members of my party, that we are going to work together to enhance not only the ease with which Parliament works but also with its accountability to the people.