Employment  Mr. Speaker, the unemployment rate is higher today than it was when this government was elected last October. Will the minister commit to a goal of reducing unemployment by at least 1.5 per cent annually during the mandate of this government?

Employment  Speaker, I am quite prepared to make commitments to bring down the unemployment rate if members opposite from the Reform Party will also make the commitment to help us in creating a useful social program and a useful unemployment insurance program that will invest in people. I suggest that rather than always talking about the deficit on the economic side, they might start talking about the human deficit which is just as important.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. The minister continually indicates to us that he is unable to answer questions with regard to the deficit, the debt and deficit reduction. That bit of procrastination creates not only an uneasiness within this House but also in the marketplace.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the frankness and directness of the minister. I do not want to have the minister disclose anything that will come up in the budget. However, could he indicate and confirm the commitment of the government that there will be no increase in taxes in that budget and that average Canadians will not be adversely affected in any major way?

Government Spending  Mr. Speaker, I have an additional supplementary question. The minister is fond of referring to the 3 per cent GDP deficit target of the European Community. He will know that the European Community combines this with a maximum debt target of 60 per cent of GDP. The federal government is already at 70 per cent of GDP.

Government Spending  Mr. Speaker, I would hope that we could make comment on the general budgetary framework and policy of the government without looking at budgetary specifics. The minister continues to claim that he will reach his goal of reducing the deficit to 3 per cent of GNP by the 1997 fiscal year.

Government Spending  Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. Wednesday in the finance committee the minister indicated that the deficit for this year may now not go below $40 billion. This sounds like a return to a familiar pattern. In the upcoming budget is it the government's intention at least to comply with the spending limits set out in the last budget and under the current spending control act for the fiscal year 1994-95 and subsequent years?

Cigarette Taxes  Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House the Prime Minister cited a three to one favourable response to the tobacco rollback tax on an Ontario radio show. The Prime Minister said that this is proof that Canadians support the government decision. A radio talk show in my riding of Nanaimo-Cowichan reports just the opposite.

Violence  Members on both sides of the House have indicated their concerns and those of their constituents over violence in society and the need for reform of our criminal justice system. In this year, the year of the family, violence in the home is particularly intolerable. The Statistics Canada survey released last fall revealed that one-quarter of all women have experienced violence by a spouse or former spouse.

Saskatchewan Winter Games  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the residents of Kindersley-Lloydminster, I am pleased to rise in the House to pay tribute to the 1,600 athletes who will take part in the Saskatchewan Winter Games to be held from February 13 to February 19 in Kindersley, Saskatchewan. These young athletes have put in many long hours of training and I congratulate them for qualifying for the provincial games.

West Coast Ports  Mr. Speaker, I thank the government for dealing with the labour dispute at the west coast ports. Our constituents, including many farmers who depend on the operation of west coast ports for their livelihood and who suffered direct financial loss from demurrage charges during these tie-ups, were very anxious to see this dispute brought to a conclusion.

Hockey  Mr. Speaker, it has been argued that the love of hockey is one of the uniting forces in this country. As in most areas of Canada, this great sport is a major part of the history of Okanagan-Similkameen-Merritt. To commemorate this fact the British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame will be built in Penticton.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments by my hon. colleague in recognizing that the Auditor General's report is working and that action has been taken on these particular reports. He also acknowledged that the report now in front of us has caused a change in policy in the use of government aircraft.

Supply  It is something that we have to be most cognizant of because of the kind of impact that regulations can have on business and on the economy in general, as well as the quality of life of all Canadians. Indeed regulatory reform is a very important part of the government's endeavours. Yesterday I reported on the business impact test which the Canadian Manufacturers Association and the Treasury Board helped to launch as a means of understanding the impact we have on businesses with the different regulations that we put in place.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I think we actually talked that motion to death yesterday. Therefore we should pertain to other matters contained in the Auditor General's report.