Okanagan Centre Constituency Association  Next year we will celebrate 50 years since the end of the Second World War and the defeat of Adolf Hitler at the hands of whose armies tens of thousands of Canadians died in a successful effort to rid the planet of this anti-Semitic madman. Why then do some who work for the Reform Party of Canada stay up nights pouring over the collected works of Adolf Hitler looking for quotable-

Criminal Justice System  Mr. Speaker, Canadians across the land are outraged that their hard earned tax dollars are being used to pay restitution to a convicted criminal who fell while playing a racquet sport in prison. As reported in yesterday's Globe and Mail , one Allan Roe Coulter is serving a nine-year sentence at Matsqui prison in British Columbia after being convicted of armed robbery.

Cigarette Taxes  Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to inform hon. members my constituents are furious that the Prime Minister would ignore the pleadings of eight provincial premiers not to reduce taxes on cigarettes and would allow Canadian taxpayers to be held hostage. The one-half billion dollars lost by this tax reduction could be better spent on health care, education and retraining for the unemployed.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I have taken to heart what has been said. I will try to be brief. I feel it is very important that we sit down together and discuss these things, as my colleague from the Bloc has said. We need to do this in an atmosphere that our standing committees are conducive toward.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I think I missed the question in that little discourse but I do agree with the hon. member that there is more than one way to solve a problem. The way that Confederation has been designed has worked great for Canada for the last 125 years. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever that it cannot continue to make sure that problems, programs, assistance and government overlap from one jurisdiction to another shall remain in the federal jurisdiction.

Supply  Speaker, I was interested at the beginning of the member's presentation to learn that the Reform Party has a whip. It seems to me that it is something they would not have in their type of organization. Looking at the attendance it seems to me that he or she needs some practice. The motion before us today actually deals with confederation and we have heard a good deal of criticism-

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I believe it is inappropriate to make any comment about attendance in the House.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, the committee that is being suggested certainly falls under the terms of reference of the public accounts committee. I too do not see the need for an additional committee in the House for that reason. The hon. member has suggested some improvements which have already been made with the Auditor General's report.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to present a petition on behalf of constituents in my riding of Fraser Valley West who feel that the Government of Canada should hold a referendum binding upon Parliament on the subject of official bilingualism. They ask for a national referendum involving all electors in the provinces and territories.

Income Tax Act  First, since some Canadians took certain decisions in response to budgetary measures announced by the previous government-I insist on that point-I would like to know if, yes or no, the Bloc Quebecois agrees with the Bill. Second, you heard the members of the Reform Party say in this House that they oppose all taxes. They said: "No taxes, no taxes, no taxes," even for wealthy corporations or individuals who benefit from tax shelters. I would like to know the position of your party on that subject.

Income Tax Act  This bill will be referred to the Finance Committee, a committee which always has a busy schedule, but it will only be one more piece of legislation on a heavy agenda. Now he wants to know what our position is compared to the Reform Party's. I think I see what he is getting at. Do we consider that reducing tax shelters is different from raising taxes? I think that was the thrust of his question. There could be a difference, except that, on the whole, we are collecting more revenues.

Income Tax Act  The bill provides for tax incentives and ways of doing things in terms of taxation which are very positive. When we talk about reform, we are not suggesting that everything about the present tax system is wrong. Some aspects of it are more positive than others, and this is one of them. Two measures regarding flow-through shares and exploration expenses were included in an attempt to repair the mistakes made by the Conservatives when they axed the flow-through shares program.

Income Tax Act  Madam Speaker, I am having difficulty understanding who the privileged few are in this country. This party is for a fair tax system, a simple tax system. The definition of privilege to the government is something similar to that of broadening the tax base. When I see its definition of privilege and broadening the tax base the member will get the answer.

Income Tax Act  Perhaps I can define the question again or take a third try at it. I would like the hon. member to tell me whether the Reform Party is for or against closing tax loopholes. Does he feel that the closing of tax loopholes is a broadening or an addition to the taxes?

Income Tax Act  Madam Speaker, much of what the hon. member said is so close to my philosophy I am wondering if maybe he would like to move over and talk about it. It is very true about the complexity of this system. The system has become so complex that I do not think this government, nor did the Conservative government, knows the effect of a transaction when it changes the Income Tax Act.