The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member sees nothing but a glass half empty. The big news today was on the employment front. The United States lost more than 400,000 jobs, which is terribly bad. Canada was expected to lose a large number of jobs, like 20,000. The point the hon. member ignor

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, as the member must know, we have already announced a budget for December. We had to wait until the most recent information and the figures on the third quarter were available, toward the end of this month. Once he sees all of this information, the member will see th

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, this massive fiscal margin is all in the imagination of the Bloc Quebecois' finance critic. He is always talking about a surplus of $13 billion. He seems to think that he is right, and that all of the other economists are wrong. The fact is that the federal surplus

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, it seems to me that the NDP remains mired in the failed tax and spend permanent deficit policies of the 1970s, a morass from which thinking lefties have long ago escaped. The budget will be in December.

Prebudget Consultations  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for that excellent question. I spent the whole day in the House yesterday and I thank members for many excellent suggestions. On the whole we had from the left the tax and spend from the NDP I have mentioned before. On the right from the fift

Prebudget Consultations  Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the hon. member on the subject of health care. I heard her echoing the thoughts of the Ontario government that this was a problem caused by the federal government. I would like to suggest two facts and see what her answer is. First, she may be

Income Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2001  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to Bill S-31, the income tax conventions implementation act, 2001, at second reading. The bill would enact tax treaties that Canada has signed with eight countries, five of which are new treaties with countries with which

Nelson Mandela  Mr. Speaker, this morning, Canada gained a new citizen. In my opinion, Nelson Mandela is the entire world's number one citizen. In the last century, there have been three great champions who have fought for the freedom of their people: Ghandi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mande

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, I have three points which suggest that my statement was accurate and perhaps I could mention them. The first is that yesterday afternoon I received information that Nelson Mandela wanted to see “the fellow who opposed my nomination”. I immediately notified the Prime

Privilege  My contention is I did not make a mistake and I am offering facts to support it. Nelson Mandela waited some minutes at the airport to receive the call and it was not received. Then as a consequence, protocol informed the PMO. The PMO called the hon. member's office and the repre

Income Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2001  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill S-31, the Income Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2001, at third reading stage. This bill enacts recently negotiated tax conventions between Canada and eight countries. Exports account for more than 40% of our annual gr

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask a question about a comment which made no sense at all. The hon. member said that the finance minister was walking Canada into a recession. It appears he does not have a clue that this is global. All countries in the world are slowing down. Indeed

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Hillsborough. In a sense this is a strange motion to have less than a week before the budget because members opposite should understand there is such a thing as budget secrecy. There is no way we on this side the Hou

Supply  I am not holding my breath for sensible ideas from over there. I cannot reveal the extent to which I know what is in the budget. I will briefly review the opinions of the opposition parties regarding the budget and then come to the core principles the finance minister has already

Supply  Mr. Speaker, unlike the hon. member, I do not make any claims to being an exceptional magician as far as my ability to make ultra-accurate forecasts are concerned. I would therefore repeat what I have already said. If the hon. member is the only economist in the country with the