Letter sent to John Nunziata, M.P.

Attached is a copy of a letter sent yesterday from Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to John Nunziata, M.P. The Prime Minister is releasing the letter because Mr. Nunziata earlier today released the text of his letter to the Prime Minister.

PMO Press Office: (613) 957-5555

OTTAWA

April 22, 1996

Mr. John Nunziata, M.P.
House of Commons
Ottawa (Canada)
K1A 0A2

Dear Mr. Nunziata:

I acknowledge receipt of your letter of April 16, in which you inform me of your vote in the House of Commons against the government on a matter of confidence.

While you refer to the GST in your letter, you should be aware of the Liberal Party commitment in the Red Book on page 22:

A Liberal government will replace the GST with a system that generates equivalent revenues, is fairer to consumers and to small business, minimizes disruption to small business and promotes federal-provincial fiscal cooperation and harmonisation.

I presume that you are aware that after extensive study of 20 possible alternatives, the Liberal members of the House of Commons finance committee recommended a simplified, integrated federal-provincial value added tax as the best means of achieving our commitment. That is exactly what the government is trying to do.

I know that many hoped that other options were possible. So did I. In your letter, you wrote about integrity. May I remind you that governing with integrity does not mean doing what appears to be easy and popular if it is not right and does not work.

Governing with honesty and integrity means recognizing what is possible in reality, examining responsible policy alternatives and choosing what works and implementing whatever is in the best interest of individual Canadians.

That is the way I have governed for two and a half years now, with the full support of the caucus, the cabinet and the Liberal Party. That is why we have credibility with the Canadian public. That is how my government will always govern.

In our system, governments stand or fall on whether the House of Commons supports budgetary policy. Nothing is more fundamental to parliamentary government. You stated in your letter that you are fully aware that "the budget vote has traditionally been viewed as a vote of confidence". With that, I agree.

By having voted against the budget, you can no longer be considered to be a supporter of the government. While I may regret it, the consequence of your action cannot be clearer. After consultation with colleagues in caucus, I must inform you, in my capacity as Leader of the Liberal Party, that effective immediately, you are no longer a member of the Liberal Caucus. I have instructed the Whip to inform the Speaker that you no longer sit as a Liberal member of the House of Commons.

Yours truly,

ORIGINAL SIGNED
BY JEAN CHRÉTIEN