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Notes for a Speech by the Honourable Robert Nicholson
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform

Annual Gala of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce

March 23, 2006
Check Against Delivery

Ladies and Gentleman,

• It is a pleasure to be with you in Cambridge today to speak about the new government's agenda and to give you my perspective as Government House Leader and Minister responsible for Democratic Reform on our priorities and our approach in Parliament this spring.

• As you know, the Cambridge area is very ably served by its Member of Parliament, Gary Goodyear.

• Gary and I are proud to be part of a government team led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper which is committed to delivering on the commitments we made in the election campaign.

• Canadians sent a message on January 23 that they wanted change and that they demanded more from their elected representatives:

• A government that will establish the highest ethical standards for government.

• A government that will provide real tax relief to working Canadians.

• A government that will provide support for families.

• A government that will crack down on violent crime in our communities.

• And a government that will ensure that Canadians have timely access to health care.

• In the election campaign, we set out a clear plan to address these issues, a plan to deliver real results to ordinary working Canadians and their families in Cambridge and across Canada.

• Canadians now expect their government and Parliament to take action.

Our Priorities in Parliament This Spring

• Parliament will open on April 3 with the election of the Speaker of the House of Commons.

• On April 4, the Governor General will deliver the first Speech from the Throne for the new Parliament, which will set out our new government's policy agenda and our priorities.

• Our focus in the new Parliament will be to implement our top five priorities from the election campaign:

• We will clean up government by passing the Federal Accountability Act.

• We will provide real tax relief to working families by cutting the GST.

• We will make our streets and communities safer by cracking down on crime.

• We will help parents with the cost of raising their children.

• And we will work with the provinces to establish a Patient Wait Times Guarantee.

• I will be working with the opposition House Leaders to make sure these measures are passed quickly in Parliament this spring. As these are the priorities we clearly set out in the campaign, Canadians expect to see the government deliver on these commitments, and I am confident that we will be able to garner support for these initiatives in Parliament.

• Let me speak briefly about how we intend to pursue each of these initiatives in Parliament in the coming months.

Federal Accountability Act

• Canadians who work hard, pay their taxes, and play by the rules expect accountability from their political leaders.

• And public trust in government must be earned. Earning that trust starts with making government more accountable, open and transparent.

• That is why the first piece of legislation we will introduce will be the Federal Accountability Act.

• The Federal Accountability Act will be a comprehensive plan to clean up government, with measures based on the following themes:

• Reforming political financing and ethics.

• Enhancing the role of Parliament through the creation of a Parliamentary Budget Authority.

• Improving public service transparency and disclosure.

• Strengthening oversight and accountability.

• And cleaning up government procurement practices.

• In short, the Federal Accountability Act will change how government works by making it easier for Canadians to hold the government to account. It will help to make sure that Canadians' tax dollars are spent properly and legally.

• Given the mandate Canadians gave to our government on January 23, we intend to move forward with this legislation expeditiously in the House, and I look forward to working with parliamentarians on these issues.

GST Reduction

• The Prime Minister has also indicated that we would present a Budget this spring, which would allow us to immediately reduce the GST by one point.

• And as we promised in the election campaign, we will reduce the GST by another point, to five per cent, over five years.

• The reduction in the GST will mean real tax cuts for all Canadians, including the most vulnerable in society such as seniors and students. By putting money in people's pockets, this tax measure will help everyone deal with the rising cost of living and will spur the economy immediately.

• And more generally, the Budget will also be an opportunity for us to begin implementing our fiscal priorities.

Child Care

• The Budget this spring will also provide us with an opportunity to move forward on our commitment to establish a Choice in Child Care Allowance.

• As we set out during the campaign, the government believes that the best child care policy is to let parents choose what is best for their children, and provide parents with the resources to balance work and family life as they see fit.

• That is why our Child Care Allowance will provide all families $1,200 per year for each child under six, to be taxable in the hands of the spouse with the lower income.

• The government intends to have the Child Care Allowances in place by July, which means we will look to have the implementing legislation adopted by Parliament before the summer.

Justice Measures

• During the campaign, we made a series of commitments to ensure that all Canadians can live in safe and healthy communities.

• The government will be introducing a series of legislative measures this spring to implement this key priority. For example, this spring the Minister of Justice will introduce:

• A bill to end conditional sentences for serious crimes.

• A bill to establish mandatory minimum sentences for designated drug trafficking offences, weapons offences, crimes committed while on parole and repeat offenders to ensure that serious crime results in real punishment.

• And a bill that would stop adults from sexually exploiting vulnerable young people by raising the age of consent for sexual activities from 14 to 16 years of age, which will be renamed the "Age of Protection".

• The Minister of Public Safety is also working on an approach to repeal the wasteful long-gun registry.

Patient Wait Times Guarantee

• As we set out in our platform, another top priority is to develop a Patient Wait Times Guarantee to ensure that all Canadians receive essential medical treatment within acceptable waiting times, or can be treated in another jurisdiction.

• This commitment will require the government to work closely with the provinces in establishing this guarantee, and the Minister of Health will be working with his provincial counterparts in this regard over the course of the spring.

Economic Policy

• Turning to a matter of particular interest to those of you here today, our election platform included a series of commitments to strengthen the Canadian economy. In this regard, we intend to help individuals, families, and businesses get ahead by lowering taxes, rewarding effort, and making Canada a great country in which to do business.

• I have already discussed our commitment to immediately reduce the GST.

• In addition to this, our platform stated that we would finally implement the business tax relief the previous government had promised in the last Budget but then subsequently abandoned.

• Over the course of our mandate we also intend to implement our Opportunity Plan for Small Business, which would raise the threshold for the small business tax rate from $300,000 to $400,000 and gradually reduce the small business rate to 11% over five years.

• In addition, our platform included a commitment to support the development of skilled trades through an Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, a Tools Tax Deduction, and an Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit.

• The government recognizes the importance of small and medium-sized business in spurring economic growth and job creation, and we will be working toward creating the right environment that will allow businesses to prosper.

• At the same time, we know that in order to create the right environment for investments and job creation, the federal government must keep its own books in order.

• The government believes that balanced budgets and paying off debt are essential to Canada's success.

• That is why we made a commitment during the election to pay down the national debt by a minimum of $3 billion each year.

• And that is why the government intends to limit future growth in spending to more reasonable levels.

• Specifically, our government has made a commitment to limit future growth on federal grant and contribution programs and within federal departments and agencies to the rate of inflation plus population growth.

Approach to Parliament

• As you can see, we have an ambitious agenda to deliver on our commitments to Canadians.

• But at the same time, we recognize the reality that we have a minority government - in both the House of Commons and the Senate.

• The Prime Minister has stated that we will govern on an issue-by-issue basis where support will be canvassed among all parties.

• At the same time, the Prime Minister has stated that it is our intention to work to keep the commitments we made to Canadians.

• As the second consecutive minority government, we know that Canadians are placing a premium on stability in Parliament, and they rightfully expect that all parliamentarians will work together to deliver results for ordinary Canadians and families.

• We believe our platform was very clear and that we have a mandate from Canadians to implement it, beginning with a focus on our five priorities.

• That said, we recognize we are in a minority and will work with the opposition on areas of convergence between our platform and those of other parties.

• And I am pleased by the comments that a number of opposition leaders in the House and the Senate have made about their intention to work together to deliver on our electoral commitments

• We have already begun to engage the opposition parties on our legislative initiatives for the new Parliament

• In my own case, I have been working with the House Leaders of the opposition parties on measures to launch the new session of Parliament, and I am happy to say that there is a good spirit of cooperation on common issues.

• So, I am hopeful that in the new Parliament opposition parties will join with the government in working together to implement the commitments we made in the election.

• That's what Canadians want, and that's what this government will deliver.

• Thank you.