Mr. Jim Edwards (Edmonton South):

Mr. Speaker, 13 days ago I had the privilege to respond to an invitation to visit Yukon. As a result, I enjoyed superb frontier hospitality. I spent 60 hours meeting miners, workers, teachers and young people, and discussed with them in many forums the concept of free trade. Those people, like most Canadians, hunger for information on the issue and I did my utmost to provide it. I found there was a terrible lack of genuine information on the issue in Yukon and I committed myself to try to redress that lack.

The difficulty appears to be an unwillingness on the part of the territorial Government and other elected officials to provide the facts. They seem to be getting fear, fabrication and foolishness from certain sources.

I have urged the people of Yukon with whom I spoke to ask their territorial MLAs for a copy of a study commissioned by the territorial Government into the benefits of free trade. Among those benefits underlined in the study are the creation of a market of 100,000 people among Alaska, Yukon and the

Mackenzie district of the Northwest Territories, new opportunities for trans-shipment, and lower input costs for mining.

Randolph Churchill once said to his son: "When all else fails, my son, trust the judgment of the people." The truth will prevail with the wonderful vigorous people of Yukon. They, as all other Canadians, will decide who is telling the truth.

Mr. John Nunziata (York South-Weston):

Mr. Speaker, the crucial Air-India investigation is another example of how the Government of Canada has bungled. We were told a few days ago by the Solicitor General (Mr. Kelleher) that there is an active, ongoing investigation into that disaster. Canadians just do not believe him. A year ago he said the same thing. On December 4, 1986, he said to the Standing Committee on Justice and Solicitor General: "There is some new evidence that gives us some hope."

The chairman of the Security Intelligence Review Committee said on November 20, 1986, one year ago, that the investigation was coming to a conclusion quite quickly. Just yesterday Mr. Atkey said: "There is a hope, and I put it no stronger than that, that the culprits will be brought to justice."

It is clear that the investigation has come to a complete standstill. It is clear that the Government has bungled that investigation. It is time that it assumed its responsibility and called a Royal Commission of Inquiry to determine all the facts surrounding this case, including the conduct of officials of the Government and whether or not they acted appropriately in the circumstances. Families of the victims feel betrayed by the Government. It has not shown the sensitivity necessary in the circumstances. The Government owes it to the families of the victims to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry.

Mr. Felix Holtmann (Selkirk-Interlake):

Mr. Speaker, this morning I received a letter from a personal friend of mine and I would like to share it with the rest of Canadians. It says: Dear Felix:

As I get things ready for Christmas in Canada's sovereign north, just a couple of short lines since I wrote you three years ago.

The wife and I always watch you and your colleagues on Question Period but I think she has a crush on the Speaker. Life has sure gone smoother for me with this economy booming and the unemployment dropping. The way you guys create jobs there is a brighter smile on Canadian faces this year.

December 18, 1987

Say, do you realize how much time it takes for me to stop at the U.S. border on the way south and be hassled with tariffs that I have to pay? When it comes to free trade tell that Mulroney fellow that he has my blessings, and although John and Ed are still getting the regular tin horn and air balloon presents, I am saving a dandy Christmas present for Brian for later in 1988.

Keep up the good work. Merry Christmas, buddy.

Nick Claus.

P.S. Felix, regarding your favourite constituent, the Premier of Manitoba, do not worry. Nobody is listening to him.

[ Translation]

Mr. Jean-Claude Malepart (Montreal-Sainte-Marie):

Mr. Speaker, year's end is always the time to produce balance sheets. Looking over the balance sheet of the Conservatives, 1987 will prove to be the year of catastrophic happenings, not to mention scandals.

Hon. Members will recall that elderly Canadians and families have been particularly hard hit, and that Montreal East was not spared. The Government failed to respond to the recommendations of the Picard and Pichette reports. Above all, Mr. Speaker, the end of the year is highlighted by calamity in the shipbuilding industry. The Government did not live up to its promises to Quebecers, and these people will not forget it whenever the next election comes up.

Mr. David Berger (Laurier):

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) and the Secretary of State for External Affairs (Mr. Clark) to pay particular attention to the efforts to end the Iran-Iraq war. The U.S. and the Soviet Union have disagreed on how to enforce the Security Council resolution calling for an end to the war. The Soviet Union has not agreed to an arms boycott of Iran and the United States has not been willing to entertain a proposal to put a U.S. naval force into the Persian Gulf.

A number of influential persons, including the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Shridath S. Ramphal, believe the time is ripe to revive multilateralism and to get the United Nations to fulfil its promise as an instrument of collective security.

Canada should be trying to develop a consensus on these questions in order to pressure the superpowers to come to some kind of agreement. I urge the Prime Minister, the Secretary of

State for External Affairs and the Government to make Canada's voice heard.

Mrs. Pauline Browes (Scarborough Centre):

Mr. Speaker, 85 per cent of families in Scarborough Centre will pay less taxes as a result of the tax reform measures announced by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Wilson). Tax reform also means that nine out of 10 seniors in Scarborough Centre will pay lower taxes, and thousands of low-income families will pay no tax at all.

Let me cite three examples of how tax reform will benefit the majority of people in Scarborough Centre. Mrs. Doris Birse, a senior citizen in my riding, receives most of her income from Old Age Security, Canada Pension Plan, and a modest annuity. Thanks to the tax reform initiatives, Mrs. Birse will pay $350 less in taxes next year. Another senior in Scarborough Centre, Mrs. Ethel Epp, also receives OAS and CPP benefits, as well as a small additional pension. Tax reform will save her over $300 next year. Finally, as a result of converting tax exemptions into tax credits and the lowering of personal income tax rates, the Csorgeo family will save nearly $1,000 in taxes.

For those people and thousands more in Scarborough Centre, tax reform means savings.

Mr. Iain Angus (Thunder Bay-Atikokan):

Mr. Speaker, this is a statement about the Grinch who stole Christmas. Most of the more astute Members of this House will have already realized that, of course, 1 am talking about Canada Post.

Every day at post offices from one end of the country to the other Christmas packages are piling up. Every day the backlog of undelivered parcels grows larger. Why is that? Because Canada Post will not allow its employees to work the overtime necessary to get the mail out.

Instead, it is hiring casual workers, people who use their own cars or trucks, to deliver parcels at $1 a piece. They are not required to have any security checks, special insurance, or a special licence which, in some communities, is supposed to be the law for this kind work.

December 18, 1987

This can cause some problems. We have heard stories about a pile of parcels being left in the lobby of a highrise. We have heard of casual employees taking parcels home at night because they did not get them all delivered.

As the Chairperson of the New Democratic Caucus I say that we do not approve of the way Canada Post is treating the mail of Canadians. We want to have a public inquiry into the way the Post Office conducts its business.

How many children are going to look under the tree on Christmas morning and see nothing but a little card from Canada Post that says: "Sorry, but we just couldn't manage to get your presents to you on time"?