Mr. Ross Belsher (Fraser Valley East):

Mr. Speaker, since coming to office one year ago the Progressive Conservative Government has initiated new programs and improved existing ones that directly benefit British Columbia. These include the over-all umbrella ERDA, a $525 million funding agreement for economic development, between the federal Government and the Province of British Columbia.

The five-year agreement will provide joint funding for initiatives in forestry, industrial development, tourism, agriculture, and mineral exploration. Over the term of the agreement it is expected that 15,000 person years of employment will be generated in forest management. A full-time federal forestry Minister was appointed in response to concerns expressed by British Columbia, which is by far the largest producer of forestry products in Canada.

The Government is actively involved in negotiations with the United States to head off U.S. tariffs on Canadian products.

The latest figures from Statistics Canada prove that the Government is doing a good job for B.C. The Retail sales in B.C. this August were up 11 per cent compared to August of last year. The unemployment rate in B.C. has fallen from 15 per cent to 13 per cent. There are 23,000 more jobs in B.C. since September of 1984. Business bankruptcies in B.C. in the first nine months of this year were down 16 per cent relative to the same time last year. British Columbia exports in the first half of 1985 are up by 8.3 per cent. Mr. Speaker, these are positive steps, but there is still more to be done.

Mr. Ross Belsher (Fraser Valley East):

Mr. Speaker, in April of this year the President of the Treasury Board (Mr. de Cotret) announced that an agreement had been reached with the unions representing Public Service employees on the principles to govern the introduction of pension plan revisions. Both the Government and the unions agreed that Public Service pension plans would be funded and administered in accordance with accepted practices of major private-sector employers.

This means that current indexing of pensions would be replaced by an inflation protection feature based upon the earnings of the fund. Placing Public Service pension arrangements on a sound financial basis is a proposal with much merit.

I hope that an agreement can be made which would allow the retention of current indexing for those federal employees who have retired from the Public Service. This latter statement is one which I made public to federal superannuates in

October 31, 1985

my constituency on June 21 this year. 1 now state it again. My stand on this issue has not changed.

Mr. Ross Belsher (Fraser Valley East):

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Employment and Immigration. No doubt the Minister was enthusiastic about last Friday's announcement of the national unemployment rate dropping to 10.1 per cent, the lowest level in the last three years. Can the Minister tell us what steps the Government will be taking during the next few months in order to reduce the unemployment rate to an even lower level?

Mr. Belsher:

Mr. Speaker, the Hon. Member in his speech talked about not knowing about the agreement, but later on he referred to a letter written by council with respect to the Toronto Island Airport. I am curious to know on what he was basing his remarks.

I believe the noise by-law provided for in the Bill does have the protection about which the Hon. Member is so worried. It also specifies that no straight jets will be permitted. It is also in the agreement, to my understanding, that no bridges or tunnels will be permitted. That is already in the agreement. The agreement is a public document. It is not something which is being hidden as implied by the Hon. Member.

With respect to the appointment system, it is my understanding that the City of Toronto will be able to appoint three out of five members to the Commission. It also goes one step further in that the members will not just be appointed by the executive of the City Council but will go before the total of the council, the whole council itself, which will make it in line with the rest of the nominations which go to other boards. Therefore, the council has the protection there. This has been worked out with the City of Toronto and the Commission and it is not all one way as the Hon. Member would lead us to believe.

I think those were the points I wanted to cover. I wonder if the Hon. Member would care to comment on those points or should we just leave it at that?

Mr. Belsher:

Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask the Minister what sort of regulations he envisions being put in place to regulate the number of races which will be permitted to be used for this purpose which originate from outside the country.

October 2, 1985

I am sure it is not the intention of the Government to supplant the races which are taking place in Canada at the present time. While everyone knows the Kentucky Derby and similar races hold a great attraction, there are also many other famous races which take place in Europe and other countries. What sort of regulations does the Minister envision being put in place to prevent an over-abundance of races from outside the country?