Hon. G. S. Gerry Merrithew (Minister of State (Forestry)):

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to make my inaugural address in this House on the occasion of the debate on the address in reply to the Speech from the Throne. This is particularly so because I have the honour to hold a new portfolio, that of Minister of State for Forestry, which was created by our Government and our Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) in recognition of the enormous importance of the forestry sector in our economy.

It is just as important to me, however, to be here fulfilling my more immediate responsibilities as a Member of Parliament for Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada's most dynamic port city. I want at this time to thank the citizens who supported me in Saint John for the confidence they have placed in me over six elections in the last 13 years, one municipal, four provincial, and, most recently, for a convincing win on September 4.

The City of Saint John is one of eastern Canada's major industrial centres, boasting a population of over 100,000 people, mainly of British, Irish, Scottish and French descent. Our city was the first incorporated city in Canada. Next year we will be celebrating our 200th anniversary. A meeting, by way of coincidence, will be held this week to commemorate the first provincial Cabinet meeting which was held in Saint John on November 22, 1784. To mark that particular event, the Government of New Brunswick's present executive council will meet in our city on Thursday of this week to commemorate this important date in our nation's history.

Saint John is, first and foremost, a port city. It is also an important industrial city with major industries such as Saint John Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. Ltd., a large brush and broom factory, one of the largest in the British Common-

The Address-Mr. Merrithew

wealth, an oil refinery, two pulp and paper mills, and a growing number of small and medium-sized businesses.

The people of Saint John are also very proud of our city's efforts to modernize the downtown core. This venerable city recently initiated a major facelift built around the now famous Market Square complex, which includes a new trade and industry centre, an office complex and a library and, of course, very attractive common areas. Those people who have not chosen to have a convention there are certainly welcome to come and experience our Saint John hospitality.

Despite its age, the city and its people are modern and forward-looking. The people of Saint John are by tradition entrepreneurs, willing to accept the challenge of the marketplace, looking for opportunities to create and to prosper. It is a community that was, of course, positioned to feel very directly the hardships of the recent recession. Dependent on the marketplace, vulnerable to the disasters affecting international trade, the people of Saint John suffered through all of the economy's failures over the past five years.

They also suffered through the paralysis of federalism which prevented national solutions to national problems. As a provincial Minister of Commerce and Development for six years and later as Minister of Natural Resources of the Province, I was forced to witness the long, bitter battles of businessmen faced with crippling interest rates and sagging markets.

Believe me, I saw firsthand the impact of bankruptcy and unemployment on Canadians as they realized that their dreams for the future would have to be postponed or forgotten. Like every Canadian, especially those of us with children, I worry about the effects that economic uncertainty and unemployment might have on the next generation. As Minister, I turned around to find only slogans and arrogance at the federal level. There was no sense of national crisis, only jealous protection of what they called their turf.

Like every Canadian, I recognize the human waste behind the statistics of alcoholism, crime and suicide. I know that the first duty of any government must be to restore a sense of purpose and hope to individual Canadians. I am proud that our Government has signalled in its Throne Speech its intention to rebuild that confidence and to balance major programs. On the one hand, the Government will give Canadians the freedom to invest and to build. On the other hand, the disadvantaged will be protected through our social programs.

Mr. Speaker, the themes of the Throne Speech are as welcome as birds in spring, especially when we hear the words reconciliation, consensus, economic renewal and social justice. These are themes that were forgotten by an entire generation of Canadians, and will now provide the key to a new era of government.

The Fathers of Confederation knew very well what they were doing when they designed our country. They built a state which functions only when Canadians work together. When they fight each other, as they have for the past decade, it

[ Translation]

There again, industries based on Canadian forestry products and also our efforts in forest management will provide jobs for thousands of young people during our mandate. Few job creation programs are as valuable or as cost-efficient as those which hire young people to plant and manage our forests. [English]

Few job-creation programs are as valuable or as cost-efficient as those which hire young people to plant and manage our forests. A sector experiencing such profound change is the ideal place for creative entrepreneurs to capture a niche in the new marketplace.

The Throne Speech also made extensive reference to social justice. The opportunity for economic prosperity is a key aspect of social justice. We see the sustained utilization of the natural resources of Indian lands as an opportunity for native Canadians to develop a self-sufficient industry and employment on federal reserve land.

Many experts have calculated that Canada's forest reserves could be sustained and expanded for a relatively small investment. If only a quarter of the tax revenues produced annually by the forest sector were returned to the resource in planting, management and protection, we would be equipped to take advantage of the expanding market opportunities predicted by Canadian and international agencies. However, to get that investment, Canadians must understand its importance. They must place it in the context of transportation, education and health care as being a major ingredient of the Canadian standard of living.

The Liberal Government threw up its hands at the primary industries and particularly at the forestry sector. It said that it was a provincial matter. It is not a provincial matter, Mr. Speaker. It is a shared problem legally, morally and economically. The excuse for idleness was that old refrain: "The provinces will not allow us to move in this field". That is nonsense. As someone who was there on the other side of the table just a few months ago, I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, that the provinces are not against federal activity in forestry; they welcome it. They never have been against it. What they are against and have every right to oppose is the old pattern of federal involvement in which Ottawa would make all the decisions and take all the credit.

One entire section of the Throne Speech deals with Canada's success on the international stage. As Minister of State for Forestry, no question could be of greater interest to me and, I am sure, to the people of British Columbia, New Brunswick and other areas which do a great deal of exporting of forestry products.

Canada is an exporting nation. Her biggest export is forest products which earn more in foreign exchange earnings than oil, minerals, fish and agricultural exports combined. Protecting our access to these markets, opening up new market opportunities and adapting to changing customer demands are the great challenges for the Canadian economy. The federal Government will have a role in facing these challenges.

The Address-Mr. Merrithew

The Throne Speech is not a laundry list of specific promises; it is a statement of general intentions and philosophical commitments to action. As the mandate proceeds, we will introduce legislation and programs to live up to the promises our Party made during the recent election campaign as far as the depleted resources of the federal Government will allow. Even more important, we will ensure that the themes of this Throne Speech, social justice, co-operation and internationalism, are a constant characteristic of Canadian life.

As a Minister of this Government, I look forward to the next few years with excitement. As the Minister responsible for the forestry sector, I envision a period of challenge but also one of rewards and satisfaction. As a representative of Saint John, I see the Throne Speech as being the first step taken by a government which will serve my city, my Province and my country very well.

Mr. Merrithew:

Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the fact that the Hon. Member spoke of his concerns, as have other Members from British Columbia as well as members of all Parties. The platform on which a Party campaigns is not for a one-year period, or a two-month period, but one which covers a five-year mandate. Things can be done and will be done by a government that is concerned about forestry. The Government will spend those dollars as dollars become available. The very fact that the Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) and the Party saw fit to establish the Ministry of State for Forestry is a very good indication, because it provided for the industry a clear signal that the Government is interested in Canada's largest industry. If nothing else, it will provide to the industry the assurance that someone in Cabinet will be speaking for the industry.

With regard to the mandate which has been given to me as Minister and to the Ministry of State for Forestry, the Prime Minister did what he could under the legislative authority which was before him. At this time there is no legislation in place to establish a full department. Over the intervening years I am sure that the Government will be dealing with such issues as what the Government should be doing for the industry, the kind of organization it should have, and how it can best effect what it wants to do for the industry. That will come in due course. In fact, it is under review at the present time.

The five-year rescue program is one in which I totally believe. I served for two years as the Minister of Forestry and the Minister of Natural Resources in the Province of New Brunswick, as well as serving for six years as the Minister of Commerce and Development. During that time I worked very closely with the forest industry. For once, I think the industry, the Government, labour and all provincial governments realize that perhaps in the past what needed to be done to ensure that there would be a forest industry for our children and our grandchildren was neglected.

The kind of dedication which was expressed in the election campaign and the intentions which we have expressed as to what needs to be done is a realistic goal. The extent to which we will be able to achieve that goal is another matter. Through no fault of our own, we have inherited a fiscal and financial situation that is deplorable, to say the least. However, we will take steps, in conjunction with the provinces, to put into place the programs which are needed.

In the two months I have been Minister I have met with the majority of my provincial counterparts to discuss the kind of programs they desire. I have signed an agreement with the Province of Alberta. As well, last week I signed a $150 million agreement with the Province of Ontario. In that agreement we attempted to deal with the aims and the needs of the industry in Ontario. The aims and needs of the industry vary from province to province, and we respect the right of the provinces

November 20, 1984

to express their individual views. I have met with Mr. Water-land and his staff on several occasions regarding the B.C. agreement. I agree that there is a very definite need for a new program. That Province did not take advantage of a modernization program, which many other provinces undertook, in terms of pulp and paper modernization. British Columbia chose to go the route of forestry regeneration, new silvaculture activities, research and development and so on. It is my intention to sign an agreement with that province as soon as possible. I cannot at this point in time give the exact date for that. However, we are dealing with it at the present time in the Regional Development Committee. I can only state that I will fight on behalf of the people, and certainly on behalf of the industries, in British Columbia for a fair and equitable portion of the funds which are available.

The Hon. Member did mention the move of forestry from the Department of the Environment to the Department of Agriculture. I can tell the Hon. Member that I was not privy to the kind of discussion and thought which went into the decision made by the Prime Minister. I can, however, assure the Hon. Member that it was not done because the federal Government thought the industry would find it a lot easier to work within the Department of Agriculture because of its registration function and review of pesticides and herbicides. That is not the indication at all. I believe it does fit in the way in which we are trying to portray the industry, not as people who attend the land, but people who farm the land-

Mr. Merrithew:

I certainly will, Mr. Speaker. In the next few months and few years, Mr. Speaker, I intend to deal with the issue of forestry, to be a strong voice for that sector of the economy around the Cabinet table. I very much regret what happened over the 1970s to the Canadian Forestry Service, at which time its staff, and, therefore, its activities were cut almost in half. That was regrettable, it was very wrong, and I certainly hope it will not happen now.