Wellington Halton Hills MP Michael Chong presented an audience of about 70 people with his views on the federal political scene, and then fielded questions at his open house here on Sept. 9.
Chong said there are two major items that affected parliament over the past year, and which will continue to have a focus in the coming year.
He said Canada, and the rest of the world, had “a big economic shock” and added, “It was not something we would have predicted a year ago. No one predicted General Motors would no longer be a publicly traded company, owned by the United States and Canada. No one would have predicted failed European banks.”
And, he said, “I think our government deserves good marks.” Canadian banks are the safest in the world and have received “not one cent of federal or provincial” money.
Instead, the federal government has provided record stimulus money into the system to stimulate the economy. That is designed to replace some of the lost consumer spending.
Chong said Canadians can expect debt for the next four to five years, but Canada’s ratio of debt to gross national product is still the best in the world.
Chong said the second issue is climate change and greenhouse gas reduction. He noted the United States plans to cut emissions by 17% in the next 11 years, and if Canadians fail to meet that target, there will be penalties on Canadian trade goods. He said in December there will be new treaty talks on the environment, because the Kyoto Accord expires in 2012.
There were numerous questions. One dealt with Canada’s treatment of draft dodgers. It has been returning them to the United States.
Chong said the U.S. does not have a draft in place, and those who leave the Armed Forces there are deserters. They volunteered and muistto meet their obligations. He said Canada would expect the United States to treat Canadians deserters the same way.
One man asked about an elected senate.
Chong said the issue has been around for 30 or 40 years, and to get change would require a constitutional amendment and approval of all ten provinces.
He noted the Conservative government tried a different route, and passed legislation for an elected senate at a later date. That bill has been stalled – in the senate – for the past three years.
When asked about the HST the province announced it will create, Chong said his government favours it.
He reiterated Prime Minister Stephen Harper has no plans to reintroduce the abortion question in the house. He said when it comes to euthanasia, opposition parties seem to be in favour, but, “I’m opposed.”
One man asked about the current Buy American campaign in the United States. The federal government cannot discriminate against Canada in trade because of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but Chong explained that states and municipalities there are permitted to do that, and many are.
He said one company in the Halton Hills part of his riding has suffered because of that campaign, but he said Canada’s biggest trading partner would not win a trade war against the United States, because Canada has only 3% of that country’s trade.
Chong said, “In any trade war with the United States, we’d lose 25% of Canada’s economy.”
Chong said in the last six months, the federal government has been working to resolve that issue, and Harper plans to raise it again in his next meeting with President Barack Obama. It will be Harper’s first point of discussion.
