Montreal business consultant Yvon Plante, MBA, stated in a March 27, 1997 report that the Grand-Mère Inn had a long term debt of $1.49 million, $350,000 above a manageable level; lacked $250,000 in working capital and required a $350,000 investment; had compiled $330,204 in unpaid bills, an amount considered by Mr. Plante to be three times an acceptable level for a company of its size; had scheduled mortgage loan payments totalling on average more than $210,000 annually between 1998 and 2002, payments which Mr. Plante viewed as unt ...[+++]hinkable given the firm's financial situation at the time; had no well trained accountant; had no budget; and had no standard bookkeeping system, resulting in management not being able to obtain a monthly financial statement of the company's revenues versus expenses.

I think I was on fixed election dates and the honour of this Prime Minister coming forward with legislation that fixed a date in time, rather than being able to pick and choose among all dates as to when an election might be . So that's where we stand.

The moment there is a majority government in power, elections on a date set by statute would enable Elections Canada to plan more securely in four-year cycles, with contingencies for delivering general elections that could still occur outside the fixed date.

1. Any payment entitlement accompanied by an eligible hectare shall give right to the payment of the amount fixed by the payment entitlement.

The Memorandum of Understanding details some of the major elements to be included in the contract: a firm maximum price, a fixed date for completion of the works and handover of the building, arrangements for penalty payments if that timetable is not met, and procedures for the acceptance by the Commission of the works and the guarantees associated with the occupation of the building.

My colleagues on the opposite side of the House have advanced three arguments in support of this hybrid system: first, that fixed dates for general elections would remove what they view as a built-in bias in favour of the governing party, namely, the ability to call a general election at a time most favourable to its interests; second, that a hybrid system for calling elections would be less costly to administer and organize; and third, that setting fixed dates for general elections would end needless House time wasted on election speculation and remove one of our favourite national pastimes.