House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2008, with 37% of the vote.
Child Care February 19th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the government promised a child care program that was supposed to give parents some choice, but in over 12 months it has failed to deliver even one new child care space.
My municipal government has just reported a shortage of 9,000 spaces, and it is the same across the country. If parents in my constituency need a child care space, what choice is the government giving them?
Health February 9th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the government in the campaign did not promise pilot projects. It promised a health care guarantee for everyone.
The provinces are afraid that if they follow the Conservative formula, they will be broke in two years. If the Conservatives are serious about fixing the wait times issue, why will they not listen to the provincial health ministers and give them the money to get the job done? Why are Canadians still waiting for the wait times guarantee?
Health February 9th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the government has been in power for a year and has yet to deliver its wait times guarantee.
First, the government pretended it would do the job. Then it passed the buck to the provinces and territories, with no new money to help.
When will the health minister put his money where his mouth is and implement the health wait times guarantee his government promised to all Canadians in the last election?
Air Canada February 9th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I would like to say a few words about a remarkable Canadian success story, one which has strong connections to my riding of Oakville.
Air Canada is our nation's largest full service airline. From its beginnings in 1937 as Trans-Canada Airlines, Air Canada has become the 14th largest commercial airline in the world. It is the largest provider of passenger services in the domestic market and to destinations around the world.
During 2005, Air Canada carried over 30 million passengers and served over 795 destinations in 139 countries.
My riding of Oakville is home to a significant number of Air Canada employees and I commend them and their colleagues for providing us all with one of the vital links that brings this nation together and connects us to the world. I fly Air Canada with pride.
Persons with Disabilities December 13th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the ideological and meanspirited cuts by the minority government are without bounds. Conservatives have done nothing new to help Canadians with disabilities and they have taken a giant leap backward by slashing $150 million which was scheduled to help persons with disabilities to access jobs.
The minister is supposed to be committed to the full inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of life. Could she explain how these cuts make Canada more inclusive and help disabled Canadians to find jobs?
Senior Women December 7th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue their relentless assault on the vulnerable. This time it is senior women.
After the income trust fiasco, they tried to offer amends by allowing income splitting for pensioners. That is terrific, but just under half of all pensioners are single and nearly three-quarters of those are women. What about them? Worse, close to half of these women live at or below the official poverty line.
Yes, there is an increase in the age credit but this pales in comparison to the handouts provided to well-off senior couples who could see tax reductions of tens of thousands of dollars. This is a disgrace. After $1 billion budget cuts in September, they have now added to their hit list impoverished, senior single women.
We know they have another $1 billion in cuts to come. Canadians should be asking who they will attack next.
Child Care December 4th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, only one in five Canadian children has access to a regulated child care space. By scrapping the funding for the Liberal child care plan, the government has turned hope into despair. Let us be clear, less than $3.50 a day is not a universal child care plan.
When will the government offer Canadian families a real child care program, not one that arrives through the mailbox?
Child Care December 4th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the minority government has scrapped provincial child care agreements in favour of a taxable monthly cheque but the lack of child care spaces means that Canadian women, especially poor women, will continue to be excluded from the workforce. The Conservative government does not even want to hear from Canadian women because it slashed Status of Women Canada.
Why are the Conservatives determined to crush dissent and to turn back the clock on child care?
Income Trusts November 22nd, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the minority Conservative government dropped an atom bomb on income trusts and cost ordinary Canadians over $25 billion.
Yesterday, unelected cabinet minister Marjory LeBreton said, “I have not seen any evidence that individuals have lost large sums of money”. This is saying to let them eat cake: aristocratic indifference from out of touch Conservative senators while ordinary Canadians lose their shirts.
I say to all Canadians, let us send Marjory a message. Let us get out the pencils. Her telephone number is 613-943-0756. On the Internet, Canadians can send her a message at lebrem@sen.parl.gc.ca.
Let us send Marjory a message. Maybe she will quit stalling and apologize to Canadians for the Conservative broken promise on income trusts.
Child Care November 10th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, here is another broken promise.
The Conservative election platform said that its $100 monthly allowance to families would be in addition to the Canada child tax benefit, which is an income support program for low and middle income families. However, the young child supplement part of this tax benefit has been eliminated. Canadians, who were promised they would not to be hit by some backdoor money grab, are having this money snatched away from their children.
How can the government justify this broken promise?