House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2008, with 37% of the vote.
Business of Supply November 7th, 2006
I am not sure that the parents in Canada will be completely thrilled with the tactic that has been suggested to all these new recruiters which is, “Telephone your children's schools and ask if you or your unit could go there to recruit”.
It seems to me that parents--
Business of Supply November 7th, 2006
Mr. Chair, I have been quite aware of the fact that Canadian youth are not rushing to fill all the spots that the new government wants to have in the armed forces and therefore, it is upping its recruitment tactics, calling it Operation Connection.
Apparently according to the CDS, the number is going from 300 recruiters to 30,000 recruiters and then eventually to 80,000 recruiters, touching every community in Canada. I understand the need for recruitment. I am wondering what the department has budgeted for that operation.
Business of Supply November 7th, 2006
Mr. Chair, the minister's estimates say that he is asking for $3.2 billion as the total cost of this tactical purchase for the acquisition of 17 aircraft. Whatever model the minister buys, simple math tells us this gives him a budget of $188 million per plane. Something does not add up when we know that the Italians bought these planes at $65 million per plane. Even if the minister added two years of training, support and spare parts or even if he threw in the cost of managing the project, the accounting would still be an insult to Canadian taxpayers at $188 million per plane instead of $65 million.
Will the minister promise right now that he will go back to his officials and redo his homework on the cost of this multi-billion dollar project?
Business of Supply November 7th, 2006
Mr. Chair, the so-called competition for the procurement of tactical airlift has published a set of requirements which heavily favours Lockheed Martin's Hercules C-130J over all other competitors.
Can the minister tell us what is the average price of a C-130J?
Income Trusts November 2nd, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised he would not do this. He cannot seem to apologize for breaking his word. Canadians have learned that this is a government that cannot apologize even when it is wrong. This was a bait and switch scheme on Canadians who invested their hard-earned money based on the Prime Minister's own words.
This is no time for monkey business. Does the Prime Minister still deny that he made a pledge to Canadians that he would not impose a new tax on income trusts?
Income Trusts November 2nd, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative election platform made a specific promise to seniors to preserve income trusts by not imposing any new taxes on them, and the Prime Minister went further. When he came to Oakville, he promised my constituents face to face that a Conservative government would not “monkey around with their income trusts”. Now, he is denying those promises. He has cost many Canadians tens of thousands of dollars and put their futures in jeopardy.
Will the Prime Minister now admit he broke his promise?
Business of Supply November 1st, 2006
Mr. Chair, the government boasted that recent cuts to the department were made in an effort to trim the fat and provide taxpayers with value for money.
How much money does the government spend each year in mailing out the $100 cheques, cheques that are taxable, which the minister forgot to mention during the campaign and even afterward?
Business of Supply November 1st, 2006
Mr. Chair, the minister's first strategy was based on a $10,000 tax credit to entice businesses to create spaces. When it received no response from business and failed, she went to plan B and created a ministerial advisory council on child care spaces initiative.
Of the nine members on this council, how many are recognized as child care experts? How many run for profit day care operations or represent those who do? How many are from Quebec?
Business of Supply November 1st, 2006
Mr. Chair, the money they are spending is far less than the money the Liberals were spending. The fact that we are dead last, as of September 2006, suggests that we have stalled on this file.
The same study revealed that access to early childhood education in Canada was measured as negligible, ranking us with Greece and Mexico.
The Conservative government has been in power for eight months, plenty of time to improve access for our children. How many new child care spaces has the Conservative child care spaces initiative created to date?
Business of Supply November 1st, 2006
Mr. Chair, in an OECD study of 14 member countries released in September, Canada now ranks dead last in spending on early childhood education. In light of this dismal state of affairs, could the minister explain how the monthly payoff of $100 constitutes the most effective program to develop the best and the brightest to compete in the global marketplace of the 21st century?