Citizenship and Immigration May 3rd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, in Canada's 2013 economic action plan, our government renewed its commitment to a fast and flexible immigration system that is more focused on Canada's labour market needs. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration please update the House on Canada's largest economic immigration system, the federal skilled worker program?

Petitions April 26th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition from some British Columbians.

The petitioners acknowledge that the current impaired driving laws are too lenient. In the interests of public safety, they want to see tougher laws and the implementation of new mandatory minimum sentencing for those persons convicted of impaired driving causing death.

The petitioners are also calling for the Criminal Code of Canada to be changed to redefine the offence of impaired driving causing death to vehicular manslaughter.

The Environment April 26th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, we all watched yesterday as the two opposition parties seemed to debate whose environmental policies were worse for our government and our country. The Liberals' plan actually increased GHG emissions by 30% over their 13 years in government, and the NDP plan of a $21 billion carbon tax would actually ruin our economy.

Could the Minister of the Environment please tell the House just how many megatonnes of emissions these failed schemes would actually reduce?

Petitions April 19th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of residents of British Columbia and Alberta I would like to present a petition today.

The petitioners note that Canada is a nation that has long promoted the right to equal protection and equal benefits of the law and that preventing the birth of baby girls through sex selective abortion is an affront to the dignity and equality of women and girls. They also note that sex selective abortions have denied millions of girls in Canada and throughout the world the chance merely to be born because they are girls.

The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to condemn the discrimination against girls through sex selective abortion and do all it can to prevent sex selective abortions from being carried out in Canada.

Tanker Safety March 21st, 2013

Mr. Speaker, while the majority of northeastern B.C. residents are in favour of developing our natural resources responsibly, some of my constituents have expressed concerns about shipping these resources overseas.

Our government understands the importance of protecting our nation's waters. That is why we have introduced a comprehensive plan to develop a world-class tanker safety system here in Canada, in particular off the west coast. This new plan would implement eight new tanker safety measures; introduce a safeguarding Canada seas and skies act; and create a tanker safety panel to review Canada's current tanker safety regime and propose further measures to strengthen it. Although we already have strong tanker safety in Canada, these new measures would represent the first steps toward developing a world-class tanker safety system.

Our government will continue our efforts to increase trade while protecting our environment for generations to come with a first-class tanker safety system second to none in the world.

Petitions March 20th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition representing thousands of people from British Columbia. The petition highlights that last year, 22-year-old Kassandra Kaulius was killed by a drunk driver. The group of people who have also lost loved ones to impaired drivers, called Families for Justice, says that current impaired driving laws are too lenient. The petitioners are calling for new mandatory minimum sentencing for people who have been convicted of impaired driving causing death. They also want the Criminal Code of Canada to change to redefine the offence of “impaired driving causing death” to “vehicular manslaughter”.

Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012 March 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that this member would consider it a botched process.

According to the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada, they welcome Bill C-48.

As the last technical income tax bill was passed by Parliament in 2001, a significant backlog has accumulated and must be addressed.

My colleague might make comments according to your experts, but we have experts, too, who say that the bill needs to be passed. Experts and Canadians would agree that it needs to be done.

Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012 March 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the simple answer is that I do not know. A lot of these measures simply make sense, as the hon. member stated in his comments. Obviously, they make sense to a lot of other taxpayers and to us as a government.

The challenge I made before to the NDP members is that they simply let us get this done and pass the bill.

Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012 March 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, a simple challenge to the member, then, would be to vote in favour and pass the bill.

The Certified General Accountants Association of Canada, representing over 75,000 tax professionals, stated:

Some of the measures contained in today's bill [Bill C-48] were initially proposed as early as 1999....

With unlegislated tax measures, taxpayers and professional accountants must maintain their records and forms—sometimes for years—to be in a position to comply, even without knowing when and if these measures will be approved by Parliament and enacted. This uncertainty and unpredictability places an enormous compliance burden on taxpayers, businesses, professionals and their clients.

Again, I would ask the NDP to pass this bill.