Chris Warkentin

[Business of Supply, September 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate you on your new post.

I am sitting here in some astonishment because when my colleague from this side, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, asked her question about the hon. member's plan to raise the GST, he avoided answering the question.

Then in answer to the next question, he actually said, I answer questions because I am a real leader. However, the answer that he gave made it very clear that he was going to go after industry in my province of Alberta and that he was going to pass on the cost to consumers. He was going to make our gasoline, our goods, all go up by implementing a carbon tax that would drive up costs to consumers across this country.

I represent a lot of young families and I can tell members that there is one thing that young families, senior citizens and people in low-income positions cannot handle, and that is a rise in the cost of everyday goods.

What he has planned has been articulated by himself and others. I would ask that he admit that if he were ever in power, he would raise the GST and raise the cost of goods and services for all Canadians through a carbon tax, which would devastate families across this great nation.

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, June 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties and I think you would find consent in this House to defer the vote until 3 p.m. tomorrow.

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, June 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague who is again supporting this bill. She brought it forward as a private member's bill and now we see it as a government bill.

I know the hon. member's constituency is similar to mine in that she represents many first nations communities. Like her riding, many people in my riding from first nations communities have asked me if I might be able to assist them in getting some of the information that is prescribed in this bill. I am happy to supply the list to hon. colleagues across the way who are looking for people who absolutely want to see this information. People are contacting my office on a weekly basis looking for assistance with this.

The member for Nanaimo—Cowichan suggested that there were already existing authorities in place to allow first nations members to access this information. Does my colleague from Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar know whether those authorities have been able to provide the information for her first nations members? I certainly have been unable to get the information for the folks in my riding.

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, June 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thnk the hon. colleague across the way knows as well as I do that this is not a paternalistic bill. It is not a bill that has been brought forward with stereotypes in mind.

In fact, in my riding, and I am sure in her riding as well, it is actually first nation community members who are calling for legislation like this to be in place so that they would be able to access information relative to those people who are in leadership roles within their communities.

I know the hon. member would note that there are currently no statutes or regulations or other mechanisms that would require first nations to give out the information that is being requested by the membership.

There are some communities, certainly, that are being accountable by proactively putting this information onto websites or making it available to their community members.

However, I wonder if the hon. member, having stated that first nations are performing a number of different functions in terms of putting forward reports to the government, agrees that there should be an obligation to bring some of that information to the people who are actually being affected on a day-to-day basis, those people who are members of the community who are desperate for this type of information.

[Points of Order, June 18th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I reluctantly stand in this House to say that I too saw the action of the member opposite and unfortunately it was not as he describes it now.

Actions and words, even if accidentally done, elicit emotional responses. I believe that the actions as they would have been interpreted by any reasonable person seeing them would have been seen as the minister describes. They defile the memory of the Holocaust and are something which we in this House would find reprehensible. If the hon. member did not intend to communicate what was in fact communicated by his actions, I would ask that he apologize for how they would be interpreted because it was clear in the way it was presented that anybody would see it as a gesture that would be unacceptable in this House.

[Budget Implementation Legislation, June 12th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, economic action plan 2012 is a plan for jobs, growth and long-term prosperity here in Canada, a plan that keeps taxes low and helps encourage businesses to expand and create jobs. It is no surprise that on March 29, after only a few short minutes, the tax and spend NDP declared its opposition to this pro-jobs, pro-growth plan. Now, nearly three months later, the NDP, led by its high tax, big spending leader, is playing procedural games to try to further delay the implementation of economic action plan 2012.

Would the Minister of State for Finance explain to Canadians why it is so important that we get Bill C-38 passed?

[Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, June 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it has been a week since I stood in the House to demand an apology from the Leader of the Opposition for his outrageous and unfounded comments with regard to Albertans. Instead of apologizing, the NDP leader has made a sport of criticizing hard-working Albertans who play by the rules, pay their taxes and contribute to the national economy.

Every Canadian benefits from the efforts of Albertans who work in the resource sector. Health care, education, retirement savings, infrastructure investments and millions of jobs throughout Canada are dependent on the work of Albertans in the oil and gas sector. Hard-working Albertans deserve the praise of national leaders rather than the nasty and uninformed vitriol coming from the Leader of the Opposition.

The NDP leader has it wrong and Albertans deserve an apology.

[Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, May 17th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, for the second time this month, the Premier of Alberta is correcting the federal NDP leader. She is now calling him divisive and ill-informed after his recent comments calling hard-working Albertans a “disease”.

The premier is right: the NDP leader's remarks do not display national leadership. She said that she expects someone would have the courtesy to properly inform themselves instead of making disparaging comments about Alberta and Albertans.

The Deputy Premier also pointed out that Canada's oil sands generate more jobs in Ontario than the auto industry does. The IRPP has confirmed that the auto sector was not impacted by the theories that the NDP leader espouses. His comments calling hard-working Albertans a “disease” are outrageous, ill-informed and unacceptable.

I call upon the NDP leader to apologize to Albertans and stand up for Canadians across this country in every—

[Diamond Jubilee Medal, May 4th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, this year Canadians celebrate the 60th year of our Queen's reign.

The Diamond Jubilee is an historic event for our generations to reflect on the past and to set a vision for the future.

As part of this year's celebration, the Governor General, joined by our government, announced the creation of the Diamond Jubilee medal. This award will honour the Queen's service to all Canadians by honouring Canadians who serve. Canadians from coast to coast will be honoured for their contributions to our communities and to our country.

I am proud to represent some of the Canadians most deserving of this award. Peace Country residents serve their neighbours, communities and country without any expectation of recognition. This selfless giving has done a great deal to build our communities into great places where we can live, work and raise our families.

I call on Peace Country residents to reflect on the people who have transformed our communities by their selfless giving and nominate them for this prestigious award. Let us celebrate this exciting year by thanking those who have contributed so much to the Peace Country's past, present and future.

[The Budget, March 30th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday afternoon the Minister of Finance stood in the House to deliver his seventh consecutive Conservative budget. This balanced pragmatic and visionary plan is the right plan for Canadians and the plan that was asked for by Peace Country residents.

Peace Country residents asked for a plan that cuts government waste and leads to balanced budgets and prosperity, and the minister delivered. Peace Country employers asked for measures to make it easier to find qualified employees to fill labour shortages, and the minister again delivered. Peace Country residents asked for a long-term plan that would drive innovation and reduce red tape for entrepreneurs, and again the minister delivered.

Peace Country residents can be proud that they have a government that understands their priorities and ambitions. We in the Peace Country are committed to building a stronger and more prosperous future now and for future generations, and this budget will assist us in doing just that.