Government Advertising May 10th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, as I just stated in French, Canadians gave us a strong mandate to stay focused on what matters, which is creating jobs and economic growth. That is the first thing. To do that we need to keep an eye on Canada's bottom line. We are taking action to find savings across governments, including the CTC.

The Canadian Tourism Commission will continue to promote Canada as a welcoming four-season destination in the world's most promising tourism markets.

By finding savings across government, we can continue to help create jobs and growth and keep taxes low for Canadians. This is how we create economic growth.

Government Advertising May 10th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, the number of tourists in Canada has increased. Since we are talking about the 2013 economic action plan, I would like to quote the Canadian Federation of Independent Business:

Overall, this is a good budget for small business…. [The minister] has done a solid job by remaining on course to eliminate the deficit while announcing some important measures for Canada's entrepreneurs.

That means that, overall, people see the potential for tourism. Spending is targeted. Since the number of tourists continues to increase, the government must be efficient in all areas.

Agriculture May 10th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, the National Research Council of Canada has the capacity to align its research with the needs of the market and industry in order to enhance productivity and competitiveness. This then generates demand and creates high-quality jobs, which translates into economic growth and job creation.

That is what we are doing. We are being falsely accused of cutting research, when this government has invested more than $9 billion of new money since 2007.

Those members over there voted against that, and that is a scientific fact. The math is very easy to understand. They are speaking out of both sides of their mouths.

Statistics Canada May 9th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to collecting statistical data while protecting Canadians' privacy, and this is a good principle. We know the survey provides useful and usable data for communities representing 97% of the Canadian population. More Canadians responded to this form than to the previous form. As recently as yesterday, StatsCan said that “at the national, provincial level, all of this information is pretty solid. It's high quality”.

Statistics Canada May 9th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, our government is determined to collect statistical data and, at the same time, protect Canadians' privacy. That is a good principle. The current survey has provided useful and usable data representing 97% of Canada's population. There were more respondents to this survey than the previous one.

Once again, I want to point out what Statistics Canada said just yesterday about this, namely, that at the national and provincial level, all of this information is pretty solid and high quality.

Statistics Canada May 9th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, first of all, our government is committed to collecting statistical data while protecting Canadians' privacy. This is the principle.

That being said, the survey provides useful and usable data for communities, representing 97% of the Canadian population. More Canadians responded to this survey than ever before. Statistics Canada just said yesterday, “At the national, provincial level, all of this information is pretty solid. It's high quality.”

Employment May 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, this is obviously a private business matter, but our thoughts are with the families affected.

Our government continues to take measures to stimulate the economy through our economic action plan 2013. These measures are significant, since 900,000 net new jobs have been created across the country.

I assure my colleague that we will not adopt policies to shut down our natural resources sector, tear up trade agreements or impose a $21 billion carbon tax on Canadians.

I hear the members opposite laughing, but I am being serious. We cannot develop a healthy economy by nationalizing private companies. We will continue to fight for the economy.

Asbestos May 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, this is hypocrisy of the worst kind. The NDP constantly lobbies against natural resources and wants to block all natural resource projects in the country. It even cozied up to the PQ in order to kill the asbestos industry.

We are showing leadership on this side of the House. Considering their position, we did not oppose the Rotterdam Convention, but we decided to create a $50 million fund for the affected workers. The member is being totally irresponsible and, frankly, is going too far. I invite him to go see the workers. He is from Asbestos, so he should go there and talk to them in person.

Government Advertising May 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is confused.

The community access program accomplished its mission. This program was implemented in 1995. It had its time and produced the desired effects. Today, with these good results, it is time to move on to other things. It is time to move forward.

We also announced the broadband Canada program in 2009 to make it easier for all Canadians to access the Internet. Naturally, the members opposite voted against this program.