House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2011, with 33% of the vote.
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns September 14th, 2009
With regards to the infrastructure programs within Budget 2009 and the Building Canada plan: (a) do the Treasury Board guidelines differ in any way between the new infrastructure programs within the Economic Action plan and the Building Canada programs from Budget 2007; and (b) what analysis has been undertaken to evaluate the effects of infrastructure programs on increased costs of construction?
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns September 14th, 2009
With regards to the infrastructure programs within Budget 2009 and the Building Canada plan: (a) what are the due diligence guidelines and processes used to select approved projects for (i) Building Canada Fund Major infrastructure, (ii) Building Canada Fund Communities Component, (iii) Public-Private Partnerships Fund, (iv) Gateways and Border Crossings Fund, (v) Provincial-Territorial Base Funding, (vi) Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, (vii) Green Infrastructure Fund, (viii) Universities and Colleges Knowledge Infrastructure program; (b) what auditing requirements are being placed on approved projects for (i) Building Canada Fund Major infrastructure, (ii) Building Canada Fund Communities Component, (iii) Public-Private Partnerships Fund, (iv) Gateways and Border Crossings Fund, (v) Provincial-Territorial Base Funding, (vi) Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, (vii) Green Infrastructure Fund, (viii) Universities and Colleges Knowledge Infrastructure program; (c) was any targeting done for areas with respect to unemployment level or need for (i) Building Canada Fund Major infrastructure, (ii) Building Canada Fund Communities Component, (iii) Public-Private Partnerships Fund, (iv) Gateways and Border Crossings Fund, (v) Provincial-Territorial Base Funding, (vi) Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, (vii) Green Infrastructure Fund, (viii) Universities and Colleges Knowledge Infrastructure program; and (d) which projects were exempted due to changes in environmental regulations and/or changes to the Navigable waters protection act for (i) Building Canada Fund Major infrastructure, (ii) Building Canada Fund Communities Component, (iii) Public-Private Partnerships Fund, (iv) Gateways and Border Crossings Fund, (v) Provincial-Territorial Base Funding, (vi) Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, (vii) Green Infrastructure Fund, (viii) Universities and Colleges Knowledge Infrastructure program?
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns September 14th, 2009
With respect to the Knowledge Infrastructure programs within Budget 2009: (a) under the Universities and colleges program, (i) what projects have been approved for funding to date, (ii) where are they located and in which federal riding, (iii) who are the partners involved, (iv) what is the federal contribution, (v) what are each partner's contribution, (vi) how much of the funding has flowed and to whom, (vii) what were the criteria used to determine approved projects; (b) under the Canada Foundation for Innovation, (i) what projects have been approved for funding to date, (ii) where are they located and in which federal riding, (iii) who are the partners involved, (iv) what is the federal contribution, (v) what are each partner's contribution, (vi) how much of the funding has flowed and to whom, (vii) what were the criteria used to determine approved projects; (c) under Canada Health Infoway, (i) what projects have been approved for funding to date, ii) where are they located and in which federal riding, (iii) who are the partners involved, (iv) what is the federal contribution, (v) what are each partner's contribution, (vi) how much of the funding has flowed and to whom, (vii) what were the criteria used to determine approved projects; (d) under the broadband in rural communities, (i) what projects have been approved for funding to date, (ii) where are they located and in which federal riding, (iii) who are the partners involved, (iv) what is the federal contribution, (v) what are each partner's contribution, (vi) how much of the funding has flowed and to whom, (vii) what were the criteria used to determine approved projects; and (e) under the First Nations infrastructure programs (i) what projects have been approved for funding to date, (ii) where are they located and in which federal riding, (iii) who are the partners involved, (iv) what is the federal contribution, (v) what are each partner's contribution, (vi) how much of the funding has flowed and to whom, (vii) what were the criteria used to determine approved projects?
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns September 14th, 2009
With respect to the Economic Action Plan in Budget 2009: (a) under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, (i) what projects have been approved for funding to date, (ii) where are they located and in which federal riding, (iii) who are the partners involved, (iv) what is the federal contribution, (v) what are each partner's contribution, (vi) how much of the funding has flowed and to whom, (vii) what were the criteria used to determine approved projects; (b) under the Building Fund Communities Component top-up, (i) what projects have been approved for funding to date, (ii) where are they located and in which federal riding, (iii) who are the partners involved, (iv) what is the federal contribution, (v) what are each partner's contribution, (vi) how much of the funding has flowed and to whom, (vii) what were the criteria used to determine approved projects; (c) under the Provincial/Territorial Base funding acceleration, (i) what projects have been approved for funding to date, (ii) where are they located and in which federal riding, (iii) who are the partners involved, (iv) what is the federal contribution, (v) what are each partner's contribution, (vi) how much of the funding has flowed and to whom, (vii) what were the criteria used to determine approved projects; (d) under the Recreational Infrastructure program, (i) what projects have been approved for funding to date, (ii) where are they located and in which federal riding, (iii) who are the partners involved, (iv) what is the federal contribution, (v) what are each partner's contribution, (vi) how much of the funding has flowed and to whom, (vii) what were the criteria used to determine approved projects; (e) under the Green Infrastructure Fund, (i) what projects have been approved for funding to date, (ii) where are they located and in which federal riding, (iii) who are the partners involved, (iv) what is the federal contribution, (v) what are each partner's contribution, (vi) how much of the funding has flowed and to whom, (vii) what were the criteria used to determine approved projects; and (f) under the National recreational trails program, (i) what projects have been approved for funding to date, (ii) where are the located and in which federal riding, (iii) who are the partners involved, (iv) what is the federal contribution, (v) what are each partner's contribution, (vi) how much of the funding has flowed and to whom, (vii) what were the criteria used to determine approved projects?
Infrastructure September 14th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the Prime Minister stayed glued to his seat, because the minister who got up gave himself 28 projects, five times as many projects to fix recreation centres as the average.
Across the country, the Minister of Transport's riding and the ridings of his two colleagues in Ottawa have an unemployment rate that is half that of the rest of the province, yet they are giving themselves two to four times as much money for infrastructure stimulus. They are leaving 400,000 people, a workforce the size of New Brunswick, abandoned across the country.
When his cabinet ministers are stimulating the country, why should anybody trust this government to help—
Infrastructure September 14th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, for the Prime Minister, after analyzing his government's infrastructure promises, we now know why there has been so little real construction. It was his cabinet ministers arguing among themselves that has delayed things for months.
Of the top 10 ridings in Ontario receiving infrastructure funds, four are represented by his cabinet ministers, including the minister responsible, the Minister of Transport, and a fifth by his parliamentary secretary.
How does the Prime Minister explain to the 408,000 Canadian families who became unemployed since last fall that his cabinet is too busy trying to buy votes to create the jobs that are needed?
Employment Insurance June 15th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the unemployed cannot eat off of that rhetoric. It has been 139 days since the budget and Canada's largest city is still waiting for even five cents of infrastructure stimulus funding.
The city of Toronto has had a plan for infrastructure and jobs and to spend $10 billion on new transit improvements. Embarrassingly, the federal government is a shirker, paying for only 10%. The minister has absolutely no vision on his own.
Will the government now stop second-guessing the unanimous decision of Toronto City Council? The deadline is June 27. Will the government finally do its part or will it once again let down the people of Toronto?
The Economy June 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, it was the finance minister on January 27 who said it was absolutely essential to get the projects going and the money flowing within 120 days, four months.
The deadline has come and gone and all Canadians have to show for it are photo ops with Conservative ministers. The construction season is well under way, but instead of funding speeding up, it has slowed down and no jobs have been created.
Canadians need to know, is it because the finance minister is wrong, or because the minister responsible for infrastructure is incompetent, or is it both?
The Economy June 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, according to Statistics Canada, government spending decreased in the first quarter. Last year, $2 billion was not invested. That money should have been used for construction starts and to create jobs. Instead, 87,000 fewer construction workers are working this year.
What does the government have to say to the unemployed construction workers this year?
Infrastructure May 12th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, it is no coincidence he is reaching back to October. He does not want to talk about what is not happening today.
In fact, the minister is not tracking jobs created at all. He is not even asking communities to indicate whether their area is in need of stimulus funds; not at all.
Will the minister admit here today he has no idea how many jobs he may be creating or whether they are needed in the areas he may be sending money to? When he reports to the House in June, will he simply be making the numbers up?