House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 50% of the vote.
Questions on the Order Paper June 13th, 2013
With regard to the changes to the Customs Tariffs on page 433 of Budget 2013 and the removal of the General Preferential Tariff regime on pages 134-5 of Budget 2013: (a) what monitoring will be carried out in relation to changes in (i) consumer prices, (ii) the total GST collected by the government, (iii) the total revenue collected by the government; and (b) what are the benchmarks that these changes need to meet in order to be considered successful?
Questions on the Order Paper June 13th, 2013
With regard to the importation of music devices, broken down by fiscal year since 2006-2007: (a) what is the total value of music devices imported into Canada under tariff codes (i) 8519.81.29, (ii) 8521.90.90, (iii) 8521.13.90, (iv) 9948.00.00); and (b) how much was paid in tariffs for the importation into Canada of music devices under tariff code (i) 8519.81.29, (ii) 8521.90.90, (iii) 8521.13.90, (iv) 9948.00.00?
Petitions June 13th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the other petition is asking the government to reverse cuts to the prison chaplain program.
Petitions June 13th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I am rising to present three petitions, and I will be brief on each.
The first petition is signed by hundreds of constituents of my great city of Sudbury. The petitioners wish to protect consumers from gas-price gouging. They would like the Minister of Industry to act on this petition. They are calling for justice for one of my constituents, Paul Temelini, who has been fighting a case for 30 years.
Combatting Counterfeit Products Act June 12th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the minister a question.
In 2007, which he has been talking about, yes, there was first-party support for this bill. Things have changed in six years. Technology has changed. The industry committee has been studying this bill and hearing from witnesses. To all of a sudden bring this bill forward without any debate makes one start questioning whether the minister has even spoken to the other minister about public safety.
They have cut the budget of the border security agency. There are fewer border guards to do the things the minister is saying they are able to do. There are fewer people looking at this stuff, but the government wants to increase their workload. How are they going to be able to do this? We need to come up with a conclusion that works for Canadians.
This bill has been long awaited on this side of the House. We have been talking about it. The government is saying that something happened in 2007, but the BlackBerry has even changed since that time.
We needed time to debate this in the House, but once again, the Conservatives are blind. It is about ideology rather than about making this a good bill to protect Canadians. It is again Conservative hypocrisy and mismanagement on a file that has been going on for too long.
Combatting Counterfeit Products Act June 12th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, like many on this side of the House, I am appalled at once again having to go through time allocation and having our time limited on such an important subject. I do agree with the minister that Bill C-56 is an important bill that we need to address.
In 2009, recommendations were made by the industry committee to do exactly what the minister talked about. Why is it taking so long for the government to act when we can protect consumers and Canadians a lot sooner?
At the industry committee, we heard from businesses that said cuts to the CBSA would impact and harm Canadian consumers.
Here we are again, having an opportunity to debate a bill, but time is being cut. We can bring forward good amendments to make the bill stronger, to protect Canadians, but we cannot do it when the Conservatives keep pulling the rug from underneath us.
Petitions June 12th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to present petitions signed by hundreds of members of my great riding of Sudbury, who are asking the government to protect consumers from gas price gouging. The cost of gasoline is continuing to fluctuate erratically. Prices are prone to wide variations between communities and sharp spikes in anticipation of higher demand. The petitioners want the federal government to take action to ensure that gas prices are fair and competitive, despite the fact that there have been numerous complaints from citizens and watchdogs.
The undersigned are calling on the Minister of Industry to present legislation on behalf of the government to protect consumers from price gouging by gasoline retailers.
Conservative Party of Canada Fund June 11th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, whether it is the SS Duffy sailing the Caribbean claiming per diem amounts or the Liberal leader defending Mac Harb and Patrick Brazeau for their “honest mistakes”, whether it is a secret payment to Mike Duffy or the duelling parliamentary secretaries making up contradictory stories about a secret Conservative Party fund controlled out of the PMO, the member from Nepean was flatly denying the very existence of the fund.
However, on CBC, the member from Ajax was singing a different tune. When asked whether there was a special fund controlled by the Prime Minister's chief of staff, the parliamentary secretary replied, “No one is denying that”—no one, that is, except his colleague, the member from Nepean.
Therefore, as we start another question period, I urge my Conservative friends to turn away from the PMO gutter politics, show some contrition and finally answer some questions.
Questions on the Order Paper May 21st, 2013
With regard to section 347 of the Criminal Code, broken down by fiscal year for each fiscal year since 2006-2007: (a) how many investigations has the RCMP carried out into contraventions of this provision; (b) how many charges have been laid; and (c) how many successful prosecutions have been carried out?
Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada May 6th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, for months Conservatives have blindly praised the Keystone XL pipeline, cheerleading for a project they admit will ship tens of thousands of jobs to the U.S. In contrast, the NDP believes that pipeline projects should be sustainable and make economic sense.
Now the new Liberal leader has jumped on the pipeline bandwagon, and just like the Conservatives, is making things up to attack the NDP leader. He is even praising the Premier of Alberta, who worked hand-in-hand with Ottawa Conservatives to delay effective monitoring of the oil sands development on the Athabasca watershed.
Since electing a new leader, Ottawa Liberals have voted with the Conservatives against the plan to fight climate change, with the Conservatives' draconian anti-terrorism law, and with Conservatives on the Canada-China FIPA.
I guess it is hard for some people to stand up to lobbyists. In contrast, people can trust the NDP for change in 2015.