Michael Chong

[Committees of the House, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it is important for the House to put this into context.

Our government made a solemn commitment during the last campaign that we would ensure programs delivered results and that those results were delivered in a way that ensured the value for money was there. We want to keep the faith with Canadians and we have delivered on our commitment. The government has identified $1 billion in savings this year out of an annual budget of close to $200 billion a year.

To put this in context, because sometimes the numbers get quite large and out of touch with ordinary Canadians, this is a very similar thing to a family living in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador that has an annual household budget of $20,000 and they identify $100 a year in savings. It is entirely reasonable. Families do this day in and day out and families expect us as a government to do the same with their hard-earned tax dollars.

Furthermore, the government invests close to $250 million a year in museums and their programs. We will continue to do so, but only if those programs deliver the results that were intended and in a way that ensures the value for money is there. We identified $2.3 million in a museum budget of close to $250 million that we felt could be more effectively spent. This is why we decided to proceed with the initiative.

More important, the member opposite talked about how museums and arts and culture are integral to Canadian identity, integral to the identity of the country. If identity is so important to us as Canadians, if the idea of the Canadian nation is so important, does he agree with his colleague's, the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore, comments and belief that Quebec is a nation?

[Committees of the House, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have a clarification for the hon. member from the Bloc Québécois.

Our government is spending $240 million per year on museums. We recovered $2.3 million in savings out of the museums program. This represents less than 1% of annual expenditures.

I would liken that to the situation of a Quebec family with an annual budget of $20,000, which recovers $100 a year in savings.

There is, however, something more important that the Bloc member failed to mention. This government has increased the budget of the Canada Council for the Arts by $20 million this year, and another $30 million increase is planned for next year. This is much more money than the member was talking about. I would like to hear him on that.

[Business of Supply, October 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to respond to the hon. member from the Bloc Québécois. I have two things to say to him.

First, our plan is a good plan. We have a budget for 2006-07 of $200 billion. This year our government has found $1 billion in savings. It is not unlike a Quebec family that spends $20,000 annually wanting to save $100 a year. Our government's plan is quite reasonable.

Second, the Bloc can promise the moon and talk and talk and talk since it will never be in power. It is not possible for the Bloc to form the government. It is quite easy for the Bloc to talk and criticize every plan since the Bloc does not have a chance to form the government.

[Business of Supply, October 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to respond to hon. member from the Bloc Québécois. Canadians expect their hard-earned money to be invested in effective programs that meet their needs. During the last election campaign, our party promised to look at the programs in order to ensure that taxpayers' money was being spent wisely.

Unlike the previous government—which tried to do everything to please everyone—our government makes real decisions. We will implement programs that will produce results, optimize resources and respond to the priorities of Canadians.

Through this review, the government has a strategy to save $1 billion this year and next. This year we will earmark that billion dollars and an additional $5 billion for new programs. That is our plan and I will say again to the hon. member from the Bloc Québécois that it is a good plan.

[Business of Supply, October 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the hypocrisy on that side of the House is sometimes breathtaking. All of us in this Parliament need to ensure that minority groups, women and visible minorities are included in a good and inclusive society. The hypocrisy from the party opposite is nothing short of breathtaking.

The Liberal Party has virtually all the seats in the city of Toronto. Out of the 23 seats, they have 20. When I look at the benches opposite I count one visible minority out of the 20 seats they have in the city of Toronto. The Liberals only talk a good game about the inclusion of visible minorities, of minority groups and the like.

Would the hon. member for Markham—Unionville, the august patrician member, comment on his party's actions with respect to the inclusion of minority groups in his party?

[Business of Supply, October 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I think the member for Markham—Unionville was inaccurate in his assessment of what we have done here. The fact is that we have found $1 billion in savings.

In the last campaign, Canadians clearly indicated to our party that they were sick and tired of seeing the waste and mismanagement in recent years. We committed to Canadians in the last election that we would do things differently in Ottawa so we have found $1 billion in savings.

I would like to put this into perspective. We found $1 billion in savings out of the $200 billion a year that is spent by the Government of Canada, which is the equivalent of a household that expends $20,000 a year finding $100 a year in savings. It is entirely reasonable and entirely appropriate. It is what Canadians do day to day in the management of their budgets and they expect the Government of Canada to do the same.

Furthermore, we have increased spending in this budget by $5 billion. Some of the $1 billion in savings we have found will go, in part, to this new spending on, for example, our new child care benefit that is providing $1,200 a year for each child under the age of six.

With respect to some of the programs that the member mentioned, let us put this all into perspective. We found $2.3 million in savings out of the museums program out of the approximately $250 million spent by this government on museums a year, or about 1% of the budget. We are focusing the remaining money on supporting the country's museums and cultural heritage.

In addition, we have increased funding for the Canada Council for the Arts from $150 million this year to $170 million. We are putting this in place after years of the previous government freezing funding for arts and culture in this country. We are very proud of our achievement.

How is the member opposite able to stand in this House and tell this House that this government should not deliver and expect results for programs, should not expect those programs to be delivered efficiently and should not be ensuring that the priorities that Canadians have asked us to focus on are delivered as we campaigned on?

[Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board, October 18th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table here in the House the annual report to Parliament on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, prepared by the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board.

[Softwood Lumber Products Export Charge Act, 2006, October 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to respond to the comments in debate of the member for Ottawa Centre on the softwood lumber deal. I think the facts should be put on the table.

The fact is that the country was facing a situation whereby the United States was continuing to collect duties on softwood lumber and other products. The United States government had actually amassed and collected over $5 billion in duties. This is not money we had. This was in the country south of the border. The United States government had collected these duties. The fact is that litigation was continuing. The litigation was continuing to go on. There was no end in sight for that litigation. Those are the facts.

This government took leadership. The government sat down with the Americans to try to negotiate an end to this. We have been successful.

The options in front of the government were twofold. The first option was to continue litigation. There was no guarantee that we would win that litigation. As a matter of fact, while that litigation was going on, which could very well have taken years, the government of the United States would have continued to collect these duties, getting hundreds of millions of dollars more in duties. There was no guarantee that in the end we would have won that litigation.

The other option was for the Government of Canada to sit down with the United States government. That is what we did. We negotiated a great agreement. As a matter of fact, it is so good that three of the major softwood lumber producing provinces supported this deal: the province of British Columbia, which has a provincial Liberal government; the province of Ontario, which has a provincial Liberal government; and the province of Quebec, which has a provincial Liberal government. The agreement is supported by the vast majority of softwood lumber companies in the industry. It has broad support across a variety of stakeholders and a variety of groups across the country.

My question for the hon. member is this: why are he and his party using the rhetoric of anti-Americanism to oppose this deal?

I have to say something else before I end my remarks. As a member of this House and a proud member of this government and this party, I take offence when members of the NDP stand up in this House and question my loyalty and that of my party and question my commitment to this country and that of my party.

My parents were immigrants to this country. They worked hard when they got here. They built for themselves and their family a life of opportunity and hope. I do not need to take any instructions from the NDP as to the commitment I have and my government and my party have.

Will the member cut out the anti-Americanism?

[Sport, October 5th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is committed to promoting both official languages in the Canadian sport structure.

Sport Canada requires national sport organizations, including the Canadian Curling Association, to recognize the equality of French and English in our country.

Thanks to this long-standing commitment by the government and its partners, athletes have access to all the services that they need in both official languages.

[Softwood Lumber Products Export Charge Act, 2006, October 3rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, my question for the member for Trinity—Spadina is, why can she and her party not support this agreement?

This is an agreement that has the support of all major softwood lumber producing provinces. The province of British Columbia is lending its support to this agreement. The province of Ontario is lending its support to this agreement. The province of Quebec is lending its support to this agreement. In addition, this agreement has the support of a vast majority of companies in the industry. An overwhelming majority of companies in the industry support this agreement.

How can she not support this agreement when the three major lumber producing provinces and the vast majority of companies in the industry support it? How on earth can she stand in her place in the House and not support an agreement that has the support, both from the provinces and the companies in the industry?