Paul Calandra

[Ethics, October 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, the Prime Minister has answered all questions with respect to this subject. He has answered with all of the information that he has had available to him. At the same time Mr. Wright is taking sole responsibility for his actions, as he should.

We put on the table a number of reforms to the Senate, including accountability measures, term limits, election of new senators. The Liberals are fighting day in and day out to maintain the status quo in the Senate because part of their economic policy is maintaining the unelected, unaccountable Senate. We will still fight for free trade and opening up new markets for our businesses. Let them talk about the past.

[Ethics, October 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons I became involved with politics was the debates between John Turner and Prime Minister Mulroney surrounding the free trade agreement in the 1980s. Although, Mr. Turner was proven to be wrong and free trade was an enormous benefit to Canada, as the European free trade agreement will be, at least he had an opinion that he fought for.

Now, we have a member of the Liberal Party, a member from Nova Scotia, a region that would benefit from the Canada-EU free trade agreement, a former Conservative who used to be a supporter of free trade, standing to talk about a vestige of the 19th century. Shame on him.

[Ethics, October 21st, 2013]

I am sure the 20 people who were at the nomination meeting appreciated that he talked to them, Mr. Speaker.

I do not often agree with the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Outremont. I do not agree, for instance, with the fact that he wants to tax our small businesses to death or bring in a $21 billion carbon tax. I think that would drive business to its knees and it would kill our economy, but at least he has an opinion on something. At least his party can trust him to speak and has not muzzled him until 2015.

Unleash the leader. Let him speak—

[Ethics, October 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Toronto Centre is the new finance critic for the Liberal Party because within their own party, the Liberals could not actually find a person who says, “Amen to new taxes”.

We know the Liberals have two economic policies. The first is to find a way to tax illegal drugs. The second is to continue to have an advantage for Quebec in the Senate.

The people of Bourassa and Toronto Centre want the advantages that come with opening up a market of 500 million people to their products and their services, because in Bourassa and Toronto Centre and all over this country, when Canadians are given the opportunity to compete, they succeed.

[Ethics, October 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I already said, the Prime Minister has answered all the questions on this matter. Mr. Wright has accepted full responsibility for his actions.

Meanwhile, we have made many recommendations to reform the Senate, but the Liberals keep voting against all of these measures.

In particular, the Liberals fight for an institution that is so old it needs to be reformed, but they fight constantly for the status quo. When it comes to reforming the Senate, an elected Senate, they are against it. When it comes to accountability measures, they are against them. They should get on board.

[Ethics, October 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, so I can refresh the hon. member, we have answered and the Prime Minister has answered all the questions on this matter. We will continue to work with all the authorities with respect to this. Mr. Wright has accepted full responsibility for his actions in this matter.

I can understand why the NDP do not want to talk about the economy. It is because they know nothing about the economy. I know why they do not want to talk about jobs and economic growth. It is because it is another topic they know nothing about. When it comes to community safety, we know that they are not interested in that at all.

We are interested in what Canadians are talking about. That is jobs, hope, and economic prosperity, and we will get the job done.

[Ethics, October 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell him what is bizarre. What is bizarre is a party that has lost 16 straight elections and still thinks that somehow raising billions of dollars in taxes on our small, medium, and large businesses is a good idea; that a $21-billion carbon tax is a good idea; and that coming out against a free trade agreement that would open up a market of 500 million people to Canadian communities and to our job creators is a bad idea.

The NDP, on every single issue that matters, is against Canadians. Whether it is keeping communities safe, they are against it. We are for Canadians, and that is why we are moving forward.

[Ethics, October 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, where have we come? The NDP has put gerrymander in charge of ethics. The Liberals have a leader whose stage handlers are so afraid to have speak on any topic that they have muzzled him until 2015.

Thank goodness Canadians elected a strong, stable, national Conservative majority government, led by the best Prime Minister in the world, flanked by a Minister of Finance who has won awards, with the strongest cabinet in Canadian history, and Conservative members of Parliament working all over the country to hope for hope, jobs, and economic prosperity. Those are the reasons I represent.

[Ethics, October 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we have put on the table many reforms to the Senate. We think that the Senate should be reformed or abolished. It is something we restated in our throne speech.

In the meantime, we are moving ahead with bringing in exciting new proposals, such as the Canada-EU free trade agreement. It is one of the biggest deals, in fact, it is the biggest trade deal, that this country has ever signed. The New Democrats have absolutely no opinion other than the fact that they do not support it. They do not support the jobs that come along with it. They do not think that our small, medium, and large businesses can compete with the rest of the world. We do, and that is why we signed this historic agreement.

[Ethics, October 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has answered all the questions on this matter. We are continuing to work with authorities on it. Mr. Wright, at the same time, has taken full responsibility for his actions, as he should.

We are continuing to focus on jobs, growth, and economic prosperity in all regions of this country, because that is what Canadians want us to do—that is what they elected us to do—unleashing the potential of our small businesses, our medium businesses, and our large job creators so that they can seize on all of the advantages that a trade agreement with Europe has to offer.