Pierre Lemieux

[Human Rights, March 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw the attention of the House to a disturbing development in the Social Republic of Vietnam where an innocent man is about to face prosecution for exercising his basic religious and political freedoms.

Father Nguyen Van Ly, a Vietnamese Roman Catholic priest, was previously sentenced to more than a decade in prison for giving candid testimony to a subcommittee of the United States Congress on the dire human rights situation in Vietnam. Later this month he will again stand in the dock on yet more fabricated charges.

The situation for political reformers and dissidents in Vietnam is dire, with opponents of the regime being routinely rounded up, imprisoned and denied the basic right of due process. Religious minorities are being persecuted for their beliefs. Father Ly is the latest victim of this.

I call upon the Vietnamese government to allow independent foreign observers to monitor Father Ly's trial and to allow Father Ly to choose his own attorney.

The government in Saigon needs to respect fundamental freedoms. Canada's new government will always stand on the side of human rights and freedoms, and it will do so proudly.

[Justice, March 22nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, after years of neglecting the criminal justice system, the Liberals are trying to deceive Canadians by stating they are suddenly interested in getting tough on crime. They even went so far as trying to use an opposition day motion to perpetuate this deception, which the Speaker ruled out of order.

My question is for the Minister of Justice. What can hon. members do to help the government achieve its criminal justice objectives?

[The Budget, March 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as I was explaining, this is a budget for all Canadians. It particularly helps the working Canadian, and I outlined some of the initiatives that we have taken to assist them. The one I am referring to most specifically is the working income tax benefit to help low income families deal with the expenses of the day.

[The Budget, March 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, that is a very interesting question, but I will do my best to respond.

Let me highlight some of the numbers associated with our budget.

There are $39 billion in funds dedicated over seven years to restore the fiscal balance, the fiscal balance that the Liberal Party has consistently denied exists.

I have already mentioned that for families, we are introducing a $2,000 child tax benefit for every child under the age of 18 to assist hard-working families. This will remove 180,000 taxpayers from the tax rolls and it will benefit 90% of Canadian families.

There are a number of other initiatives as well. We are talking about the working income tax benefit. This will benefit 1.2 million low income working families. There are $6 million in additional funds for the RCMP to protect our children from sexual exploitation and human trafficking. I also mentioned the support for our military.

This is a budget that delivers for Canadians. Our government is a government of action and our budget is a budget of action.

[The Budget, March 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, what kind of a question is that? He should speak to the seniors in his riding and to the seniors in my riding. Pension income splitting is a huge tax initiative that our government has taken to assist our seniors. Not only that, he has asked about seniors who do not collect pensions. We have increased the age exemption amount from $4,000 to $5,000. That is great news for seniors.

We have delivered tremendously for seniors.

[The Budget, March 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, just before question period I was speaking on our most excellent budget. Allow me to summarize only some of its key elements.

First, there were $7 billion in tax savings.

Second, having been married 21 years and being the father of five children, let me speak of our support for families. There is a $2,000 child tax credit for each child under the age of 18. Ninety per cent of Canadian families will benefit from this tax credit and 180,000 taxpayers will be removed from the tax rolls as a result of this measure. In addition, there is a working income tax benefit of up to $1,000 per family to help low income working families.

Third, we have eliminated the $4,000 limit on annual contributions to registered education savings plans. We have provided $6 million a year to combat the sexual exploitation of children and human trafficking.

Having personally served in the Canadian military for 20 years, I am pleased to reiterate that there are $3.1 billion for national defence over the next three years. There are $60 million for operational allowances for our brave men and women serving in operational theatres overseas.

We are appointing a veterans' ombudsman. We are providing $19 million in 2007-08 and $20 million a year after that to improve services to veterans. Not only do we salute our men and women in uniform, but we stand by them and are taking action.

As the MP of a rural riding representing farmers, there are $1 billion in new funding for farmers, $400 million paid directly to producers to help with the high cost of production and $600 million in federal funding to kick-start new producer savings accounts. We are increasing the lifetime capital gains exemption to $750,000 from $500,000, therefore increasing the rewards of investing in farming. This is the first time it has been increased since 1998.

As the Minister of Finance correctly stated, Canada's farmers do not just feed our country, they feed the world. It is time we provided the kind of support that these decent, hard-working people of integrity deserve. We have heard from our farmers and listened to them, but most important we have acted.

We are a government of action and our budget is a budget of action. There are two words that best describe our budget: it delivers. Canadians could not be happier. Finally, they have a government that is acting for them. That is our Canada. Voilà notre Canada.

[The Budget, March 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to have the opportunity to express my enthusiasm for a budget that will be recognized as one of the most beneficial budgets for Canadians. I say this as the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, which, like all ridings in Ontario, will benefit from this budget. This is true for all Canadians.

Our Minister of Finance had the courage to tackle the fiscal imbalance and to resolve this fundamental issue for all the provinces of Canada. Furthermore, the Ontario Minister of Finance, Greg Sorbara, recognized the importance of the measures taken by our government to restore tax fairness—something the Ontario government has been calling for for some time. He said:

Today's federal budget appears to make some considerable progress in addressing fairness in Ontario.

It is a step forward in addressing our long-standing position that our province deserves to be treated fairly.

The $39 million allocated to resolving this file represents a historic amount. For Ontario, this means more money—an additional $8 billion—for health care, and more money for social services and infrastructure.

Correcting the fiscal imbalance is an excellent step for Ontario, for all the provinces and for Canada.

However, our government is doing even more by addressing the deficit with its own citizens, which was another one of our commitments. With this budget, our government is clearly showing that we put workers and families first. Tax relief is well targeted and affects those who really need it.

Our Minister of Finance understands the difficulties facing families. He also understands what they want from the government. The $2,000 child tax credit helps families directly, by putting money in their pockets. Eliminating the marriage penalty is also proof that tax relief can effectively serve family values.

Additionally, I would like to emphasize that our achievements also benefit seniors who need our support. Measures that allow pension income splitting will bring invaluable financial support. Many seniors will also appreciate that they can stay in the labour market thanks to measures that allow them to retire gradually, without having to pay a penalty.

In keeping its commitment to guarantee that tax relief is proportional to the savings achieved by paying down the debt, the government will prove that transparency and respect for workers are fundamental values.

Our latest budget gives Canadians reasons to be proud of their country.

As the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, I am very proud that our government is serious about supporting culture, in particular by contributing to la Francophonie and to festivals celebrating our heritage.

In total budget 2007 also invests $4.5 billion for environmental initiatives. These include investing $225 million with the Nature Conservancy of Canada to protect up to 2,000 square kilometres of ecologically sensitive land, dedicating $30 million to safeguard the Great Bear Rain Forest on the central coast of British Columbia and strengthening enforcement of environmental protection laws by increasing the number of enforcement officers by 50%.

We promised to be tough on criminals, and this budget shows that we are serious. Considerable sums have been allocated to the fight against drugs and gang activity, two issues threatening the honest members of society.

We should acknowledge our government's unprecedented effort to give the Canadian armed forces the support and respect they deserve: more resources for those currently serving our country and also more services for veterans, whose sacrifices we will never forget.

For veterans, our Conservative government is committed to creating an ombudsman position, to ensure that their rights are respected.

Furthermore, in this budget our Conservative government is taking real action to support farmers. Since being elected, we have listened to producers across the country. They told us that the Canadian agricultural income stabilization, or CAIS, program did not address their needs. With our provincial and territorial counterparts, we have responded with significant improvements to the margin based program.

Agreement in principle has been reached on a disaster relief framework and we are working to expand production insurance to more commodities. With budget 2006, our government delivered on its commitment to provide an additional $500 million annually for farm support programs and, in addition, provided an extra $1 billion.

The passing of budget 2007 will solidify the Prime Minister's recent announcement of another $1 billion commitment to help address gaps in existing programs and significant increases in the cost of production. Through this budget, we are providing $1 billion in new direct assistance to farmers and we are replacing the top tier of the CAIS program with a new savings account plan. A farmer savings program is an important step forward in replacing CAIS with programming that is more predictable, bankable and better able to help producers respond to rising costs.

This new program, combined with a disaster relief framework, improved production insurance and an improved margin based program, is all good news for farmers.

The $1 billion in funding that farmers will be receiving through budget 2007 includes a $400 million payment to help with the high cost of production. Funds will be delivered through a direct payment to producers of non-supply managed commodities. Producers will receive a payment directly and will not have to apply.

An additional $600 million in federal funding, once an agreement is reached with the provinces and territories, will kick-start new producer savings programs. Moreover, in recognition of the importance of the contributions of farmers to the Canadian economy, budget 2007 proposes to increase the lifetime capital gains exemption to $750,000 from $500,000. Therefore, increased—

[Anti-terrorism Act, February 26th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak here today in order to clarify the government's motion to extend the clauses of the Anti-terrorism Act that are about to expire.

The motion is not about security certificates. It is about the security of Canadians. It is not about detainees in Kingston or the war in Afghanistan. It is about the right to be protected from terrorist attacks. And it most certainly should not be about partisan politics. It is about providing two important tools to Canada's law enforcement authorities to assist in the investigation and prevention of terrorist attacks, nothing more.

The extension we are proposing does not in any way threaten civil liberties. In fact, the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the constitutionality of these provisions.

The Liberal Party should stop the partisan games. Do what is right. Do what is right to defend the safety and security of Canadians. Vote to defend the Anti-terrorism Act.

[Anti-terrorism Act, February 26th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as I explained in my previous response, the Anti-terrorism Act as passed by a Liberal-controlled Parliament at the time demands that an unamendable motion be laid before Parliament, so we are not able to amend the motion.

What we want to do is implement the provisions contained within the Anti-terrorism Act for another three years, in which case there is another sunset clause after three years, and then Parliament will revisit the Anti-terrorism Act to weigh the security of Canadians, the threat of terrorism and the conditions within Canada at that time.

[Anti-terrorism Act, February 26th, 2007]

No, Mr. Speaker. It is my understanding, and it is common knowledge, that the Anti-terrorism Act that we are debating right now was brought forward by the Liberal-dominated government at that time and passed in Parliament. It was considered important legislation. It was considered well presented legislation as well.

Within the Anti-terrorism Act, it demands that an unamendable motion be laid before Parliament. As I was explaining to the member who spoke just before me, we are not here to discuss completely redoing the Anti-terrorism Act, but within the act is this provision regarding an unamendable motion at the end of the sunset period in order to renew the provisions contained within the Anti-terrorism Act.

What Liberal Party members are doing, of course, is throwing up a smokescreen, one of delay, duck and dodge. They do not want to address this issue head-on. They do not want to act in the best interests of Canadians. They are acting in a very partisan manner. As I also read out for the member previously, they are under tremendous pressure from different organizations across Canada to change their position for the best interests of Canadians.