Ethics May 9th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, an independent external auditor was brought in to examine all of these expenses. He looked obviously at the expenses of three particular senators who have had some difficulty. The auditor has concluded that the rules in place were not clear, however, the Senate itself has decided it expects better judgment from the senators. Senator Duffy some months ago repaid the money and the Senate has decided that other senators will be expected to similarly repay those amounts.

Ethics May 9th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, external auditors and experts examined all these expenditures and said that the rules were not clear. However, the Senate decided that it expects better judgment from certain senators and that all of the money in question will be repaid to the government.

Government Expenditures May 9th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Auditor General himself has rejected the NDP leader's allegation. The Auditor General has made recommendations on how to improve reporting in the future. Clearly, the government will follow those recommendations.

Government Expenditures May 9th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, of course, that is not what the Auditor General said at all and that is obviously why we reject the motion. In fact, the Auditor General has made certain suggestions to the government, recommendations on how to improve reporting on this matter. The government will follow, and is following, those recommendations.

Employment May 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, Canada's economic action plan is a huge success. That is clear when we compare ourselves to other developed countries, and Canadians are proud of that.

In the latest instalment of the economic action plan, we announced infrastructure investments to help build Canadian communities with the support of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. We have programs to support job creation for our young people. Furthermore, we are offering measures to encourage innovation in the manufacturing sector.

We will continue to invest in our economy.

Employment May 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, it is obviously important to make sure Canadians understand the measures that have been developed by this Parliament that will benefit them.

This country, Canada, has one of the best job creation records in the developed world coming out of the recession. Canadians need to know about that, and more importantly, they need to know about the Canada jobs grant that is contained in this budget that attempts to make sure we engage the private sector, as well as the education system, in making sure Canadians can get jobs that are emerging which are begging for workers.

There is a great future for young Canadians, and we want to be sure we connect those workers, those young people and the private sector to make sure that Canadians have great opportunities.

Employment May 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party touched on a few topics.

I congratulate Statistics Canada on the work it does. It says that at the national and provincial levels, all of this information is solid and high quality. That includes useful data for communities that represent 97% of the population. We are always looking to balance the need for public data with the privacy of Canadians.

Census May 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Statistics Canada on the success of its approach. It has had more responses to the long form than at any time in history. I will read what StatsCan said:

At the national, provincial level, all of this information is pretty solid. It's high quality.

In fact, the survey provides useful and usable data for communities representing 97% of the population. Obviously, going forward, we will look for ways to improve things, but always in a way that respects and balances the need for public data with the privacy rights of Canadians.

Labour May 8th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the taxpayers of Canada, the government has the final responsibility for crown corporations' finances. We intend to meet those obligations.

The leader of the NDP, if he wants, as his people have done, can stand with union bosses in press conferences promising to represent their interests around the bargaining table. That is precisely why the taxpayers of this country will never trust the NDP to handle the finances of this country and is one of the reasons—