Firearms Registry  Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave our government a strong mandate to end the wasteful and ineffective long gun registry once and for all. That is exactly what we are going to do. However, today the members from Western Arctic and Skeena—Bulkley Valley caved to pressure from their big city elite union bosses and showed up at the public safety committee to attempt to gut our legislation.

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, I want to make a couple of points. First, the ten percenter program falls within the purview of Parliament. Activities by political parties do not. Second, members seem to be concerned about the tactics of political parties to identify votes or to win votes. Again, I submit this is of no business to the House.

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to respond to the supposed question of privilege from the hon. member for Mount Royal which was raised on November 16 and 23, along with the submissions made by the hon. member for Windsor—Tecumseh. I appreciate the time you have allowed to return with a response.

R.B. Bennett  Mr. Speaker, some prime ministers have provided the leadership that makes our country great. One such leader was the Right Hon. Richard Bedford Bennett, a son of New Brunswick and a westerner by adoption. R.B. Bennett was prime minister from 1930 to 1935 and was elected after campaigning to fight the Great Depression.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, our government is proposing responsible measures to protect families and individuals. The safe streets and communities act would impose tougher sentences on pedophiles, drug dealers and the most violent young offenders. Meanwhile, the opposition wants to treat honest farmers and duck hunters like fugitives, but it opposes tougher sentences for dangerous criminals.

Ending the Long-gun Registry Act  Mr. Speaker, that is a good point, but it is wrong. The Auditor General gave up her study because she concluded the paper trail just was not there. She was not able to even—

Ending the Long-gun Registry Act  I was there. I was in the room. That is why newspapers and media outlets across the country trumpet a $2 billion cost to the registry.

Ending the Long-gun Registry Act  Mr. Speaker, it is like the Twilight Zone here. The only members who seem to dispute the cost of the registry at $2 billion are those in the rump party across. In four years if those members want to explain to Canadian taxpayers that they are going to set up the registry again and it is only going to cost a couple of million dollars, good luck with that, Charlie Brown.

Ending the Long-gun Registry Act  Mr. Speaker, I must confess I have no idea how many hunters use that particular weapon when hunting. I also do not know if the hon. member missed question period earlier today when the Prime Minister responded to this point saying that this bill does not affect the system which determines which firearms are restricted and which are not.

Ending the Long-gun Registry Act  Mr. Speaker, I am extremely pleased today to speak in favour of law-abiding gun owners. I am also pleased to speak on behalf of the many Canadian taxpayers who are asking the government for nothing more than to spend tax dollars wisely. I am pleased to support the bill and I know voters back home are watching to ensure I do.

New Brunswick Southwest  Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to address the chamber. I will endeavour to honour and respect it throughout my time in this place. My congratulations to you, young sir, on your election as Speaker, and to all hon. colleagues. I am proud to serve with the Prime Minister, whose achievements have recently earned him the trust of Canadians.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, we hear a lot these days about taxing the rich and making the rich pay, and the member touched on that in his speech. I would like to point out that there is a lot talk about tax credits that are offered to people who actually do not pay tax. In light of the fact that the top 10% of income earners in our country, which begins at $80,000, pays 57% of all income taxes, the top 25% of income earners, which begins at $50,000, pays 82% of all federal income receipts, does the member believe that when tax cuts or tax relief is offered, it should go primarily to people who actually pay taxes, as opposed to being handed out to people who do not pay taxes in the form of spending?

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, like any good economic policy, a government needs to look at different levers when it sets the fiscal plan every year. We can point to countries throughout Europe, some of which are in big trouble today. They have wonderful infrastructure but lousy tax structures. As a result, they do not receive the investment, jobs or growth that is important to ensuring a high standard of living.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent point. No political party and no government has a monopoly on good ideas. If opposition parties want to propose them, we will certainly listen to them. I wrote a piece in the past that credited both Preston Manning and Jean Chrétien for the good state the country's finances were in.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, over the last five years, our government, particularly on the personal income tax side, has used a number of tax credits and incentives to encourage certain activities. The example of our volunteer firefighters tax credit is a perfect one, whereby we are trying to ensure that these organizations continue to exist throughout the country, thereby saving government money from having to fill in were these volunteers to suddenly disappear.