Leader of the Bloc Québécois  Mr. Speaker, the latest Olympic Games made Quebeckers prouder than ever to be Canadian, but the Bloc Québécois leader is doing his best to ensure that their pride does not have lasting consequences for federalism in Quebec. The Bloc leader's cross-Canada tour, which is wrapping up this week in Vancouver, is proof of that.

Leader of the Bloc Québécois  Mr. Speaker, the Bloc leader sank to new hypocritical lows when he proudly laid out his investment strategy in last Saturday's La Presse. According to BRANCHEZ-VOUS.com, his investments in Helios include investments in the oil sands. The leader of the resistance did not deny this fact yesterday.

Aerospace Industry  Mr. Speaker, this morning in Montreal, the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and the Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec) announced assistance for the creation of new jobs in the Canadian aerospace industry. This is excellent news that will have direct and positive benefits for Quebec and Canada.

Bloc Québécois  Mr. Speaker, last Saturday, at the general council of the Bloc Quebecois, the Bloc leader compared Bloc members to the French resistance fighters during the Nazi occupation. Could the Minister of State for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec give us his reaction to these rather surprising comments from the Bloc?

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, today is a special day for me. I have invited the mayors from my riding to join us and more than 30 of them are here today. This invitation is very symbolic because, to me, it represents our raison d'être in the House: to inform and instruct all the electors in our ridings on what is behind the decisions and directions that we take in the running of our country.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I say again that our government has put in place a series of measures as part of Canada's economic action plan in order to support all segments of Canadian and Quebec society. Quebec is certainly getting its fair share this regard. I am certainly not ashamed of the last budget that provides new programs, especially for seniors, or adds money to programs for seniors in Trois-Rivières and everywhere else in Quebec.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. In fact, he is alluding to a radio interview in which I mentioned various things the unemployed in my region, who are called seasonal unemployed, could do. I sincerely think that there can be as many potential solutions as there are seasonal workers, one of which could be to find a second job in order to have more hours of work and qualify for EI benefits or work year-round.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to share my time with the hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou. I would like to respond to the question from the hon. member for Joliette about the measures taken by the government to help the less fortunate. Although the economic recovery has begun, we realize that it is still fragile and that many Canadians are still experiencing difficulty.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, how does the Bloc explain its opposition to a budget that is focused on jobs and economic growth, and that is paving the way to a balanced budget? The Bloc falsely claims that this budget contains nothing good for Quebec. Our government presented a budget with a number of measures that can benefit Quebeckers.

Elimination of Tariffs  Mr. Speaker, today, our government announced that it would be taking action to eliminate all remaining tariffs on manufacturing inputs and machinery and equipment. This will keep us ahead of the pack and show the rest of the world that we are open for business. These measures will help keep and create good manufacturing jobs here in Canada, and lead to the creation of 12,000 jobs in the years to come.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games  Mr. Speaker, personally and on behalf of the government I would like to congratulate all Canadian athletes on their performances at the Vancouver Olympic Games. Our athletes captivated thousands of Canadians and Quebeckers throughout the games, as we shared in their highs and their lows.

Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, as far as I know, the members of the Bloc voted against the Government of Canada's action plan.

Address in Reply  I do not know how they can tell us today that we are not working extra hard to lead Canada out of the recession. There is no doubt that we are doing the work.

Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, it is written in black and white in the throne speech that we will further strengthen Canada’s retirement income system. I do not know why the NDP member asked that question. We are doing the work. I sincerely believe that our government's work is achieving the desired results and that Canadians have no reason to doubt that we will achieve our goals.

Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member feels we have produced next to nothing. I, on the other hand, believe we have accomplished a great deal. Really, we just delivered an excellent Speech from the Throne, and everything she just pointed out is what we are going to be doing. So there is no problem.