Mr. Speaker, first it was the Tories and now it is the Liberals. Nothing has really changed.
The government House leader, the heritage minister, the minister of public works and the Deputy Prime Minister all voted against the creation of ACOA. Even the minister who is now responsible for that program mocked it when he was in opposition. Yet after seven years in government, they are still writing ACOA cheques.
The minister claims that the program no longer hands out grants, just non-repayable loans. In fact, ACOA handed out 123 grants totalling more than $12 million in the past three years alone. Maybe the minister can explain why taxpayers' money goes to job killing projects.