House of Commons Hansard #4 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was quebec.

Topics

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Bloc

Diane Bourgeois Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC

Madam Speaker, one must not compare cabbages, apples and oranges. There is a lot of material in the NDP's amendment to the amendment. We agree with taxing large banks and big corporations, but not with the NDP putting the Canada pension plan and the Quebec pension plan in the same basket.

The member must realize that these are two different things. The Canada pension plan is a Canadian, and therefore federal, plan, whereas the Quebec pension plan belongs to Quebec, and we do not want anyone to mess with it. That is clear.

The member is asking for British Columbia and Ontario to receive compensation for harmonizing their sales taxes. That is what Quebec has been asking for since 1991.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

An hon. member

We agree.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Bloc

Diane Bourgeois Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC

If they are in agreement, they should mention Quebec along with British Columbia and Ontario. Let the sales tax be harmonized as soon as possible for Quebec.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Mississauga—Erindale Ontario

Conservative

Bob Dechert ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak today in support of budget 2010, which continues year two of Canada's historic economic action plan. I will be splitting my time with member for Essex.

As the House knows, last year, as we debated budget 2009, Canada's economy was in the grips of the deepest economic recession since the 1930s. Due to the prudent and early actions of this government, our economy entered the global recession later and less deeply than most other nations. However, we were not immune and we were swept along with the current.

To address this global crisis, our government reacted swiftly by introducing Canada's economic action plan, which included timely and targeted investments in transportation, water treatment and delivery, colleges and universities, libraries, police and fire stations, affordable housing and recreational facilities among other infrastructure projects.

I would like to point out that the city of Mississauga received the largest contribution to important and necessary infrastructure projects from any Canadian government in history. In fact, the former Liberal member of Parliament from my riding said, “The recent infusion of infrastructure stimulus dollars from several different programs is the largest pot of money ever bestowed on the city of Mississauga and the region of Peel by our two senior levels of government”.

I am also advised by the mayor of Mississauga that virtually all of these approximately 138 projects are well under construction and that many have already been completed.

If people visited our fair city today, they would be hard-pressed to travel down any major artery without witnessing the sights and sounds of many ongoing, fast paced construction projects.

In addition, the Government of Canada has invested more than $35 million in Go Transit Mississauga, which will ease the daily commute for thousands of people. This calculated investment is taking cars off the road, reducing gridlock, decreasing smog and greenhouse gas emissions and improving delivery times for the goods and services produced in our region.

I am most proud of our government's historic investment in education, research and innovation through the construction of a new Mississauga campus of Sheridan College and the investment of $35 million in a new instructional centre at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus. I would like to inform the House that both of these educational buildings are well under construction as we speak.

I am very pleased to see that these historic and vitally important investments in our people and in our knowledge infrastructure will be continued and completed through budget 2010.

Budget 2010 introduces a number of new initiatives to enhance innovation, which I believe are important to help equip our young people to continue to build the economy of tomorrow. Some of these measures include investing $45 million to establish a post-doctoral fellowship program to help attract the research leaders of tomorrow to Canada, increasing the combined annual budgets of Canada's research granting councils by an additional $32 million per year and doubling the budget of the college and community innovation program.

The budget also provides Genome Canada with an additional $75 million for genomics research. I understand that with the matching private sector funds this will provide $150 million for this important research.

For those who were unfortunately laid off from their jobs in the depths of the global recession, our government has provided and continues to provide significantly enhanced employment insurance benefits and skills training benefits for long-tenured workers. These measures have helped ease the pain experienced by our manufacturing sector.

Indeed, the enhancements of budget 2009 to the work-sharing program saved many thousands of jobs across Canada. In fact, 160,000 Canadians have benefited from work-sharing agreements. By extending work-sharing agreements by an additional 26 weeks and allowing greater flexibility in the qualifying criteria, budget 2010 will continue to save jobs until our economy fully recovers.

Through all of these measures, our government has primed the economic pump. As the Minister of Finance reported last week, these measures have worked and our economic is once again pumping growth and new jobs.

As part of my duties with the Standing Committee on Finance, I had the privilege to travel across Canada and consult with many Canadians and various interest groups. It was made clear to me and to our committee that Canadians wanted our government to focus on jobs and on the economy. To highlight this commitment, since July 2009, the Canadian economy has generated 135,000 net new jobs and encouraging statistics on growth and job creation are emerging each month.

To be sure, there is more road yet to travel to return to the vibrant rate of growth that we enjoyed prior to the onset of the global recession. That is why budget 2010 is continuing to implement planned infrastructure stimulus measures, and continues to support and retrain laid-off workers and invest in innovation. However, at the same time as our economy rebounds our government is taking prudent steps to ease off on the accelerator to ensure that our debt and deficit remain manageable.

Following the implementation of the stimulus measures announced in 2009, our government is prudently proposing in 2010 to take measures to return to balanced budgets. We will do this by restraining growth in government spending and by undertaking a comprehensive review of spending on overhead and administration costs.

Our government is leading by example and tightening its own belt. We will do this by freezing the total amount spent on government salaries, administration and overhead. We will introduce legislation to freeze the salaries of the Prime Minister ministers, members of Parliament and senators.

As we know, it is easy to spend and there are always many good ideas for government spending programs, but governing responsibly means having to make tough but prudent choices. In my view, budget 2010 makes these prudent choices.

We will not do what many members of the opposition would propose. We will not balance the budget on the backs of the sick and our students by cutting provincial health and education transfer payments, as was done by the previous Liberal government in the 1990s, nor will we balance the budget at the expense of pensioners.

I am glad to see that this month we will be launching public consultations on how to improve Canada's retirement income system. Finally, we will not balance the budget by raising the tax burden on hard-working Canadians and introducing job-killing increases in business taxes.

As a former business lawyer with over 20 years of experience in advising entrepreneurs, I can say that applicable business taxes are a major factor in every decision to invest and create jobs in Canada. In the high tax era of previous governments, I unfortunately saw thousands of good job creation opportunities slip away from Canada's economy.

Today, one of the great hallmarks of our economy is our comparatively low deficit to GDP ratio and reasonable corporate and small business income tax rates. Canada's overall tax rate on new business investment is the lowest in the G7 and below the OECD average. By 2012, Canada will have the lowest statutory corporate income tax in the G7. In my view, Canada's comparative advantages in debt and tax levels among the G7 nations will continue to make Canada one of the most favourable places in the developed world to invest and create good, high value competitive jobs.

As the Minister of Finance has pointed out, before the recession Canada had the lowest debt to GDP ratio in the G7 and after the recession Canada will still have the lowest debt to GDP ratio in the G7 by an even wider margin.

Budget 2010 introduces a number of other key strategic new measures to enhance competition and reduce barriers for business. This includes making Canada a tariff-free zone for manufacturers by eliminating all remaining tariffs on productivity-improving machinery and equipment, and goods imported for further manufacturing in Canada.

This important initiative will be a significant incentive for our manufacturing sector. It is estimated that this commitment will create 12,000 jobs, diversify trade and boost Canada's manufacturing sector, as well as its overall productivity. I believe, by establishing the first tariff-free zone for manufacturing among G7 and G20 partners, this budget will have a great impact on the protection and creation of manufacturing jobs in my region of Ontario.

Budget 2010 introduces a number of important changes to the taxation of foreign investment in Canadian business which will greatly enhance the ability of Canadian businesses to attract foreign venture capital through revisions to section 116 of the Income Tax Act. In my business career, I saw too many innovative high technology entrepreneurs who were forced to relocate their companies and the high-value jobs associated with them to the United States in order to access needed venture capital.

Terence Matthews, one of Canada's most successful high technology entrepreneurs, has said, “This amendment will have an immediate positive and direct impact on Canada's ability to grow a robust Canadian technology industry”.

Recently, the Leader of the Opposition and the hon. member for Mississauga—Brampton South met with business leaders in my city of Mississauga. According to press reports, they were told that “Mississauga and Brampton business owners want Ottawa to simplify regulations so they can concentrate on running their companies instead of tackling mountains of paperwork”.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

Order. Perhaps the hon. member can complete his comments during questions and comments.

The hon. member for Westmount--Ville-Marie.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

Liberal

Marc Garneau Liberal Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Mississauga—Erindale for his comments.

He talked a great deal about innovation and the importance of research. As the Liberal Party critic for science and technology, I often consult universities. Furthermore, I am privileged to have three universities in my riding.

The message I am hearing from researchers at our universities is this: the two main priorities in terms of research funding are increasing the budgets of Canada's three research councils and increasing funding for the indirect costs of research at our universities.

Can my colleague from Mississauga—Erindale explain to me why the government allocated only $8 million for indirect research costs in this year's budget? He said they have increased funding for research councils by $32 million, while last year, they cut $148 million over three years. How does he reconcile those two actions?

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:40 p.m.

Conservative

Bob Dechert Conservative Mississauga—Erindale, ON

Madam Speaker, as a member of the Standing Committee on Finance, I travelled across the country on prebudget consultations last year. Every university in Canada came to us and made a presentation on how important post-doctoral students are to the future of Canada and the future of research in Canada. That is why I am so thrilled that budget 2010 is providing $45 million to establish a post-doctoral fellowship program to help attract the research leaders of tomorrow to Canada.

It is also delivering $220 million in funding over five years to strengthen the world-leading research taking place at the TRIUMF centre in Vancouver, Canada's premier national laboratory for nuclear and particle physics research.

It is also increasing the combined annual budgets, as the member rightly pointed out, of Canada's research granting councils by an additional $32 million.

As I pointed out in my speech, Genome Canada will receive an additional $75 million which, coupled with private sector matching grants, would give it an additional $150 million for continued genomics research.

We have doubled the budget of the college and community innovation program with an additional $50 million per year.

We have provided $135 million to the National Research Council of Canada's regional innovation clusters program.

I could go on but I am probably running out of time. I commend to the hon. member the budget documents where he will see several more major additions to research funding in Canada.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:40 p.m.

NDP

Niki Ashton NDP Churchill, MB

Madam Speaker, I found it interesting to hear the member's commitments, on behalf of his party, to research and innovation in the budget.

Over this past year, I have been very involved in working with a number of organizations, certainly students and researchers, regarding the attacks specifically on the social sciences and humanities. While in this budget we do not see an ideological earmarking the way we did pertaining to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant, we see another trend that is extremely disconcerting, and that would be the emphasis on commercialization.

Time and time again throughout this budget, we see that commercialization is the way the government sees the future of research; however, that of course precludes many areas of research that do not focus on commercial or profitable endeavours, and one would certainly say that discourages people who are committing their--

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:40 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

Order. I will have to give the hon. member time to respond to that question. He has 40 seconds to provide comments.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:40 p.m.

Conservative

Bob Dechert Conservative Mississauga—Erindale, ON

Madam Speaker, pure scientific research is very important to Canada's future and in that regard, the government is providing, as I mentioned earlier, over $222 million to TRIUMF for nuclear and particle physics research.

In addition, we are providing an additional $75 million to Genome Canada for its ongoing genomic research which, coupled with matching private sector grants, would give it an extra $150 million.

However, commercialization, as the member well knows, is the way to create immediate jobs and that is what we need.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:40 p.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

Madam Speaker, let me begin by commending the appointment of the hon. member for Mississauga—Erindale as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice. His constituents already know he is an exceptional member of Parliament. It is a well deserved step up for him and I commend him on it.

Members are debating Canada's economic action plan, part two. Before I get to that, to provide context, one should talk about what the government has achieved with respect to Canada's economic action plan, part one.

As a bit of background, the Windsor-Essex region has an economy that is primarily dependent on the automotive industry, and within that the economy is largely dependent on the traditional Detroit three manufacturers. The parts sector and machine tool, die and mould sector have created a cluster of manufacturing around those businesses.

The region has struggled with high unemployment even before the downturn. It was higher than provincial and Canadian averages, in large measure because of the restructuring that was beginning during the earlier part of the decade. Sadly, during the recession, of course, the region reached the highest unemployment in urban centres in all of Canada, which was about 3.5 percentage points higher than the next highest unemployment rate for an urban centre. During the great recession the region was an area of great historic need.

What was the government's reaction to that? It was historic investment. The government was able to stabilize the base of the economy for the region, and beyond that for southern Ontario, by participating in a significant restructuring of Chrysler Canada and General Motors Canada. It allowed the government, of course after stabilizing the base of the economy, to do a few things beyond that.

The government was able to support working families by extending employment insurance benefits, investing literally billions of dollars back into the employment insurance system, and supporting workers while they were looking for alternative employment. The government also provided billions of dollars in retraining for those families that wanted to pursue different careers and move into different sectors.

The government invested heavily in the work share program, which I can say saved literally thousands of jobs in the Windsor-Essex region. It was a very significant program that is still supporting some of those jobs as I speak. The government has made some enhancements in the economic action plan, part two, to ensure that it continues to be a good program.

The government was also able to stimulate the economy beyond the auto industry. It was the highest per capita infrastructure stimulus funding in all of Canada. There were significant investments through the government's knowledge infrastructure program, which included funding of $40 million toward a new Centre for Engineering Innovation at the University of Windsor, and $16 million toward a Centre for Applied Health Sciences at St. Clair College. There were significant strategic investments for the medium-term to long-term economy in the region, which included training for health care professionals and engineers for the knowledge jobs of the future.

The government invested millions to improve the region's airport and to build a retention treatment basin to capture combination sewer overflows into the Detroit River. That was a very significant step forward in terms of addressing the Detroit River area and the environment, which are of concern.

The government was also able to focus on how to diversify the economy. People in our region have talked about it for a long time, but now the government is actually doing it under the economic action plan through a new economic development agency for southern Ontario, FedDev Ontario, and companion programs like the community adjustment fund to help single industry communities make that transition. The southern Ontario development program is helping small-sized and medium-sized enterprises along with the Community Futures Development Corporation for rural economic development in the region.

Those are some tools that are helping the government retool the machine tool, die and mould sector in the region, and to do things beyond just production for the automotive industry, like aerospace, nuclear and the green energy revolution that is coming to the province. The region is preparing for green energy manufacturing and is moving to have a maintenance and repair operations centre for the aerospace industry.

With improvements to the airport the region is seeing regional tourism strategies come together, which are linking the finest aspects of the region's cultural assets like its Underground Railroad heritage, its environmental assets, and the budding Lake Erie-North Shore wine region with the cosmopolitan flair of a newly emerging city of Windsor for a very strong tourism approach.

Those are all significant investments coming under part one of Canada's economic action plan that are building a sense of hope and optimism in our region for the first time. We feel like we have turned the corner. Unemployment is coming down. There are approaches to the future. Our economy looks a lot better. We can honestly tell the people that in a time of historic need for this region, our government, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, has made historic investments.

It was not that long ago when we had three Liberal cabinet ministers in three ridings who did not deliver a fraction of that kind of investment to the region. They used to say that Canada and Ontario stopped at London. That is no longer the case because of the attention of this federal government, the Prime Minister and this cabinet.

What have the two Windsor NDP MPs been doing during this entire time? They have spent their time voting against every single dollar of investment, voting against the restructuring of the auto industry and voting against stimulating and diversifying our economy.

What can we expect as we approach part two of Canada's economic action plan? I do not know but I suspect more of the same over there. What are we doing with part two of the economic action plan? Obviously we are ensuring that our economic recovery takes hold by providing further public stimulus until such time as private stimulus leads the way in our economy.

We have developed a credible plan for tackling the temporary deficits. We have established the foundation of strong pro-growth economic policies including, among many things, one that is very significant and literally makes Canada a tariff-free zone when it comes to manufacturing inputs. That is critical as we reach a point where we have a dollar that is at par with the United States which gives us tremendous purchasing power. We also need to solve the productivity gap and make our businesses more competitive so those investments in technology and equipment will be made tariff-free now. That is a significant step forward.

Increasing investment in research and development, particularly closing the loop in our R and D web at $10 billion science and technology strategy, but the area where we need to make the last bit of progress is in the commercialization of research and development. We do a lot of great research in this country and now we need to commercialize it, which would also solve part of the job creation. Spawning new industries can come from that. Therefore, our colleges and universities are getting an additional leg up and our granting councils are getting additional investment.

What is being said about our budget? We have many endorsements from national agencies but locally who is supporting this budget? The mayor of Windsor is saying very positive things about our budget. Our regional chamber of commerce has come out strongly endorsing this budget as being good for our region. I was just speaking with the University of Windsor president, Dr. Alan Wildeman, last night who said that they were very much in favour of this, particularly in a budget where we are seeing the need to generate multi-billion dollars worth of savings over time, that they get a boost in funding. So there is lots of good news there.

The other major winner in this budget are Canadian seniors who collect a U.S. social security benefit. A horrible tax fight was foisted on them by a previous Liberal government after they retired, eating into their retirement savings and throwing many of them out of their home. Our Prime Minister committed to it in the last election as a government initiative and, before that, it was my personal crusade to right that wrong, and now it is in the budget. Those folks who retired prior to January 1, 1996 are now grandfathered the way they should have been in the first step. I challenge the Liberal members across the way to stand and vote for them and correct the mistake that was made if they have the decency to do it. I call on the two NDP members for Windsor who said that they were in on this issue, to stand up for those same seniors today and vote for the budget later on. I will be watching them and I know seniors will be.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

Liberal

John Cannis Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON

Madam Speaker, the member talked about seniors. One of my soft spots is our respect and our support for seniors for they are the reason that this country is here today.

I want to remind the member of the devastation as a result of the income trust fiasco where his own Prime Minister committed in writing that he would not touch it and promised seniors that he would leave it alone. That is why Danny Williams said that there was no greater fraud than a lie. In essence, he called the Prime Minister a liar and, indeed, he lied.

The member talked about jobs, research and innovation. From the National Post, not from a Liberal paper--

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

I must interrupt the hon. member and ask him to refrain from using words like “liar”. It is unparliamentary language and I would ask him to withdraw that comment.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

Liberal

John Cannis Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON

I will say “misled”, Madam Speaker. I apologize.

“Researchers disappointed by funding for innovation”. Peter MacLeod, a fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Queen's University, says “much of the funding promised to various agencies will do little more than 'keep the lights on”.

The government has put in some money but that is just crumbs. If we are to invest and if the government is putting us in the whole to the tune of $56 billion or $60 billion, let us do it right.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:55 p.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

I was almost optimistic, Madam Speaker, that I would get an apology from the member to those seniors. He has been around long enough to know that Canadian seniors collecting the U.S. social security benefit were done wrong by that Liberal government when it was in power in the nineties. The Liberals tried to balance their budget on the backs of seniors. We are not doing that. We are grandfathering them.

The Liberals violated a very basic principle of justice. We do not increase taxes on those who have already retired. They have mapped out their retirement savings, how much they have saved, how many years they expect to live and now we whack them with a major tax hike. We just do not do that. The hon. member can still redeem himself. He could stand in his place when the budget vote comes up and say that the Liberals made a mistake and that he will support the budget and restore them.

On the issue of research and development, maybe the member missed the Association of Universities and Colleges Canada. I will quote very briefly. It was pleased that the government was continuing, not starting, to invest in university research and innovation which creates jobs today and builds the economy of tomorrow. It said that the budget sends an important signal and shows the government recognizes the vital role universities play in creating opportunities for Canadians in the new economy.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:55 p.m.

NDP

Niki Ashton NDP Churchill, MB

Madam Speaker, the member across referenced some of my colleagues in the House, colleagues who have stood and fought for their constituents, along with all New Democrats, whether it is in terms of employment insurance or pension.

However, if we are talking about seniors, we would like to see a real commitment from Canada's government when it comes to seniors, whether it is looking at support for the guaranteed income supplement, pension plans or standing up for a stronger pension plan in both the private and the public sector. We would like to see a commitment to issues like housing and ensuring there is a national housing strategy and affordable housing when it comes to seniors. Those are the things that matter to seniors all across Canada and this is the area where we do not see the government taking leadership.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceTHE BUDGETGovernment Orders

1:55 p.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

Madam Speaker, talking about rolling over when it comes to seniors and voting against them, let us look at what the NDP has voted against. How about pension income splitting? It was a very significant step forward. We increased the age limit for RRSP to RRIF conversions to 71 from 69, increased the age credits and doubled pension income credits. I remember that budget after budget, as measures came forward for seniors, members of the NDP voted against measure after measure.

Thankfully, in spite of them, we have been able to deliver those types of benefit to seniors. However, time and again the NDP have rolled over and voted against those measures. I suspect the same will happen when it comes to our beloved seniors collecting a U.S. social security benefit the moment that they get tax justice, after over a decade of bitterness, finally getting that measure.

I call on the members for Windsor—Tecumseh and Windsor West to stand in their place today and actually vote for the budget and vote for what they have said all these years that they have supported. Now is the time to put actual action to the words they have been speaking for a decade. Otherwise, we can only conclude that they did not really mean it.

2010 Winter OlympiansStatements By Members

1:55 p.m.

Conservative

Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer, AB

Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise today to congratulate my constituent, Lyndon Rush of Sylvan Lake, for his medal winning bobsled run at the 2010 winter Olympics. Lyndon was the pilot of Canada 1 that earned a bronze medal. What an accomplishment.

This was his first Olympic Games but Lyndon is no stranger to being a world contender. He has also earned two World Cup victories in both the four-man and two-man events in the past year.

I also recognize central Alberta's other 2010 Olympians: Regan Lauscher, Drew Goldsack, Jan Hudec, Zina Kocher, Jeremy Wotherspoon and Mellisa Hollingsworth.

Jeremy Wotherspoon, one of the greatest speed skaters of all time, has competed in four winter Olympics and has always shown great sportsmanship. Red Deer is very proud of Jeremy and we wish him well in his future endeavours.

Once again, I congratulate Lyndon Rush on his remarkable achievement.

I thank the entire Canadian Olympic team for being an inspiration to all Canadians.

International Women's DayStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 99th anniversary of International Women's Day, which commemorates the social, political and economic accomplishments of women past and present.

This year, as host of the G8 and G20 meetings, Canada has a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to women by honouring its obligations in relation to the millennium development goals in the area of maternal and child health.

We know that the lack of access to contraception or reproductive health services is the cause of tens of thousands of unnecessary maternal deaths each year.

On this International Women's Day, we are asking the government to honour its obligations in relation to the millennium development goals by implementing the excellent recommendations made by Dr. Dorothy Shaw and the partnership for newborn and maternal health.

Unfortunately, the government has not allocated any funds for this in its budget.

Together we can save the lives of over 10 million women by 2015 but we can only do that by respecting women's reproductive rights and keeping--

International Women's DayStatements By Members

2 p.m.

NDP

The Acting Speaker NDP Denise Savoie

The hon. member for Châteauguay—Saint-Constant.

Kim Saint-PierreStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Bloc

Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC

Madam Speaker, on this International Women's Day, I would like to pay tribute to an exceptional athlete, Kim Saint-Pierre, for her dazzling performance at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games and for her entire outstanding career.

Kim Saint-Pierre is from Châteauguay and has been playing hockey as a goaltender since she was 11 years old. Her university hockey days at McGill University are what led her to the Canadian women's ice hockey team, with which she has won three Olympic gold medals and five world championship gold medals.

This international level athlete also finds time to act as ambassador for the Hockeyville Châteauguay 2010 campaign.

On behalf of my constituents from Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, I want to thank Kim for her community involvement and for making us proud by showing the world the level of excellence of Quebec athletes.

We thank and congratulate, Kim Saint-Pierre.

International Women's DayStatements By Members

2 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Mr. Speaker, happy International Women's Day. This day is a celebration of women's achievements and it is also a day to reflect on what still needs to be achieved.

In Canada and around the world, women are still told that their career or their personal safety depends on what they wear or how they act. Men who break traditional gender roles are told that they are less worthy. Girls do not receive adequate education respecting their bodies or their right to self-agency.

Unsafe abortions are still a leading cause of maternal death worldwide, and here at home girls are growing up in a country where their federal legislature ranks 49th in the world for female representation.

The status of women depends on female leadership in government and on both men and government who take the time to promote equality in their own lives and in the public domain.

Together we can make the future for all girls, as bright and as hopeful as possible.

ForestryStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Conservative

Dick Harris Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC

Mr. Speaker, all throughout the Cariboo regional district in my riding there will be celebrating going on this year and next because the Canadian Forestry Association has designated this region as the forest capital of Canada. This, of course, was no surprise to us because we have some of the most unique, diverse and beautiful forests in all of Canada.

As members know, the forest dependent communities in this area have faced great challenges since 1993 from the mountain pine beetle infestation. However, these communities are tough and these two years will provide an opportunity to celebrate the economic, cultural, environmental and historical contributions forests have made on life in the Cariboo. I have no doubt that this area will prosper well under the title's theme: Canada's Forests: Strong Roots, Green Shoots!

I congratulate the Cariboo regional district.

Status of WomenStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Ruby Dhalla Liberal Brampton—Springdale, ON

Mr. Speaker, International Women's Day is a global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of our mothers, daughters and sisters. Since women's day was initiated, there have been many success stories. Canada has had a female prime minister; young women comprise almost 50% of classes in universities; and women have gone on to become heads of corporations. There is much to celebrate. However, the glass ceiling has yet to truly be broken.

To ensure that we have a society in which there is true equality for all women regardless of race, religion or creed, all of us have a responsibility to do so much more. Political parties and political leadership need to inspire more women to play an active role in the political process, to participate in the advancement of the policy agenda and to become elected to political office. Their conduct, their aptitude to opening up the process, and their actions are vital to moving beyond the perception that politics is just an old boys' club.

Identifying, recruiting and training women and actually acting on their advice once they are in Parliament will ensure that the voices of all women are truly heard. Empowering women will empower the young generation, our future. It will give them strength, hope and inspiration.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic GamesStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Conservative

Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON

Mr. Speaker, go Canada go was the rallying cry for our entire nation at the Vancouver Olympic Games, which were a phenomenal success not only on the podium but also in the overwhelming outpouring of national pride.

The residents of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex have an even bigger reason to be proud. Our very own Scott Moir from Ilderton and Tessa Virtue of London skated to the gold medal in ice dance. Their performances at Canada's Olympic Games were marked in history as they won the very first Olympic gold medal in ice dancing ever won by a North American team. Through their flawless performance they showed the entire world they were deserving of Olympic gold.

Scott and Tessa have skated together since 1997 and have won many other world champion medals prior to this historic and incredible gold medal win.

I invite all members to join me in saluting Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, gold medallists and the world's best.