Monte Solberg

[Guaranteed Income Supplement, February 12th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the member mentioned seniors. Seniors and workers of all kinds paid a very high price to dig our country out of deficit in the past and the government will not put us back into deficit.

We have been very responsible in ensuring that on the one hand we are providing for seniors by raising the guaranteed income supplement two years in a row. We are providing lower taxes for seniors of all kinds, lifting 185,000 low income Canadians off the tax rolls. These are all measures that the Bloc voted against.

[Health, February 11th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, it is a serious issue. The government pledged in the last budget to undertake a student loan review. We have done that. We have received submissions from across the country.

The member knows we will be announcing the results of that review in the upcoming budget, which apparently is on February 26. I am really looking forward to it.

[Taxation, February 11th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I think they are saying that I look very handsome today.

The Liberal leader has also promised to scrap the universal child care benefit, something that would plunge 24,000 families into poverty by his own definition. I fail to see how that would help Canadians.

We have stepped up to the plate by providing a universal child care benefit, the working income tax benefit, more investment on training than any government in history and more investment in affordable housing than any government in history. We are getting the job done.

[Taxation, February 11th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, the Liberal plan to raise the GST will not help people who are struggling to get by. The GST is the only tax that many Canadians pay.

[National Child Benefit, February 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to table the national child benefit progress report for 2004. The reports show we are making progress in reducing child poverty in Canada. They demonstrate the need for the federal, provincial and territorial governments to continue to work together in advancing this goal. We want to make it easier for families to become self-sufficient.

The national child benefit has three goals: to help prevent and reduce the depth of child poverty, to promote attachment to the labour market by ensuring families are better off through working, and to harmonize program objectives and benefits through simplified administration.

[Manufacturing and Forestry Industries, February 6th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, any time there are job losses in a community, it is very difficult for the individuals involved and obviously for the communities. That is why we have stepped up with the community development trust, which has won the support of the House.

We have put in place new labour training arrangements with the provinces with $3 billion over the next six years. That is $800 million more a year for training through community colleges and universities.

We are investing more in training today than any government in history precisely because we know that workers have the potential to contribute in this country. The member should have that same faith in those workers.

[Child Care, February 6th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that the member did not create a single space when he was the minister.

The fact is that this government is spending $5.7 billion in direct payments to parents, money to providers and money to provinces. That is three times as much as the previous government provided for child care. We are getting the job done. The Liberals failed.

[Child Care, February 6th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear. The truth is that by working with the provinces, they are committing to create 33,000 new child care spaces, something that never occurred under the previous government.

The more important fact is that the opposition has told Canadians it is prepared to take back the universal child care benefit which benefits 1.5 million families, which gives families the money they need so they can make decisions for their own children. Shame on those members.

[Housing, February 5th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I share my friend's analysis of what occurred under the Liberals.

This government has acted. Because of that, tens of thousands of vulnerable Canadians will have roofs over their heads. We are working cooperatively with the provinces, investing more in affordable housing than any government in history.

It is true that some provinces have been a little slower to get that money out, but we will work with them and ensure that vulnerable Canadians are protected. That is the commitment of this government.

[Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, February 4th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is the government is deeply concerned about the plight of people who do not have housing in our country. That is why today, through social housing, the affordable housing initiative, the housing trust, the first nations housing trust, the homelessness partnering strategy and the residential rehabilitation assistance project, the government is spending more money on helping people get that housing than any government in history. We are extraordinarily proud of that record.

They did not get it done. We are getting it done.