Monte Solberg

[Guaranteed Income Supplement, December 13th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Bloc for its new-found interest in this issue. It was the government that moved to address this issue last spring in Bill C-36. We addressed it so that in the future no one who fills out his or her guaranteed income supplement would ever need to re-apply.

The Bloc has been silent on this issue right up until now. We are addressing the issue. Because of this government, seniors are better off today than they have ever been, and we will continue to improve on that record.

[Canada Summer Jobs Program, December 13th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend congratulations for the successful launch of the new Canada summer jobs initiative, but it really belongs to the caucus.

It is true that we have launched an outstanding Canada summer jobs initiative, building on the great success of last year. The member is wrong though when she states that it did not work for people last year.

There were 18,000 not-for-profit organizations that hired 42,000 students across the country. We are very proud of that.

[Canada-United States Tax Convention Act, 1984, December 13th, 2007]

moved that Bill S-2, An Act to amend the Canada-United States Tax Convention Act, 1984, be read the third time and passed.

[Canada-United States Tax Convention Act, 1984, December 13th, 2007]

moved that the bill be concurred in.

[Homelessness, December 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I hate to break it to the member, but the NDP has never been in power so there was no budget from the NDP.

I need to tell the member that the New Democrats have no monopoly on concern when it comes to looking after the homeless. Last week I was meeting in Vancouver with groups who work on the streets to help people get a roof over their heads, give them the helping hand that they need so they can ultimately get out of the situation they are in.

We are concerned about this. We are pouring resources in. It is more than just rhetoric with this party. We are getting the job done.

[Homelessness, December 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the strategy of the government is to take steps that make a difference in the lives of people, which is why, when we came to office, one of the first things we did was to invest heavily in affordable housing. There is $1.4 billion in the housing trust today.

This government is investing more in affordable housing than any government in history. We have also put in place the homelessness partnering strategy. We believe that a roof over a person's head is the place to start to give people a hand. There is $270 million for that.

We understand how important it is to make sure that people who are living in poverty get a--

[Manufacturing Industry, December 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, every time a plant closes down it is very difficult for the workers involved. Service Canada immediately meets with the plant, with the union and certainly with the workers and lays out the options in terms of benefits, training and new job opportunities.

I think the most important way to support workers is to give them the skills they need to take advantage of the extraordinarily hot job market. In fact, Quebec is just behind Alberta in the creation of new jobs this year, which is at 2.9%. That is extraordinarily good news. It is the highest employment rate it has had in its history. We want to help workers transition into work.

[Child Care, December 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, here is the truth. The truth is that this government is investing three times as much in child care as the previous government did.

The truth is that we are offering choice to parents, something that is extraordinarily popular with parents.

The truth is that the leader of the Liberal Party says that he would take away the universal child care benefit, which would be extraordinarily damaging to parents. That is the truth.

[Child Care, December 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend for his story but I recall reading the newspaper not long ago where the former deputy leader of the Liberal Party was talking about that member's child care plan. Do members know how many spaces she said that his child care plan created? She said “none”.

[Poverty, December 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as I told the member yesterday, thankfully because the economy is hot, we are seeing decreasing levels of poverty in all kinds of groups, including women.

We want to take advantage of that hot job market, which is why we are investing more in training today than any government ever has. We are putting more into affordable housing than any government ever has. We are providing more support for child care than any government in history.

That is a terrific record. What is shameful is the fact that the Liberal leader wants to take away support for Canadian families, the universal child care benefit, and that will hurt--