David Emerson

[Automobile Industry, June 9th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, words like that coming from the party that is always complaining about the technology partnerships program which is being used to support the automotive industry boggles the mind.

The Minister of Finance has said over and over again that we will continue to go through with those corporate tax cuts. The Oshawa investment by General Motors will be the largest investment ever made in the Canadian automotive industry.

[Automobile Industry, June 9th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I think the member is full of hot air.

The reality is that the GM plants in Oshawa are among the most productive, the most efficient and the highest quality plants in North America and South America. They are benefiting from major strategic investments by the Government of Canada.

We are working with the auto sector. I talked with the president of General Motors just before question period. He is committed to the Oshawa plants. That member does not know what he is talking about.

[Automobile Industry, June 8th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to say that the GM Beacon project is expected to continue to go ahead. Not a penny has flowed to the project. Not a penny will flow until the project gets under way. GM has become in Canada one of the most efficient in North America.

Incidentally, our health care system into which the government has poured substantial resources has become a very important competitive advantage for Canada.

We will continue to grow the automotive industry in Canada as we continue to put money into our social programs.

[Automobile Industry, June 8th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I would think the hon. member would be congratulating the government on getting ahead of this problem. Through programs like technology partnerships and some of the investments that we have made in the automotive industry, we now have the strongest automotive industry in North America. We are going to stay that way. We have a strategy. We have been working with the industry to fine tune it. I will be bringing it to the industry committee in the fall.

[Transportation, June 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, programs are available to work with public transit manufacturing organizations. Bombardier itself has a very serious line of business in producing rapid transit trains and vehicles. We have programs that are available to help the companies that qualify and we will certainly look at any proposal that comes forward.

[Shipbuilding Industry, May 18th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, this government has had a shipbuilding policy in place since 2001. In fact, I met on Monday of this week with members of the shipbuilding and marine industrial sector from across the country.

We are having a discussion about how to update that strategy to ensure that our Canadian shipbuilding industry is technologically sophisticated and competitive, so that it can be competitive in the world economy and win government contracts for Coast Guard and other defence vessels.

[Aerospace Industry, May 13th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, for several months in this House I have watched the political chicanery and skullduggery from the other side. It is very ironic but not surprising that a question of profound importance to the people of Canada should come from a member on our own side.

Today this government announced yet another initiative to build the aerospace industry in this country. We are partnering with the Government of Quebec and Bombardier to ensure that its new platform C Series aircraft initiative will take place here in Canada with benefits to suppliers all across this country.

[Commercial Bankruptcies, May 13th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the bill the hon. member refers to is a bill that would actually kill more jobs and kill more defined benefit pension plans than anything I can think of.

This government has a bill coming forward to deal with bankruptcy and insolvency and to deal with a wage earner protection package that will be practical and will not injure business, will not kill jobs, will not kill pension plans, and will protect workers.

[Government Contracts, May 5th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister has done more to clean up Parliament and clean up government than any prime minister in the last 30 or 40 years.

I want to say that if the Conservatives have a complaint about the hon. Minister of Transport, we have, thanks to this Prime Minister, established an independent registrar of lobbyists who reports to Parliament. They should complain to the registrar of lobbyists and deal with this in the proper way.

[Question No. 111, May 2nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, from 1994 to 2004, in accordance with its purchasing policies on goods and services, the following criteria were used by the Business Development Bank of Canada in making decisions: price, quality, delivery, serviceability, and reliability.