Mr. Speaker, having been in the business sector, I can tell the House that nothing would send me packing my bags to the U.S. faster than a government made up of those people.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 43% of the vote.
Aerospace Industry November 18th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, having been in the business sector, I can tell the House that nothing would send me packing my bags to the U.S. faster than a government made up of those people.
Aerospace Industry November 18th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the automotive strategy and the aerospace strategy are going in tandem. They are both going at the same pace. We will be there. We will do it in the context of a national strategy. We will not do it in the context of playing politics with the local situation and the workers in Quebec.
Aerospace Industry November 18th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know that I met last night with representatives from the entire aerospace industry from across this country, including the president of Bombardier. They are very happy with the work we are doing. They are contributing to it. These hon. members are playing politics with the jobs of people in the aerospace industry.
Aerospace Industry November 17th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, we are moving ahead on a strategy and we will announce the strategy once we have completed discussions and negotiations. We will not just throw taxpayer money at this problem. Many industries in this country are in a serious situation. We are moving forward with an aerospace strategy, and we will do it in a timely manner.
Aerospace Industry November 17th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know that there are 38,000 aerospace workers outside of the province of Quebec and we will not sacrifice them. We will build a policy that serves the aerospace industry all across the country. Yes, it will have tremendous benefits in the province of Quebec, but it will be a national policy. We are not buying a pig in a poke. We will do an orderly negotiation.
I am meeting tonight with the aerospace association of all of Canada to move that strategy forward.
Research and Development November 16th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, that is the best question of the day.
The Speech from the Throne reaffirmed the government's commitment to science and technology. It reaffirmed our commitment to biotechnology. Just last Friday, the government announced another 194 university chairs at 73 universities across this country, bringing to 1,348 the number of university chairs funded at universities in Canada. We also have world leading capacity in genomics and proteomics.
Technology Partnerships Canada November 16th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I have said right from the first day that I was in this portfolio that Technology Partnerships Canada is not intended to be a chartered bank. It is intended to partner with companies to make technology investments, to create jobs that are based on high technology and human capital, and to drive the competitiveness of this economy.
Aerospace Industry November 16th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, we have provided an enormous amount of support to the aerospace industry. We continue to develop an aerospace strategy for all of Canada. We will continue to execute that strategy. We will deal with individual companies and the entire sector so they serve to employ hundreds of thousands of people across the country.
Aerospace Industry November 16th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the automotive strategy that the government is pursuing is of benefit across the country. I refer the hon. member to a speech made by my counterpart in Quebec. He said that a healthy auto sector was crucial since in Quebec it generated annual sales in excess of $3 billion and employed 15,000 people in some 250 companies. That is the auto sector in Quebec. We are driving the aerospace sector as well.
Taxation November 16th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I can tell the House that any of the TPC programs were made under the strictest conditions of the ethics codes of the time and under the ethics codes that exist today. To malign a member of this House in that way is wrong.