Andrew Saxton

[Canadian Institute of Actuaries, March 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. On March 18, 1965, federal Senate Bill S-45, sponsored by lawyer and actuary Senator Wallace McCutcheon, was given royal assent, thus creating the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

For decades, actuaries working at the heart of some of the country's most important employers, including banks, pension plans, and insurance companies, have been a quiet, powerful force involved in building and strengthening Canadian business and society.

As experts in risk management, who are responsible for assessing the financial impact of uncertain future events and providing advice in that regard, their role has never been as important as it is today.

On March 18, the government, on behalf of all Canadians, would like to congratulate the institute on 50 years of actuarial excellence in Canada.

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the minister could share with us what our government is doing to help Canadian families make ends meet. We all know that the cost of raising a family these days is at a record high, and it is important that Canadian families have assistance in this regard. Also, what are we doing to help seniors make ends meet? It is also difficult for many seniors.

Perhaps the minister can share with us what we are doing to help Canadian families and seniors make ends meet.

[Public Safety, February 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, since elected, our government has taken numerous steps to combat terrorist financing. This includes strengthening FINTRAC's ability to disclose threats to Canadian law enforcement agencies. We are pleased that the international Financial Action Task Force has endorsed our government's anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime. Canadians should remain vigilant and always report any suspicious activities to police immediately.

The NDP and the Liberals have voted against our efforts to combat terrorist financing. We call on them to start supporting our efforts to protect Canadians.

[Taxation, February 23rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, this is what Liberals consistently do: raise taxes and take money from Canadians' pockets. The federal Liberal leader has said that he could convince Canadians to accept a tax hike. According to the media, he is even looking at reversing the doubling of the children's fitness tax credit.

We reject the Liberal high-tax plan. Our government stands with hard-working New Brunswickers and all Canadians who want to keep taxes low. We will continue to put more money back into their pockets, where it belongs.

[Automotive Industry, February 23rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, at the height of the recession, our government took decisive action to support the automotive industry, including purchasing shares of General Motors. This decisive action helped to save over 52,000 jobs in Canada.

Our government is committed to selling more shares at a time and place that is in the best interests of all Canadians.

[Intergovernmental Relations, February 20th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we are protecting transfers to provinces, and transfers for health and social programs continue to increase. The Liberals made drastic cuts to transfers to the provinces and the territories. We will never do that. We will ensure that every territory and province has the capacity to provide health care, education and other social services that families need.

[The Economy, February 20th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, our government has a low-tax plan for jobs and growth for all sectors of the Canadian economy that is working and will return Canada to a balanced budget this year.

While we are focused on creating jobs, the Liberal leader has the old Liberal high-tax, high-debt agenda that would threaten jobs and set working families back.

We are proud of our plan that is lowering taxes and providing benefits directly to families for them to reinvest in the Canadian economy. In contrast, the Liberal leader is looking at reversing our doubling of the children's fitness tax credit, and has even said that he would convince Canadians to accept a tax hike.

[International Development, February 20th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to bring attention to issues that affect people worldwide: clean water and proper sanitation. Currently, 2.5 billion people lack access to toilets, something that is hard for many of us here to even imagine.

Last September I met with India's Prime Minister Modi when I took part in the Global Citizen Festival, hosted by the Global Poverty Project. Prime Minister Modi spoke passionately about the great effort his country is making to ensure that all Indians have access to proper sanitation, made by famous by his “toilets before temples” campaign.

Increasing access to and usage of toilets will not only reduce the daily death toll of some 2,000 young lives worldwide caused by sanitation-related diseases, but will also make schools a more welcoming place for girls, many of whom do not attend for this very reason. For every dollar invested in safe drinking water and sanitation, there is about $4 saved in work time, productivity, and health care costs in developing countries.

Let us work together toward sustainable development goals for the health and safety of all people worldwide.

[The Economy, February 19th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, our government is focused on what matters to Canadians: jobs and economic growth. Around 1.2 million net new jobs have been created since the depths of the recession.

It is rich that the Liberals would be criticizing our record on job creation because they have voted against every job creation measure that we have introduced, including freezing EI rates, tax cuts for manufacturers, the $75 billion in stable and predictable job-creating infrastructure, and more.

The Liberal leader does not even have a plan, and he thinks budgets balance themselves.

[The Economy, February 19th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, because of the instability in the oil market, we will not bring forward the budget before April.

I can assure the member opposite that our government will continue our low tax plan for jobs and growth for all sectors of the Canadian economy. That is working and will return Canada to a balanced budget this year. We are proud of our plan that is working, and we will stick to that plan.