Bev Oda

[Canadian Heritage, April 10th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, once again the Liberals have their facts incorrect.

In fact, I spoke directly to the member opposite and assured him that the Encounters with Canada program would be continued and that no students or no youth would be deprived of their participation in a very good program that benefits all Canadians.

[Canadian Heritage, April 10th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, this government intends to meet its commitment to the cultural community and to the artistic community. We will meet every commitment that is good for the creators, good for Canadians and good for our country. We will be able to move forward on our commitment to the arts and culture community once we look at the needs that are going to be required by the community. I am meeting with the Canada Council to determine those. We unfortunately were not able to find within the fiscal framework any financial commitment by the previous government.

[Multiculturalism, April 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the member's question gives me the opportunity to express on behalf of the government its commitment to multiculturalism.

We are reviewing the programs. We know a review is called for after 12 years of perpetuating a program that is ineffective and needs to be re-addressed.

We will commit to every ethnic community across Canada so they can participate equally and fully in all aspects of Canadian society.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, April 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate you on your new responsibilities.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the constituents of the riding of Durham for their confidence in enabling me to serve them in the 39th Parliament. I not only share the responsibility to serve my riding but also to work with the Minister of Finance as we both serve the people in the region of Durham.

As the Minister of Finance knows, the people in Durham are hard working, have a strong family heritage and have safe communities. I will continue to work with the minister and my colleagues on behalf of Durham and all Canadians. How will the families in Durham, particularly the youth, be better off under the new government?

[Arts and Culture, April 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, our intent is to meet the commitments and to honour our commitments to the people of Canada and to the arts and culture communities. Our intent is to make sure that they have the resources that they require to meet their needs. The creators and the performers of Canada for years have been at the end of a string with the former government. We will make sure that they have stable funding. We will make sure that the resources go to the performers and the creators, as they should.

[Arts and Culture, April 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it is certainly not our intent to honour any Liberal commitment.

[Arts and Culture, April 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the government recognizes the benefits of the artistic and cultural community, not only to its cultural life but to the economics and the economy of this country. We will be working with every agency that benefits our cultural community and Canada in the appropriate ways.

[Arts and Culture, April 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the government will follow through on its commitment to the arts and cultural community. We have committed to support them and to ensure that they will be able to sustain themselves and continue their contribution to Canadian life and to an improved Canadian perspective internationally.

We will commit to supporting the arts and cultural community in the ways that are most meaningful to them and where the money is needed.

[Arts and Culture, April 5th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the government supports arts and culture. We recognize its importance in the cultural life of all Canadians and in a democratic society. We are committed to providing the support and the resources that artists and creators need to ensure they have the sustainability and security to fulfill their creative endeavours.

[Supply, November 24th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to respond about child poverty in Canada. I think it is a disgrace that Canada has such a high degree of child poverty. This is not something that we characterize Canada as having.

We have role models here who are not showing us that we need to take care of each other. The role models we have in the government show us that we just take care of ourselves. If we cannot show a better example to Canadians, then we will not have the needed caring of each other and everyone in our community.

Child poverty is an extremely important concern that we have to address. As I said in my speech, I am concerned about what we are leaving as a legacy for the next generation and to have child poverty in this country is something that we cannot abide by. We believe that every family has to have the opportunity to earn a good living in order to make their future secure.

We believe that we want a country--