Bob Rae

[The Economy, September 28th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, over the last five years, the government raised spending, on average, by 18%, by $70 billion. The Prime Minister is in absolutely no position to lecture anyone in Canada on the subject of finances or anything else.

The question the Prime Minister has to answer is this. What is he going to do when the circumstances change? A payroll tax increase of $1.2 billion is now planned for January 2012. Would he at the very least cancel that payroll tax?

[The Economy, September 28th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, speaking in Lima, Peru, in November 2009, the Prime Minister told that gathering that Canada was not going to make the mistake of balancing the books at all costs, even if it meant raising taxes and slashing public spending. These were the mistakes that led to the Great Depression, he told the gathering.

I would like to ask the Prime Minister, if those words are correct, and I think most economists around the world would say that they are correct, does he not now recognize that circumstances have changed once again? The world is on the brink of a major recession, and slowdown is all around us.

What will it take for the government to change course once again?

[Days of Awe, September 28th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, tonight will mark the beginning of what are called the “Days of Awe” in the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are observed by Jewish families around the world.

On behalf of the Liberal Party of Canada, I extent our best wishes to those observing these important days. For myself, I shall be spending time celebrating and reflecting with my own family.

May this be a year of sweetness and harmony, a year of peace and justice.

Shana Tova.

[Points of Order, September 27th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In the course of question period today, you made a point of saying that someone could not do indirectly what he or she is not allowed to do directly.

In that context, Mr. Speaker, I wonder if you would take the time to have a look at Standing Order 31 in the name of the member for Vancouver South, which must have been approved by her whip, which must have been approved by the leadership of her caucus and which was a direct personal attack on the member for Scarborough—Agincourt and seemed to have gone unobserved by those who were listening to it.

I wonder if you would have a look at the record, Mr. Speaker.

[G8 Summit, September 27th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the President of the Treasury Board, we know very well that he can twitter. We know very well that he can tweet. What we also know is that he cannot get up on his feet.

That is the problem we have with respect to the accountability that we see today from the minister.

The Prime Minister has allowed an absurd situation to be created where the minister who is responsible for the public spending of Canada is not able to respond to an issue that is as clear as clear can be with respect to the activities that went on in Muskoka in preparation for the G8—

[The Economy, September 27th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the position I just shared is not my personal view. It is the position clearly expressed by Ms. Cooper, and one that is shared by many other observers who see that this government's activities are doing nothing to help economic growth.

We are not asking for a response for us, but rather for those who are talking about the contraction in the United States and in Europe and the problems that exist in Canada. Why can we not get a different answer from the government?

[The Economy, September 27th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Sherry Cooper of BMO Nesbitt Burns said recently in her newsletter:

We are in danger of repeating the deflationary policies that caused the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression.

She goes on to say:

The misplaced belief that the road to economic prosperity is paved by near-term fiscal tightening, as espoused by our Prime Minister...shows we have learned nothing from Herbert Hoover's response to the Great Depression.

I wonder if the Prime Minister would care to comment on these words from a distinguished economist?

[Safe Streets and Communities Act, September 27th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, that is absurd. Of course we are all against violent crime. I have not met anybody in the House who is in favour of violent crime. That is not what the debate is all about and the minister knows that. He is an intelligent person and knows perfectly well that is not what the discussion is about.

The debate is about whether these measures will actually have the effect that the government says they will have. Does he not appreciate and understand the impact that these measures put all together would have on the administration of justice?

The bill would not only have a dramatic effect on the size of our prisons and the prison population but it would also have a significant impact with respect to the administration of the courts. It would have a huge impact on how crown attorneys do their job. It would have an enormous effect on whether plea bargaining could ever take place. It would jam up the courts and cost the provinces and the country billions of dollars. It would not add to the security of Canadians with respect to criminal activity. That has to do with a crime prevention agenda to deal with the root causes of crime.

The minister is simply carrying us down a road that has been tried in the American states and has been abandoned by most of the American states that have tried it. It has been criticized by people from all sides of the political spectrum, from the right, left and centre, and from anybody looking at this in a rational way.

Why is the government persisting in taking this country down a path in which wherever it has been tried has been eventually rejected by the people and governments of those places because they have found that it simply does not work?

The government is dumb on crime and it would have a terrible effect--

[The Environment, September 26th, 2011]

Wait for it; don't applaud too soon.

Mr. Speaker, what is not clear is that we have a policy with respect to sustainability. Could the minister tell us, why is it that the government has failed to develop a coherent approach on climate change, on the reduction of greenhouse gases and on producing a truly sustainable policy?

[The Environment, September 26th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, it would certainly be a refreshing change.

I would like to ask a question of the Minister of the Environment. It is very clear the government has a policy that promotes the development of the oil sands and promotes the export of the oil from the oil sands. What is not clear--