Candice Bergen

[International Women's Week, March 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this week is International Women's Week.

The Conservative Party has a long tradition of supporting all women. After all, the first female justice minister, minister of defence and prime minister of Canada was from the Conservative Party.

Today, on Parliament Hill, there is a group of girls and boys who are observing the democratic process in action and engaging with parliamentarians.

The girls in this group are here, thanks to Equal Voice, to which the Minister of State for the Status of Women recently announced funding of $1.2 million for “Experiences”, a project that will increase the democratic participation of these girls and other young women by pairing them with mentors. I hope some of them will be hon. members in the House one day.

Today, in Canada, there is very little that a woman cannot do. As we observe International Women's Day and Week, we can truly celebrate the strong women and girls who help make Canada a land of opportunity for all citizens.

[Business of Supply, February 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, we are receiving calls and input every day from mayors, like Mayor Martin Harder from Winkler, Mayor Ken Brennan from Portage la Prairie. They are excited about what we are doing. They are asking questions and we are providing answers. We are working together with our partners to get this money moving out quickly and to see communities built.

[Business of Supply, February 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, Canadians spoke in the last election on which Minister of Finance they respect, which Minister of Finance they want to lead this country in a time of economic crisis, and that is the current Minister of Finance. I am very proud and pleased to be able to work together with him.

I would like to add, if I may, that if the member truly cares about Canadians and municipalities, he would support the budget and he would work together with us to get this money moving out. He would not be denigrating people in the House. He would be working in a positive manner.

[Business of Supply, February 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, it is a priority for this government, and I believe for all members who support this economic plan, that we do get the funding to municipalities, to cities and to towns as soon as we can. We want to work together with our partners, but we cannot do it unless we listen to municipalities.

I know that as I travelled across my riding, municipalities were saying to me that they were pleased with this government, the progress that we have made, and the increases that we have made in the gas tax transfers to the municipalities. They are recognizing the work that we are doing. That is why they are very excited about our plan and we are moving forward on that.

[Business of Supply, February 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to the motion before us. The government has delivered unprecedented investments to Canada's economy through infrastructure programs. This fact is undeniable.

Back in November 2007, we announced the historic building Canada plan. This plan invests $33 billion in long-term predictable funding to help provinces, territories and communities of all sizes. It was a necessary boost to our cities, towns and municipalities, and will help modernize our roads, bridges, water systems and other infrastructure developments.

After 13 long years of inaction from the previous Liberal governments, we made critical choices to help benefit the quality of life for all Canadians. This is infrastructure money put towards the foundation of our country to create key investments to benefit future generations.

Earlier this year Canada's finance minister delivered Canada's economic action plan in this very chamber. It addressed the current economic uncertainty affecting Canadians, as well as people around the globe. This plan will stimulate economic growth, create jobs and support Canadian families.

By accelerating key infrastructure investments, this government will provide almost $12 billion additional stimulus for our economy, above and beyond our $33 billion building Canada plan.

Our economic action plan clearly lays out the framework that our government is taking to invest in our economy, create jobs and support Canadian families through sound investment in infrastructure.

This $12 billion boost to our economy is an accelerated infrastructure investment and it includes a $4 billion infrastructure stimulus fund, $2 billion to accelerate construction at colleges and universities, $1 billion to create a new green infrastructure fund, $500 million to support construction of new community recreation facilities and upgrades to existing facilities, and accelerating existing provincial, territorial-based funding, $25 million to all provinces.

We are committed to providing funding to the priority projects Canadian families can use most. We have shown this through these programs. Our prudent investments and responsible decisions made before this global crisis hit Canada seem even more critical with the benefit of hindsight.

While some in the benches opposite still refuse to vote to support our action plan and to help Canadian families now, we are proposing immediate action to better our economy, to improve the quality of life for Canadians, and to seek ways to build a better country for our children and our grandchildren.

Although we have taken many great strides, we cannot act alone. No single level of government can address this country's infrastructure needs. Our ability to fund projects is dependent on our partners and we will work closely with these partners, with provinces, territories and municipalities to ensure the greatest results.

My colleague, the transport and infrastructure minister, showed this commitment through the consultations he held with the leaders in provinces, territories and municipalities across Canada. This minister consulted community leaders, stakeholders and other respective groups.

My hon. colleague worked hand in hand to find ways that all levels of government can work together to highlight priority projects and discover areas where the acceleration of funding was possible, as well as determining additional steps necessary to ensure that this progress was possible. We will continue to work with all levels of government in order to get projects moving and provide a much-needed shot in the arm to our economy.

As a further result of these consultations, the minister was able to develop our government's five point action plan as touched on by my colleague earlier to further guide our efforts towards accelerating infrastructure investments.

The first point in this action plan is working with provinces and territories to put key major infrastructure projects on the fast track through the building Canada fund major infrastructure component. We are also accelerating funding for projects in smaller communities through the building Canada fund communities component.

This acceleration requires the collaborative input of all levels of government to see success. Partnerships are necessary from all levels of government for this process to succeed. Our government is committed to ensuring this is possible.

For Canada's future we are working together with our counterparts from across the country to improve the lives of all Canadians.

We are putting people to work. We are creating new jobs, putting shovels in the ground, helping construction sectors across the country, and spending money in key development projects which will help future generations.

While different funds under our overarching infrastructure plan operate differently, each one of them is based on partnership. These partnerships are the key elements in the successful delivery of our government's economic action plan.

We have worked and we are continuing to work with our partners to cut red tape, streamline approvals, and get shovels in the ground faster. We want to see Canadians at work in their communities and benefiting from our investments. We are looking forward to new cultural and sports facilities opening across the country, and being able to drive on safer and improved roads and bridges.

We have consulted with our provincial and territorial partners through this entire process. We have listened to municipal leaders and municipal associations, and we have responded. We established programs that will lead to targeted infrastructure investments and will lay the foundation for a stronger economy and a better Canada.

While others choose to sit back and do nothing, we are standing up for Canadians. We are forming partnerships to work in collaboration with our colleagues across this country to identify projects which will get shovels in the ground tomorrow, put people to work, and boost our economy to benefit the quality of life for all Canadians.

[Justice, February 24th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as if Winnipeg and other western provinces have not been under siege enough from violence, a high-risk offender was re-arrested last Friday only hours after being released from prison. Kenneth Erdley Ross, a career criminal with a serious sadistic personality, has a record dating back to 1987, including sexually assaulting and slashing the throat of a 22-year-old Winnipeg man.

Would the Minister of Justice tell us what the government is prepared to do to ensure that criminals like Ross are kept in prison where they belong?

[The Budget, February 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad that my hon. colleague and I can serve Manitobans together in this chamber. It is a pleasure for me to answer her question.

The RCMP and our law enforcement agencies are a priority for this government. We are the only government that has invested in new recruits and we have actually backed that up with funding. We want to continue to support the RCMP. We realize the difficult tasks that those officers have. The job they have is unprecedented in this country. We want to support them, but it is not just with lip service. We want to actually give them the things that they need. We will continue to do that.

I am sure the hon. member is aware that February is I Love to Read Month in Manitoba. I would encourage her, in the spirit of I Love to Read Month, to read the budget. She will find some very positive things for all Manitobans and all Canadians.

[The Budget, February 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this government has proven that it has a record of fiscal responsibility. We have paid down $30 billion in debt and it has not been done on the backs of the provinces.

In our families it is one thing to have a huge savings account, but when our children are starving, that is nothing to be proud of. I am proud of this government. I am proud that we have paid down the debt. We have maintained and increased the spending and the money that we have transferred to the provinces so that they can deliver what is required to their constituents and to each one of their communities.

We are responding to the economic crisis. It is a crisis; there is no doubt about that. These measures have to be decisive. We have to make sure that Canadians know that we are onside and that we are working on their behalf.

[The Budget, February 3rd, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Fleetwood—Port Kells.

I rise today to speak in favour of the economic plan which the Minister of Finance presented to this House just last week. I encourage all members of this House to support this important budget.

When Canadian voters went to the polls last October, they were aware that an economic storm was brewing. They knew that businesses in Canada were struggling to make a profit and layoffs were increasing. Canadians saw that their investments were strained and credit was becoming more difficult to obtain. Faced with that reality, Canadian voters made the choice to return a Conservative government to office with an even stronger mandate. Canadians trusted the Prime Minister and this government to lead them through a period of uncertainty and to make the difficult economic choices that lay ahead. It is clear that Canadians chose this government because of the challenging economic crisis and because of our record of fiscal responsibility.

Tuesday's budget reveals that Canadians have made the right choice. This is a government that has already, in its brief time in office, earned the respect of its citizens and its global neighbours as faithful stewards of the Canadian economy. We took action early in anticipation of the economic slowdown. We paid down billions in debt. We reduced taxes and increased infrastructure investments. We indicated at that time that we were committed to getting the economy back on track and listening to Canadians.

This government has listened. Over the past weeks and months, this government has engaged in open and public discussions with individuals and groups across Canada, undertaking the most comprehensive prebudget consultations ever. These consultations included round table discussions, meetings with leaders from all provinces and territories, and face-to-face meetings with representatives of the other political parties. They included discussions with business leaders, economists, academics, industry leaders and community and labour organizations right across this country. They also included personal requests from the finance minister to each MP asking members of Parliament to consult with their constituents and report back their findings.

Throughout the months of December and January, like many of my colleagues, I travelled across my riding of Portage—Lisgar meeting with community leaders, mayors and reeves, agricultural producers and business leaders, and seniors and students, to consider their circumstances, to listen to their concerns and to exchange ideas. Like many other MPs, I organized town hall meetings in my constituency in community halls and local coffee shops, with the sole purpose of giving my constituents the opportunity to speak to their elected member of Parliament and to have the assurance that they are heard.

What this time of dialogue and discussion in my riding showed me is that sometimes compromise is required. None of my constituents was anxious to see us return to deficit spending, yet the vast majority of them agreed that sometimes political ideology has to be compromised for the greater good.

It is the same within our own families. We counsel our children to save their money and live within their means instead of buying on impulse and getting into debt. It is an important lesson to teach and an important lesson to learn. However, sometimes in our homes and businesses, we find ourselves in extreme and difficult situations caused by circumstances outside of our control. Sometimes it is a sickness in the family, or a severe storm or a fire that has hit our home, our farm or our business. It hits hard and it hits fast, and it requires immediate and decisive action. In those extreme and difficult times, families make the necessary short-term concessions to see it through and come out stronger than before.

This nation has a great tradition of compromise and of accommodating each other. It is one of our greatest strengths. A reasonable compromise is what is needed now. Circumstances require that all of us roll up our sleeves and do what is in our nation's best interest. We as a nation, and indeed the entire globe, find ourselves now in an economic situation that is unprecedented in a generation, and it is not of our own doing. We did not cause this recession, but nonetheless it has hit us.

As the Minister of Finance has said, these are extraordinary times calling for extraordinary measures. I believe that this economic plan delivers extraordinarily on behalf of all Canadians, promising short-term intervention and long-term investment for workers, businesses and families. It finds a balance between stimulating our economy now and building capacity for the future. It is a plan that will help us not only weather the storm, but rebuild and prosper once again.

As the member of Parliament representing a vast prairie riding in beautiful Manitoba, I think about the effect this budget will have on the lives of my constituents, the individuals and the groups that make up my region. I am convinced that the measures in this economic plan will provide a significant and positive impact on the lives of Manitobans living in Portage—Lisgar.

This plan helps families in my riding and across the country by raising the level at which the national child benefit supplement for low income families and the Canada child tax benefit is phased out. This plan is helping seniors by increasing the senior age credit amount by an additional $1,000. This plan will provide $20 billion in personal tax relief over 2008-09.

This plan helps communities with $12 billion in new accelerated infrastructure spending over five years for roads, bridges, drinking water, waste management and more. With the announcement of the $123 million communities component of the building Canada fund, smaller communities, like many in my riding of Portage—Lisgar, can now apply for funding for their important public projects.

This plan helps farmers and producers with the announcement of $500 million for an agricultural flexibility program. By committing $50 million over the next three years to strengthen slaughterhouse capacity, we will open new market options for the beef industry and other livestock producers who have faced severe hardship over the last five years.

This plan helps small businesses by increasing the amount of business income eligible for the reduced federal tax rate of 11% to $500,000. With increased access to financing for small business through proposed amendments to the Canada small business financing program and the Business Development Bank of Canada, we are showing that this government is firmly on the side of small business in Canada.

In the riding of Portage—Lisgar there has always been a strong can-do attitude when it comes to facing adversity and overcoming obstacles, a real pioneer spirit and tenacity that still exists and thrives in the men and women of our towns, cities and rural areas. At many points in our history we have had to go it alone. I am very proud to serve the region I represent and I am very proud of their determination, their will and of what they have accomplished as a result.

I am proud as I travel in my riding and meet citizens in places like Treherne, Pilot Mound, MacGregor and Altona. I am proud of the courage shown by producers, industry leaders and small businesses as they stare down these current economic conditions.

Today I am equally proud of the measures that this government has taken to ensure that Canadians do not have to go it alone. For those hardest hit by the effects the global recession is having on Canada's economy, this economic plan gives a boost. For ordinary Canadians struggling with monthly bills, it puts money back into their wallets. For those out of work, this plan provides support and training. At the same time, the government has been prudent to look ahead and forecast a time when these measures will no longer be necessary.

I have no illusions. Canadians have no illusions. These measures do come at a high price. Like all debts, this one will have to be paid back, but Canadians must remember that the same government that is proposing these new spending measures has aggressively paid down $30 billion of the national debt.

We are at a historic time, and I realize that we do not always agree in the House, but I believe our differences do not have to divide us or the nation. As iron sharpens iron, so our individual and collective thoughts and ideas can cause us to become better parliamentarians, better representatives of our ridings and indeed better individuals. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to see this economic plan passed and implemented.

[Heroism, November 25th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to three great Canadians.

On Saturday night, a medevac airplane crashed in northern Manitoba near the community of Gods Lake. The plane was carrying a pilot, a co-pilot and three passengers: a mother, her 10-month-old son and a flight nurse who were on their way to a hospital in Thompson, Manitoba.

Shortly after takeoff, the pilot noticed a fire in the cockpit and he was forced to take the plane down. Miraculously, the crew performed a very skilled crash landing and got all five people out of the plane before it burst into flames.

The heroic actions of the flight crew saved the lives of their passengers. The pilot, co-pilot and nurse on this flight are model Canadian citizens and they deserve both our thanks and praise for their bravery.