Mr. Speaker, congratulations on your election as Speaker in this 40th Parliament of Canada.
It is my honour to open the debate in consideration of the Speech from the Throne. I wish to begin by thanking the Governor General for her eloquent speech. Her Excellency was quite clear in laying out the challenges that currently face Canadian families and businesses in this time of global economic instability.
Canadians can rest assured that we will devote all of our energy to addressing the challenges that they face today and in the future.
I also want to express my gratitude to the Prime Minister for asking me to move this motion on the reply to the Speech from the Throne. It is an honour.
I want to take a moment to thank the good people of Portage—Lisgar for putting their faith in me as their representative in the House of Commons.
I also want to thank my husband, David, and our children, Lukas, Delaney and Parker, for their support and encouragement.
Indeed, all 308 members of this chamber have been granted a high honour by their constituents. I want to congratulate all of the members of the House for having earned that honour.
In a time when many around the world cannot count on these democratic liberties, our ability to work out our different opinions peacefully and openly is testament to a country that is healthy and a democracy that works. Canada is blessed.
However, we all have constituents who are touched by the current instability in the global economy. These are real people with real worries. The prospect of Ottawa becoming an insular, distant and trivial place during these times would alarm them. It should also alarm each of us.
From the government side, we recognize that while Canadians have entrusted us with a renewed and strengthened mandate in the recently concluded election, our position remains that of a minority. Minority governments are supposed to consult and cooperate with other parties whenever possible and, indeed, in these unstable economic times, such cooperation is in all of our best interests regardless of parliamentary standing.
I am happy to note that the Prime Minister has already personally consulted with the leaders of all of the opposition parties in the search for common ground in this Parliament, just as I am pleased to note that our government is prepared to heed good advice and listen to good ideas no matter where their source as long as this advice and these ideas are themselves offered in good faith.
At the same time, we will be expecting the opposition parties to keep their end of the electoral bargain, to stay out of denial when it comes to respecting the clear wishes of all Canadians, for while this remains a minority Parliament, it is beyond debate that Canadians granted this government a much stronger mandate. They chose our platform as a governing blueprint and they chose the Prime Minister as the best person to lead Canada in uncertain times.
Canadians, therefore, deserve to see a government that is granted a reasonable accommodation to implement its governing agenda free of the tabloid politics and partisan gamesmanship that has often paralyzed this chamber in the past. Parliament must be allowed to work.
The Governor General has already outlined the broad priorities of our government. Allow me to comment on some of these in a little more detail.
First of all, let me talk about our government's core commitment to reforming and strengthening the global financial system. To some this might sound an awfully abstract concept. It is anything but.
Prior to entering public life, I made my career in the financial planning industry. I have seen firsthand the kind of tough decisions that many individuals, small businesses and families have to make. The fact of the matter is that today we are all interconnected. Individuals and businesses throughout the world rely on a sound international financial system in order to protect the value of their investments, savings and pensions.
By almost every measure, Canada's monetary policy, financial regulations and real estate sector are among the soundest in the world. We certainly avoided the excesses and pitfalls that are now plaguing our American neighbours. However, in real terms, being blameless has nothing to do with being safe. This problem is not of our own making, but it is ours to deal with all the same.
The international credit crisis has made it more difficult for Canadians to obtain mortgages and pursue the dream of home ownership, just as it has made it more difficult for businesses to obtain additional credit so they can expand and create jobs. Of course, the slowdown in global growths, spurred on by this crisis, poses significant risks for our export-based economy.
That is why we consider addressing this challenge priority number one. The Prime Minister and Minister of Finance have already concluded a series of meetings with our international counterparts to return the global financial sector to a more stable footing, based on sound domestic regulations and accountable peer review. Even though Canadians are on a more secure footing than many, this is not to say that we cannot strengthen our own way of doing things. This is no time for complacency.
Our government believes that as long as securities regulation in our country remains fragmented, families and businesses will be left at unnecessary risk. That is why our government remains a strong advocate of a single securities regulator in Canada, and will continue to advance this position with our provincial counterparts.
It is also why we will be keeping our own house in order, and thoroughly modernize the laws and regulations around investment and competition in Canada. We will take the same pragmatic approach when it comes to ensuring sound budgeting in Canada. This includes our firm opposition to long term structural deficits, as well as our vigilance when it comes to scrutinizing all government expenditures, curtailing spending growth, eliminating waste, and streamlining the way government does business. This will require some hard decisions, but we will keep our sights focused on delivering real results.
As part of this effort, we are prepared to help secure jobs for families and communities, and expand investment and trade. In the modern, interconnected global economy, these two goals are forever linked. We must do more to help businesses struggling with the challenges of the new economy when such assistance is pragmatic, well-reasoned, and in the long term interest of all Canadians.
Our government has already reduced the tax burden on families and businesses. The next step is to reduce other government barriers to success, whether those barriers are red tape standing in the way of entrepreneurs or an outdated monopoly standing in the way of our grain farmers.
We will do all of this while remaining focused on the ultimate goal: a better quality of life for new Canadians and long-time Canadians alike, to work, to gain an education, to build a home and raise a family. We must help all Canadians participate.
Government policies must help these people and never stand in the way. That is why we will make sure that Canada’s laws, regulations and support follow the model of our universal child care benefit, with real benefits for real people. This includes ensuring more Canadians have access to maternity and parental benefits, and it includes making it more affordable for those Canadians who care for loved ones with disabilities.
There is much more to say about our governing agenda, and my colleague from Mississauga—Erindale will have plenty more to add, but before I yield the floor, let me offer this one last observation.
I am a new member of Parliament and I am not embarrassed to say that it was an awe-inspiring moment to take that first walk up Parliament Hill and to take my seat in this chamber for the first time. I know that many in this House have served as members for a long time and I can only imagine that it does become easy to lose that idealism in the cut-and-thrust and give-and-take that comes with the issues of the day.
However, whether we have been a member of Parliament for two weeks or two decades, we must always remember that, first and foremost, serving here is a unique privilege for all of us. With the responsibility that is entrusted to us today, we are simply custodians to a national story that is far greater than any of our own. The next chapter of this story will require us to make some difficult decisions in an uncertain time. Of course, that chapter is not yet written. All of us must live up to the ideals of this institution by doing what it takes to protect Canada's future.
To that end, it is my honour to move the following:
I move, seconded by the hon. member for Mississauga—Erindale, that the following address be presented to Her Excellency, the Governor General of Canada:
To Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY:
We, Her Majesty's most loyal and dutiful subjects, the House of Commons of Canada, in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Excellency for the gracious speech which Your Excellency has addressed to both Houses of Parliament.
