House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 34% of the vote.
Citizenship and Immigration October 27th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, these measures merely establish new power for provinces and territories, which they have not previously had, to establish minimum periods of residency to qualify for social programs, including welfare. The terms and conditions under which those programs are delivered remain with the provinces and territories. We respect that provincial jurisdiction, and it will be up to the provinces and territories to decide the rules of the game.
Citizenship and Immigration October 27th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, this budget bill obviously does no such thing. It does not change the terms and conditions under which asylum claimants or refugees gain access to welfare or other social programs. It merely establishes a power for provinces and territories to establish their own waiting periods of residence before different categories of people can qualify for these social programs, including welfare. On this side of the House, we respect provincial and territorial jurisdiction, and we will leave it to them to determine the rules in the end.
Citizenship and Immigration October 27th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, these measures do not in any way change access to social programs for asylum seekers, refugees or anyone else. This bill proposes giving the provinces and territories the authority to establish their own timeframes and deadlines for when the various categories of individuals can access social programs.
On this side of the House, we respect provincial jurisdictions, and we will leave it up to the provinces and territories to set the ground rules for their social programs.
Foreign Affairs October 10th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, a member who represents a riding by the name of Montcalm should have a better understanding of Canada's military traditions.
The NDP is the party breaking with Canadian tradition. Canada has done its part in several international efforts against terrorism, just as it did during the world wars. We will do our part this time too.
Citizenship and Immigration October 10th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, we are grateful that the Liberals and NDP keep giving us the opportunity to talk about the progress we are making with our citizenship and immigration programs.
Processing times for permanent residents and new citizens have dropped dramatically thanks to the work done by this government and the investments made by this Prime Minister.
We are still cleaning up the huge backlog that was created by the Liberals, and we will continue working at it.
Citizenship and Immigration October 10th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for that lob question.
It gives us a chance to talk about the progress we have made this year in only the first seven months, creating 150,000 new citizens. That is a great success which was never seen under the Liberals.
Processing times are coming down, and they will be under one year by early 2016. The number of years the hon. member mentioned is completely false. He has a tendency to mislead the House on that front.
The Liberals voted against the—
The Environment October 10th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, the health and safety of our men and women in uniform is the first priority of this Department of National Defence and of this Minister of National Defence. We have made record investments in infrastructure in order to protect the environment and clean up land in several Canadian regions. We will continue to work on that.
National Defence October 10th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, this time the hon. member is completely wrong. This is a counterterrorism mission with a military component. In Canada's case, it will involve air strikes against ISIL targets so that they are no longer able to attack innocent Iraqi civilians or attack us here in Canada or other allies and partners.
What is different on the NDP side, what is scandalous with this opposition, is that it is unwilling to do anything of a military nature against a deadly terrorist threat.
National Defence October 10th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely right. We, and this Prime Minister, have learned a lesson from Afghanistan that is very important: it requires military effort to prevent a terrorist safe haven from emerging across the length and breadth of an entire country.
That is why we are supporting this military mission. It is six months in length. It is a very limited number of aircraft. It is to degrade the capacity of Islamic State to deliver terrorism against the people of Iraq and around the world.
Those objectives are very precise.
National Defence October 10th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, Canada's combat mission is very clear. We are not undertaking any military action against any state. We are carrying out a military combat mission against the Islamic State terrorist group, and we will carry out this mission in Iraq, with the permission of the Iraqi authorities. The real question for Canadians is why the NDP insists that Canada not get involved in supporting the international military effort.