Christian Paradis

[Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, May 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I heard the member talking about her riding.

I also travelled around her riding and saw young people in Mirabel who were very happy with the support we are providing, particularly for the aerospace industry, and with the fact that we are funding research and development, innovation, and science and technology, in order to be able to stand out and market innovative ideas, in other words, to create wealth.

In order to provide quality services, we need to create wealth. This means reducing red tape, helping our industries and stimulating the economy, as we did during the recession. We were able to create 700,000 net new jobs. The member's party voted against all of those initiatives at the time.

Frankly, if we had followed the NDP way of thinking, the recession would have hit Canada much harder. We would be facing a debt crisis, just as the rest of the world is right now.

I do not understand how she can talk about people in her riding when we have a positive record, particularly in the Mirabel area in the aerospace industry.

[Consumer Protection, May 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is odd to hear this type of question, particularly when we know that two historic issues were resolved over the past year: that of Old Harry, the offshore oil reserve, and that of sales tax harmonization, which was dragging on for 10 years.

It is also odd to hear the Bloc Québécois ask a question about the Senate, when we are proposing to reform this obsolete institution. We are proposing the option of elected senators and Senate term limits because we know that a senator could be in office for 45 years. Most Quebeckers do not agree with that and want us to reform the Senate.

[Statistics Canada, May 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave us a strong economic mandate. I must remind the member of the third party that this means ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent as wisely and efficiently as possible in all government departments, including StatsCan.

StatsCan has developed these savings in order to operate more efficiently while continuing to offer high quality statistics and services to Canadians. That is what Canadians are expecting.

[Statistics Canada, May 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we were given a strong economic mandate on May 2. What Canadians expect is responsible and effective management of public funds.

Statistics Canada, like all other government agencies, identified potential savings. Our job is to ensure that these efficiencies are realized while providing top-notch service to Canadians. The majority of Canadians support this mandate.

[Statistics Canada, May 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave us a strong economic mandate, which means we have to ensure that taxpayers' money is spent as efficiently as possible.

Statistics Canada has identified savings in order to operate more efficiently while continuing to provide Canadians with top-notch statistics and services. That is the mandate Canadians want us to accomplish.

[Telecommunications, April 30th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, this program was launched in 1995 and has met its objectives. When I meet constituents, the vast majority of them are now connected to the Internet at home, while many more have access through their mobile devices.

When we renewed it in the past, members opposite always voted against it. Our government will continue to support the youth internships at community Internet sites. We will focus our efforts on strengthening the infrastructure needed to connect Canadians to the Internet, such as through the spectrum options I announced last March.

[Gasoline Prices, April 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her good question. Gas prices are indeed a concern. Both the NDP and the Liberals would impose a job-killing carbon tax on Canadians that would see gas prices skyrocket.

Fortunately, Canadians spoke in the last election.

I must say to the House that we have reduced the GST by 2%, we have strengthened the powers of the Competition Bureau and we brought in the Fairness at the Pumps Act. These are real, concrete measures that we are very proud of.

[Gasoline Prices, April 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, on this long Easter weekend, I have some good measures that I would like to share with the hon. member.

First, it is important to remember that the Liberals' campaign platform proposed increasing taxes by creating a carbon tax that would kill the Canadian economy. The result is that the Liberals are now sitting at the back of the House.

This weekend, the hon. member can tell his constituents that we have a good government that reduced the GST by 2% for all Canadians. We also adopted concrete measures. We brought in new legislation to strengthen the Competition Bureau's power, which was praised by the hon. member's former colleague, Dan McTeague, at a committee meeting in 2009.

[Gasoline Prices, April 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we kept our word. We reduced the GST by 2% for every Canadian. I have to remind the House that the Liberals would impose a job-killing carbon tax on Canadians that would see gas prices skyrocket. This is not what Canadians want.

To be serious, this member should just advocate good serious measures. At the committee last year, colleagues praised our government for steps we took to strengthen the Competition Bureau's power back in 2009.

[Gasoline Prices, April 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, if the member were serious about this matter, he would stop advocating for a carbon tax, which would be devastating for the economy of Canada. Moreover, instead of pushing for higher taxes on Canadians, like the NDP would do, we reduced the GST by two points and we put measures of fairness at the pumps. These things work. Not later than last month, three companies were guilty of fixing prices.

This is real action and totally the opposite of advocating a carbon tax that would be devastating for the economy.