House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 49% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Mr. Chair, one of the transactions is ongoing. It is premature to say how much it will cost. When one deals with professionals, one has to wait until the end. That being said, I must remind the member that the contract was commercially tendered and these are the facts.
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Mr. Chair, we are restructuring AECL. The figures my colleague mentioned include funds for a payment to Rothschild.
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Mr. Chair, it is ridiculous to say that we cancelled a $1.5 billion plan. We signed a softwood lumber agreement that will reassure the industry for the years to come and will put $1 billion in cash back into the pockets of our industries.
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Mr. Chair, the forestry crisis dragged on for years before we came to power. The Liberal Party was completely off base when it did not support signing a softwood lumber agreement. The entire industry said that the softwood lumber crisis needed to be resolved. This industry's economy is not integrated like those of other manufacturing sectors. It is a competitive economy, which means that there has to be a softwood lumber agreement.
By signing this agreement when we came to power, $1 billion in overpayments was put back into the pockets of our industries. No one complained except the Liberal Party and the NDP—
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Mr. Chair, the Liberals' questions are a type of personal interrogation. I do believe in climate change. It is obvious, there is international consensus. Will they ask me if I am married or if I have children? What else will they ask about my personal life?
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Mr. Chair, since 1979, our approach has been clear. We support the safe use of chrysotile. We now know that spray-applied asbestos insulation, used in the past, is not safe because it allows fibres to be released into the air. However, chrysotile can be encapsulated in cement or other such materials, and that is the type of use—
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Mr. Chair, since 1979, our approach has been to support the safe use of chrysotile asbestos. We must be clear on this and distinguish between the fibres. We know that the amphibole fibre, which unfortunately was used in the past, is dangerous and has been banned. In fact, the chrysotile fibre currently—
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Mr. Chair, the insulation was a problem in West Block, and we determined that it was due to unsafe use of asbestos. So yes, the government had to remove that asbestos from West Block.
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Mr. Chair, once again, we are not talking about cancelling programs. We stopped taking applications for the current year, and $300 million will be spent this year through the end of 2011. After that, we will review all of the programs for the coming years.
Programs provide a boost. Earlier I was talking about carbon capture and storage. Over $3 billion has been raised, and there is more.
Business of Supply May 31st, 2010
Mr. Chair, we have been very clear regarding funds for the program. There are enough applications to ensure that $300 million will be allocated this year as part of this initiative. There will be sound management with fiscal responsibility, because we want to return to a balanced budget. We said that we would now review things to see—