Dave Van Kesteren

[The Economy, February 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as Canada emerges from the global economic recession as the leader of the developed world, the praise from our neighbours keeps on coming.

Today, a Chicago Tribune editorial applauded Canada's economic leadership, calling us “a rising star among nations”, observing that our economy is “on a roll”. The Americans are telling us what we have known for a while, that our banks are stable, our housing market is solid and our spending is in check.

Would the Minister of State for Finance tell the House how Canada has stayed at the head of the economic pack?

[Canadian Heritage, February 1st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, my constituents and Canadians across the country share a great pride in our nation's history. Over the next few years, we will commemorate many significant events and remember the people who fought and sacrificed to make Canada the strong nation it is today.

We have already begun commemorating the conception of our country during the War of 1812 and we will soon begin to look back on the centennial of the First World War and its key events, such as Vimy. We, of course, cannot forget the 200th anniversary of our founding father, Sir John A. Macdonald.

Unfortunately, the Leader of the Opposition does not think Canadians should commemorate these important events. In fact, he said that our attempt to bring attention to this great history was an act of “jingoism”.

We wholly reject these comments by the leader of the NDP and on this side of the House we will continue to proudly celebrate our nation's history here in the capital and across the country.

[PETITIONS, December 12th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I too have a petition. The petitioners ask that the House condemn the discrimination against females that is occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination.

[The Economy, December 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government is focused on the economy, and we are getting results, with over 820,000 net new jobs created since July 2009. We are getting those results through low taxes, cutting taxes over 140 times and lowering the tax bill for Canadian families by over $3,100 a year. We are also leaving more money in the hands of entrepreneurs to grow and create more jobs.

Today, PricewaterhouseCoopers released a new report confirming we are on the right track. Could the Minister of State for Finance tell the House what the report had to say?

[Jobs and Growth Act, 2012, November 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the member for the fine job she did as vice-chair of the committee.

In that respect, I want to give her an opportunity to respond to some of the allegations made by the Liberal member who spoke before her, just to set the record straight. It is important that the House and the people of Canada know of the important work that was done at committee and what really happened for those three nights. I wonder if she would like to respond to that, given this opportunity.

[Jobs and Growth Act, 2012, November 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with some interest to the hon. member across the way. He talks in defence of his party, how the Liberals rallied to the cause and fought for their constituents and the rest of Canada.

However, would he comment on this? It is a fact that we spent, I believe it was in excess of 50 hours, from 3:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday until 7:30 in the afternoon on Friday. The majority of that time was changes that the Liberals wanted to make to lakes and rivers and not just in a cluster, but one after another. We witnessed department people sitting there for who knows how long on the first day and then the rest of the time. All that time and money was spent for no apparent reason.

Could he comment on that and tell Canadians why the Liberal Party would waste that kind of time and taxpayer money?

[Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, November 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, November 16, Michelle Wright performed in my riding at the Capitol Theatre in front of a full house.

Everyone is proud of our hometown girl from Merlin who grew up listening to the Motown hits coming out of Detroit and the country music songs played by her parents.

Michelle has amassed a total of 25 top ten hits in Canada and a top ten hit in the United States, Take it like a Man. She was the top female artist in 1993 and, in September 2011, Michelle was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.

Michelle is active with World Vision and is always quick to donate her time and energy, helping to raise money for our local hospital and the Victorian Order of Nurses.

That is why it was such an honour to present to her, in front of all her fans, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. Everyone in the house agreed that Merlin's hometown girl is a worthy recipient.

[Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, November 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I wish I had an hour to speak to that particular topic.

However, I did have members of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters in my office last week and one of the industries was a forestry industry. In our discussions, members of that industry mentioned how the forestry industry has turned the corner with respect to the trade that has been opened up to the east, as well as the United States, which was its primary trading partner at that particular time. They spoke about the fact that, with the new opportunities that have opened up, the forestry industry is so much stronger.

The days of cropping up industries and artificially making them successful just has not proven to be successful. That does not work. We know that if we give these manufacturers and the people in the field the opportunity to do what they do best, they will succeed. What they need are the markets. We are told repeatedly that they must have markets, and that is what this government is doing.

[Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, November 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, there is a fundamental difference that oftentimes gets played out in debate. I recognize and understand that we will not always agree but on this side of the House we believe in something that is known as the unguided hand. When opportunities arise, people take those opportunities and act on them and, subsequently, wealth is generated. That is not something that is dictated or centrally planned. It is something that just flows naturally out of a free market society. When we continue to move in the direction of free trade and engage other countries in free trade, we spread that belief and principle. Historically, that has proven to generate wealth and prosperity, not just for this country but for other nations, too.

I know the hon. member and I both serve on the foreign affairs committee, and this is a means to promote world peace, for instance. Therefore, it is a principle that we in this country believe in and that we in the government strongly believe in as well.

[Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, November 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, free trade is fair trade. With respect to the member's concern about labour co-operation, there is a labour co-operation agreement that contains strong and enforceable provisions to protect and promote internationally recognized labour rights. These measures are entrenched in this as well too.

Is it perfect? No, it is not perfect. If we look at what labour laws are in a lot of the developing countries, they have a long way to come. The way to do that is to encourage them, trade with them and, through the labour unions here, show them how by exchanging ideas. Ultimately, when we continue to grow that trade flow and as economies continue to grow, then we can continue to better the lives of those very people who the hon. member is talking about. Those opportunities would be gained as they have opportunities as well to trade with us.