House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 69% of the vote.
Petitions May 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I have several petitions, with over 250 signatures on one petition, from Alberta and Saskatchewan communities, from the Kindersley area, from Grayson, Lloydminster, Lashburn, other communities and my riding.
The petitioners call upon the House to confirm that every human being is recognized by Canadian law as human by amending section 223 of our Criminal Code in such a way as to reflect 21st century medical evidence.
Petitions May 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions from Burstall, Saskatchewan and the North Battleford area that call on the House of Commons to speedily enact legislation that restricts abortion to the greatest extent possible.
Petitions May 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I have petitions to present on three different subjects. First, the Catholic Women's League for Notre Dame Parish in North Battleford calls on the House of Commons to consider a solution to the problem in regard to the exploitation of children through the Internet. They are asking Parliament to put pressure on the CRTC to establish regulations to protect the most vulnerable of our society.
Liberal Party of Canada May 29th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, when the Liberals had a chance to hear from anyone they wanted, regarding this important legislation, they chose to hear from themselves.
I guess even when they are talking to themselves, it is good have someone to listen.
Liberal Party of Canada May 29th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, it seems these are lonely times for the Liberal MPs huddled in the far corner of the House of Commons. Apparently it is getting harder and harder to find friends.
At the special committee our government created to study the responsible resource development section of the jobs, growth and long-term prosperity act, all parties had the opportunity to call witnesses.
Can members guess who the Liberal Party called? Did it call an independent expert in the field? Did it call a friendly NGO to defend its carbon tax, which has already been rejected by Canadians? Did it call an industry representative or an academic to discuss how this budget would create jobs and growth?
No, no, and no.
The Liberals could have called anyone in Canada, and they chose to call the Liberal member for Ottawa South.
That is right. When the Liberals were given a chance to hear from anyone they wanted regarding this important legislation, they chose to hear from themselves.
I guess even--
The Environment May 18th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, of course we rely on science, and that is what we depend on to make our decisions, but we also depend on leading Canadians. We look forward to doing that.
We are focused on jobs, growth and economic prosperity across this country. We all know that major projects across this country are taking far too long. That is one of the reasons we brought forward the initiatives that we have in economic action plan 2012. We want to have one project, one review, with set timelines. That is reasonable.
Canadians are looking forward to that, and they are looking forward to the jobs that will come out of it as well.
The Environment May 18th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I can tell the member what the benefits of the economic action plan are: 750,000 jobs across this country. Members opposite need to get on board with that plan.
Actually, yesterday we were able to have our committee meet. We had three ministers come and talk to us about our future plans. We look forward to the changes that are going to be made so that we can develop the economy across this country, protect the environment and develop even more jobs.
Hopefully the NDP will begin to work with us instead of trying to divide workers in one section from workers in another part of this country. Resources extend across this country, from British Columbia right across to Newfoundland and Labrador. The NDP needs to get on board and support Canadian jobs.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, this is very typical of the Liberal Party. It did nothing for 13 years and allowed the backlog to grow from 500,000 to 600,000 to 700,000 to 800,000 to 840,000. We were elected and we tried to straighten out the system. Now he says that we should not have done that. Had Liberals been in power, by now that backlog would be 1.5 million and the wait list would not be 8 years but probably 12 to 14 years. How does that serve immigrants?
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I would have to agree with the minister, probably the best minister of citizenship and immigration we have had in our country for many decades. It was imperative that something be done to change the system that was in place when the Liberals were finally removed from power. As he pointed out, there were huge backlogs. Hundreds of thousands of people were waiting to get into our country. We are trying to establish an immigration system where people can come to Canada and get good-paying jobs and we can deal with some of the inequality that we have seen in the past with which immigrants have had to deal.
I have to congratulate the minister for his great work on this file. He has dealt with this tough file in a way that is fair to immigrants and Canadians and makes a huge difference for Canadians.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, those of us in Saskatchewan understand this because we had to experience it for so may years. However, it is extremely unfortunate that the NDP thinks we have to take from one group in order to give to another group. We heard its leader talk about how we had to basically shut down the economy in western Canada in order to try to create something in eastern Canada, failing to understand that the two of them are tied together and that prosperity in one part of the country generates prosperity in another part. It also fails to understand that we can have a balanced economy and environmental protection at the same time.
The NDP will consistently take the extreme position that we need to stop the economy, stop development in the country and try to make people more dependent on government, so government can continue to grow in order to protect the environment. We can find the balance between economic growth and environmental protection, and the budget bill does that.