House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 33% of the vote.
Business of Supply June 12th, 2017
Madam Speaker, I keep hearing all these Conservatives get up and talk about how great their softwood lumber agreement was in 2006. The problem with it was that it was not great. Virtually everybody at the time was opposed to it. They gave $1 billion to the American industry and not to the Canadian industry, and it directly resulted in the lumber crisis of 2008.
I was wondering what planet he was on with respect to this topic.
Business of Supply June 12th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I would like to offer a little reminder about the softwood lumber crisis.
The Conservatives put the agreement in place in 2006, and in 2008 we had the forestry crisis. That crisis happened after the Conservatives’ agreement with the Americans was implemented. It was a bad agreement that they signed in a hurry to get rid of the issue without solving the problem. That is what has brought us to where we are today.
In addition, the member said we have not created jobs. In fact, over 300,000 new jobs have been created in the last year. That may be why the Conservatives were unsuccessful as a government: they do not see the difference between 300,000 and a negative number.
Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1 June 9th, 2017
Madam Speaker, I congratulate you on your temporary role.
I would like to thank my colleague from Beauport—Limoilou for his speech.
At the end of his speech he said that his party is a good manager of taxpayer dollars.
I find this is not entirely accurate. During the 10 years that the Conservatives were in office, we had $150-billion deficits. We also have deficits, this is true. We will get back to that a little later.
What did we get for all that?
Nothing. Under the Conservatives, economic growth ranged from 1% to 1.5%. With the Liberals, economic growth was stronger in 18 months than it was during the 10 years the Conservatives were in power.
If we look at the deficits from a historical standpoint, for over a century, the Conservatives have never been able to get out of deficit, although they inherited surpluses from the Liberals twice, namely in 1912 and in 2006.
The Conservatives have never been able to balance the budget without selling off government assets.
Business of Supply June 8th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, as is often the case, I find myself stuck between the fissile motion of the NDP and the facile position of the Conservatives. The last time the Conservatives ran a fighter procurement program, we largely lost our aviation industry, which took a long time to recover and we ended up with the Bomarc missile, which made us a temporary and not very effective nuclear power. I find it very consistent with the position we are hearing today, that nuclear weapons are essential for world peace, which is a position I do not necessarily agree with.
I am wondering what my colleague in the NDP thinks of that position and if he thinks the obvious logical conclusion we are hearing from the Conservatives is that, if every country had nuclear weapons, there would be world peace.
Business of Supply June 8th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie knows, I come from the riding of Laurentides—Labelle. In the northern part of the riding is a former nuclear base with silos for Tomahawk missiles. The nuclear issue is real. Canada was a nuclear nation in a sense because it housed U.S. missiles. I completely agree that the world should get rid of nuclear weapons.
I have a question for my colleague: how does he plan to force North Korea, Russia, and the United States to get rid of their nuclear weapons?
Madam Speaker, early in his speech my colleague from Kitchener—Conestoga talked about the public transit tax credit, which is an interesting topic because the idea of the credit was to increase ridership, yet the net result was that it did not increase ridership and it did not help those who needed it most because it was not a refundable tax credit. Between that and the comments on deficits and backloading, the Conservatives have not balanced a budget in over a century in real terms. I am wondering if the member has some clarity of thought on this that makes any sense.
Laurentides—Labelle June 2nd, 2017
Mr. Speaker, as the summer season approaches, I want to emphasize the importance of tourism in the Laurentian region.
The millions of tourists and vacationers who visit our region create jobs for thousands of people who can then work close to home, from Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs to Sainte-Anne-du-Lac, and from Notre-Dame-du-Laus to Estérel.
With its thousands of lakes and rivers, my region is the ideal playground for the tourism industry. It is crucial that we all work together to preserve this major asset. That is why I applaud the dedication of all those contributing to the protection of our lakes and watersheds, such as the members of the Coalition for Responsible and Sustainable Navigation and many other organizations working to protect our waters. With Eurasian Watermilfoil currently in dozens of our lakes, there is no time to lose.
With awareness and prevention measures, we can preserve our lakes and rivers so that they may be enjoyed by future generations and everyone who wants to come and visit the beautiful Laurentian region.
Criminal Code May 31st, 2017
Mr. Speaker, with the consent of the House, could we see the clock at 12 o'clock high so we can all go off and address our munchies?
Cannabis Act May 30th, 2017
In my riding, it is true, Mr. Speaker.
Therefore, I want to ask my colleague whether he believes that the current system works well. If not, why did he do nothing about it in his 10 years in cabinet?
Cannabis Act May 30th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, when I visit my riding, I ask young people whether it is easier to get marijuana or beer. They always say marijuana.