House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 33% of the vote.
Tax Convention and Arrangement Implementation Act, 2016 December 8th, 2016
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Sherbrooke for his rather interesting speech.
During the debate and in his speech, he talked about risk a number of times. Bill S-4 applies to current treaties that have already been signed. I believe that if we intend to sign treaties with other countries we will.
I question the sincerity of his concern since he is looking at this bill through the lens of countries with which we have no agreement.
Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2 December 6th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, over the nine years from 2006 to 2015, the Conservatives managed to balance two budgets that they inherited from the Liberals, then threw us into deficit in 2008, and then spent $160 billion in new debt without having anything to show for it.
When we buy a car, the value of the car drops over time. The Conservatives spent $160 billion. When we buy a house, it generally retains its value. It is an investment.
I wonder if the member could speak to the value of the gazebos we acquired, the fake lakes, and so forth, and whether they could have done a bit better with that investment over those nine years.
Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2 December 5th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I do not need 30 seconds. The question was already asked, and I answered it.
Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2 December 5th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I have heard that question several times today.
The Marcotte decision asked us to clarify things, and that is exactly what we are doing with this bill. It is important to heed court rulings, and I do not see how this can be a bad thing.
Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2 December 5th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, with nine days of debate, we are not facing a major debate deficit.
If the Conservatives want to go after us on deficits, they have quite a record. The Conservatives have passed maybe four budgets since 1900 that actually had a surplus. I am not going to take any great lectures from the Conservatives.
There is a huge deficit in our infrastructure. There is so much work that needs to be done. The member wants to put the deficit in our infrastructure and in our communities instead of in our line items.
It is important that we do this correctly. We need to invest in our country, in our communities, to build for the future.
Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2 December 5th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I once again have the great pleasure of rising to talk about how successful the Liberal 2016 budget has been, along with Bill C-29 to implement it. It is a budget that plans for the future, invests where investments are needed, helps our seniors, returns science and innovation to its rightful place, lays the groundwork for our youth, and addresses the priorities of our regions.
At 19,694 square kilometres, my riding, Laurentides—Labelle, is the 46th largest riding in Canada. Our smallest municipality has 41 permanent residents; our largest has about 13,000. My home town of Sainte-Lucie-des-Laurentides, where I still live, is the median of our 43 municipalities with 1,024 residents.
Our communities are aging. In 2011, the average age was 49.5. This year's census data will be released shortly, and I can only imagine that the average age will be over 50, so this budget and the initiatives that will affect our region are important.
In this bill, we are making it easy for senior couples no longer able to live together to receive greater old age security benefits. We are helping seniors in the short term, and we are planning for future issues involving seniors through the changes we have already rolled out for a significant 10% increase to the guaranteed income supplement for single seniors; through lowering the eligibility age for old age security from 67 to 65; and also through Bill C-26 on the future of the CPP.
We have been here for only a year and we did all that. The three budgets remaining in this mandate can only be even better.
Speaking of the future, I want to take this opportunity to talk about our innovation agenda. Our budget puts billions of dollars into social, transport, and green infrastructure. Our investments in scientific research are finally back on, after years of having a creationist minister of science. We understand the importance of research, of science, and of being truly progressive. Progressive comes from progress. Progress is a forward or onward movement. Moving forward is what we do.
While the official opposition objects to even the most basic progress, when even the notion of switching to digital clocks in this chamber was pooh-poohed by the Conservatives when we had a debate on Standing Order 51, the rest of society moves ever forward.
Mr. Speaker, 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of Linux, the open source operating system started by Linus Torvalds and developed into a world powerhouse by tens if not hundreds of thousands of contributors from all walks of life and all corners of the globe.
I have been involved in the Linux and open source community for most of that time, mainly through the open and free technology community SourceForge and its predecessor organizations, Software in the Public Interest and the Debian community. It symbolizes to me what a community can do when it works together. Indeed, DebConf17 will take place next year in Montreal, and it is an excellent and concrete example of what that looks like.
We in rural Canada are still trying to figure out how to reduce packet loss on our TCP-over-smoke signal Internet connectivity and our UDP-over-carrier pigeon cell phone service. The rest of the world is not waiting.
Amazon, Google, and Facebook built their empires on Linux. Linux now runs 498 of the world's 500 fastest supercomputers, only one of which is in Canada. Even Microsoft recently finally joined the Linux Foundation this fall.
I believe it is very important to understand the lessons of the open source community.
In 25 years, Linux went from a university student's hobby to the software backbone of the Internet. Many people became very wealthy because of it, with it, and through it, yet all the while, the software, the product, was free for anyone and everyone to use, to modify, to take apart, and to understand.
While some people refuse to use a web browser other than Internet Explorer because its proprietary nature is seen as the only possible avenue to being secure, I see it as the other way around. Open source software, with its peer-reviewed scientific approach to development, tends to be the most secure option available. Getting open source logic into government can only see innovation improve.
With our innovation agenda, the options are there, but to get there, we need communications infrastructure. That we only have one of the world's top 500 supercomputers, and that it is 196 on the list, speaks to the need for infrastructure and investment in innovation. After a decade of the previous government dismissing science as an inconvenience, unhelpful facts in the way of an ideological agenda, the government we have today clearly believes in researching and preparing our way into the future.
In rural Canada, as I mentioned, Internet is our big file. Of the 43 municipalities I mentioned earlier, all 43 see the lack of proper, competitive, high speed Internet as among the top priorities. Without it, our average age will continue heading north. When our average age reaches retirement age, the social structure of our region will necessarily change.
To address this, we need to address the issues that are keeping youth away.
When I asked high school seniors who among them will stay in the region after they graduate, it was rare to hear one of them say yes.
When I ask them why they leave, the answers are always the same. They say that there is no post-secondary education, that there is not a lot of public transit, that the regional service covers 35 municipalities with a couple of retired school buses, and that there is substandard Internet and cellular service. Without these, not much is going on. When newcomers see that their cellphones do not work, they do not think about buying a house in our region, moving there or making their lives there.
Internet access is only through slow and unreliable satellite service or by telephone. Surely members can remember that noise old modems used to make. Unfortunately, it is still the case for many of our residents. For the luckiest, it is a blurry image at the end of a Skype call with their grandchildren.
Our budget is beginning to tackle these problems. We are investing $500 million in digital infrastructure to help bridge this technical gap. The lack of internet means fewer young people, less immigration and fewer opportunities for those who stay.
In investing a half a billion dollars in digital infrastructure to begin with, we are creating opportunities for those who stay and some appeal for newcomers. We are also helping to keep young people in the region.
The bill also aims to improve the lives of our seniors and to even out the average age of our regions over the long term. It is a budget that plans for the future, that invests where investment is needed, that helps our seniors, that reinstates science and innovation to their rightful place, that paves the way for our young people, and that examines the priorities of our regions. I am proud to support it.
What I am most proud of in this budget is the Canada child benefit. It helps thousands of people in the country. Over 300,000 people will find more money in their pockets.
When I tour my riding, people will often stop me and say they have never been interested in politics, but they really appreciate what we have done for families.
Last Friday evening, someone told me that she became a single parent just before the change in policy, and that it has helped her directly. It also provides concrete assistance to the region’s youth and families. I am proud of everything we have done. We have be proud of this budget. I am proud to support it.
Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2 December 5th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I was amused to listen to the member's comments about how much the government has done in a short period. I wonder if the member could remind the House how many years it took for the Conservatives to cause all the damage they caused to this country. They caused quite a bit of damage and, after 10 years, they still had not finished everything they wanted to do.
Operation Red Nose December 5th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, Friday night, two members of my team and I volunteered for Operation Red Nose through the Maison des jeunes de Sainte-Adèle. Last week we did the same thing with the Maison des jeunes de Mont-Laurier. Next week we will help the Fondation de l'école du Méandre de Rivière-Rouge, and on December 23, we will volunteer with the Maison des jeunes de Mont-Tremblant.
I have been volunteering for Operation Red Nose for the past four years because I believe in the cause. Since 1984, all across the country, volunteers have been giving their time until the wee hours of the morning to help get people and their vehicles home safely during the festive season.
I am so proud to count my team members and myself among the 50,000 volunteers who help save lives thanks to this wonderful driving service.
I wish to commend the founders of Operation Red Nose and those who keep it rolling today.
Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2 December 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on his speech. He talked about numerous positive measures in the budget.
I want to come back to one specific point. He touched on the benefits for seniors. Under Bill C-29, couples who are receiving the guaranteed income supplement and the spouse's allowance but have to live apart for reasons beyond their control, such as the need for long-term care, will each receive benefits based on their individual income.
For the benefit of those watching us, can the member elaborate on this and paint a clearer picture of what this really means for many senior couples?
Science December 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, this government understands that investments in science can help us attract and retain some of the best talent in order to continue our proud tradition of research excellence in Canada.
This morning the Minister of Science announced the latest results of the Canada research chairs competition. Can the Parliamentary Secretary for Science update the House on what the government is doing to support Canadian researchers?