House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 48% of the vote.
Foreign Affairs March 3rd, 2014
Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs have spoken out quite clearly and very strongly. We join our allies in condemning, in the strongest terms, President Putin's military intervention in Ukraine. Canada's Prime Minister is in close communication with his like-minded counterparts and has had emergency meetings here at home.
Canada is actually participating with various multilateral institutions to coordinate the international response.
Royal Canadian Legion No. 275 March 3rd, 2014
Mr. Speaker, recently I met with members of the Royal Canadian Legion No. 275, Forest Lawn, in my riding. Joined by the hon. Minister of Veterans Affairs, we held a productive round table, discussing the needs of our veterans and how to further enhance services to those who have served Canada.
Legion 275 works hard for our local veterans, providing community and support to those who served our country, and keeping the memory of their achievements and sacrifices alive for all Canadians. I would like to thank them for hosting this constructive round table and for their ongoing work.
Our government has made great strides toward supporting our veterans and their families, yet our work will never be done and must always continue. With partners like the Forest Lawn Legion, we will ensure that the best interests of our veterans are looked after.
The Budget February 13th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I ask that you seek unanimous consent to see the clock at 5:30 p.m.
The Budget February 13th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I will not agree with the Green Party to say that we are going to put a carbon tax out here. No, we are not.
However, the Minister of the Environment has stated quite clearly on many occasions that, yes, we are addressing the issue of climate change. We always attend all the conferences where climate change is on the agenda.
However, it is a global issue that everybody should be part and parcel of it, not just Canada. So, we will continue working with our allies, the rest of the countries, to address the issue of climate change.
The Budget February 13th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, let us look at the bigger picture. Let me tell members that I am very glad that we have a skinny little booklet to say these things. We used to get fancy books over there. This way, at least we do not need to spend too much money on this thing.
To the point, let me say that since coming into power, gradually working it out, the bottom line is that, today, we have matching programs for jobs. Most important, we will be able to balance the budget in 2015. We have been giving tax breaks of almost $3,000 to every Canadian family in this country over that period of time. If that is not sound management, I have not the foggiest idea what this guy thinks sound management is.
The Budget February 13th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, let me look at the member directly and tell him that I am absolutely proud of what we have done and what we are going to achieve. He said I should feel ashamed. Absolutely not; I am absolutely happy to say that.
Now, let us go back to the other question and see how they twist things. He is talking about the $3 billion for defence. This is a capital expenditure. Does he really think that the planes we want to buy are just sitting there, that we just need to write a cheque and the planes will come in? They need to be built. After they have been built, then the money is allocated. Therefore, that money is sitting there, waiting to be allocated. When those capital expenditures are ready, we will buy them. Look at how they are twisting the facts, saying that it is a mistake.
As for all the other ones, he needs to recognize that there was a recession in 2008.
By the way, the budget officer was appointed by this government. It is this government that went ahead and appointed him.
We have nothing to be ashamed of. We are as transparent as anything.
Let us celebrate the fact that by 2015 we will have a balanced budget.
The Budget February 13th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, it is, indeed, a pleasure to rise on behalf of my constituency to speak on budget 2014.
Before I start, I will point out that I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and for Western Economic Diversification.
As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for International Human Rights, I travel a lot around the world representing Canada. Everywhere I go, I am always asked, “What did Canada do? How did you avoid the major ramifications of the recession that hit Europe, the Americans, and everyone?” It was because of the sound management this government provided under the leadership of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, as well as other cabinet members.
Let us look at the bigger picture since 2006. The Liberals and NDP keep complaining. All we hear from them is spend, spend, spend. It is nitpicking. The real picture is this. Since taking office in 2006, we made sure that the GST was cut from 7% to 5%, that taxes were reduced, that income splitting was established, and that we created a tax-free savings account. We worked to ensure that Canadians had more money in their pockets, because more money in the pockets of Canadians is of greater benefit to consumers and the economy than having fat government programs like the NDP and Liberals keep saying we need.
The other point is that the government went through the exercise of cutting unnecessary expenses. There were reductions in expenditure areas that it was felt were not doing anything necessary for the country.
The combination of both of these things is where we stand today. As the finance minister said, by 2015 we will have balanced the budget. This would not happen if none of these measures were taken. The balancing of the budget allows us to have more money for the programs that we consider important, like health care, social services, and other critically important programs that Canadians want. Today, we stand at a threshold where the budget is going to be balanced.
In all of the speeches that the NDP and Liberals have made, we have not heard anything about balancing the budget. I remember when I came here, the Liberals were touting that they were going to balance the budget. Mr. Martin tried to balance the budget by cutting transfers to the provinces, which we did not do. We provided the necessary atmosphere in the economy for the economy to move forward and to create over a million jobs.
We are also working hard to ensure that people are working. That is what Canadians want. Therefore, this budget, after all of this, is based on getting people to work. I just heard the NDP and Liberals over there talking about EI surpluses and that there will be cuts. The important thing is getting people to work, that the people who have finished their schooling and apprenticeships all go to work, so this government decided to do that. There is now more money given to people so they can become apprentices. There is no point in getting a lot of foreign workers to do these jobs when we can train Canadians to do them, including those graduating high school.
This budget, through the Minister of Employment and Social Development, is focused on how to get Canadians work. The more Canadians work, the more taxes they pay, and the more consumer spending there will be. It is better for the economy in the long run. It is simple mathematics and economics that the NDP should know.
Most importantly, Canada is a resource-rich country. We are a trading nation. We have some of the best practices for mining and resource extraction. People from across the world come here to see how we do these things.
When I travel overseas, I go to newly developed countries like Mongolia and Tanzania, countries whose extractive sectors are now coming in. They look to us, and we tell them to come to Canada and look at our regulations, which they can then apply back in their countries so that they can have the benefit of natural resources for their citizens.
This is the key message that we give out. Countries listen to us. I just returned from Ethiopia. Its mining sector is interested in seeing Canada's best practices, because it has identified Canada as one of the best places where the resource sector is properly utilized to the benefit of its people.
The resource sector needs to be developed. We find it very strange that the same people on the other side who are getting up and saying that they want this expenditure and that expenditure, and that things are bad and everything, are the ones who oppose the pipeline, which would take our resources to markets around the world.
Canada is one of the best places. Yes, there is always room for improvement. The NDP members are usually stopping things from happening. They are getting up and saying no on trade deals. They say no on resource extraction. They say no on everything. I do not know where they think the money comes from. Only the NDP members know where this money will come from to meet all the needs of the excellent programs we have.
It is important to note that our government has not cut critical programs that are needed. We will refocus the resources we have to the areas where they will be productive, where Canadians will get the most benefit. That is what responsible government is all about. Responsible government is not about standing up and throwing money here and there, as the NDP would do.
At the same time, the government is very proud of having signed trade deals around the world, FIPA agreements and trade deals. This will allow our companies to go out and do what they are best at doing: sell their products and services, which are very good.
The free trade agreement with the European Union and the NAFTA, these are all beneficial to businesses. They are all excited. This is the economy expanding, and an expanding economy means better jobs for Canadians; and better jobs for Canadians mean more money in the economy, which all goes towards ensuring a better future for Canadians, young and old. Let us not forget the seniors who rely on many of the programs we have.
I give full credit to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance for this budget. They have chosen this path and we are now standing proudly to say that we will balance the budget in 2015. What more could people want?
The criticism we are hearing is that we are doing this because an election year is coming, or that it is a no-show budget, or that it is a boring budget. I would rather have a boring budget if it means we are staying on track and that by 2015 we will have a balanced budget with a surplus. We have worked for that since forming government in 2006.
Situation in the Central African Republic February 12th, 2014
Mr. Chair, the second point that he did mention, which has great merit, concerned conflict prevention. That is excellent. We do not want to see atrocities taking place, as everyone is saying here.
So yes, those are very good points.
Situation in the Central African Republic February 12th, 2014
Mr. Chair, I of course want to thank my colleague on the other side who has been a foreign affairs critic for a long time and knows the issues very well.
He put forward two suggestions about providing capacity-building support for the African Union's peacekeeping forces. I want to say to my hon. colleague that Canada is working with African countries to build their capacity and train them, as he has rightly pointed out, and to do so beforehand so they can take over and not have a situation where the forces going into the area, in this case the Central African Republic, have no training.
They are looking at building the one peacekeeping centre in Tanzania and one in West Africa where Canada will provide the support necessary for the African Union, which is now very much interested, after many years, to be taking over the peacekeeping efforts in its own continent. So yes it is a work in progress as you said.
To your second suggestion, absolutely, I do not see anything wrong in being preventive. You are right. When there are—
Situation in the Central African Republic February 12th, 2014
Mr. Chair, the history of that country has been military coups and dictatorships. When Mr. Bozizé, who was the last to come to power, was overthrown, it changed from coups to a religious war. Prior to that, it was not a religious war. As has been alluded to by many speakers, the Christians and Muslims lived together. However, it was after his government was overthrown that the first Muslim militia came in, the Séléka, which brought a religious war context into this conflict, which is now the most serious one that has taken place.