Denis Lebel

[Government Advertising, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, what the minister just said is that that organization is not receiving money from the Government of Canada for its operations. We will be following this very closely.

The rules are very clear: advertisements must be devoid of any name, voice, or image of a minister, member of Parliament, or senator. Canadians are of course shocked by this ad.

Can the Prime Minister tell us why the rules do not apply to him?

[Government Advertising, May 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to quote the President of the Treasury Board: “We want to make it absolutely clear that we are ending the ability for any government...to use tax dollars to fund what are partisan or quasi-partisan ads.”

What about the video starring the Prime Minister that was released by a crown corporation? Why did the government break its rules right after announcing them? Why is the Prime Minister breaking his own rules?

[Aerospace Industry, May 5th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I think that all Canadians were proud to learn recently that Delta Air Lines has placed a large order with Bombardier for a better, cleaner, and quieter airplane.

Why did they say no to expanding the Billy Bishop airport in Toronto? Why did they say they did not want to do this in Toronto? Perhaps they did not want to inconvenience certain members, but this is a whole other story.

[Aerospace Industry, May 5th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the government is currently in negotiations with Bombardier. As everyone knows, these negotiations are important.

Now we are hearing that the government wants to be involved in managing the C Series program. Considering how the Liberals turned our surplus into a deficit, if I were a shareholder, I would be extremely worried.

Since the Prime Minister likes to talk about transparency so much, this is the perfect opportunity for him to talk about how transparent he is being in this file.

What are the conditions? When will we know what is on the table with Bombardier? When will we finally see the results of these lengthy discussions?

[Points of Order, May 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to your attention a mistake that was made today. In a reply, the Prime Minister said that, in the last election, Quebeckers voted so they could finally have people in government.

I would like to remind him that I was elected in September 2007 and that I am a proud lad from the Lac-Saint-Jean region and a proud Quebecker.

[Finance, May 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the average family had an extra $7,000 in its pockets. The tax rate in Canada was the lowest it had been in 50 years. We will see what is coming, but it is worrisome.

The government is borrowing money we do not have. It is investing in infrastructure, but running deficits to do so. It is announcing infrastructure deficits where no investments have been made. This is extremely worrisome. Spending is out of control.

When will we return to a balanced budget?

[Finance, May 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it took the Liberals only a month to squander the $7.5-billion surplus left by the Conservatives. Even worse, they have spent another $5 billion and are left with a $13-billion deficit. This behaviour shows a lack of respect for Canadian taxpayers.

Can the Prime Minister tell us when he expects to return to a balanced budget?

[Finance, May 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's statements need to be corrected. We are the ones who did the work on the projects in Edmonton that he mentioned. In the Montreal region, we always worked while respecting provincial and municipal jurisdictions, including with regard to public transit. We delivered the largest infrastructure plan in Canada's history while still balancing the budget.

Why does the Prime Minister need to run deficits to do what we managed to do while balancing the budget?

[Finance, May 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, in recent years, the former prime minister had to deal with the worst economic crisis since World War II. It is a good thing that the current Prime Minister did not have to deal with that crisis. We went through very difficult times and we left the house in order, with a surplus of $7.5 billion at the end of February.

Yesterday, in a flight of rhetoric, the Minister of Finance said: “Clearly, the members from other side are still stuck in this whole balanced budget thing.” Right now, families are filling out their tax forms and must balance their personal finances. Is the Prime Minister able to understand that balancing a budget—

[Forestry Industry, May 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to raise another very important subject. Yesterday, I joined 4,000 people at a rally in Saint-Félicien in support of the forestry industry.

The industry is active across Canada, but for years, it has been subjected to vicious attacks by a number of environmental groups that are spreading misinformation about forestry practices in Canada.

Can the government confirm that it will support Canada's forestry industry, which employs people from coast to coast?