Denis Lebel

[Natural Resources, March 7th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we had the biggest growth in the G7 and the country was in a surplus in November. We will see how the Liberals manage the economy.

We have learned that during the Prime Minister's visit to the United States, he will be meeting with a group that opposes oil sands development, which creates a lot of jobs here.

The Center for American Progress, a group that prides itself on opposing development of this natural resource, is against Canadians who depend on oil sands development. Many Canadian families depend on that money coming in.

Will the Prime Minister explain to Canadians why he is against Canadian jobs?

[Government Appointments, December 11th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the way I see it, a friend is a friend.

The Leader of the Government in the House of Commons is on a witch hunt. Yesterday, the chair of Canada Post's board of directors thwarted the government's plans to lay off quality Canadians. Ms. Matthews indicated that the CEO of Canada Post, Deepak Chopra, was chosen through a proper appointment process. He should be commended, not humiliated.

Will the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons continue with his ploy to once again appoint friends of the Liberal Party?

[The Senate, December 11th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister talks a good game about the Senate, but in reality, he is up to the same old Liberal trick of appointing friends. The Prime Minister's first move was to appoint the Speaker of the Senate without consultation, and he is unilingual to boot.

Let us be clear. The only test for this appointment was being a good buddy of the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.

[Democratic Reform, December 10th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister alluded to the process that resulted in the unilateral patriation of the Constitution in 1982 to justify the fact that he would not hold a referendum on his democratic reform.

Can the Prime Minister explain to Quebeckers and Canadians why the 1982 patriation is a good example to follow for democratic reform?

[National Defence, December 10th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, when President Obama alluded to his allies in the fight against ISIS, he named Germany, France, and Great Britain, but made no mention of Canada.

In this week's Speech from the Throne, this government describes the United States as its best friend and partner. Again yesterday, the Obama administration called on its allies to ramp up their support in the fight against ISIS.

Is it fitting for a Prime Minister of Canada to turn his back on Canada's main friend and partner by ceasing air strikes?

[Democratic Reform, December 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we will stick to the topic at hand. We will get back to Canada's history in due course.

I am not surprised by the Prime Minister's comments today, since last June an article said that Liberal strategists had already decided, behind closed doors, that there would be no referendum to review the electoral system.

Can the Prime Minister confirm today that he plans to make this important decision about our country's future on his own, with unelected advisors who are not accountable to the public, instead of holding a referendum to consult all Canadians?

[Democratic Reform, December 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's history shows that when a government wants to change the building blocks of our country, it consults Canadians. A significant majority of the population must agree to the changes, and the Liberals have shown in the past that they agree with that way of doing things.

However, now the government wants to change things based on just a few words in an election platform, when less than 27% of Canadians voted for that government.

Will the Prime Minister hold a referendum to ask Canadians what they think?

[Taxation, December 8th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, even though government operations had a surplus during the election campaign, this Prime Minister announced that he would incur a modest deficit of $10 billion.

Not too long ago, the Minister of Finance announced that the deficit would exceed $10 billion.

This government talks a lot about transparency. Can the Prime Minister therefore tell us the exact amount of the deficit? It seems as though it could be much more than $10 billion.

[Taxation, December 8th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, of course our Conservative government was proud to introduce the tax-free savings account to help people save and plan for the future. There is a lot of talk these days about the future and commitments.

Why is the new government reducing the annual contribution limit? This tool allows people to save, and a large percentage of them earn $60,000 or less.

Why are they attacking this public service?

[National Defence, December 7th, 2015]

One can use whatever nice catch phrase one likes, such as “Canada is backtracking”, regarding its support for its allies, but how is the Prime Minister going to defend Canada from ISIS?