House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 33% of the vote.
Intergovernmental Affairs March 23rd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, I am pleased to inform the House that we work with all the provinces and respect their jurisdictions.
Reciprocity is important when it comes to jurisdictions, and we work well with our partners in the Quebec government to advance all the province's files. That is our objective.
Infrastructure March 23rd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, we were pleased to introduce the largest and most substantial infrastructure plan in Canada's history. It is unprecedented. The criteria can be found on the Infrastructure Canada site.
Of course, the Liberals did nothing when they were in power. They would like to try again, but we will be back. We will continue to invest in infrastructure.
We will continue to work very hard. The criteria are available on the Infrastructure Canada site.
Infrastructure March 23rd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, that is already in the building Canada plan. A wide area of waste water, waste management, and disaster mitigation projects are eligible under the new building Canada fund and the gas tax fund. Green infrastructure is also a specific category under the new building Canada fund. It is up to the provinces and municipalities to prioritize the projects they want.
Regional Economic Development March 11th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, Canada's current government has been helping airports across Canada, including in Quebec, for a long time now. Airports are tools for economic development, but we have to work with the partners.
Canada Economic Development has put forward a program to help extend a number of runways. That will continue to be done in Quebec. That being said, we are working with associations and organizations. We will not replace the boards of local airports, but we will work with them.
Regional Economic Development March 9th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely false and ridiculous. After more than four years here, the member should know how things work.
As a matter of fact, I was back in Drummondville, the member's riding, last week to promote economic development because the local member does not appear to be doing his job. Members on this side are continuing to do their jobs.
What those people are saying is untrue. It is easy to understand. Everyone knows that the money is not spent all at once. It depends on how proponents progress with projects. If a project is not completed over the course of a year, the money is carried over to the following year and remains available. It is not hard to understand.
Regional Economic Development March 9th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, that is completely false.
It seems awfully difficult to ask the NDP to understand balance sheets and budgets. When amounts are not spent, they are carried forward from one year to the next.
We announced a program over seven years for Lac-Mégantic. I am informing my colleague that he will see some of the money for Lac-Mégantic again next year because it will not all be spent this year. This program is over seven years, over many years. These ad hoc programs in the forestry industry and community infrastructure are multi-year programs.
When the money is not all spent over the course of one year, it is still available the next year. It is as simple as that.
Infrastructure March 9th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, we always work with our partners. We respect the jurisdiction of provinces and municipalities. We do not manage the cities here in Ottawa. We respect the fact that there are city councils and mayors doing their jobs, and we will continue to do so. The Minister of Finance is doing his job.
Infrastructure February 25th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, we have been ready for business since April 1 of last year to receive projects from provinces and municipalities. In the provincial-territorial component of the building Canada plan, we need to receive the support and the prioritization by the provinces for projects that we have been waiting for since April 1. Lately, we have received some information from the Province of Ontario, and we are working on that. However, we need them and the municipalities on board.
Infrastructure February 24th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, we have doubled the gas tax fund and made it permanent.
This year, since the beginning of the program, the new building Canada fund has accepted $5 billion and is in process. Since the member was a member of a city council, we have fixed the Scarborough subways, the Toronto-York Spadina subway extension, the Sheppard light rail transit, and Union Station revitalization, and more, only in Toronto.
Infrastructure February 24th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to remind the member that since 2006, Canada has led G7 countries in total investment as a percentage of the GDP. We are leading the way.
We introduced the largest infrastructure plan in Canadian history with $75 billion. They want to centralize everything in Ottawa. We are doing that in partnership with provinces and municipalities, and we will continue to do so.