Diane Finley

[Older Workers, May 4th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that we owe it to Canadians to be careful with every single dollar that we spend, and we will do that. We will not go extending programs because we have not bothered to take the time to make an informed rational decision.

That is why I have been trying to make arrangements with my colleagues in this House who have a concern on this issue. Unfortunately, their schedules have not allowed it yet. We are trying to meet next week to deal with this together, so that we can come up with a solution that would actually work for the workers and for Canadians across the country.

[Older Workers, May 4th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, just to repeat in case the sound system is not working, we do want to help these people. We do want to do it in consultation to get the benefit of the years of experience and wisdom of hon. members like the one who just posed the questions.

That is why I have invited him to participate in this process and to do a feasibility study. I have also invited him to participate in assessing the five weeks program because we need his input. We want it.

[Older Workers, May 4th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister indicated, we do recognize the challenges faced by older workers, particularly in communities that are depending upon single industries. That is why the Prime Minister has committed to making this work.

We are going to be doing a feasibility study. I look forward to the participation of the opposition members in that process.

[Child Care, May 4th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the facts are that our plans for the universal child care benefit have been endorsed by many in communities right across the country.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has said that the one group that will benefit immensely from this budget is Canadian households with young children. Economically they will rocket ahead, thanks to the government's fulfillment of its promise to provide all families with $100 a month for each child under the age of six.

That is a strong endorsement.

[Child Care, May 4th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, there are people out there who would like the government to pay for everything for them.

What we are trying to do is provide parents with young children, who are at their lowest earning years and who have high expenses, with the resources to access the choice in child care that suits their needs. We are also trying to make sure that they have 125,000 new spaces from which to choose when they are making that decision.

[Child Care, May 3rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, once again the Liberal Party's true agenda on child care is being exposed which is that it believes that parents are unfit to raise their own children.

The Conservative Party believes in parents. We believe that parents will make the right decisions for their children and for their very unique family circumstances.

[Child Care, May 3rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I hear a lot of indignation from the member opposite about our proposal to give people money. If there is cause for indignation it is because of what that member said on national television yesterday. She insulted every single Canadian who chooses to raise families at home. She insulted every one of us who was raised at home by implying that parents who want to raise their children at home will be bringing up future criminals. That is what she--

[The Budget, May 3rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I guess that is the difference between the opposition parties. Some of them recognize a really good budget when they see it, while some have not learned that lesson yet.

This is a good news budget for all Canadians, whether they are seniors, the disabled, aboriginals or families working or staying at home. There is something in this budget to help every single Canadian, including tax reduction, and I am darned proud of it.

[The Budget, May 3rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has one of the broadest, most generous employment programs of any country in the world. Part 1 of our EI program provides insurance. We have all our programs, work skills development and placement and those sorts of things. It is a very rich and very generous program.

We are looking at developing of a feasibility study to help older workers. Because this is a very complex issue, we take it seriously, which is why we are not going to go off and just throw some program willy-nilly together. We are going to get it right.

[Post-Secondary Education, May 3rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I just listed a lot of brand new programs that will directly help students. What I did not mention was a billion dollars was added for infrastructure for post-secondary education as well as the $16 billion for education that is included in the Canada social transfer.

This is a lot of money that will help a lot of kids get the education they need.