Gerard Kennedy

[Infrastructure, September 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 long months the unemployed in British Columbia have waited to even hear an announcement. The Prime Minister has his priorities badly mixed up. These are difficult times. He is supposed to be standing up for Canadians in need.

Instead, in B.C. he gave his own MPs an average of three times as much money as those in opposition ridings in the province. All the top 10 allocations went to hungry Conservatives. Two-thirds of his cabinet took those top 10 positions.

Will the Prime Minister explain today why he and his ministers are too busy dividing up the cash among themselves instead of looking after British Columbians who need the assistance?

[Infrastructure, September 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, for 10--

[Infrastructure, September 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister refused to answer simple questions about the misspending of infrastructure money in New Brunswick. How about today we try the other side of the country, where it is even worse?

In British Columbia, the Prime Minister has now promised to give $158 million in extra government funds to his Conservative colleagues at the expense of the unemployed and their families in other parts of the province. Rather than focusing on jobs, the Prime Minister is focused on helping his Conservatives keep theirs.

Why should Canadians anywhere in this country trust the government?

[Infrastructure, September 29th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, if that minister had the courage to actually put the numbers out, we could tell how he is letting down Canadians right across the country.

If the Prime Minister was not so nailed to his chair, he would stand up and say how it is fair that some Canadians are punished for not voting for him. The Prime Minister gave his six MPs in New Brunswick $18.5 million more on average than the other ridings in the province, at the expense of the people who are unemployed in the province of New Brunswick. He made sure his people were four out of the top five.

Why should Canadians anywhere in Canada trust him to look after their interests?

[Infrastructure, September 29th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister forgot a few things when he was bragging in New Brunswick about how he was looking after the economy. He forgot to tell Canadians that he was really just looking after himself, how he gave his own MPs in New Brunswick an average of 44% more in grants than opposition ridings in the province.

Would the Prime Minister care to confirm to Canadians today what Mr. Landon, now a former candidate in Markham, has already made public, that Conservative ridings get more than other ridings and that the only jobs the government members are interested in are jobs for themselves?

[Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, September 17th, 2009]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-440, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (war resisters).

Mr. Speaker, this bill is in response to the refusal of the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism to show Canadian sensibility.

This is a simple bill with a clear purpose, which would apply Canadian sensibility to the issue of war resisters in Canada. The bill would make sure that people of good conscience who leave a war that is not approved by the United Nations and who would be subject to compulsion and stop loss in their own country would be eligible to become Canadian citizens.

The bill reflects the work and the wishes of a great deal of Parliament. It basically takes the spirit of two motions that have already been passed by a majority of Parliament and puts them in the form of law that would have to be followed by the minister and the ministry of immigration and citizenship.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Infrastructure, September 16th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we know the minister and his fellow cabinet ministers have been too busy dividing up the pork to keep track but we have examined hundreds of announced projects across the country. As of the beginning of September, only 12% of the main infrastructure fund is creating any jobs at all. That is an 88% failure rate.

The Prime Minister misled Canadians. The Minister of Finance misled Canadians. The infrastructure minister responsible has failed them.

Would anyone over there care to explain why they are letting down hundreds of thousands of unemployed Canadians and the Canadian economy so badly?

[Employment, September 16th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in the budget, the Minister of Finance announced to Canadians that jobs would be created by May 27.

In June, the Prime Minister announced to Canadians that 80% of the stimulus programs had created jobs.

Is the minister able to tell the House and Canadians today how many jobs have really been created by the infrastructure stimulus fund?

[Infrastructure, September 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I notice he did not say it was going fairly into every community with a university or college.

When the Minister of Finance said in his budget “measures that would target Canadians and communities most in need”, I guess what he forgot to tell Canadians was he really meant he would target those most in need of stimulus to vote Conservative.

Of the infrastructure fund for British Columbia, the Conservatives took eight times as much money as opposition ridings on average. In Nova Scotia, the building Canada fund, they took 50% more funding for themselves.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Why should we trust the Conservatives when they are so busy looking after themselves?

[Infrastructure, September 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

Yesterday the Prime Minister refused to answer why he allowed his ministers to abuse infrastructure funds they were responsible for simply to try and buy votes in their ridings and delay jobs for Canadians at the same time. While he sits silent, we find that more government ministers have had their hands into several cookie jars.

Would the Prime Minister care to explain today how the Minister of Finance managed to get for his university the highest per student grant in the province, eight times the per student share it ordinarily would have received?