House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 29% of the vote.
Taxation March 29th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, for more than a year, the Conservative government has continually been asking taxpayers to tighten their belts. Now we learn that in the last budget the government opened a loophole to allow more corporations to take advantage of tax havens and avoid paying their fair share of taxes.
How can the government dare to ask taxpayers to make sacrifices while allowing some corporations to get away with paying no taxes on the sale of shares?
Canadian Security Intelligence Service March 25th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the security intelligence review committee website is available in English, French and Arabic.
How does the minister explain that? Is this not proof that CSIS engages in racial profiling? If not, what interest does it have in posting information in Arabic?
Canadian Security Intelligence Service March 25th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, Djemila Benhabib, the Algerian-born Quebec author who wrote Ma vie à contre-Coran, happened to learn that CSIS ran a credit check on her. When she asked CSIS why, it sent her a heavily censored document with, for information, paragraph and page numbers.
What is the Prime Minister waiting for to reform monitoring agencies like CSIS, as he promised he would some time ago?
Perhaps the Prime Minister does not really want to proceed with a reform since he shares the same philosophy as CSIS, in other words, a culture of censorship and secrecy at the expense of human rights.
Le Devoir March 24th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I seek the unanimous consent of this House to move the following motion:
That the House congratulate the newspaper Le Devoir, a free and independent source of information that defends the values of freedom, equality, solidarity and integrity, on its one hundredth anniversary and for its outstanding contribution to public life.
Haiti March 24th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I would simply ask him to wait until March 31 before making any decisions. That is not permanent, I think.
The Bloc Québécois supported the Quebec Forest Industry Council's idea to send wood to rebuild homes in Haiti. That would of course happen as part of a multilateral framework, respecting Haiti's requests and the rules of the WTO.
Does the federal government plan on presenting such a proposal at the International Donors' Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti on March 31?
Haiti March 24th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the rapid withdrawal of Canadian troops from Haiti is causing a lot of problems. As the soldiers leave that country after participating in the rebuilding efforts, they are taking with them materials and manpower, which is causing more destabilization, when things like airport infrastructure were just starting to stabilize. The pace of the rebuilding effort has slowed down considerably.
Why did the Prime Minister not wait for the International Donors' Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti, which will be held on March 31 in New York, before withdrawing our troops from Haiti?
Tax Harmonization March 23rd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, there is no need to look for an agreement when there has been one since 1992. In budget 2006, this same government said that Quebec had harmonized its sales tax with the GST and that other provinces needed to do as Quebec and the Maritime provinces had done. The Prime Minister needs to stop looking and start re-reading the budget 2006 speech and he will see that he owes Quebec $2.2 billion, period. That is the truth.
Tax Harmonization March 23rd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, in the matter of harmonizing the GST, the federal government is doing everything in its power not to conclude an agreement with the Government of Quebec. Quebec did indeed harmonize its sales tax, despite what the federal government is suggesting. The result is that Quebec is still waiting for the $2.2 billion that the federal government owes it for harmonizing its sales tax in 1992.
Will the Prime Minister admit that he has no intention of concluding an agreement on harmonizing the GST and paying the $2.2 billion he owes Quebec?
Tax Harmonization March 22nd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, all my money is invested in Mouvement Desjardins.
That being said, while the government is refusing to compensate Quebec for harmonizing its sales tax with the GST, it is offering Ontario and British Columbia a fortune for doing exactly the same thing.
Will the Prime Minister admit that he has no intention of compensating the Government of Quebec, as it should, to the tune of $2.2 billion?
Tax Harmonization March 22nd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the government constantly comes up with poor excuses not to compensate Quebec for harmonizing the GST. However, on page 68 of budget 2006, the federal government says that Quebec did indeed harmonize its sales tax. Then the federal government kept dishing out excuses about tax on tax and exemptions on certain products. Both issues have been resolved.
The Government of Quebec has addressed every single one of the federal government's objections and conditions. What exactly is the holdup? We would like to know.