Harold Albrecht

[Petitions, March 24th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I beg your indulgence to return to motions for a moment.

[Sitting of the House, March 24th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the first report of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations presented in the House earlier this week be concurred in.

[Committees of the House, March 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the first report of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations presented to the House earlier this day be concurred in.

[Committees of the House, March 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations in relation to section 19 of the Statutory Instruments Act.

If the House gives consent, I intend to move concurrence on this report later this day.

[March 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague certainly had a huge laundry list of human rights initiatives that I think we should all be supporting. I do not argue with that for a minute.

However, my concern is that by removing the Office of Religious Freedom and some of the great work done by Ambassador Bennett both internationally and here in Canada, referred to many times in the House, we are losing our focus on this very key aspect of human rights protection. I think most of us in the House would agree that religious freedom is often the very foundation of many of the other freedoms around the world. However, there is one particular aspect of religious freedom that I think is often missed, and that is for those of us of faith, it is a very personal aspect, and for those who choose to change their faith or religion, depending on how one wants to define it, I believe it is very important that that particular freedom be protected.

Could my colleague comment on that, because I am concerned that we have lost focus? We are talking about all of the other human rights freedoms that we should continue, but I do not want us to lose focus on this one very important part, namely, religious freedom.

[Elmira Maple Syrup Festival, March 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, spring officially arrived yesterday, and I have seen my first robin of the year. Along with spring comes some very important celebrations. `

In two weeks, on April 2, I will once again have the privilege of serving at the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival. This is the world's largest one-day maple syrup festival. The thousands of pancakes flooded with fresh maple syrup are something one does not want to miss. In fact, if Mr. Speaker would join me in Conestoga on April 2, I will be happy to serve him personally, and any one of my colleagues in the House.

Not only is the festival filled with good food, sugarbush tours, pancake-flipping contests, and many other activities for all ages, the money raised from the festival goes to support local service groups which provide help and hope to those who are in a tough spot.

Speaking of hope, this coming weekend is Easter. A message of reconciliation, redemption, and hope is seen powerfully in the story of Good Friday and Easter.

I wish all of my colleagues a happy and hope-filled Easter.

[Petitions, March 8th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the other petition has to do with palliative care. The petitioners are pointing out that it is impossible for a person to give informed consent to assisted suicide or euthanasia if appropriate palliative care options are not available to them. Therefore, our petitioners are calling on Parliament to establish a national strategy on palliative care.

[Petitions, March 8th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions today.

The first petition deals with the issue of sex selection and pregnancy termination. The petitioners are calling on members of Parliament to condemn discrimination against girls, which is occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination.

[Income Tax Act, March 7th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that my colleague is more of an expert in financial matters than I am. However, let me say that this goes to the heart of the differences between the Liberal Party and our party. We, on this side, do believe that we, as Canadians, should take the primary responsibility for our retirement savings, and the TFSA has been an incredible tool for that.

It has been mentioned a number of times that it only benefits the wealthiest. As I pointed out in my remarks, most of the people who maxed out their contribution to a TFSA were making $60,000 or less. These are not the wealthiest Canadians.

In terms of what we use the TFSAs for, it could be used for retirement. However, I know people who are not even close to retirement who are using it to save up for that special project they want to do three, four, or five years from now. It could be a renovation to their house, or it could be as simple as making a lump-sum payment on their mortgage when it comes due. If they save the money in February, March, April, or May, and put it in a TFSA, then when their annual renewal date comes up, they could make a lump-sum payment on their mortgage and reduce their debt.

The TFSA maximum limit of $10,500 was an incredible tool that should be maintained. It is really disappointing to see the Liberals taking it away.

[Income Tax Act, March 7th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome my colleague back to the House. I had the honour of serving with him on the aboriginal affairs committee a number of years ago.

No, I am not conflicted to vote against the motion, because as I pointed out in my comments, the Liberals are trying to imply that this is a tax cut for the middle class, when in fact it is some of our lower- and middle-income earners who will fare the poorest under this system.

If my colleague could say that a $1 a week benefit is something that should take up this amount of time in Parliament to debate and discuss and then implement, when we know that in the end, this so-called tax cut will simply add to our deficit, I can assure him that I will have no conflict in voting against the bill tonight.