House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 39% of the vote.
Petitions February 25th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by a number of people from the riding of Guelph. These people are calling to the attention of Parliament that millions of girls have been lost through sex-selective pregnancy termination, creating a global gender imbalance causing girls to be trafficked into prostitution. The petitioners are calling on Parliament to condemn discrimination against females occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination.
Financial Institutions February 15th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to standing up for small businesses, especially in their dealings with credit card companies. That is why we introduced a code of conduct to ensure that small businesses and other merchants were treated fairly. The same goes for their customers.
While the NDP voted against the code, we have continued to work with small businesses and retailers to ensure their voices are heard.
Could the Minister of State for Finance tell the House how the code continues to respond to the needs of small businesses?
Business of Supply February 14th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my colleague's comments and certainly appreciate the work she is doing and the work that our government is doing to address violence against women. When I first arrived here on the Hill, I had the privilege of serving on the aboriginal affairs committee and I was aware of the government working with a number of aboriginal groups in addressing violence against women. However, I have not been on that committee for a number of years, so I have lost track of some of the examples of our government's work on that.
I wonder if my colleague could give us some examples of the work that is being done that shows the commitment of our government to address those who would perpetrate violence against women.
Petitions February 7th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by hundreds of constituents from the Waterloo region.
The petitioners call upon the government to notice that sex-selective abortion has created a global gender imbalance causing girls to be trafficked in prostitution. They call upon Parliament to support Motion No. M-408 and condemn sex-selective abortion.
The Economy February 1st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, day after day the NDP leader talks down the Canadian economy and attacks Canada's economic record. If the NDP had its way, big government and big union bosses would dictate private businesses' every move. The NDP would impose massive tax hikes, bankrupting businesses and throwing Canadians out of work.
Could the Minister of State for Finance please explain how the NDP's anti-business, high-tax agenda threatens Canada's economy and Canadian workers?
BlackBerry January 30th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I stand today to congratulate Research In Motion, now BlackBerry, as well as the residents of Kitchener—Conestoga and all across Waterloo region, on the successful launch of the BlackBerry 10 platform.
At the forefront of Canadian innovation, BlackBerry employs some of the best and brightest in the industry. The success of this company has helped to build the reputation of Waterloo region as the leader in the technology sector, calling itself home to almost 1,000 high-technology businesses. BlackBerry has proven that we can build an iconic global brand right here in Canada.
Today marks the beginning of a new era for consumers, with a tradition of innovation. BlackBerry is reinventing the smartphone experience with BlackBerry 10 and changing the way we use mobile devices. The redesigned, re-engineered and reinvented BlackBerry platform will take us to true mobile computing over the next decade.
Congratulations, again, to all those who brought BlackBerry 10 to fruition. Their success is testament to the talent found right here in Canada. I thank them for their excellent work.
PETITIONS December 12th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition wherein the petitioners are pointing out that millions of girls have been lost through sex-selective abortion. They are calling upon the House to condemn the discrimination against females that is occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination.
Ontario Schools December 11th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, as members from Ontario will know, there is a labour dispute between teachers and the provincial government that is disrupting children's educational experiences.
Two years ago I had the privilege to meet Erica Boer when I presented her with an award for her outstanding leadership. Last week, I received a letter from her expressing her frustration with the current situation. She wrote:
I am appealing to you to do anything in your power to fix this situation and bring a resolution that will return these extremely important extra-curricular activities back to our high schools.... We are the future of this province and deserve to have a voice.... It only takes one person to make a difference.
This issue is outside of federal jurisdiction, but what I can do as an MP is to call attention to it and ask the premier and the unions to stop using children as bargaining chips. I also want to congratulate Erica for taking the initiative to be the change she wants to see. She is correct that it only takes one person to make a difference, but I want her to know that she is not alone.
Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 December 3rd, 2012
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we believe business has a solution for many of these problems.
We cannot afford to have government involved in every little issue that business, families or communities represent. It is important that wherever we can we stay out of the way of business to allow them to solve their problems. By removing the red tape, like this budget would do, we will see a big expansion in those opportunities.
Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 December 3rd, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I think I am going to start with the second question first.
This question has been raised many times throughout the day today. I think there is a lack of understanding of what Bill C-45 would do in totality. It is easy to focus on one little area and continue to ask questions about that area.
What my colleague does not understand is that our government has made some significant changes to how small businesses can operate their business. For example, we have removed many bureaucratic barriers for attracting foreign investment into small business. We are also adopting new programs, like the digital technology adoption projects. We are cutting red tape for small business.
Finally, on the last point of encouraging partnerships with colleges, what we see now is many of our colleges are partnering with industry. Industry brings an issue to them to help them solve it, so the engineers are working in partnership with industry. In this way, we have increased collaboration and we are actually addressing the problems that industry has instead of doing some theoretical studies about what a particular need might be.
These are all positive movements going forward.