House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 56% of the vote.
Foreign Affairs May 2nd, 2013
Mr. Speaker, it is also clear that Canada has a very good international reputation. Just look at what we are doing in Afghanistan, what we accomplished in Libya, our principled stand on Syria and what we are doing around the world, whether it is with our commitment to free trade or our job protection measures. From all viewpoints, our government is protecting Canada's integrity on the international scene. Our focus is clear and consistent.
Taxation May 2nd, 2013
Mr. Speaker, we have lowered taxes in every one of our budgets. Canadians know it, and that is why our government has been re-elected.
With regard to the Canadian economy that the new, old Liberal leader has mentioned here, Stats Canada today has reported that in the month of March, Canada had a trade surplus. By the way, this trade surplus was driven largely by the resource sector. Sorry to the New Democrats; it is not a Dutch disease. It is actually helping the Canadian economy. As a result of that, Canadian exports have jumped over 5%, the biggest increase in two years.
The economy is going in the right direction.
Taxation May 2nd, 2013
Mr. Speaker, that is utterly ridiculous. Of course, under the Liberal government, it was the EI fund that was raided by the Liberals—money taken away from Canadian—and padded their budgets. We know that that is what happened, and we have ended that.
We have brought integrity back into the EI system to ensure that it is there for workers when and where they need it.
With regard to taxes, of course, our government has lowered taxes almost 200 times. The average family of four has $3,200 more in their pocket than before our government came into office. That is the difference between the Liberals and the Conservatives. It is why they are in third place and why we continue to govern with a strong, steady and stable majority.
Search and Rescue May 2nd, 2013
Mr. Speaker, time and again we have increased our funding for search and rescue. We purchased new Coast Guard vessels, and the NDP voted against that. We have new Coast Guard hovercraft in Vancouver, and the NDP voted against that.
Just today the Minister of National Defence and the minister of state for national defence announced six new initiatives for search and rescue, including better tracking of aircraft, new funding for search and rescue with satellites and better coordination with local officials and first responders, with the money to make all of this happen.
We are doing exactly what Canadians expect: we are delivering resources and we are delivering the funds. The NDP is doing exactly what we have come to expect: they vote against it.
Government Expenditures May 2nd, 2013
Mr. Speaker, “no misrepresentation whatsoever” were the direct words from the Auditor General at his press conference when he released the report. He said, “We didn’t find anything that gave us cause for concern that the money was used in any way that it should not have been.”
The money was spent on national security. The Auditor General has made it quite clear.
Government Expenditures May 2nd, 2013
Mr. Speaker, spending on national security went to national security. If the member opposite does not believe me, she just needs to look at the report of the Auditor General himself. The Auditor General said, “We didn’t find anything that gave us cause for concern that the money was used in any way that it should not have been.”
Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1 May 2nd, 2013
A war on working people, not an attack.
Business of Supply April 25th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I usually do get along quite well with the member for Vancouver Quadra, but I could not help but engage in this debate after, frankly, finding offensive the idea that voters did not know what they were voting for. They elected a non-Liberal government three times in a row. They did so in part because the last Liberal leader, on the question of climate change and the environment, said, “We didn't get it done”.
If she does not believe that the Government of Canada, under any auspices, should be moving forward with the natural resource extraction industries, then maybe she ought to question her own current Liberal leader who of course supported the Nexen deal, who believes in the Enbridge pipeline project, and who thinks we should go further in that regard.
Also, perhaps she could explain why it is that when the environment was such a front and centre issue, the Canadian public looked at the Liberal proposal, the green shift, the carbon tax plan, and rejected it.
She came into the House and said the Canadian public is stupid for not electing them, because they know so much more. They put their plan straightforward. It was clear. The public saw it and rejected it. She should not insult Canadian taxpayers by suggesting they did not know what they were voting for. They knew very well what they were voting for.
They knew very well what they were voting for when she was the environment minister for the Province of British Columbia. She won fossil awards for her failures as environment minister on the question of climate change. If she wants to talk about elections and getting things done, her own former Liberal leader said the Liberals failed to get it done. There was a 30% increase in GHG emissions. They won the carbon awards. That is why they were rejected the last three elections in a row and why she was rejected as environment minister in British Columbia.
Employment April 25th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, we will have to agree to disagree. They think the equation is very simple: spend more money; get results. It is not as simple as that.
We have to invest money effectively and responsibly to get results for our young people. That is what we are doing.
Budget 2013 introduces a new program to work with the private sector and people who create jobs in order to get the jobs that our young people need.
That is what we are doing. This is an effective and responsible program that is guaranteed to produce results for our young people.
Employment April 25th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is free to commit sociology any day he likes. It is a lovely expression of, I know, his desire to study these things.
When it comes to youth unemployment in this country, of course it is very important. Supporting Canada's youth is something we have taken seriously with regard to programming and with regard to tax policy. As a matter of fact, since 2007 when we formed government, 400,000 Canadian youth have received apprenticeship grants from our government, but in budget 2013 we take it a step further. Not only do we have the apprenticeship grants, but now we have the Canada jobs grants. We want our youth to have the skills necessary, but now match them with the jobs by those who are creating jobs in the private sector. We are working together with the private sector and with other levels of government to ensure that our kids do have that prosperous future.