James Moore

[Ethics, February 15th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Senator Patterson is a former territorial premier. He is a former MLA for Iqaluit. He, in fact, was involved in a 20-year fight to create the territory of Nunavut. Northerners know that he is a northerner. He has a residence in the territory. He has fought long and hard, indeed, for the people of the north. He always has.

However, what is really laughable is not just this attack on Senator Patterson but also, frankly, the NDP's approach to Senate reform, which is to express a sentiment but to have no plan whatsoever. They have never tabled reforms before the House. They have opposed all of our reforms. They do not even run candidates in Senate elections when we hold them in Alberta, and now they pretend to actually have a plan. It is truly laughable.

[The Environment, February 15th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, what we will do in our budget is what we have done in our previous budgets, of course, which have seen success for the Canadian economy.

I do not know where he gets his job numbers from, but the truth, through Stats Canada, is that the Canadian economy has created 900,000 net new jobs since the worst part of the recession. Our plan is working.

When he talks about the manufacturing sector, here is what the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters Association has said:

The government's policies with respect to taxes, technology, trade, training, and transformation are extremely important in setting the stage for growth of advanced manufacturing industries in Canada.

They are the experts. They agree with us. The NDP members do not know what they are talking about.

[The Environment, February 15th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, of course we have taken action on climate change, and as a matter of fact, we are already halfway toward our goal to reduce emissions by 17% for 2020. The action is before us. As a matter of fact, the Commissioner of the Environment made very clear testimony about the fact that he has confidence in our government's approach.

What Canadians do not have confidence in, of course, though, is the NDP way, and we know what the NDP way is, which is to tax and to regulate into the ground industries and whole economies of this country. We know that the leader of the NDP thinks that Alberta's energy sector is a disease in the country. We know that the NDP supports a carbon tax. We will continue to fight them and stand up for the environment at the same time.

[The Economy, February 15th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we already have put real programs on the table—real programs, real policies and real investments in our economy. And we have had real success.

As an example, here is what the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said about our programs: “The government's policies with respect to taxes, technology, trade, training and transformation are extremely important at setting the stage for growth of advanced manufacturing industries in Canada.”

We have put our programs on the table. We have had success. We are creating jobs in every part of the country because we ignore the NDP's suggestions that run counter to the needs of our economy.

[The Environment, February 15th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this has already been put on the table. We have already implemented reforms to protect our environment and the climate. Our government has policies to combat this global problem.

However, we are against the NDP's proposal to create a new $21 billion carbon tax. It is right there in black and white in the NDP platform. We are against it. Our reforms and policies have already met with success.

Just today, we announced new programs to combat greenhouse gas emissions across Canada that will build on our success.

[The Economy, February 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I did not say we are better than the others. We are, in fact, the best in the world when it comes to job numbers. The World Economic Forum and the OECD confirm that Canada's job numbers are the best in all the G7. It does not mean, of course, that we can be complacent.

We have put in place our economic action plan. We will be bringing forward responsible measures in budget 2013 and we will keep doing what we promised Canadians we would do should we be entrusted with a majority government, which is to take care of the Canadian economy so that Canadian families can take care of their responsibilities.

[The Economy, February 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am genuinely pleased that the Liberals are so excited for a budget they want Christmas to come early. They can rest assured our budget will be tabled along the regular timelines.

However, while I have a moment, I am pleased to certainly let the member for Wascana and the House know some of the things that have been said very recently about the Canadian economy. Tom Donohue, who is the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said, “The great Canadian miracle is something we should follow [in the United States]”.

Indeed, the Canadian economy has created over 900,000 net new jobs since the worst part of the recession. We have lowered taxes over 140 times for Canadians and our budget will reflect this growing success in the Canadian economy.

[Employment Insurance, February 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP has levelled these accusations in the past, and Canadians have quite simply rejected them during elections. When we look at the reforms that our government has brought forward and implemented, we see that the objective was to give Canadians access to employment insurance when they need it, no matter where they live. That is what our reforms are doing. The economic and regional results indicate that the current reforms make sense for every region of Canada.

[Employment Insurance, February 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, let me say that I agree with half of what the Leader of the Opposition said about how the Liberals stole $50 billion from taxpayers when they were in power.

It is also true that our government increased access to employment insurance for Canadians who need it. That is what we promised during the 2006, 2008 and 2011 election campaigns, and that is a promise this government has kept.

[Democratic reform, February 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Senate board of internal economy, which of course is mirrored with a parallel institution here in the House of Commons, is looking at the whole issue of residences right now. As a matter of fact, I think the NDP, both on Thursday and Friday, applauded the government's decision to move in that direction and also to bring in an internal auditor to look at this question.

However, the leader of the NDP, of course, conveniently forgets the fact that every time the Canadian people have elected a senator, their elected prime minister, our Prime Minister, has appointed that person to the Senate. The evidence is in Senator Unger, Senator Brown and of course, Senator Black, who are all members of the Senate, elected by the Canadian people. That is the direction our government is going in, and we will continue to do so.