James Moore

[Local Newspapers, December 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, Canada Post decided to discontinue its $15 million investment for periodicals and community newspapers. Our government reinvested the $15 million, but the NDP voted against it.

[Search and Rescue, December 5th, 2011]

That leaves me just enough time, Mr. Speaker, to point out to Canadian taxpayers that this government is saving them millions of dollars by reducing the use of government jets by 80% since we came into government. That is exactly what taxpayers expect. It is how we are going to act. It is how we are going to continue to behave.

The Liberals can catcall all they like, but we will continue to do what is in the best interests of taxpayers.

[Search and Rescue, December 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, it is pretty straightforward and it is very clear. The Minister of National Defence left a private trip to go back to work. We use government aircraft for government business.

As a matter of fact, and as I have pointed out and am pleased to say again--

[Search and Rescue, December 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, we have been clear that the Minister of National Defence returned from a private trip in order to go back to work. Government aircraft are used for government work.

If my hon. colleague wants to compare the difference between this government and the way the Liberals operated, this government uses government aircraft 80% less than the Liberals did. We are saving taxpayers millions of dollars. We are acting responsibly.

The Minister of National Defence has been clear on this file.

[The Environment, December 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, what hurts Canada's reputation is what the previous Liberal government did, which is what we will not do. What we will do is pursue a true global approach that works and that is why we have gone forward with the Copenhagen accord.

What the Liberals did, which seems like the NDP is applauding, was sign the Kyoto accord, have no plan, say they that were in favour of it, did nothing, and at the last minute, when Michael Ignatieff said they that did not get the job done, they tried to prove that they were getting the job done by imposing a massive tax on Canadians in the form of a carbon tax. Fail, fail and fail again, and that is why they are over there and that is why we are showing leadership in a new direction.

[The Environment, December 5th, 2011]

As I said, Mr. Speaker, the Kyoto protocol simply does not work. It only contains 27% of the world's emitters of greenhouse gases. What Canadians have asked for and what our government has led on is a true global effort to fight what is a true global problem. That is why the Prime Minister has been engaged and shown leadership with the Copenhagen accord and we continue to show leadership on the international scene.

What the NDP is asking this government to do is to follow through and increase taxes on consumers with a carbon tax, as was discussed last night with the nine brightest lights of the NDP running for leadership, and is asking us to punish Canadian consumers to go forward with an accord that simply does not work and that will not have the intended results that people want. We have the right way.

[The Environment, December 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as we have been saying from the beginning, the Kyoto protocol is an agreement that is not in the best interests of the climate or of Canada. It will hurt Canada's economy. What Canadians expect from Canada and our government is an approach that balances the interests of our environment with those of our economy. The Kyoto protocol is an agreement that does not work for Canada, for the environment or for our economy. That is the direction we will continue to take.

[Sports, November 21st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly join with my colleague in the good news that Sidney Crosby will return to the ice tonight. He was a great star for Canada at the Olympics and is a role model for Canadians on how to behave in sport.

I agree with my colleague and his persistent efforts on this subject. Our government has taken action. The Minister of State for Sport and the Prime Minister have been involved on this file to ensure that we work with amateur sport organizations, not against them, to ensure we can move forward and have strategies that make sense for individual sports. Lacrosse has a different universe of head injuries, so do football and hockey. They all have their own science and we need to ensure that the sports are safe for our kids to play.

[Taxation, November 21st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk specifically about our proposals, what is at stake and what the Liberals are standing against. We are putting in place a family caregiver tax credit to help families with the cost of raising their families and taking care of their responsibilities, a children's arts tax credit, a volunteer firefighter tax credit for volunteer firefighters who stand up in public and ensure we have the services that we need in times of crisis. We want to give them a tax credit. The Liberals are standing against that. We want to have a tax credit for small business. We want to make the gas tax fund permanent to municipalities so municipal governments can take care of their responsibilities as well.

We are taking care of our responsibilities. We were elected to do it and we will deliver it in spite of—

[Taxation, November 21st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Wascana is still trying to fight the last federal election. The public rendered its decision. It does not trust the Liberals with the economy and that is why they are sitting over there. That is why we were re-elected, with a majority government, to focus on the economy, and we are getting the job done.

Specifically with regard to the question of EI, we have put forward a project to ensure that 500,000 businesses that want to employ Canadians will have tax relief in this budget. The Liberals stand opposed to that. If they believe in it, they should stand and support our budget tonight, this week and moving forward to lower taxes on businesses.