House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 56% of the vote.
National Defence October 31st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the answer is the same whether the question is asked in French or in English. Our process has been clear from the outset. We will ensure that the men and women of the Canadian Forces have the equipment they need to do their job—the job that Parliament and our government is asking them to do. That is what we have done here. The F-35s are a success for these women and men, and we are going to continue with our process.
National Defence October 31st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the only person who had trouble with the question was the Liberals in taking three tries to spit it out.
However, the answer is that we are going down the road to ensuring that the Canadian Forces have the equipment that they need. As we have said time and again, the reality is that the greatest threat to the health and safety of the men and women of the Canadian Forces should never be their equipment. What we saw under 13 years of Liberal rule was a constant degrading of the Canadian Forces' budgets, and that can never happen again. If the leader of the Liberal Party does not like the process with regard to the F-35s, all he has to do is look to his left and look to his right, because it is his party that started it.
National Defence October 31st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the only person who had trouble—
The Economy October 31st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, we already extended our process in order to allow that project to be completed. We created a responsible, effective process for the entire economy, and we worked on that process with the municipalities and the provinces.
Let us be clear, however: our process, our program, our economic action plan and our plan to deal with this crisis are all working. We are creating jobs. Our economic system is improving. Our work is not done yet. Our work will be done when all Canadians can find the jobs they need, and we will continue on the same path with next year's budget.
The Economy October 31st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I would simply point out for the Leader of the Opposition that our economic action plan has indeed worked. The Auditor General took a look at our economic action plan, the way in which we were investing our funds and said that we did it prudently and responsibly. It is true that the stimulus spending has ended and that the stimulus spending had the positive effects that we intended.
Now we are moving to the next chapter of our economic action plan, which is drive to a balanced budget, while putting in place policies that drive up economic growth and create jobs for Canadians. It is what we promised to do. It is what we are going to do.
The Economy October 31st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the government's position is that we should keep going down the path that we are on because it is working. The IMF says so. The World Bank says so. Today StatsCan again says so. What we are doing is working.
Since the worst part of the recession in July 2009, the Canadian economy has produced over 650,000 jobs, more than 80% of which are full-time jobs. We are getting the job done for Canadians and that is why they have entrusted our government to continue focusing on the economy.
Broadcasting and Telecommunications October 27th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the transition is being done independently by the CRTC, as my colleague must know. The CRTC worked with our government and with the CBC to ensure that taxpayers who pay out of their own pockets could continue receiving CBC programming. The process will continue next year. It is ongoing. We are aware of the concerns expressed by the member, but this process is definitely an improvement.
Canadian Air and Space Museum October 27th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I certainly recognize the importance of the collection, which is why I have taken the action I have described in the first question. I do not doubt my hon. colleague's sincerity. What I do disagree with though is the this or that proposal.
We can have strong, fantastic, brilliant national museums that protect our heritage, and we are doing that. At the same time, however, Downsview Park has a responsibility to do what is in the best interests of taxpayers, and that is what it is doing.
If the idea is that we cannot have a sports complex, new rinks or support sports and at the same time protect the collection of this museum, I think we can do both. I think we will do both, and we will do so responsibly for taxpayers.
Canadian Air and Space Museum October 27th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, as I said in a similar question from a member of the NDP on this very subject, even though it is called the Canadian Air and Space Museum, the fact is that it is a private museum with a private collection. It is not owned by the Government of Canada. By the way, this is an organization that had a fundraising campaign that was not nearly as successful as it had hoped it would be. It has not had the number of visitors it had hoped it would have.
However, I have instructed Mark O’Neill, the president of the Museum of Civilization, to reach out to this museum to talk and work with it about the collection it has and see if there is something we can do to preserve the collection.
The decision made by Downsview is an independent decision that was made in the best interests of taxpayers. I am sorry the Liberals do not agree with that.
Museums October 27th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, in both questions, my hon. colleague mentioned the issue of museums. Our government is the first government in Canadian history to create a national museum outside of the national capital at Pier 21 in Halifax. We also created the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. We passed the legislation. We provided the funding for it. The Liberals talked about it, but we delivered.
When it comes to museums, we have offered more support for small museums than ever before. We are the government that is delivering for culture in a fiscally responsible way that serves the interests of both culture and everyday taxpayers.
They promised the Canadian Museum of Human Rights; we delivered it. They are all talk; we acted.