James Moore

[Petitions, May 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this is a petition that was put together by a constituent of mine who works very hard and has a great deal of concern about the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka.

It calls on the government to pay particular attention and to put in place a process that would see a speedy end to the crisis there.

I thank my constituent for the hard work that was put into this petition. I see signatures that were gathered from all over the Lower Mainland. Our government is listening to the principles behind this petition and we are taking action.

[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, May 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I know the good people of Kamloops and Prince George are shaking in their boots thinking that this member will be defending their interests.

The Conservative government made very clear promises in our election campaign platform with regard to the CBC. We have kept our word, unlike the Liberals who said in 1993 that they would not cut the CBC, then they cut it by $414 million; unlike the Liberals who in 1997 said, “Forget about the past. This time we really mean it. We will not cut the CBC”. They cut it even further.

It was the Liberals who cut the CBC. It is the Conservative government that keeps its word to taxpayers.

[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, May 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the strategic review, we are working with the CBC and not against it.

Let us be clear. The only party in this House to have made cuts to the CBC is the Liberal Party of Canada. The Liberal Party of Canada made election promises in the 1993, 1997 and 2000 election campaigns. It clearly stated that it would not make cuts to the CBC. And yet it cut 4,000 jobs and $414 million from the CBC budget.

We keep our promises, we are making investments and our investments are effective.

[Arts and Culture, May 11th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague should read Mr. Lacroix's memo again. The purpose of the strategic review my colleague is referring to is to make sure that taxpayers’ money is being spent effectively, and we are working with the CBC on this issue.

Let us be clear: during the election campaign, we made a specific promise regarding the CBC. In each of our four budgets, year after year, we have increased the CBC’s budget. It is the Bloc Québécois that voted against the proposal.

[Arts and Culture, May 11th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Saturday evening was a wonderful event for Canadian artists, and my colleague was not even there. It was a tremendous celebration for Canadian artists.

I would like to thank my colleague for giving me an opportunity to point out that it is our Conservative government that increased investment in arts and culture by 8% during its first term. In addition, in our 2009-10 anti-crisis budget, we have again increased spending for artists, the arts and culture by $276 million.

We keep our promises.

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the development of an action plan to advance the equality of women across Canada, announced in budget 2008:

In regard to a) In support of the federal action plan for women, since 2008, Status of Women Canada has been developing strategic partnerships to advance women’s economic security and prosperity, to end violence against women and to increase the participation of women and girls in leadership roles across society. In 2009-2010, Status of Women Canada will be strengthening collaboration and building on partnerships with other federal departments and agencies, as well as with provincial and territorial counterparts, and with civil society partners, to continue this strategic direction.

In regard to b) Status of Women Canada is the lead departmental agency and is collaborating with other federal departments and agencies across the federal government to advance women’s participation under the following three pillars: women’s economic security and prosperity, violence against women and participation of women and girls in leadership roles across society.

In regard to c) The federal action plan for women is being developed within existing resources.

In regard to d) The work in support of the federal action plan for women that has already been undertaken and that is continuing to be developed is integrated into the work of the majority of full time employees of Status of Women Canada.

In regard to e) Status of Women Canada and the Government of Canada routinely receive ideas and suggestions from Canadian women regarding their needs and requirements. Preceding the announcement of the federal action plan for women, various roundtables and meetings will be held to identify areas of priority.

In regard to f) Discussions with various stakeholders will occur as the action plan is elaborated in 2009-2010.

In regard to g) Over the next months, additional organizations and individuals will be engaged on the federal action plan for women.

In regard to h) The 1995 Beijing platform for action, other international agreements such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women have and will continue to inform the federal action plan for women.

In regard to i) Like all government initiatives, the federal action for women will be subject to the usual accountability mechanisms and the officials responsible for its implementation will be accountable to Canadians for delivering real benefits to Canadian women and their families.

In regard to j) The federal action plan for women will be focused on key strategic directions that include: advancing women’s economic security and prosperity; ending violence against women; and increasing the participation of women and girls in leadership roles across society.

[Canadian Flag Pins, May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, given that there is no question there, I will use this 30 seconds to make a statement for the hon. member for Timmins—James Bay.

The member mentioned a number of things. I have been crystal clear on this process from the very beginning. If he wants to continue to build this soapbox to stand on, he is, frankly, building a faulty soapbox.

With regard to the CBC, we made a commitment in the campaign and we have kept our word.

If the member for Timmins—James Bay wants to stand up in the House of Commons and talk about integrity, he ought to first go back to his constituents and explain to them why, in the campaigns of 2004, 2006 and 2008, he said that he would vote against the gun registry and then showed up in the House of Commons and betrayed his constituents. He should explain that.

[Canadian Flag Pins, May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, that member has been wrong about pins in the parliamentary gift shop, wrong about pins purchased by the Department of Public Works, wrong about the contracting process, and wrong about the responsibility of our government to respect our trade agreements.

I guess the bit of advice that I would give my friend from Timmins—James Bay is that if he is going to devolve himself to being a single issue MP, then he should have a clue about the issue he is talking about.

[Broadcasting and Telecommunications, May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we made a very specific promise during the election campaign to maintain or increase funding for the CBC, and we kept our word.

When the Liberals had their opportunity, they made a promise to maintain or increase funding for the CBC, and what did they do? They cut funding to the CBC by $414 million. Not only that, but when the Liberals were in office, they cut 4,000 jobs at the CBC.

Our Conservative government respected our promises. Let us not forget, this Conservative government was elected in 2006 because the Liberals failed. We were elected in 2008 because we are getting the job done.

[Broadcasting and Telecommunications, May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, that is false. As I have said here many times, there is definitely a crisis in the global economy, and this is having an impact on broadcasters on the ground here in Canada.

We got the job done. During the election campaign, we promised to invest $1.1 billion in CBC/Radio-Canada. That is what we did. We created the new Canada media fund, with $310 million for the broadcasting industries, to help them create Canadian content. We are getting the job done.