Jean-Pierre Blackburn

[Regional Economic Development, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, again I remind the hon. member for Honoré-Mercier that the budget envelope for Economic Development Canada is around $200 million a year.

Since we came to power in 2006, we have allocated $157 million to support various business projects and that has resulted in 18,000 jobs maintained—or jobs created—since our new tools have been in place.

We listen to the advisory committees that make recommendations, and our 2008-2011 strategic plan is based on these new tools being created to support our small and medium-sized businesses.

[Regional Economic Development, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder whether the hon. member for Honoré-Mercier ever gets out of Montreal from time to time.

In the past three weeks, we have announced help to support the manufacturing industry and small and medium-sized businesses. In our 2008-2011 strategic plan, we have allocated $86 million in order to boost productivity for the next three years, $32 million in order to support innovation and $27 million to support export assistance for small and medium-size businesses.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2008, June 3rd, 2008]

moved that Bill C-50, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 26, 2008 and to enact provisions to preserve the fiscal plan set out in that budget, be read the third time and passed.

[Regional Economic Development, May 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers have had two opportunities to have their say in a referendum on Quebec independence and both times they chose to remain in Canada.

I would remind my colleague that under the Canadian Constitution, economic development is a jurisdiction shared by Quebec and Ottawa. It is our mission to help the economic development of Quebec regions.

[Regional Economic Development, May 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the Economic Development Agency of Canada has a budget of approximately $200 million per year. The Liberal policy of saying yes to every organization and funding their operating expenses forever has put the department's back to the wall. That is why we are going in another direction. We will support the economic organizations but on the basis of specific projects, namely those with a beginning, middle and end.

[Regional Economic Development, May 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, again I want to remind hon. members that we will continue to support economic organizations, but we are supporting them through one-off projects that will be submitted to us and reviewed. We want to have projects that have a beginning, a middle and an end.

We will no longer be funding operating costs, salaries, pencils and paper, forever. We want to fund one-off projects. We want to help renew recreation, tourism and economic infrastructure in the regions, through projects submitted to us by organizations.

[Regional Economic Development, May 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, why did the Bloc Québécois say that federal programs and organizations that contribute to regional development are a waste of energy and money? That is what the Bloc Québécois platform said. The Bloc writes one thing in their platform and when they get to the House, they ask us for another thing.

What is more, the Bloc voted against creating the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. How can they vote against that and now ask for something else?

[Regional Economic Development, May 13th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that only a few weeks ago, we made a point of asking the organization to release the list of all of the organizations it had brought to Montreal, and the answer was that it was confidential. We gave Montréal International $66 million over 10 years.

There are all sorts of organizations in all sorts of regions that have needs, for example to renovate ecotourism infrastructures or for one-time projects, and we want to be able to support them. If the Liberals had done their job properly, if the minister had signed the files, he would have seen that if he kept paying operating expenses indefinitely he was heading straight for a wall.

[Regional Economic Development, May 13th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind you that we are continuing to support the non-profit organizations, what are referred to as economic development organizations, when they submit one-time projects that have a beginning, a middle and an end.

On the question of operating expenses, wages, paper and pencils, that is over. The organizations now have two years to prepare a transition plan that will enable them to operate under their own steam.

However, if they have one-time projects, they will still be considered, like any other project, and we will support them.

[Manufacturing Industry, May 9th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the manufacturing industry, as members are aware, Canada Economic Development is preparing the 2008-2011 strategic plan to support economic development in all the various regions of Quebec.

About two weeks ago, we put in place what we call “major economic and tourism facilities” for the targeted regions, and within two or three weeks, we will be implementing new measures to better support the manufacturing and forestry industries.