House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 58% of the vote.
Municipalities June 5th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the reason the party opposite when it was the government did not consult with municipalities concerning fiscal imbalance was that it did not even recognize that there was a fiscal imbalance.
Now we have this confusion on the other side where some of them say there is a fiscal imbalance and some of them say there is not.
Our government is clear. There is an issue to be addressed. We are going to move toward fiscal balance in the federation.
Municipalities June 5th, 2006
It is just the opposite, Mr. Speaker. In the paper that we put out with the budget dealing with the issues of fiscal balance, we referred repeatedly to the three orders of government and consulting the three orders of government in this country, something the party opposite never did.
Privilege May 31st, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I rise today on a question of personal privilege.
On May 18, 2006, the member of Parliament for Ajax—Pickering stood in the House and accused me of using my position as Minister of Finance to benefit a family member. The member stated as fact that I had adopted a capital cost allowance for forest bioenergy in the 2006 budget in order to benefit Dorset, a small industrial chemical company that is owned by one of my brothers.
Referring to environment programs, the member for Ajax--Pickering said:
It is time for the government to listen to Canadians. Instead of slashing valuable programs like EnerGuide and keeping only the program that benefited the finance minister's brother, the government needs to focus on the priorities of Canadians, honour our Kyoto commitments--
I call upon the member to apologize. I would table the letter from the Ethics Commissioner declaring that there is no conflict of interest.
The Environment May 31st, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I think the member is referring to discussions at the G-7 meeting in Moscow in February where there was some discussion of negotiations and potential agreements between Petro-Canada and one of the Russian gas companies. Those are private negotiations between those entities.
Taxation May 30th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the member is talking about transfer payments or equalization or what issue.
These are important discussions that we are going to have this year, particularly with respect to the core responsibilities of the Government of Canada and the core responsibilities of the provinces and territories. With respect to the issue of post-secondary education transfers and with respect to the issue of infrastructure in respect of which there is very substantial funding, more than $16 billion in budget 2006, these are very important and fundamental discussions for our economic federation.
Taxation May 30th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier in response to another question, there are differing views in Canada, certainly some strongly held, with respect to equalization issues. At the end of the day, equalization is a federal program paid for by the resources that flow to the Government of Canada from taxpayers in Canada paying Canadian taxes. At the end of the day, the decision has to rest with the Government of Canada in terms of the administration of a federal program.
That said, it is very important that we engage in these constructive discussions this year because at the end of the day we are all Canadians.
Equalization May 30th, 2006
Certainly, Mr. Speaker, that is an opinion that is held by some in the country. As I say, there is no uniformity of opinion with respect to the issue of how equalization should be calculated. I think it is important that all members here and certainly the other governments in Canada have the opportunity to consider this in some detail.
It is a very important issue for our country, this federal program of equalization. As I say, I look forward to seeing, as we all do, the O'Brien report within the next week or so.
Equalization May 30th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.
The question of equalization is one with respect to which provinces have differing opinions and comments. We are looking forward to the release of the O'Brien report within the next week or so which was commissioned by the former government.
We are looking forward to having an opportunity to review that in some detail. I am sure the provinces and territories will wish to do the same thing. We will then have the report by the big city mayors. We will then have a meeting of the finance ministers of the provinces and territories and the federal government. So there will be much to discuss and review as we go forward.
Taxation May 29th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I have heard many members opposite being called social engineers but I think it is the first time I have been called a social engineer.
I will say this about transit, and we saw it today in Toronto where we had a transit strike this morning, it reiterates once again the importance of public transit for people in the greater Toronto area and all our large urban areas in Canada.
The transit pass will mean that people who buy monthly passes to commute will have about two months free transit per year. It is environmentally friendly and it is a good idea for commuting in Canada.
Taxation May 29th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, all Canadians in all tax brackets will, on average, pay less income tax as a result of the federal budget.
The reductions in taxes are almost $20 billion over the course of the next two years. These are greater tax reductions than the last four Liberal budgets combined.