House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 58% of the vote.
Housing February 7th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, what is not to love in the mayor of Toronto? He is 300 pounds of fun, self-described by the mayor. I did not make that up.
The mayor is doing a wonderful job in Toronto. He is leading the transit reform charge and is straightening out the finances of the City of Toronto. It will be the ultimate great service for the taxpayers of that city to have control of the fiscal future of the City of Toronto, which has been mishandled for a long time.
Employment February 7th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite certainly is entitled to his point of view but he does not need to yell. I am right here and I can hear him well.
The reality is 610,000 net new jobs, a job growth rate of 3.7% since the end of the recession, 90% of the jobs full-time and 80% of them in the private sector. This is the best job creation record in the G7.
Employment February 7th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the jobs and growth policy was in the last budget, and there will be more in this budget, of course. This is the budget that the NDP, including the member opposite, refused to support. This is the budget that contained the job creation tax credit for small business, the family caregiver tax credit, the children's art tax credit, the volunteer firefighter tax credit and tax relief for the manufacturing sector, and all of that was opposed by the NDP members who now have the nerve to stand here and ask where the jobs plan is that they voted against.
Employment February 6th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the plan was in the budget last year that the hon. member voted against.
There are more than 610,000 net new jobs in this country since the end of the recession in July 2009.
We are fortunate now in the city of Toronto to have the leadership of a dynamic mayor who is leading the city in the right direction of fiscal prudence. I know “fiscal prudence” are two words that are foreign to the member opposite.
Employment February 6th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to offering a budget to this House that concentrates on jobs and economic growth. In fact, we did that last March and the member opposite voted against it. That is why he is sitting way down there rather than over here where he used to sit.
We will concentrate on jobs and economic growth. I would suggest to the hon. member that he ought to also.
Employment February 6th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, my car is actually a Chevrolet Impala from Oshawa, Ontario. The member opposite will recall voting against our plan to save General Motors and the 400,000 jobs in the auto sector across the country.
I know my friend opposite is a student of parliamentary history and I know he wants to remember, he just forgot to say so and congratulate the Prime Minister's government on its sixth anniversary of being sworn in as the government of Canada, an excellent government especially.
Employment February 6th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, we remain focused, of course, on jobs and economic growth. Those are the fundamental concerns of Canadians, ensuring that we have a sustainable path for social services in the country, whether it is health care, or social benefits or pension benefits to ensure that in the long term Canadians can look forward to having the benefit of those programs and not an irresponsible attitude like the member opposite demonstrates that only looks at tomorrow morning and does not look down the road.
Employment December 15th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member is getting her information. In fact, Canada's economy is expected to grow modestly next year. It is expected to grow as one of the strong economies in the G7. That is what the OECD, the IMF and the rating agencies say. Fitch, which just reconfirmed Canada's rating of AAA, said:
[T]he Canadian government's demonstrated ability to put forth a credible long-term fiscal consolidation plan provides critical support for the country's 'AAA' rating. The government's commitment to eliminate the federal budget deficit...puts Canada ahead of other peers rated 'AAA'.
We are doing relatively well.
Employment December 15th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite talks about job creation. The record and the facts speak for themselves.
Canada has the best job creation record of any country in the G7, of any major industrialized country in the world. This is verified outside Canada by international organizations. We are proud of the fact that Canadians have been able to create those jobs, helped by government policy over the course of time, since the end of the recession in July 2009.
The Economy December 15th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, of course, that is precisely what we have been doing, investing in jobs and the economy, with very good results. The IMF and the OECD predict that Canada will have the strongest economic growth, not only this year but next year. We have job creation, almost 600,000 net new jobs, mostly full-time and mostly in the private sector.
The three large credit rating agencies have looked at Canada in the past few months. All three of them have renewed Canada's AAA credit rating. Canadians can have confidence that we will remain focused on jobs and the economy in the coming year.