House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 58% of the vote.
Financial Institutions October 26th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, as is our habit on this side of the House, unlike the other side of the House, we have actually been consulting with the consumer associations. We have been consulting with the stakeholders and the participants so that we get the results right, and we have spent a great deal of time on that.
The work has been done. The necessary coding is being drafted and will be released shortly.
Financial Institutions October 26th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, again, I do not know where the member opposite has been this year.
In the economic action plan, we said that we would regulate in the area of credit cards. We said it, we studied it and we did it several months ago. If he would like to read the regulations, he will see that they are published and they are coming into force. They are very important in terms of transparency and rights for credit card holders and issuers, so that everyone understands what is happening.
There is more to come with respect to interchange fees relating to merchants.
Pensions October 26th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal opposition has been spending most of this year pushing for an unnecessary, unwanted election in this country and now, all of a sudden, it offers a knee-jerk reaction to a serious issue that has been going on for more than a year.
The Liberals' solution is to have a one-day meeting in Ottawa. This is their answer to a very serious problem for Canadian pensioners. We are not doing that. We are working with the provinces and territories. We are not doing the research and the study but not on the back of an envelope like the Liberal opposition.
Pensions October 26th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, there is more. Only 10% of pensions in this country are federally regulated, so we need to work in consultation with the provinces and territories, which is precisely what we are doing. We have a research working group created by the provinces, territories and federal government. We will be meeting again to review the results of that.
This is a serious issue. It is not to be dealt with on the back of an envelope or by a knee-jerk reaction. It needs to be dealt with collaboratively, intelligently and thoroughly by governments working together in Canada.
Pensions October 26th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the opposition has come late to this discussion about pensions. In December of last year, we had the experts discussing this issue with the provincial and territorial ministers of finance.
We moved forward with solvency changes with respect to federally regulated pension plans in the spring of this year. My parliamentary secretary has conducted a vast consultation across the country, the result of which is some comprehensive reform to pensions that will be announced shortly, and there is more.
Tax Harmonization October 26th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, nothing has changed since the late 1980s and early 1990s. If and when a province chooses to harmonize, that province's legislature makes the decisions about how to implement it. It remains so today in Ontario and British Columbia and any other province that may choose in the future to harmonize their sales tax with the federal GST.
Tax Harmonization October 26th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the implementation of harmonization of PST and GST schemes is the responsibility of the provinces. In this case, it is the province of British Columbia.
Harmonized Sales Tax October 22nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, as I am sure the member opposite knows, whether or not a province chooses to harmonize its sales tax with the federal GST is decided by that province. Some provinces did choose to do this in the late 1990s, and some more have now decided to do so. That is a decision that is entirely up to the individual provinces.
Taxation October 8th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, finally the Liberal leader has come clean and said that he thinks Canadians are not paying enough taxes and that they should be paying more.
Canadians do not need tax hikes and that is why our Conservative government has reduced taxes across the board: reduced the GST, personal taxes, business taxes and much more.
As the Liberal leader begins his adult conversation with Canadians, I would suggest that the Liberal leader get ready to hear some adult words.
Post-Secondary Education October 8th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, as I said, we have had constructive discussions with the Government of Quebec. I have had good discussions with the minister of finance in Quebec. Quebec signed an agreement some years ago with respect to sales taxes and now there is a desire to move toward harmonization as some other governments have chosen to do in Canada. I look forward to continuing the discussion.