Jim Flaherty

[The Economy, November 20th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to extend the same warm welcome back to the House of Commons to the member for Markham—Unionville who is masking his spirit of cooperation well in his initial questions.

Surely, the hon. member knows that we are going through a very serious global economic downturn. Canada is very well positioned compared to our G-7 allies and relative to other economies. But the seriousness of this situation is not to be underestimated and I would hope that the member opposite would rise above partisan gamesmanship.

[The Economy, November 20th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, what the Parliamentary Budget Officer actually said today is that it is important, given the downgraded economic outlook, to have this discussion and to look at assumptions.

As the member opposite knows, the fall economic update is about to be delivered. We will be setting out our own economic forecast as well as those of the private forecasters in the update which we will deliver I hope in the House of Commons at four o'clock next Thursday, November 27.

[Equalization Payments, June 17th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, we were able to, with the assistance of the O'Brien panel, move to a situation where we have fiscal balance based on certain principles. That solution has been accepted by most of the jurisdictions in Canada, including the province of Nova Scotia. As Premier MacDonald said:

We have the agreements in place...[Nova Scotia is] receiving the full benefits of the offshore (accord)...I hope that our MPs, especially some of our Liberal MPs...are going to stand up and be counted.

[The Economy, June 17th, 2008]

Once again, Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member ought to check her facts. In fact, we saw a rebound in manufacturing jobs, not only in Ontario but also in Quebec in the month of May. Those are the facts and that is what happened in the month of May in Canada.

Let us look at what the OECD said about this economy, about the economic fundamentals that we have right: the job growth, the lower interest rates and the future that we have because we have a plan called “Advantage Canada” that we are implementing. The plan the Liberals have is for a huge new carbon tax, a new tax on fuel oil for Canadians, on gasoline, on a whole--

[The Economy, June 17th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, it is not only what I meant when I said we have strong economic fundamentals, it is what the OECD said last week when it looked at the Canadian economy.

Who said this? Let us just see. “You need to have stimulus for the economy”. We had stimulus for the economy. We had 1.4% of GDP and we put money into people's pockets. Who said this? “To really stimulate the economy, you need to put money directly into people's pockets”. My goodness, that was the member for Markham—Unionville.

[Equalization Payments, June 10th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the crown share panel has been working diligently preparing its report. We look forward to its release to the government of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada. That should not be before too long. This is a complex issue and the committee has been working hard to accomplish the goal of delivering the report to the governments as requested.

[Automotive Industry, June 5th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the auto innovation fund is exactly for that. It is for innovation and for green technology.

The reason the auto strategy was successful before, and I am sure the member knows this, is because of the innovations such as the flex line in the Oshawa car plant and the Oakville car plant.

Had we not had these innovative technologies through government assistance in research and development, we would not have the auto sector we have today, an auto sector with a future with the auto innovation fund.

[Automotive Industry, June 5th, 2008]

I do not need lectures about the auto sector in Ontario from the member for Toronto Centre, after what he did to the Ontario economy.

We have a $250 million auto innovation fund in the budget. I hope the Liberals will support the budget legislation.

[Automotive Industry, June 5th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, what workers, the CAW members, their leadership and the executives at General Motors and other companies know is what we know in the knowledge advantage in “Advantage Canada”, and that is the future of the auto sector depends on innovative technology.

How do we get to that future in the auto sector? We get there—

[Automotive Industry, June 5th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the member would want to inform the people of Whitby—Oshawa about the reality of the auto innovation fund. I am sure he knows all about that since it is in the budget, on page 122. I am sure that the member wants to inform them why that fund is there and about the community development trust, the money that the Ontario government has.

The member opposite says, “Where is the money?” The money is at Queen's Park. It has the money already and it is in the provincial budget for innovation for the auto sector, just as it is in our budget for innovation in the auto sector for General Motors and other companies, for jobs--