Jim Hillyer

[Rights and Freedom, May 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I recently attended the citizenship ceremony in Lethbridge when 70 people became new Canadians. They came from many different countries, and every person had a story, but one thing was common among them: they had all chosen to become Canadians.

Among them was the Walsh family, who had fled Zimbabwe with nothing but their suitcases after their house, farm and business were seized simply because the Walshes were Caucasian.

New Canadians infuse fresh vitality to our national pride. Besides contributing skills to our economy and riches to our culture, they inspire us with a profound sense of gratitude. They know and remind us how lucky we are to be Canadian, where we can own property and enjoy the fruits of our labour, where we have freedom of speech and can worship according to the dictates of our conscience, where we can participate in politics and choose our government.

May we cherish these freedoms and use them well so that Canada will continue to be a beacon to all the world.

[Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, May 8th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, the energy sector is not just important for Alberta, as important as it is for Alberta, but it is important for all of Canada. We need to do all that we can to support this industry, and not just support it within Canada but support different ways to export our energy to countries that need it. We need to do all that we can to prevent anything from blocking the way in a safe and responsible manner.

Whether or not we like the energy sector, we all need clean air and clean water, and we understand that fact.

[Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, May 8th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, when the Liberals were in government they voted to send those jobs from the member's province to Quebec.

We believe in the free market system. The markets will go where business is best. We will do all we can to generate thriving conditions in all the provinces with the support of the provinces and the Canadian people.

[Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, May 8th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, the reason there is a record number of foreign workers coming into the country is because there is a record number of available jobs.

My colleague referred to the 15% below average of what Canadians are receiving. That is not true. Foreign workers can only receive 15% lower than the average if other Canadians are receiving 15% lower than the average. A lot of people who work 20 or 25 years make a lot more throughout those years of work than someone who is starting out. That changes the average salary. As a result of market conditions, if the majority of Canadians are receiving 15% less than the average wages, then immigrants can receive that as well so that they are not paid more than Canadian workers.

[Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, May 8th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, referring to our Prime Minister and his budget, he says:

[His] budgeting is impeccable in its caution. By 2015-2016, Canada will have reduced both spending and debt to pre-recession levels. Nobody else on earth will be able to say anything like that.

The key in balancing the budget is, well, balance. When the crisis hit, the task was to provide just the right amount of economic stimulus: enough to keep the economy going, but not so much that the country's economic crisis slipped into the debt crisis that plagues the eurozone. Now the trick is to reduce the deficit, but at a rate that will not plunge the economy back into recession. This second task is especially tricky because it requires not only sound judgment but something even rarer in politics: discipline.

There is a famous experiment in which kindergarten kids are presented with a marshmallow. They can eat it right away, but if they wait just 10 minutes, they can have two marshmallows. It is amazing how many kindergarten kids are able to recognize the principle of restraint, the principle that making a small sacrifice now for a big payout later makes sense. The opposition does not seem to share that sense of foresight.

There is no avoiding the fact that if difficult decisions are not made now, even more difficult decisions will be unavoidable later, or, more accurately, they will not be decisions but inescapable consequences, and they will not just be difficult, they will be devastating.

During the several pre-budget consultations I held across my riding, the general consensus was support for this disciplined and balanced approach to managing the country's economy. People also believed that the majority of the deficit reduction savings could and should be found by eliminating waste, duplication and inefficiencies in virtually all government programs.

I am happy to say that 70% of the expected savings come from eliminating government waste, and it is not all cuts. My constituents, along with the majority of Canadians, said that we should invest in economic growth and job creation, research and innovation, infrastructure and development, education and skills. Our budget places a strong emphasis on all of these areas.

Some of our opponents criticize us for focusing so much on the economy. They say that all we care about is money, but then they follow up with a demand that we take somebody else's money to fund their favourite project.

Members may ask why the economy is our priority. It is for two main reasons: first, it is the priority of the vast majority of Canadians. It is their priority for the second reason, which is that in this day and age, things cost money.

We all love our health care system. We love our education system and our roads, libraries and parks. We want to support our veterans, seniors and those who stand in need. We want to live in safe communities and in a safe world. That is why, since we were first elected in 2006, our government has been focused on creating jobs and economic growth. That is why ultimately our goal is to ensure long-term prosperity for all Canadians.

As the Minister of Finance said:

We see a Canada, whose wealth, while immense, will be measured ultimately in the greater happiness and security of its people.

This is a good budget. Because of it and because of our budgets that have preceded it, we can see in the distance every reason to hope. We see young Canadians confident in their future, retired Canadians secure in their senior years, aboriginal Canadians realizing their vast potential and new Canadians strengthening our country as they have done in every generation. We see every region of the country more prosperous than ever in our history. We see Canadian businesses and universities coming up with things that no one has thought of before, leading to new opportunities and a better life for Canadians and for people all around the world. We see Canada for what it is and what it can be: a great, good nation on top of the world, the true north strong and free.

[Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, May 8th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, I support the 2012 budget.

I wholeheartedly support the 2012 budget because it is good for Canada and good for southern Alberta.

The budget was not simply handed down from on high. The opposition and left-wing media do not know what to make of our government, diverse in its membership and truly national in its character. They have never seen such a strong, united party. They cannot understand it.

Since they do not believe that a free group of people can willingly co-operate and believe that people must be told what to do, they assume the only way we could be so united is by means of a heavy-handed leadership. However, Conservatives are united because we believe in what we are doing.

We blindly support the budget because together we helped to develop it, and we did this by counselling with the constituents in our respective ridings because we know who put us in our seats. We know who we represent.

The overwhelming message that I received from my constituents throughout the year was, “Keep on keeping on. Your plan is working. Continue to keep taxes low. Continue to reduce redundant red tape. Continue to facilitate trade among the provinces and continue to open up new markets around the world”.

They understood the need for the economic stimulus provided in past budgets, but they also understand that the global economic crisis that still rages in the world today is in fact a debt crisis, and that no one can spend their way out of a debt crisis.

They support our commitment to eliminate the deficit and balance the budget over the medium term. They support our commitment to maintain our vital and cherished social programs and government services and they know that we can do this and still cut government spending. When it comes time to make cuts, the overwhelming message I have been hearing is to reduce government waste.

One good thing about the NDP becoming the official opposition is that it more clearly draws the line in the sand and more clearly defines to Canadians their options in getting to where we want to go.

Conservatives trust the people. We believe that Canadians are generally good, kind-hearted, hard-working, industrious and smart, while the socialist NDP believes that people left to their own devices cannot be trusted. NDP members believe people cannot be trusted to do the right thing, to take care of the poor and needy, to figure out a way to make a living, and they believe that people who do figure it out should be punished for their ingenuity and have the fruits of their labour taxed away. They believe the only people who can be trusted are the people who make up a socialist government. These people must go through some supernatural change, because somehow they become magically pure-hearted and unselfish and, of course, smarter than the collective wisdom of the people working together.

The underlying message of the budget is that we trust Canadians. We trust them, so we listen to them. We trust them, so we let them keep their own money and decide for themselves how to spend it. We trust them, so we cut back on unnecessary overregulation, open up trade with other countries around the world and create a business-friendly environment to unleash the power of Canadian entrepreneurs, who will continue to create wealth and opportunities and increase prosperity for all their fellow Canadians.

Of course, some people have criticized some of the spending reductions; every voice matters, but just because a person or group of people speaks loudly or more often does not mean they speak for all Canadians.

A lot of the complaints come from people who expect to be exempt from the government-wide modest budgetary constraints or expect to maintain more than their fair share of the public pie. It would be nice to have a budget that provides everything for everyone. Socialism promises everyone a loaf of bread, but soon no one has any bread, because the bakers are standing in line for their free loaves.

The Conservative government, along with most Canadians, understands the inescapable truth that everything eventually must be paid for. We cannot get something for nothing. It does not matter how hungry we get or how unfair it seems; if we do not plant potatoes, potatoes will not grow.

Let me turn to some third party comments about the budget. In the National Post, David Frum said this:

Under Stephen Harper, Canada can fairly claim to be the best-governed country among advanced democracies in the world. [This year's] federal budget locks up Canada's lead.

[Petitions, May 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the petitioners say that Canada is the only nation in the western world, in the company of China and North Korea, without laws restricting abortion, and that since Canada's Supreme Court said that Parliament has the responsibility to enact abortion legislation, they call on us to do so.

[Petitions, April 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to encourage Parliament to reassess and examine the question of what defines a human being to update Canada's 400-year-old definition.

[Women's Curling, March 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, last Saturday, on behalf of the Government of Canada and the citizens of southern Alberta, I had the honour of welcoming the world to Lethbridge for the World Women's Curling Championship.

The tournament gave us a chance to showcase the spirit of Canadian competition and co-operation. In addition to the many generous corporate sponsors, over 300 local volunteers, including the Lethbridge Firefighters Pipes and Drums, put in thousands of hours to make the tournament a world-class success.

We are especially proud of team Canada, skipped by full-time mom, Heather Nedohin. She and her team demonstrated Canadian toughness and tenacity by battling through adversity to represent us on the podium after winning the bronze medal.

On behalf of my fellow parliamentarians, I thank team Canada, the city of Lethbridge and the hard-working volunteers. They have once again made Canada proud.

[Petitions, March 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, this petition asks Parliament to update Canada's 400-year-old definition of a human being and to confirm that every human being is recognized by Canadian law as human.