Joe Preston

[New Democratic Party, November 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the disunited NDP is showing Canadians again and again that it does not have a plan when it comes to key issues.

Other than hiking taxes on millions of Canadians, which is the one issue NDP members from their placeholder leader to their president Brian Topp stand united behind, the NDP is divided on important questions.

The NDP is disunited when it comes to fairness in the shipbuilding process, the merit-based selection of Supreme Court justices, and marketing freedom for western Canadian farmers. A senior leadership candidate is calling for a proposed merger with the Liberals. The list goes on. The placeholder NDP leader even makes up statistics with regard to employment numbers.

These are yet more worrying examples that the disunited NDP is not fit to govern.

[Committees of the House, October 26th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of legislative committees on Bill C-11 and Bill C-18.

[Committees of the House, October 19th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

The committee advises that pursuant to Standing Order 91.1(2) the Subcommittee on Private Members' Business met to consider the items on the order of precedence. As a result of its establishment on Monday, October 3, it recommended that the items listed herein, which have been determined should not be designated non-votable, be considered by the House.

[Committees of the House, October 17th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented to the House earlier today be concurred in.

[Committees of the House, October 17th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of committees of this House. If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the fifth report later this day.

[Restaurant Industry, October 17th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow an important segment of our economy is meeting here in Ottawa for the first ever restaurant industry summit.

As a restaurant owner myself and having been involved in the industry for over 40 years, I am proud of the contribution that restaurants make to help strengthen the Canadian economy. The numbers are impressive: $61 billion in annual sales, one million employees, 80,000 locations.

The restaurant industry is the fourth-largest private sector employer in Canada. What is even more exciting about this industry is that it is the number one source of first-time jobs for young Canadians.

I applaud our nation's hard-working restaurateurs for creating jobs, driving demand in agriculture products and for attracting tourists to our country.

I look forward to our government continuing to work together with this valuable industry as we look to strengthen our economy. We thank all restaurateurs for the jobs they create and the vital role they play in our communities.

[Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act, October 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women and my colleague from the city of London on an excellent speech pointing out the good things about London and how it got there.

We continue to hear from the other side about what a rotten place we seem to live. I was reminded by a piece of fan mail from someone, not even from my riding, after my speech saying, “Good! Tell them, Joe. Tell them that we live in the best country on the face of this earth”.

I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary why she thinks that happens in this place.

[Federal-Provincial Relations, October 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, since 2006 our government has committed itself to maintaining good relationships with the provinces and territories from coast to coast to coast. Our government has also made it clear that we are the only party that stands up for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Could the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs tell the House what our government is doing to deliver results to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador?

[Member spoke in the Innu language]

[Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act, October 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member and good friend from British Columbia for helping set that up. I will see if I can hit this one out of the park.

Yes, the unemployment numbers are out this morning. Canada's unemployment rate is now a full two points less than the United States' unemployment rate. That has not happened in my generation. I do not remember it happening in my lifetime as a business person. There were 60,000 new jobs created in the last month right here in Canada.

I understand that the job of opposition parties is to try to find what they can, but I would ask them to please stop talking my country down. I live in the best country on the face of this earth. I live in a country that is working better than most around the world in creating jobs, dreams and opportunities. I am very thankful that we continue to move down that road. Pieces of legislation like this will help grease the rails to make it happen. We need to keep doing it and we need the opposition to help.

[Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act, October 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, members are making it very easy for me this morning by mentioning all the good things this government is doing.

The member is right. Lowering corporate tax rates does work. Lowering the corporate tax allowance on machinery does work. Having a small business hiring tax credit does work. As a small business person and someone who has spent my life in business, I recognize that every dollar that is allowed to stay in my pocket or the pockets of entrepreneurs in this country somehow gets spent, either by them, their families or gets reinvested back into their businesses.

All of the measures that we have mentioned and the measures that the member opposite congratulated us on will do all of that.