House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 45% of the vote.
The Environment December 14th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, do you know who brought in the subsidies for the oil sands and the accelerated capital cost allowance? It was the Liberal Party of Canada. Who had the courage to do the right thing and remove those subsidies? It was this Minister of Finance who was named the finance minister of the year.
The Economy December 13th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I have seen some great economic progress in the last 16 or 17 months, the creation of some 441,000 net new jobs. However, the job is not finished. There are still far too many Canadians looking for work. The very best social program, everyone would acknowledge, is a job.
That is why we have Canada's economic action plan, a plan designed to reach out and to ensure that economic growth continues in Canada. More work has to be done. We are pleased to work with the provinces. We also acknowledge that social policy is a provincial responsibility and the federal government can play an important role.
However, I would remind the member opposite that we must respect provincial jurisdiction. He should ask his—
The Environment December 13th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, if we want to reduce greenhouse gases, we must stabilize them over the next five to ten years. It is also essential that all of the major polluters actively participate. We are making significant progress and we are working very well with the Obama administration and the United Nations. If other countries joined us, we could achieve real results for our planet.
The Environment December 13th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada went to Cancun to get results on five issues. I am proud to announce that we made progress on each of Canada's five priorities.
We worked well with the Obama administration and with the Europeans. We made progress. It is critical that major polluters help us in our efforts to achieve an absolute reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. We have real progress in mind for next year.
Questions on the Order Paper December 6th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the government draws to the attention of the member, pages 468 to 475 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition.
Questions on the Order Paper December 6th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the government draws to the attention of the member, pages 468 to 475 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition.
The Environment December 6th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I do not recall being involved in the decision with respect to the Avro Arrow. That was done before I was born.
As for efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we believe science and research have an important role in that, but so too does action. The leader of the Liberal Party is the one who summarized the efforts and failures of the previous Liberal government when he said, “We didn't get it done”.
This government is committed to getting it done.
The Environment December 6th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I just heard a question on the gun registry and I can understand why the member for Yukon does not want to ask a question on that.
With respect to research, the government has put some $85 million toward Arctic research. We believe it is incredibly important and that it is a smart move. There was some one-time funding given to the foundation when Canada had a large surplus. It has made a request for new funding that will go into the budget mix with all the other requests that we receive.
The Environment December 6th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I knew we were going to get a good question in question period and it finally arrived.
This morning I was pleased to join environmentalists and representatives of Inuit and the Government of Nunavut to announce a future boundary for a national marine conservation area in Lancaster Sound in Nunavut. Today's announcement is a giant leap forward in protecting one of the most amazing ecosystems in the world. It is another example of our commitment to protect our marine life, the boreal forest and our natural environment.
We have increased, as the member said, Canada's national parks system by 30% in just four years. That is a record to be incredibly proud of. Canada is providing real leadership.
The Environment December 6th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, our priorities consist of creating jobs for Canadians, growing the economy and ensuring the well-being of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We are working very hard with the United States to establish regulations on automobile emissions and we will continue working with countries around the globe. All big polluters must participate in the Copenhagen accord to reduce greenhouse gases. We will continue working hard on this issue.