John Baird

[Ethics, December 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Privy Council Office has publicly written and taken responsibility for the inadvertent and technical issue with respect to these emails. The minute that letter from the Privy Council Office with its apology was received, we informed the relevant authorities and they can have access immediately to all the emails whenever they like.

[Ethics, December 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Prime Minister has been very clear in responding to those questions about the fact that he was not aware of the actions of Mr. Wright in this regard. We have said that all these emails, which have been recovered, will be made available to the authorities so they can look at all these issues.

[Ethics, December 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, what did happen is that the Privy Council made the office of the Prime Minister aware of this mistake and immediately the relevant authorities were advised and we said we would make all these emails available to them immediately.

[Ethics, December 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is a fact that the Privy Council Office has taken responsibility for this issue.

[Ethics, December 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the committee in question was meeting in camera, so I was not aware of what was going on.

I can say this. The Privy Council Office has taken responsibility for the technical, even inadvertent, problem with respect to the emails in question. The moment the mistake was brought to our attention, we immediately informed the relevant authorities.

[Business of Supply, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I represent a constituency, Ottawa West—Nepean, which has one of the fifth or sixth highest percentages of seniors. There is a good number of elderly women, many of whom do not have a defined benefit pension and rely on the public system. This is an issue that I follow very closely.

We could say that there is a certain attractiveness to expanding the Canada pension plan, but I say to the member opposite that it always comes down to how we are going to pay for it. Can Canadian employers afford to take on a not insignificant increase in payroll taxes? We know from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that payroll taxes are the toughest on employers and on creating new jobs for small businesses and medium-sized enterprises in particular.

What do we say to the average Canadian worker, someone who is middle class and maybe making $35,000 or $40,000 a year, struggling to make ends meet? Their hydro bills are going up, particularly in Ontario. They are facing a tough go. Not all Canadians or Ontarians have the money to pay these increased payroll taxes, which they would be required to pay. It is not an issue of whether it is a payroll tax or a contribution, they do not have any cash in their pockets to put out. This is the case for many of the people that I represent.

While the idea has certain attractive elements to it, does the member not concede that there are far too many Canadians who simply do not have the money to be able to make increased contributions because they are having a tough time making ends meet today?

[Foreign Affairs, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, like this member, I was shocked at these comments by the NDP foreign affairs critic.

I will tell members whose side this government stands on. We stand on the side of Ukrainian people in their fight for democracy.

I am very proud to promote Canadian values, to promote a citizen's right to peacefully protest. I am very proud to have not only met with government representatives when I was in Ukraine, but I am very proud to have travelled to the Maidan to meet with opposition leaders and to hear the voices of the people of Ukraine who are pushing for democracy and freedom in their great country.

[Foreign Affairs, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we do not want to criminalize being a duck hunter, being a farmer, or being a sportsman. That is our position. Canada already has some of the toughest laws and regulations with respect to exporting arms. This government follows those laws. This government ensures that the law is respected, as Canadians would rightly expect us to do.

[Foreign Affairs, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Canada already has some of the strongest laws and regulations supporting export controls on Canadian arms being exported abroad. All applications are reviewed, and we follow Canadian regulations and Canadian laws very carefully, as Canadians would rightly expect us to do.

[Foreign Affairs, November 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we are very excited. We have been in Macdonald House for only 50 years. Canada House has been sitting vacant, by and large, since we left more than 50 years ago. We have an exciting plan to revitalize Canada House in Trafalgar Square to make it the face of Canada in one of the most exciting places in the world.

Through the leadership of Gordon Campbell, our High Commissioner, we have obtained more than half a billion dollars for this property. We have bought another building right beside Canada House and we will be able to integrate the two, get the entire Canadian team working together. It is a good deal for taxpayers and a great face in Trafalgar Square for Canada.