John Baird

[Natural Resources, October 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, government resources, resources of taxpayers, of the agencies, boards and commissions of the government, are not to be used for political fundraising. Such practices are totally inappropriate and totally unacceptable.

[Infrastructure, October 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we have set aside $70 million of federal support that will help leverage about $200 million of infrastructure investment in the City of Vancouver proper. We are waiting to get sufficient details from the city so we can move forward.

I note that the Liberal math is quite interesting. Yesterday the Liberal Party said there were 135 projects in British Columbia approved, and in fact we have approved 308. They said it was only $283 million, and in fact we approved more than $740 million worth of projects.

When it comes to British Columbia, does this side of the House deliver for B.C. in a way B.C. has never received support before? I can categorically say yes.

[Infrastructure, October 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell him the point. I will tell him the point of the investments we are making in Windsor, Ontario. It has one of the highest per capita unemployment rates in the country. One of the highest per capita infrastructure stimulus grants is being made in that community.

I will tell him about Sault Ste. Marie, a community that is really suffering. The Prime Minister announced more than $47 million of federal infrastructure spending to give a shot in the arm to that local economy.

I will tell him about the people in Newfoundland and Labrador who are struggling like everyone else in this global economic recession. This government gave full per capita formula funding to that province, because we want to instill hope and opportunity in every corner of that province.

If the Liberals will not do that, they should step aside and let this team get the job done.

[Infrastructure, October 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, if any Canadian is looking for work and cannot find it, it is simply unacceptable. Job creation, economic development, tax measures and infrastructure spending are all designed to help each and every Canadian who needs a hand up.

I want to say very directly to the member opposite that one of the largest infrastructure projects this government is supporting, and on which work has started this year with more than $660 million of public resources, of federal money, is in his own constituency. It is the Spadina subway expansion.

[Business of Supply, October 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I hope the member opposite will not mind me speaking in English, because I want to very precisely respond to his questions, as I always like to do.

The member opposite talked about reductions in spending on literacy programs. What we saw in this country was a significant amount of money being spent to address literacy, but none of it was going to teach people how to read. It was going for conferences, advocacy, websites and other work, but not one dollar was cut that would support a teacher and a student in learning. The member opposite should know that.

When he talks about reductions in programs for women's groups, that was not the case. We reduced bureaucracy so we could continue to support the grants and contributions to women's groups. If we check the budget, the budget for grants and contributions did not change.

Finally on EI, it was this government that came forward with a budget to increase the amount of EI by five weeks. This government has legislation before the House to do even more, and it is the Bloc Québécois that is voting against it.

[Business of Supply, October 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this country is facing some significant challenges. The Prime Minister's leadership is ensuring that while we were the last ones to deal with this global economic downturn, we will be the first to see the good economic times. We, on this side of the House, are all committed to ensuring we come out of these economic difficulties stronger and better able to compete, better able to attract jobs, hope and opportunity.

I agree totally with the member.

[Business of Supply, October 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, it was this government, this Prime Minister, this Minister of Finance who in the good times paid down almost $40 billion in debt. That is about $3,800 per family.

I have great respect for the member opposite, but in a tough economic time this government came forward with a tough, realistic plan to address the economy. Every single day we have been in the House, the members of the Liberal Party have said, “Spend more. Spend more.” It is outrageous for the member opposite to stand in this place and now not agree with the sum of all those requests. Every single time, 79 times, the member opposite and his party stood and supported that economic action plan, and now they are seeking an early and opportunistic election. That is unfortunate. It is not in the interests of Canadians.

[Business of Supply, October 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this Conservative government has been in office for almost four years. This is the first time in four years that any opposition party has come forward with a motion of non-confidence. I think that speaks volumes to the quality of government and the leadership of the Prime Minister and his administration.

We are going through a global economic downturn, one that did not start in Canada but has certainly been felt here. In fact, Canada was the last major industrialized country to feel the full effects of this downturn and this government is committed to ensuring that Canada is the first major industrialized country to get out of these hard times.

Canadians in every region of this country from coast to coast to coast, east and west, north and south, on farms and in big cities are concerned. They are concerned about their families. They are concerned about their future and they are concerned about their finances.

My constituents in Ottawa West—Nepean want a government and a Parliament that will focus on the economy, jobs and the concerns of people. They want a government that at the end of the day is willing to put politics aside and work together in the best interests of this country. There is a lot of wisdom there.

I have been involved in politics and government for some 25 years. This past January, I saw something rather extraordinary. I saw two people, the Prime Minister and the Premier of Ontario, set a new tone and a new leadership of working together to put aside Conservative and Liberal politics and do what is in the national interest. My constituents not only expect that but demand that. The relationship between the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada is quite strong.

I should say at the outset that I will be sharing my time with the member for Louis-Saint-Laurent, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.

In my 25 years in politics and government, the relationship between the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario is at its best. It is at a high watermark and that is getting real results for the people and economy of the province of Ontario.

For the first time in a long time, people in Ontario are being treated fairly. When the member for Toronto Centre was the premier of Ontario in an NDP government, when Mike Harris was the leader of a Conservative government and now with Dalton McGuinty as the leader of a Liberal government, we have seen successive premiers call for greater fairness. Representing 38% of the population of this great country, Ontario was having a tough time and deserved 38% of the infrastructure dollars in this country. The leadership of this Prime Minister and this government has finally delivered that.

The two leaders are working well. The two ministers of finance are working well and the two infrastructure ministers are working well. Our officials at both the federal and provincial levels are working well and big things are happening in the province of Ontario with respect to tackling this global economic downturn.

I look at the relationship between the city of Ottawa, my hometown, which has a councillor with a background in the NDP, councillors with backgrounds in the Liberal Party and councillors with backgrounds in the Conservative Party. They are all working constructively with the province and the federal government to get things done. We are all in the same boat. We all have an oar in the water and we are all rowing together. That is what people expect.

In my constituency, we are tackling water quality. The Ottawa River has been the scene of a number of dumpings of what is essentially raw effluent into the river and all three levels of government have come together, making a $100 million investment to clean up the water. That is something that is a real priority for my constituents and for people throughout the entire region.

We are coming together to build a new convention centre in Ottawa. This $150 million to $160 million project is underway now. It has created 300 jobs. When it is completed, we will see a huge boost to the tourism sector, a huge boost to the hospitality sector, a huge boost to hotels and other attractions, to retail and restaurants. That will be a huge job creator and benefit to our community long after this economic downturn is over.

We are seeing investments in the city of Ottawa in public transit, which is reducing congestion, which will help increase the quality of life of everyone in the region. This will lead to better air quality and assist in the fight against climate change. There are two great examples: the realignment of the Baseline station and important work in south Nepean.

This is not just alone happening in Ottawa.

I want to single out the member for Essex, who has provided great leadership not just in his own riding, but in Windsor. Windsor is facing some very difficult economic times. Employment in that region is perhaps the highest in the country. The member for Essex has worked very hard, taking on a regional leadership role. Windsor is not a hot bed of Conservative Party support.

Let us look at what the mayor of Windsor said:

When you compare this (Conservative) government to the previous government, these guys don't want to just talk about it -- they want to get it done

That is good news. That is not just the case in Windsor.

Let us look at York region where the mayor of King Township Margaret Black said:

We really appreciate your dedication and hard work in making this dream become a reality for our township. This project is a great example of federal, provincial and municipal governments working together to enhance community life by developing a facility that can be enjoyed for generations to come.

Mayor Black is in fact a Liberal candidate. She has put aside politics and is working with this government, but we do not see that from across the floor in this chamber.

Much has been said about the equality of the distribution of these funds. The member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley spoke earlier. A $137 million federal investment was made into northwestern British Columbia to put more communities on the grid, remove dirty diesel, so that more clean hydroelectricity could be made available to those communities, assist in economic development and job creation in the years ahead.

It did not matter who represented that riding. It mattered that there was a need and that a benefit could be made for the long haul. The NDP member for Edmonton—Strathcona said the following: “To tell you the truth, I've noticed that I am attracting a lot of money to my riding”.

In a moment of honesty, one member of the Liberal caucus, the member for Kings—Hants, talking about infrastructure fairness said, “If you actually look at it more broadly, it's more evenly dispersed”. I agree with him.

One Liberal MPP in my home province said:

I'm telling you, I get a lot more from my Conservative seatmate than I got from the Liberal MP who had the seat before...These are not just 'Conservative' ridings, they are 'Liberal' ridings, too.

They are Canadian ridings, and they are Canadians who need a boost for job creation.

Kamloops News just today said that the Liberal member for Parkdale--High Park admitted some of his figures are ambiguous”. That is a first step.

We are seeing work in Atlantic Canada. We are working constructively with all the provinces of different political stripes. New Brunswick has a Liberal government. Shawn Graham is a good premier. Listen to what his spokesman said just today in the Telegraph Journal:

When it comes to those projects that involve the federal infrastructure stimulus monies, the federal criteria are that the project be shovel-ready and completed within a certain time frame.

That was the criteria we were looking at and geography did not play into it at all. There is an example where the Prime Minister has exercised great leadership working with a Liberal premier in the Maritimes.

Listen to what representatives of municipalities are saying because they are important partners. Basil Stewart, the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, said last June, “Things are starting to move fairly quickly. We're pleased about that”.

Peter Hume, the president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, said, “I want to congratulate you and your ministers and your officials for working together, working collaboratively to bring much needed investment and economic stimulus to communities in every part of Ontario”.

I had the occasion to visit Sault Ste. Marie, not a government riding again, where the Prime Minister made a $47 million commitment for a new border plaza, something that is incredibly important.

I have worked with the mayor of Toronto, where we are delivering literally hundreds of millions of dollars of new infrastructure projects to assist economic development and job creation there.

The job is not yet done. Canadians, my constituents in Ottawa West--Nepean, do not just expect but are demanding that we work together, address the economy, address jobs, and get the job done, and not play political games like we are seeing from the leader of the Liberal Party today by wanting to force Canada into an early and opportunistic election.

[Business of Supply, October 1st, 2009]

Name one.

[Business of Supply, October 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party gives a speech. It is quite a surprise to us when he says he can no longer pretend to support this government. He has obviously been pretending for some time, because it is some two or three years that the member opposite has been in this House and he has been actively supporting the government.

I would encourage him to look beyond the view from the terrace of his condo in Yorkville and to look at the real needs of people in this country. What Canadians have said very clearly, from coast to coast to coast, north and south, east and west, is that they do not want an early and opportunistic election.

Can the leader of the Liberal Party stand in his place and name one single Canadian who has told him they want a federal election at this time? Name one.