John Baird

[Foreign Affairs, January 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I commend the member for Don Valley for his interest in this issue.

As we speak, the Minister of International Cooperation is in Ethiopia at meetings of the African Union. Earlier today he pledged $13 million to support the people of Mali in their humanitarian needs during this crisis.

Since last year, Canada has provided more than $75 million in humanitarian aid. The people of Mali can continue to count on Canada's support during this crisis, and we will help them move towards stability, security and prosperity.

[Ethics, January 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the people of India have paid a very heavy price when it comes to the war on terror. They have lost 2 prime ministers in the last 25 years and more than 11 people were killed in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

When we look to the security of our Prime Minister, we consult the experts, those who are experts in security. When it comes to the national security and the security of our Prime Minister, we will take advice from the RCMP over the NDP every time.

[Foreign Affairs, December 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the leader of the Liberal Party for the question. It is an important issue. We have for some time been actively talking with our allies. Over the past six months I have had the opportunity to speak with colleagues from the United States, the United Kingdom and from the region. We are obviously deeply concerned. I think President Obama spoke loudly and clearly for the civilized world when he said that these actions, if they did follow through on them, would be absolutely unacceptable and there would be serious consequences to be paid.

[Foreign Affairs, December 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I know I speak for all Canadians and all members of the House when I say these reports are deeply disturbing and are absolutely unacceptable. Our government has been very clear that the international community will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime on the Syrian people. We have called on countries such as Russia and China to use whatever leverage they have to prevent this serious crisis from entering a new disastrous phase. Ultimately, Assad and his supporters will be held accountable. We stand with the Syrian people in their hour of need.

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, given the secret nature of the ballot, Canada does not make public its voting decisions for membership in the United Nations Security Council. In the case of the Africa group, there was only one candidate.

[Foreign Affairs, December 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we have been a strong supporter of the peace process. We have been a strong supporter of economic development and security relations in the West Bank through our humanitarian and foreign aid developments with respect to the Palestinian Authority. However, the PA's action and provocative rhetoric at the United Nations would obviously elicit a response from Israel. Neither is helpful to advancing the cause of peace and we do not support either.

[Taxation, December 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as one of the first actions of our government, we gave a tax cut to every single Canadian. That is called a cut on the GST. The Liberal Party of Canada stood and fought us tooth and nail, every step of the way.

The Liberal Party at the time, when it came to the opportunities fund for people with disabilities, the employment innovation fund for people with disabilities, the registered disability savings program, called all these tax credits economically inefficient and refused to support them. Why can they not get behind these formidable measures brought forward by the Minister of Finance to help Canadians with disabilities, to help all Canadians?

[Taxation, December 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the real question in this regard is the outstanding work that the Minister of Human Resources has done supporting people with disabilities and the real leadership of the Minister of Finance.

I think what Canadians want to know is why the Liberal Party voted against every single one of those credits for taxpayers. Why did it do that?

[Aboriginal Affairs, December 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our government remains committed to bringing closure to the legacy of residential schools, and we will continue to honour the Indian residential school settlement.

As of November 30, the government has in fact disclosed almost one million documents to the commission. In addition, we are working with 23 other government departments and with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to ensure that all relevant Indian residential schools-related documents are made available to the commission.

Canada aims to disclose all remaining documents relevant to the commission's mandate by June 30.

[The Economy, December 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, for those Canadians seeking employment, the single greatest thing that this government, this country, can do is to get a growing economy creating jobs.

We have seen more than 820,000 net new jobs created since July 2009. That is almost 400,000 more jobs than when the economic downturn started.

What we need to point out to Canadians is that they should be disappointed that the NDP continues its reckless attack on some of the key job creation and pro-economic growth measures. Measures like the hiring credit for small business, the NDP members are fighting. Measures like the economically vital Windsor-Detroit bridge, the NDP members are fighting. Measures like the registered disability savings plan—