John Baird

[Employment, November 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, job creation and economic growth are the centrepiece of the next phase of Canada's economic action plan.

Right now before the House, we have an important measure to help protect and create jobs such as the hiring credit for small business. What we need is for the New Democratic Party to stand up and support that initiative, to support small business, to support the economic engine of our economy.

We will remain focused on job creation. When will the NDP stand up and support that initiative to help our small businesses?

[Employment, November 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, job creation and economic growth have been and will continue to be our number one priority as a government.

We are pleased with the 600,000 jobs that have been created since the bottom of the recession in July 2009, but we deeply sympathize with anyone who lost their job this past month. As we have said all along, Canada is not immune from the global economic turbulence in the United States and Europe, but the House can be assured that this government will maintain its focus on jobs and economic growth.

[G8 Summit, November 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, it will not come as any surprise to my colleague opposite that I reject much of the premise of the question he just asked. Yesterday we fully laid out, as we have in the past, the facts involving the Auditor General's report and answered every question members at committee had.

[G8 Summit, November 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I spoke to this issue when the Auditor General released her report. I spoke to this issue at great length at committee. I certainly would commend Hansard from that committee to the member opposite.

[G8 Summit, November 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General has looked into the issue. The public accounts committee has spent a good amount of time examining the issue.

Yesterday two ministers and three deputy ministers responded to every question that the committee had, and all the questions have been answered.

[G8 Summit, November 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General spent considerable time looking at the issue. She came forward with a report. She made some very good recommendations to government on how we could be more open and more transparent to Parliament. We have completely accepted that advice.

Yesterday there were two hours' worth of hearings on the issue where every question was answered.

[G8 Summit, November 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, what the President of the Treasury Board did, what I did and what three deputy ministers did yesterday was respond to every question the members of Parliament on the public accounts committee had. The member opposite had the opportunity to ask those questions.

This has been thoroughly looked at. The Auditor General looked at it and came forward with some helpful observations. We fully accept that advice.

[G8 Summit, November 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday two ministers and three deputy ministers spent two hours before committee and answered all the questions of the members of the committee.

The Auditor General has confirmed that all the money went to public infrastructure projects, and every penny is accounted for.

[G20 Summit, November 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the losses and damages done to Toronto businesses are deeply regrettable. The claims process has been an independent process that has been in place since the previous government put it in place in 2001. It has been used successfully in previous summits.

In the spring I committed to having my office undertake a complete review of the claims process. Following that review, I can assure the member opposite that Toronto businesses were treated just as fairly as at every other previous summit.

[Ending the Long-gun Registry Act, November 1st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to compliment the member on an excellent speech. I know there are many people in northern Ontario who are deeply concerned about this issue.

I know, for example, that when the gun registry was first established, the leader of the NDP voted against doing so. Audrey McLaughlin, the MP for Yukon, like many other northerners, was very concerned about it. In my riding of Ottawa West—Nepean there are a substantial number of people who are concerned about this issue.

When we promised to scrap the gun registry, we did not promise to just forward it so that someone else could re-establish it. As a word, “scrap” has a very clear sense. I wonder if the member opposite could comment on that.