House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 45% of the vote.
G8 Summit November 1st, 2011
Which is not easy to do, as the President of the Treasury Board said.
I know the member for Timmins—James Bay will be excited that tomorrow at 3:30 he will finally be able to ask the President of the Treasury Board a lot of questions. I look forward as well to being there to support the government in any way I can. At 3:30 tomorrow we will see him there.
G8 Summit November 1st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, such name calling is really beneath the member opposite. It has also hurt my feelings.
G8 Summit November 1st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, at the height of the economic downturn, the government has supported some 23,000 public infrastructure projects in every corner of the country. The good news is that some 650,000 net new jobs have been created.
The Auditor General has looked at that initiative and, by and large, has been quite satisfied with it. When it comes to the G8 legacy fund, she has given some very thoughtful observations on how we can be more open and more transparent to Parliament, and we have completely accepted that advice.
Points of Order October 31st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to correct the record. In an answer to a question from the New Democrats, I said contribution agreements were drafted by Treasury Board. Of course, they were drafted by Infrastructure Canada. I regret any false impression I may have left.
G8 Summit October 31st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, this project, like the other 31 projects, had a full contribution agreement that was drafted by officials at Treasury Board. This project is a public infrastructure project that will benefit the people of that municipality for many years to come.
We look forward to having the opportunity to answer even more of the member opposite's questions at committee in short order.
G8 Summit October 31st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, it will not come as any surprise to the member opposite that I do not agree with the premise of his question.
The government funded 32 public infrastructure projects. All 32 projects had contribution agreements. All 32 projects came in on or under budget. All the documentation was presented to the Auditor General. She has given some good advice on what we can do to be even more transparent and more accountable to Parliament. We completely agree with her wise counsel.
Human Rights October 31st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, let me assure the hon. member opposite and colleagues on all sides of the House that Canada was the loudest voice on this issue in Perth. We spoke out strongly against it. It is very clear, regrettably, that we will not see immediate changes in this regard, but it is important that we continue to push for human rights, whether it is for gays and lesbians, whether it is for religious freedom, whether it is for women, whether it is for other persecuted minorities. Canadians can count on this government to continue to fight for those issues.
Human Rights October 31st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the promotion of human rights abroad is a central part of Canada's foreign policy. At the Commonwealth meetings last week, Canada was outspoken on the criminalization of homosexuality. We spoke very strongly against it. We will continue to work with our allies, like the United Kingdom and Australia, on this issue in the days, weeks, months and, regrettably, years to come.
Human Rights October 21st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, human rights will be front and centre at the Commonwealth summit next week in Perth, Australia. We will be considering the adoption of the report by the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group, on which Senator Hugh Segal assisted, with nine other leaders in the Commonwealth.
The rights of gays and lesbians are tremendously important. It is completely unacceptable that homosexuality continues to be criminalized in a majority of Commonwealth countries. We will certainly take that issue to the summit.
G8 Summit October 21st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, Infrastructure Canada and the Government of Canada co-operated fully with the good work of the Auditor General.
Throughout her 10 years as Auditor General, Sheila Fraser did an outstanding job fighting for the interests of taxpayers. She came forward with a solid report, which made a good number of observations on how this government could do things better, on how this government could be more open and on how this government could be more transparent to Parliament. This government has accepted every one of her recommendations in this regard.