John Baird

[Points of Order, March 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I rise once again to try to bring unity to the House, changing the subject to do something good for Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that if you were to seek it, you would find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practices of the House, following Question Period today a member from each recognized party and the Deputy Speaker may make a brief statement and the time taken for these statements shall be added to the time provided for government orders.

[Ethics, March 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, on a personal level, I have great admiration and respect for the member from Toronto Centre, but this coalition is all about him. He has been in both of these parties. He has made coalition deals in the past. However, it is wrong to bring the Bloc into a coalition arrangement. Canadians do not like that and they do not respect that.

Why will the Liberal Party not be open and transparent? Why does it not tell Canadians, before they vote, if it is not prepared to accept the result of the next election?

[Ethics, March 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, unlike the Liberal Party when it was in government, when $40 million ended up in the pockets of the Liberal Party and Liberal operatives, not a single dollar has been suggested that has gone missing in this regard.

Serious allegations were brought forward to the government. We did the responsible thing and turned the matter over to the relevant authorities. That was the right thing.

Why will the Liberals not talk about jobs and the economy? Why do they always want to push high taxes that hurt Canadian families?

[Ethics, March 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I know because the member has not talked of a single dollar. He has not been able to table a single document in the House. If the member has these facts, what is he afraid of? Why is he hiding this information from Canadians?

[Ethics, March 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite cannot name a single dollar that ever went to that individual. These are serious allegations.

[Ethics, March 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite suggested the efforts by a coalition in 2004. Here is what the leader of the Bloc Québécois said about that effort: “In no way are we in a coalition and we won't be in a coalition”.

Here is what the leader of the NDP said about that same effort: “It's impossible to imagine that these three parties, with their completely different policy platforms, could form a coalition as we find in other countries”.

There are the facts.

[The Budget, March 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, we do not want an election. Canadian families do not want an election. They want all hands on deck focused on jobs and the economy.

The reality is that we will not follow the example of the member for Wascana and have hotel room meetings in Toronto with the leader of the NDP and have him walk out with $5 billion in his pocket. It is financially irresponsible and it is not in the best interest of Canadian families.

We brought forward initiatives to cut taxes for Canadian families by more than $3,000, and every time we did, the NDP voted against it.

[The Budget, March 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. We brought forward a budget this week that had substantial new resources to help vulnerable low income seniors and volunteer firefighters. We increased health care transfers to the provinces by 6%. We put measures in there to support small businesses, the real economic engine of our country.

However, every time we bring forward these good measures, the New Democratic Party votes against it. What it wants to do is to form a coalition with the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois and raise taxes by tens of billions of dollars. Canadians will not let it get away with it.

[The Budget, March 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, if the leader of the New Democratic Party genuinely wanted a solution, then why has his campaign bus been idling in front of the House of Commons for the past week?

The reality is that we saw the leader of the NDP rewrite the budget of the member for Wascana. Simply put, the NDP's company is just far too expensive. We saw that in Ontario, where taxes rose dramatically, when spending spiralled out of control. We need a low tax pro-job agenda for our great country.

[Government Accountability, March 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, this government has brought forward major reforms to the justice legislation to ensure that violent offenders who commit offences against children spend more time in jail. We are pleased with those reforms.

We believe that tax cuts are an important part of economic growth. That is why the Ontario Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty was supporting those tax cuts with us every step of the way.

We also believe that when men and women sign up for the Canadian Forces, the Canadian people should stand behind them. We do not want to turn the Canadian air force into a no-fly zone like the Liberal Party would.