House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 56% of the vote.
Infrastructure December 3rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for his concern about my health. It is the health of the economy that concerns us on this side of the House.
Canadians know they cannot count on a government that cannot count. They also know when they are being told the 97% fairytale.
The list of contradictions goes on. Do Canadians not deserve the truth rather than weasel words? Why do the Conservative numbers not add up?
Infrastructure December 3rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the government's latest budget report is quite useless. There are no statistics on job creation or funds disbursed. Even amounts committed do not reflect the reality.
Can the minister explain how he arrived at his figure of 97% when only 5% of the $2 billion municipal infrastructure lending program has been disbursed?
Finance December 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, we all remember that the previous Conservative report card road shows cost taxpayers more than $100,000 each.
Can the government tell us what it is spending today to fly the finance minister to Winnipeg to release a report that was secretly tabled last night and already unveiled by the Prime Minister while flying 30,000 feet above Siberia? By the way, does this attest to the Prime Minister's commitment to Siberian-style accountability?
Infrastructure December 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives love their weasel words.
Today the Conservatives are saying that 97% of infrastructure credits have been implemented. However, according to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and economist Dale Orr, only a third, or even less, of infrastructure projects have really begun.
What makes the Conservatives think they can fool Canadians by playing with words?
Questions on the Order Paper November 20th, 2009
With respect to the National Capital Commission, what payments, including the amounts, the dates and the reasons for payment, have been received from the Conservative Party of Canada between February 1, 2006 and October 19, 2009?
Government Accountability November 20th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, when I was responsible for those jets, the government kept track of every passenger and we told taxpayers who the passengers were.
I notice that the cost of meals on these jets has jumped by 80% in the past three years. Have the meals become 80% more lavish or does that increased cost reflect all the Conservative cronies who are hitching rides and eating well?
Government Accountability November 20th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, a new report shows that the Conservatives have accumulated roughly 10,000 flight hours in their private, taxpayer-funded planes. On average, that means on any given day there is a Conservative in the air for eight hours. There is probably one up there right now. Worse, they claim they do not even keep track of who is on board.
Why are Canadians not entitled to know who flies in these planes?
Economic Recovery Act (Stimulus) November 16th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, since my colleague mentioned soccer fields, I will tell him about one project that we on this side of the House would never have done. We would have never paid $500,000 for a soccer field for a private school with 160 students. I believe it is in Collingwood. If he is asking me about projects that I would not do, there is a project that would have liberated $500,000 for something more worthy.
The member does not seem to listen. As I said in my speech and have repeated several times by now, it is not that we are opposed to these projects that he described; it is the fact that, in 300 days since the budget, the government has put money out for such a lamentably small proportion of those projects. Twelve percent of the money has been put to work for projects across this country. In our view, that is a totally inadequate result, and the government has failed in implementing this project.
Economic Recovery Act (Stimulus) November 16th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the second point the member raises is a hugely important one.
The government is proposing a massive hike in payroll taxes, beginning in the year 2011. It acknowledges that this is going to occur in its budget. It is now a part of its fiscal plan.
The impact of that on a two-earner family is that their EI premiums will go up some $1,200. For a small business employing 10 people, the EI premiums will go up some $9,000.
Those are large penalties, large increases in taxes on jobs, especially if the economy continues to be fragile and unemployment continues to be high. The government should at least consider, if the Conservatievs are the government at that time, which I do not assume they will be, increasing those premiums at a slower rate.
While we all agree that EI premiums have to be balanced over the cycle, it is all a question of defining what is the length of that cycle. The government has an extreme measure producing punitive hikes in EI premiums, whereas an alternative could be more gradual increases to balance the EI books over a longer cycle.
Economic Recovery Act (Stimulus) November 16th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague and I are neighbours and we share a good number of events, like Remembrance Day and other occasions.
Notwithstanding his fine work, I think he is a bit subject to the same weasel language that comes from the government he is a member of. I know that the budgets in Markham have been approved. I know that in order to get that approval, the only thing the government was concerned about was to have its signs up, and it had very explicit directions as to when and how to erect the signs.
However, when I speak to the people of Markham and ask if the shovels are in the ground and if the people are at work on construction, the answer is no. Yes, there has been approval. Yes, there has been some engineering and architectural planning going on; but do they have shovels in the ground, do they have construction ongoing? Not in my riding. That is what counts in terms of the creation of jobs.