Jonathan Tremblay

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1, May 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Berthier—Maskinongé gave an excellent speech. She clearly articulated the kinds of investments our rural municipalities need for their economic growth.

She talked about choices, and she is right. Budgets are all about making choices. Consider infrastructure investments for just a moment. The government is simply playing with numbers. Initially, the money was spread over seven years; now it is over 10 years. If we do the math, after 10 years, less money will have been invested annually than originally planned.

The government is playing with numbers. Does that sound like the actions of a good manager?

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1, May 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, that proves that, for the Conservatives, it is all about the ideology and not the content.

I will talk about the content of the budget, because that is what we are supposed to be talking about today. The Conservatives are good at messaging, but not at taking action. That is what we are seeing once again in this budget.

I will give an example that pertains to tax evasion. We often hear the Conservative members say that we must fight tax evasion and bring the money home.

There are cuts at the CRA, but it is being asked to do more. How are we going to fight tax evasion with fewer resources?

[Search and Rescue, May 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, they have already gone after the tourism industry by gutting the employment insurance program, and now they want to kill the industry in the Gaspé by closing the Percé wharf.

As if we needed any more proof that the Conservatives have completely abandoned our regions, we learned this morning that they are thinking about moving the Quebec City marine rescue sub-centre to Montreal. First it was Trenton, then Halifax, and now Montreal.

They have just realized that a bilingual centre is needed, but will they stop flying by the seat of their pants? Why do they not just keep Canada's only bilingual centre in Quebec City?

[Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, April 30th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party stopped following the doctrines of liberalism quite some time ago. In fact, many Liberal supporters take issue with that.

Today the Liberal Party of Canada is first and foremost a centrist party that likes to use a divide-and-conquer strategy. It is also very narrow-minded. Liberalism is a doctrine of political philosophy that views liberty as its top priority. That is its very definition. I do not see the link between liberalism and denouncing the status quo. I do not understand why the member talked about that at the beginning of his speech. I do see a link, however, between the Liberal Party of Canada and the status quo, because that party's members hide behind the status quo whenever it suits them, especially when they want to divide and conquer.

I am not sure where the member was going with that. However, if we do not pass this legislation, we will be left with the status quo. Perhaps the bill does not propose the best improvement ever, but if we do not pass it, we will be left with what we already have.

[Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, April 30th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I find it very curious that some Conservative members are saying that we are delaying passage of the bill, when reports were released and concerns raised a decade ago.

The government has been studying this file for four years. However, just because NDP members continue to raise concerns because not everything has been addressed, they claim that the NDP is delaying passage of these laws. Yet the Conservatives have the power to pass them. I would like the member to comment on that. The Liberals and the Conservatives had the opportunity to improve the lives of our veterans, but they did not.

Today, Canada deserves better. That will probably happen in 2015, with an NDP government that finally takes action on this file.

[The Budget, March 27th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what reason we have to be proud of this government, which has been running a deficit since 2008, despite many promises to balance the budget. The Conservatives keep putting it off, and now it has been put off until it is time for the next election in 2015, which is a bit suspicious.

In his latest budget, the Minister of Finance has once again shown us that he is abandoning the regions and economic development. My Conservative Party colleague may not agree, but the Conservatives decided to cut the budget for the Economic Development Agency for the Regions some time ago.

They are currently cutting labour-sponsored funds. In Quebec, venture capital is derived mainly from these funds, which are essential to economic development.

Will the hon. member admit that the minister made a big mistake and ask him to reverse his decision to eliminate these funds?

[The Budget, March 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to know whether the member is particularly proud of the fact that her government has been running a deficit since 2008 and that it has made promise after promise to restore fiscal balance.

This government has even set some never before seen deficit records. It has conveniently delayed the fiscal balance until the next election. Furthermore, it is proposing a measure to recover money associated with tax evasion in order to restore fiscal balance.

At the same time, it is making cuts to the CRA, the agency responsible for recovering money associated with tax evasion. The government is making cuts to the agency's budget and asking it to do more.

Can the member help me with the logic in all of this?

[The Budget, March 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, come to think of it, this is just another sleight of hand, because infrastructure spending will be carried out over 10 years instead of seven, but there will be less money per year.

An in-depth review of the budget, which has been in the red for eight years, shows that it might be possible to balance the books immediately. I believe that the Conservatives have made certain choices in order to give money to their friends and to wait until the next election to balance the budget, in order to win votes.

[The Budget, March 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am curious whether the member is particularly proud of the fact that her government has run a deficit since 2008, even though it promised many times to balance the budget as soon as possible. Her government has even given us record deficits.

Now, it is going to eliminate the deficit by the next election. I would like to know if the member is particularly proud of her government for giving money to its friends, in an attempt to win votes, and waiting until the next election to eliminate the deficit.

[The Budget, March 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what the Liberal Party thinks of the Conservatives' choices.

Take, for example, the anticipated $26 billion deficit. Since 2008, the Conservatives have recorded deficit after deficit after deficit, and they call themselves good managers. I doubt that very much. On the other hand, for a number of years they have given tax credits to major corporations—$60 billion in this budget—with no requirement that the corporations reinvest the money in society. That is one of the reasons why we still have a deficit today.

What does the member think of the Conservatives' choices?