Leon Benoit

[Carbon Tax Proposal, June 17th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, Liberals continue to try to spin that their leader's massive carbon tax plan will not lead to more costs for Canadians, despite statements to the contrary by the member for Markham—Unionville and the member for Halton.

The Liberal finance critic said “I cannot say...that no Canadian will be unharmed by this”. The member for Halton, the Liberal leader's senior communications adviser, said, “This added cost will find its way into oil and plastic, transportation and food. In fact, most corners of our lives”.

More experts are coming forward to acknowledge that this tax trick will indeed lead to higher costs and will hurt some Canadians. Diane Katz, head of energy and environment policy for the Fraser Institute, said, “Lower income people will be worse off because a carbon tax will increase the price of everything”.

When the Liberal leader unveils his plan tomorrow, will he finally be honest with Canadians and explain exactly who will suffer under his tax trick?

[Income Tax Act, June 10th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak very briefly to this bill. Private member's Bill C-520 brought forward by my colleague from Delta—Richmond East allows first time home buyers to take up to $25,000 from their RRSPs, rather than the $20,000 limit that is in place right now. It is an update of what has been accepted and available in Canada for some time now.

This is an excellent measure. I am confident the bill will be passed by the House. We can tell that from what members have said.

The other thing that our government did in the last budget was to put in place a tax-free savings plan which allows wage earners to put aside up to $5,000 per year and the interest earned on that $5,000 accumulates tax free. This plan will commence in the 2009 tax year.

These plans, along with some other changes to the tax law that have been brought about by this government over the last two and a half years will make it much easier for first time homeowners to accumulate the money required for a down payment on a house.

Other members have mentioned the problems caused by having no down payment or a very small down payment. We have seen the mess that has been created in the United States and which has spread around much of the world. This measure is a very good step toward allowing an amount, in this case up to $25,000, to be taken from registered retirement savings plans accumulated over whatever period of time and put toward the purchase of a new home. Of course that money over a 15 year period would be put back into the registered retirement savings plan. Therefore, the integrity of registered retirement savings plans and the purpose of RRSPs, which is to save for retirement, would be maintained as well.

I want to commend the member for Delta—Richmond East for bringing this bill forward. The bill certainly demonstrates the incredibly beneficial measures that can be brought forward through a private member's bill. I commend him for that as well.

[Petitions, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition in which the petitioners note that in federal criminal law an unborn child is not recognized as a victim with respect to violent crimes.

They also note that the vast majority of the public supports laws to protect unborn children from acts of violence against their mothers that also injure or kill a child in the womb.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to enact legislation that would recognize unborn children as separate victims when they are injured or killed during the commission of an offence against their mothers.

[Committees of the House, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources entitled “Canada's Forest Industry: Recognizing the Challenges and Opportunities”.

[Government Policies, May 29th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, actions taken by our Conservative government over the past two and a half years have made real improvements to the lives of Canadians. Some are more noticeable than others but all are important.

Canadians see the savings they get from the two per cent reduction in the GST almost every time they purchase something. They also notice the savings we provided in income tax cuts through lower deductions from their paycheques, less tax paid at tax time, or more money being returned to them through tax refunds.

Corporate tax cuts are every bit as important but are less obvious. These cuts encourage businesses to keep operating in Canada or encourage new businesses to come and operate in Canada.

The NDP, the Bloc and even some Liberals criticize these corporate tax cuts, yet these, more than anything else, create the jobs that we need for us, for our children and for our grandchildren. This is something the opposition just does not get but Canadians do, and that is what is important.

[Petitions, May 16th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present this petition. The petitioners note that under current federal criminal law an unborn child is not recognized as a victim with respect to violent crime. They note that a vast majority of the public supports laws to protect unborn children from acts of violence against their mothers that also injure or kill the child in their womb.

They call on Parliament to enact legislation which would recognize unborn children as separate victims when they are injured or killed during the commission of an offence against their mothers, allowing two charges to be laid instead of one. Of course, if Bill C-484 were passed, it would do exactly that.

[International Aid, May 16th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, buildings have been destroyed, cars flipped over, thousands of people killed and children buried in rubble. Canadians have watched this unfold on television on a daily basis and are left with a feeling of despair.

The Chinese authorities, to their credit, have mounted a major rescue effort with over 100,000 troops in one of the fastest reactions to a natural disaster that the world has ever seen.

However, Canadians want to know what their government is doing to help. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and to the Minister of International Cooperation tell us what this government is doing for the people in China?

[Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement Act, May 16th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, on a couple of occasions, the member in his presentation referred to the agreement and said that it was not a final agreement, that should the agreement pass, it would not be an end to the issue. If he feels this is the case, would the member explain, in some detail, why that would be the case?

[Petitions, May 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present on behalf of several Canadians a petition wherein the petitioners note that under current federal criminal law unborn children are not recognized as victims of violent crimes. They also note that a majority of the public supports such laws to protect unborn children when they are victims of violent crimes when their mothers are attacked.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to enact legislation that would recognize unborn children as separate victims when they are injured or killed during the commission of an offence against their mothers.

[Forestry Day, May 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to welcome stakeholders in Canada's forest industry to Ottawa today for Forestry Day on the Hill.

Yesterday, the Minister of Natural Resources co-hosted a very productive round table discussion with forest industry stakeholders to discuss how we can create a prosperous future for Canada's forest sector.

While our forest sector faces challenges, we heard that Canada was well-equipped to meet them with groundbreaking innovations and responsible environmental stewardship. That is why our government invested new money in the 2008 budget to promote Canada's forest sector in international markets as a model for environmental innovation and sustainability.

Canadians should truly be proud of our environmental management of our forests, which is why we have invested so heavily in innovation through our forest industry long term competitiveness initiative.

With the full support of the Canadian government, the forest sector in Canada has a bright future indeed.