Martha Hall Findlay

[Elections Canada, April 18th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, they are not answering. We can only conclude that they have something to hide. And it starts with the Prime Minister.

What is in this search warrant that they are trying to hide from Canadians?

[Elections Canada, April 18th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the government House leader continues to mislead the House. The Conservative overspending scandal was not initiated by the civil court case. The Chief Electoral Officer has determined that Conservatives blew the election spending cap, tried to hide it, and then tried to hide national party advertising expenses through 66 local campaigns.

Elections Canada has confirmed that the raid was not related to the civil lawsuit. Why does the Prime Minister insist on ordering his people to mislead Canadians? What did the search warrant say?

[Infrastructure, April 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, that was a brave attempt to avoid the question.

The only centre capable of meeting this funds criteria has on its board of directors the finance minister's wife, his executive assistant and, formerly, the finance minister himself.

The only consultation that HRSDC did for this fund occurred in Whitby and the national Office for Disability Issues was not even aware of it. Is that a coincidence? The wording of the criteria is directly drawn from the material of the Whitby group. Is that a coincidence?

[Infrastructure, April 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, we Liberals tried to persuade the finance minister to allocate $7 billion to much needed infrastructure but he did not. Instead, the finance minister is trying to buy himself a multi-million dollar train through his riding without any costing or due diligence. He just recently announced a $45 million disability fund, the criteria for which only an entity in his riding can meet.

When will the finance minister stop dishing from the pork barrel and start spending Canadians' money where it is really needed?

[Automotive Industry, April 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his generous welcome and I would like to point out that my question really did not have to do with bridges. It had to do with jobs.

Once again, the Conservative government, instead of finding solutions for the many families who are losing their livelihoods, is only blaming Ontario. It is time to stand up with Ontario. These Canadian families are asking, why are the Conservatives letting them down?

[Automotive Industry, April 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the numbers speak for themselves. Why is the Conservative government doing nothing to stem the slow death of the 250,000 strong well-paying jobs we have in Ontario, jobs created by the up to now innovative and world leading auto sector?

[Parkinson's Awareness Month, April 4th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, April is Parkinson's Awareness Month, a time to join together to raise awareness and funds to help fight this debilitating disease.

Parkinson's disease affects more than 100,000 Canadians and, by association, another half million, their loved ones.

Over the next 20 years, it is projected that the number of people diagnosed with Parkinson's will increase twofold.

We must do everything in our power to better understand this terrible disease by supporting research efforts and helping those who are suffering, and those who are taking care of them, through support services and awareness campaigns.

We must also acknowledge the tireless efforts of researchers who are working so hard to determine the cause of Parkinson's and who are working toward a cure.

I encourage all members of the House and all Canadians to support their local awareness campaigns not only this month, but whenever possible, in the hopes of finding a cure for this devastating disease.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2008, April 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I will reiterate a couple of key points I made in my speech. The inclusion of these immigration provisions in the budget, as the hon. member has said, is completely inappropriate. They were not in the original one. This is a blatant Americanization of the process, to include something that the government knew would be contentious into something that otherwise we were all prepared to allow to go forward. We will have to see what happens.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2008, April 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I believe I specifically indicated some of the things Liberals would have preferred to see in this budget, including repeated suggestions that of the $10 billion allocated to pay down the debt, we encourage the government to use $7 billion to invest in infrastructure. We specifically suggested that amount because we very strongly feel that at least $3 billion should be kept as a contingency. The government does not even believe in a contingency.

If the member has any other specific questions about the content of my speech, I would welcome them.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2008, April 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his welcome.

I am not sure if it is procedure to ask a question in response to a question. When he says he disagrees completely with my position, he then denies me the ability to address any of his concerns because he simply refuses to discuss content.

I would ask the hon. member to ask a question on the content. If he supplies one, I might be able to answer.