Maxime Bernier

[Tourism, June 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. I have been wanting to rise in the House to answer questions about the tourism industry for a long time now.

There is so much good news in Canada's tourism industry that the member has forgotten it. The annual Rendez-vous Canada event was held in Vancouver two weeks ago, and all the players in our tourism industry were in attendance. Tourism in Canada is alive and well and is an engine of economic growth for many small businesses in this industry. The government will continue to support them.

[Small Business, March 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his hard work on this file. This is important for our economy.

We want to be sure that entrepreneurs have less red tape and pay lower taxes. Unlike the opposition, we will not impose on them a $21-billion carbon tax. Unlike the Liberals, we will not put this country further into debt because we know that more debt results in more taxes in the end.

[The Budget, February 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, time and time again, we see, in the House, that the NDP votes against proposals that favour entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. The budget promotes economic growth and entrepreneurs. We are making sure to keep our spending in check to enable entrepreneurs to create jobs and wealth. Wealth does not come from government spending, contrary to what the NDP believes. Increased government spending is not an economic stimulus. In fact, it would be a sedative for the Canadian economy.

[The Budget, February 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, contrary to the opposition, we know that it is entrepreneurs, small businesses, that create jobs in this country. It is not a big fat government. That is why, in our budget, we controlled our spending to ensure that we would have more freedom for entrepreneurs and less government. That is it. That is all. In that way, we will create economic growth in this country.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, January 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the question but most importantly for his hard work on this file.

Yesterday the Minister of Agriculture announced emergency access to a vaccine to respond to the threat posed by porcine epidemic diarrhea. It will be available to pork producers in Canada for use under veterinary supervision as a precautionary measure against the virus. I would like to assure my colleagues that our government is continuing to work with the pork industry as a whole.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, January 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that porcine epidemic diarrhea poses no threat to human health. Let us be clear on that.

However, it does pose a risk to pork producers and we are fully aware of that. We are working closely with the Government of Quebec and the people in the pork industry to ensure that they are putting effective biosecurity measures in place.

[The Economy, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the work she does for the entrepreneurs in her riding. I just want to say that we too believe in entrepreneurs. We believe in their talents.

Our government is working with entrepreneurs all across the country, by returning to balanced budgets by 2015, by lowering taxes to entrepreneurs and families, by keeping our budget clean, and also by freezing the operating budget and cutting red tape.

We are doing that for entrepreneurs because we know it is the entrepreneur who creates wealth and jobs in this country.

[Tourism, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say to my colleague that we are promoting Canada, both within the country and abroad.

I recently went to China with the Canadian Tourism Commission to ensure that our Chinese friends can travel to Canada. As everyone knows, we signed a co-operation agreement with the Chinese government. There will be even more Chinese tourists, and that is good for the Canadian economy.

[Telecommunications, October 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to see the opposition asking questions about one of its own priorities, namely access to truly competitive cellphone rates.

If the opposition members had read the Speech from the Throne that was presented a few weeks ago, they would know that this is one of the government's priorities. We will be working on this.

[Tourism Industry, June 14th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that, as I said earlier, it is very important for the commission to spend money efficiently, and that is what it is doing. They seem to think money grows on trees. They want more money, more programs and a bigger deficit.

Unlike the Liberals, we know that today's deficit will end up being tomorrow's taxes, and that is why we have to be careful and responsible with Canadians' money.