House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2011, with 35% of the vote.
Government Priorities October 19th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I was there. Derek's question was not just about the waste and mismanagement of the government; it was about the government's wasteful priorities: billions on superprisons, billions on a stealth aircraft without a competitive bid, a billion on a wasted G20-G8 photo op.
What Derek cannot understand is not only the waste and the mismanagement, but how does the government justify those wasteful priorities?
Government Priorities October 19th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, last week at a town hall in Toronto, a young man named Derek asked me a question and asked me to ask it of the Prime Minister, so here it is. “My question relates to the fiscal waste and mismanagement that this government is doing. They emptied the cupboard. Their spending is a hodge-podge with no real vision or direction. Why is the Prime Minister throwing away my generation's money in such a reckless, incompetent and visionless way? Why?”
Government Priorities October 6th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is saying that it is irresponsible and reckless to help families that are dealing with the burden of ALS or dealing with the burden of looking after somebody dealing with cancer for four years. He will have to explain to those families why it is that the only thing the government can say back to them is that they should take some vacation to look after those they care for.
Why does he not understand the needs of these families? Why does he characterize their needs as reckless? When will he start to do something for them?
Government Priorities October 6th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, is taking care of families being irresponsible? That is unbelievable.
The government, in 72 hours, spent $1.3 billion on a photo op for the Prime Minister. That sum of money, if spent to help families in need of care, would have aided more than 600,000 family caregivers.
How can the Prime Minister justify his reckless and irresponsible priorities?
Government Priorities October 6th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, when I announced the Liberal family care plan, the Conservatives said that these people can use their vacation time to take care of their family members. These people have no vacation time left. They have sacrificed all their vacations.
Why is the government so insensitive to the needs of these families and why does it continue to lower corporate taxes rather than take care of families in need?
Government Priorities October 5th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, a Liberal family care plan would provide six months of compassionate care leave. It would provide a tax benefit for families that provide care to families. This could be paid for six times with the corporate tax giveaways to which the Conservative government is committed.
Could the government explain these priorities to hard-working families, like Helen and Mike, that are trying to look after each other?
Government Priorities October 5th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, Mike has been suffering with cancer for five years. Helen has given up all her vacation time to care for him. Does the Prime Minister not understand that when the minister gets up and says that Helen should take more vacation time to look after him, what she fails to understand is that Helen has exhausted all her vacation time and that it is an insult to talk to her this way? Does he understand that he is letting these families down?
Government Priorities October 5th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, today I visited a family in Gatineau. Mike has cancer and his wife Helen is sacrificing everything, including her vacation time, to care for Mike.
Why is this government insisting on cutting corporate taxes instead of taking care of families like Mike and Helen?
Government Priorities October 4th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the record speaks for itself: $6 billion in corporate tax breaks for large corporations, a wasted $1.3 billion on the G8 and G20 summits and tripling the publicity budget of the government. The woman I was talking to can barely manage to look after her aging parents at home.
When will the government pay some attention to the growing needs of Canadian families for home care assistance? When will it get its priorities right?
Government Priorities October 4th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the woman I met in Montreal this summer looks out at a world in which her government spends $1.3 billion on the G8 and G20 summits, $16 billion on planes without a competitive bid, triples the publicity budget of the government and is about to give big corporations a $6 billion tax break.
The question she wants answered by the government is: “What about my priorities? When am I going to matter?”