Paul Martin

[The Budget, May 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker,--

[Justice, May 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians can be very proud of their judiciary and I do not really believe that the Leader of the Opposition should try to bring their integrity into question.

The fact is that there is a longstanding practice, one that has been substantially improved by the government, in terms of seeking the advice of the judiciary of the Canadian bar, and the provincial bar that is involved, to ensure that the appointments that are made to our judiciary are of the highest quality. If one takes a look at our courts, from the Supreme Court through to the provincial courts, one can see that has benefited Canada immensely.

[Veterans Affairs, May 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the question just posed by the leader of the NDP is a very important question.

I want to congratulate my colleague, the Minister of Veterans Affairs, for the initiative, commitment, respect and loyalty she has shown to our veterans.

It is the government's intention to proceed as quickly as possible with legislation here in the House.

[The Budget, May 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Leader of the Opposition what he did on Friday, April 22.

The hon. member forgets the fact that the budget implementation bill was up for debate on Friday, April 22. Instead of engaging in that debate what did the Leader of the Opposition do? He engaged once more in petty politics, putting his own partisan interests ahead of the interests of Canadians.

He cannot stand up in the House now and speak. He has already blown it.

[The Budget, May 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I simply remind the Leader of the Opposition that the budget that he is now decrying, with the additions this is the budget that the hon. member less than a month ago supported.

We have seen the Leader of the Opposition flip-flop on every single issue, but I have to say in this particular instance, he set his own personal record.

[The Budget, May 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the government is very desirous of bringing the budget before the House. It is very desirous of seeking the support of the opposition for a budget that has absolutely responded to the needs of Canadians.

I would like to say that it is very unfortunate that the Leader of the Opposition, having initially supported the budget, then reneged on his word.

I must say I am delighted that we have been able to work together with the NDP to basically deal with the issues that face Canadians.

[Sponsorship Program, May 2nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, again, it is very important to allow Justice Gomery to do his work. That is why there is no point commenting on the daily testimony. We must allow the judge to make his report. Only then will we know the facts.

[Sponsorship Program, May 2nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc knows full well that everything was done properly. We are not here to make comments on the testimony. We will wait for Justice Gomery's ruling.

[The Budget, May 2nd, 2005]

First of all, Mr. Speaker, the finance minister formed a very important part of the discussions.

However, let me simply ask the pseudo leader of the opposition this. Post-secondary education, housing, foreign aid or the environment, which of those does the opposition not agree with?

[The Budget, May 2nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that we have come to an arrangement with the NDP and we did so in order to further the issues that Canadians are focused on.

Better we did that, than to do what the opposition did, which is to come to a deal with the Bloc to force an election that Canadians do not want.