Peter Van Loan

[Business of the House, December 12th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise with tidings of good cheer. That means no NDP carbon tax this year and that we have much else for which to be thankful.

First, I thank everyone in the precinct and back in our constituencies who have helped make 2012 such a productive year for all members of Parliament. We have had a busy but quite productive year in the House. In fact, by the end of this week I anticipate that Parliament will have seen 35 government bills complete the legislative steeplechase.

We have had some interesting days and even a couple of memorable nights in the House in 2012.

Let me thank you. Mr. Speaker, and your entire team of chair occupants, as well as the clerks at the table. You have all been very busy with lots of votes and other interesting action.

Just as important are all the other support staff who are not here in the chamber. I thank them as well for all their efforts in the past year.

I also want to thank our team of pages who are about to have a well-deserved rest from their studies and their work here. I am sure their time with us means that each one of them will be taking at least one interesting story back home for the holidays, but before that they should ensure to study hard for those remaining exams.

I have appreciated working with the two hon. members who are my opposition counterparts, as well as their own predecessors. One moved from a role as a very constructive and positive House leader to become a leader of his party and another is now seeking to repeat the same move in the Liberal Party.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not thank the Conservative team as well for their support in advancing our government's agenda through the House.

I hope everyone will have the chance to have a restful break over Christmas and then a fruitful month connecting with constituents in January.

I am looking forward to 2013 being another hard-working, orderly and productive year in the House of Commons.

I believe the House leaders of the other parties have a few comments to add.

Following those remarks, Mr. Speaker, I believe you would find unanimous consent to dispose of a motion which reflects the fact that the work plan we agreed to as House leaders for this week has been implemented on an expedited basis. Therefore, I do anticipate you will find unanimous support for this motion after the other House leaders speak.

I move:

That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practices of the House, during the debate this day pursuant to Standing Order 66(2) on the motion to concur in the Seventh Report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Chair shall not receive any quorum calls, dilatory motions, requests for unanimous consent, or amendments; and that at the end of the time remaining for the debate, or when no member rises to speak, all questions necessary to dispose of the motion be deemed put and a recorded division be deemed requested; and

And the important part of the motion reads as follows:

That when the House adjourns today, it shall stand adjourned until January 28, 2013, provided that, for the purposes of Standing Order 28, it shall be deemed to have sat on Thursday, December 13 and Friday December 14, 2012.

[Incorporation by Reference in Regulations Act, December 12th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and I think there is unanimous consent for the following motion:

That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, the remainder of the debate pursuant to Standing Order 66, on the motion to concur in the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, presented on Wednesday, March 28, 2012, be deemed to have taken place and the motion be deemed agreed to on division.

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 10th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Privy Council Office, PCO, did not award any grants and contributions under $25,000 from January 1, 2011 to the present.

[Committees of the House, December 10th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 66(2) I am designating Wednesday, December 12 as the day on which the House will again consider the motion to concur in the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.

[Committees of the House, December 10th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:

That the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics be the designated committee for the purposes of Section 67 of the Conflict of Interest Act.

[Democratic Reform, December 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, all parliamentarians here are familiar with the concept, which also applies in the Senate, that parliamentarians normally provide for a residence in their area that they represent as well as a residence here in Ottawa. Parliament assists the House of Commons, in our case, with the costs of one of those residences.

The Senate Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration is reviewing the matter as we have seen in the news to ensure that those rules are properly respected and indeed applied to all members. We want to see it also applied, of course, in this House.

[National Defence, December 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we have set out and are following a clear seven-point plan for the replacement of the aircraft. One element of that plan is to ensure job creation and growth in the aviation sector.

Job creation is the number one priority of our government. The proof of that is seen in this month's job creation numbers, with over 59,000 net new jobs, over 880,000 jobs now since the economic downturn. We now have the lowest unemployment since the economic downturn. That is leadership. That is a focus on job creation. We will continue that focus.

[National Defence, December 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, our government has a seven-point plan for the replacement of the CF-18 aircraft. We are continuing with that plan. As part of that plan, the government will be providing a comprehensive public update before the House retires for Christmas.

[National Defence, December 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we have a seven-point plan. We are following our seven-point plan.

Our government has a seven-point plan, which we have laid out clearly for the replacement of the CF-18 aircraft. We are continuing with that plan.

[Firearms Registry, December 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister made a very clear statement on this to Parliament earlier this week.

We have taken measures to protect public safety and specifically to fight gun crime. We hope that one day the opposition will support us on this important measure. We have introduced many initiatives and have seen some real progress when it comes to public safety.

We would really appreciate, for a change, the official opposition actually supporting some of the real measures—