Stephen Harper

[Ethics, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, external auditors and experts examined all these expenditures and said that the rules were not clear. However, the Senate decided that it expects better judgment from certain senators and that all of the money in question will be repaid to the government.

[Government Expenditures, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Auditor General himself has rejected the NDP leader's allegation. The Auditor General has made recommendations on how to improve reporting in the future. Clearly, the government will follow those recommendations.

[Government Expenditures, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, of course, that is not what the Auditor General said at all and that is obviously why we reject the motion. In fact, the Auditor General has made certain suggestions to the government, recommendations on how to improve reporting on this matter. The government will follow, and is following, those recommendations.

[Employment, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's economic action plan is a huge success. That is clear when we compare ourselves to other developed countries, and Canadians are proud of that.

In the latest instalment of the economic action plan, we announced infrastructure investments to help build Canadian communities with the support of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. We have programs to support job creation for our young people. Furthermore, we are offering measures to encourage innovation in the manufacturing sector.

We will continue to invest in our economy.

[Employment, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is obviously important to make sure Canadians understand the measures that have been developed by this Parliament that will benefit them.

This country, Canada, has one of the best job creation records in the developed world coming out of the recession. Canadians need to know about that, and more importantly, they need to know about the Canada jobs grant that is contained in this budget that attempts to make sure we engage the private sector, as well as the education system, in making sure Canadians can get jobs that are emerging which are begging for workers.

There is a great future for young Canadians, and we want to be sure we connect those workers, those young people and the private sector to make sure that Canadians have great opportunities.

[Employment, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party touched on a few topics.

I congratulate Statistics Canada on the work it does. It says that at the national and provincial levels, all of this information is solid and high quality. That includes useful data for communities that represent 97% of the population. We are always looking to balance the need for public data with the privacy of Canadians.

[Statistics Canada, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Statistics Canada on the success of its approach. It has had more responses to the long form than at any time in history. I will read what StatsCan said:

At the national, provincial level, all of this information is pretty solid. It's high quality.

In fact, the survey provides useful and usable data for communities representing 97% of the population. Obviously, going forward, we will look for ways to improve things, but always in a way that respects and balances the need for public data with the privacy rights of Canadians.

[Labour, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the taxpayers of Canada, the government has the final responsibility for crown corporations' finances. We intend to meet those obligations.

The leader of the NDP, if he wants, as his people have done, can stand with union bosses in press conferences promising to represent their interests around the bargaining table. That is precisely why the taxpayers of this country will never trust the NDP to handle the finances of this country and is one of the reasons—

[Labour, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the government remains the underwriter, the backstop, for all financial transactions of all crown corporations on behalf of the taxpayers of Canada. This government, unlike the NDP, takes that responsibility very seriously.

We have some crown corporations that have very serious financial problems going forward. We will ensure that the measures they take adequately reflect the needs of Canadian taxpayers and respect the rights of Canadian taxpayers.

[Government Expenditures, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General, as I just said, said no such thing. In fact, he said something completely different.

He has made recommendations, and the government is following up on those recommendations.