Stephen Harper

[The Budget, June 12th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our objective as a government is economic growth and job creation for Canadians.

Our performance remains superior to most other developed nations, but we are in a very difficult international financial situation and there is much to be done. In March, we submitted our proposals to Parliament, and three months later, the Conservative members are working very hard to get these measures passed.

I encourage the opposition members to also do their job and to work towards making these reforms actions a reality for the Canadian economy.

[The Budget, June 12th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our focus, as we said back in March when we first tabled the budget, is on ensuring that we have jobs and growth for Canadians.

Canada's economic performance in what has been a very difficult time for the world remains superior to most other developed nations, but we are in a very difficult international financial situation. That is why we need to take all the steps that are necessary, not just now but into the future. The government has been very clear in its plans before Parliament and those plans have been before Parliament for more than three months.

I know that the leader of the Liberal Party rejected all of this in the first minutes, but we have been working hard and we are prepared to get this done.

[The Environment, June 12th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the government makes no secret of the fact that it brought forward a budget in March that is very comprehensive in its efforts to ensure that we create jobs and growth for the long term for the Canadian economy.

We have had a record amount of study of this particular piece of legislation. It has been major work before Parliament for three months. On this side of the House, we are prepared to continue getting on with continuing to produce jobs and growth for the Canadian economy. I encourage the members over there to also do their work and get things passed after a few weeks of work.

[The Environment, June 12th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, environmental assessments will still take place. They are already being conducted by other levels of government. We do not need to duplicate those efforts at the federal level.

As I have said, the development of our economy is key, including the development of our resources. I understand the Leader of the Opposition's opinion that our resource industry is a disease affecting the country, but we do not share his position. It is important to protect our environment and develop our economy.

[The Environment, June 12th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, as I have said a number of times, we are maintaining a rigorous environmental assessment system. We also want to have clear deadlines for investors.

In our opinion, environmental protection is not the only important thing; there is also the development of our resources. This is important, and it is not a disease as the leader of the NDP seems to think. It is an important resource for the Canadian economy.

[National Defence, May 31st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party said there were no problems at that time. We have taken a look at the purchase of the submarines; is he serious?

We have a comprehensive strategy to ensure that our troops have the tools they need to do their work. We will continue to improve the process to ensure that this equipment will be available as soon as possible, but at a good price for taxpayers.

[National Defence, May 31st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, of course, the process began in 1997, during the previous Liberal government, so I do not know why the leader of the Liberal Party would be calling upon me to revisit all of that.

The leader of the Liberal Party makes these sweeping comments about the procurement being in a shambles. The difference under this government is we actually do procure things for our military, so that the men and women in uniform have the equipment they need to do their job.

[The Environment, May 31st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, if the NDP member had bothered to check, he would see that the National Citizens Coalition is not a registered charity.

In any case, there are laws for registered charities that assure that, when people donate to charities, those moneys are not used for political activities but for the charitable purposes for which Canadians donate. We will obviously make sure those rules are respected, as the vast majority of good Canadian charities in fact respect them.

[The Environment, May 31st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives support environmental protection as much as we do economic growth. That is the main difference between our two parties. The NDP thinks it is not possible to protect the environment and that it is necessary to shut down all the industries in Canada. Our position is that we can reconcile these two objectives and provide environmental protection and jobs for Canadians.

[The Budget, May 31st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, the particular set of changes in the economic action plan will have more committee study than any budget bill in recent history by quite a magnitude. These are important measures to make sure that our environmental processes are both thorough and efficient, and encouraging of investment. I am glad to see the reaction we have received from investors and the Canadian public.

I look forward to these being passed into law.