House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 64% of the vote.
Employment Insurance June 17th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, this government has already introduced measures in Canada's economic action plan that have greatly benefited unemployed workers in this country. We have paid the unemployed an additional $5.5 billion in employment insurance. It is the Bloc Québécois that abandoned these unemployed workers by consistently opposing, at all cost, the reforms that benefited them.
Iran June 17th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, there is no secret to the Government of Canada's position. We have been outspoken for a very long time in the councils of the United Nations and elsewhere about the unacceptable ideology, democratic practices, and human rights record of the government of Iran.
We are obviously strongly displeased by the reaction of authorities to events this week. We encourage those authorities to respect people's basic human rights and to move forward on democratic progress in that country. We find the behaviour of that regime unacceptable in so many ways that I cannot even begin to name them.
Employment Insurance June 17th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, once again, I indicated some time earlier that this government is looking at ways that we can bring the self-employed, on a voluntary basis, into the system. This is not an easy matter. We would of course welcome any proposals from the Liberal Party.
We have made a commitment to work over the summer to see if we can find common ground on frankly a major improvement to the system, which would be of benefit to a lot of Canadians.
Employment Insurance June 17th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, as I have said repeatedly, we are always willing to look at realistic, affordable proposals that will respond to the real needs of the labour force and to the unemployed during this recession. That is why we introduced a number of reforms in the budget that have allowed for an additional $5.5 billion of benefits to be paid to the unemployed of this country this year.
That is important, and of course I would encourage the Leader of the Opposition and our parties to continue the constructive dialogue that we have begun on this matter.
Employment Insurance June 17th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I had a good discussion about this with the Leader of the Opposition. Our representatives will continue to talk about this issue over the summer, and I hope that we will end up with a better system for everyone.
All the same, it must be acknowledged that this government has paid Canada's unemployed workers $5.5 billion more in employment insurance benefits in response to the global recession.
The Economy June 15th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, once again I will quote the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, who said, “Things are starting to move fairly quickly. We're pleased about that”. That could not be clearer.
We have 3,000 projects under way, ready to go. The choice for the opposition is really very simple. It can vote on Friday to ensure all those things go ahead in the Canadian economy and we keep construction moving this summer or it can block it. Obviously the responsible thing to do is vote to ensure that money flows and those projects move ahead.
The Economy June 15th, 2009
On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, it is the NDP and the opposition that has been voting against the spending. All levels of government have been working together. I have produced a list of 3,000 projects that are under way and ready to go this construction season.
Therefore, the choice for the opposition is really very simple. On Friday, it can either vote to allow these things to go ahead or vote to block them. The Canadian people obviously want to see these projects continue to move ahead.
The Economy June 15th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, it is quite the contrary and I can even quote the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, who said that things are beginning to move very quickly and that they are pleased by that.
All levels of government are working together to ensure that these construction projects begin this year. I encourage the opposition, including the New Democratic Party, to vote in favour and not against these funds, which are needed for projects that are important for the Canadian economy.
The Economy June 15th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board has announced that we have used more than $2 billion of the $3 billion passed this spring. On Friday, we need more money to complete the projects that were announced in the report last week. These projects have been approved not only by this government, but by provinces and municipalities. Everyone is expecting this Parliament to act to ensure that this money goes into Canada's economy.
The Economy June 15th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, the economic action plan provides help for all those sectors, for both the manufacturing sector and the forestry sector. In the announcement of the report last week, I announced that 3,000 projects are now under way. It is important to our economy that, this Friday, Parliament pass the budget we need so that we can continue to spend to help Canada's economy this summer.