Stephen Harper

[Citizenship and Immigration, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is quoting a former candidate of a political party.

The recommendations we will follow for appointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board were made by the former executive director of the Public Appointments Commission. He was a long-serving, non-partisan public servant.

[Government Appointments, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party today raise the question of the Immigration and Refugee Board. That process is being reformed and it is being reformed according to a number of criteria that were suggested in a report by the executive director of the Public Appointments Commission to have a merit based process. That is exactly what we are doing.

All the squawking you hear from the Liberal Party, Mr. Speaker, is its attempt to keep the culture of entitlement from the grave. It is not going to work.

[Government Policies, February 28th, 2007]

Not at all, Mr. Speaker. This government had a budget surplus last year.

I am expecting a balanced budget from the Minister of Finance, a budget that will invest in essential services, lower taxes for Canadians, and reduce the national debt. These are the policies of our government and they will be reflected in the next budget.

[Government Policies, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, no such thing is true. This government, as the Minister of Finance has made clear, wants to close corporate tax loopholes where they exist and also make sure that everybody pays their fair share of tax. That remains the policy of this government.

[Aerospace Industry, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, what will be very costly for Quebeckers is the Bloc Québécois' policy, which is against all procurement for our armed forces.

The leader of the Bloc is contradicting his own policy. He is merely trying to campaign for the Parti Québécois, just as the Leader of the Opposition is campaigning for the Green Party. We, on the other hand, are campaigning for the Canadian Forces.

[Aerospace Industry, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, our goal is to rebuild the Canadian Forces after many years.

We are in the process of drawing up contracts for a number of military procurements. There will be economic spin-offs for all national defence industries across Canada. This is only the beginning.

[Taxation, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this government's track record is clear. We have cut taxes, we have cut the GST, we have cut taxes for immigrants, we have cut taxes for SMEs, we have cut taxes on personal income for seniors, for children's sports and for students.

The Liberal Party opposed these measures. We are giving the public tax cuts. They gave money to Liberal advertising companies.

[Taxation, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this is the government that brought in the tax cut to the GST. This is the government that brought in tax cuts to immigrant landing fees. This is the government that brought in tax cuts for small business. This is the government that brought in income tax cuts for transit users, for kids sports, for senior citizens. Every single time that party opposite voted against those tax reductions.

There is only one party that supports lower taxes and it sure is not the Liberal Party of Canada.

[Government Programs, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, if the leader of the Liberal Party were serious, he would have done his job when he was in government, but he did not.

He did not do these things when he was in government. If he is not going to support the things we are doing, he at least could get out of the way and allow progress to happen.

[Government Programs, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, what the leader of the Liberal Party is saying is completely false. The leader of the Liberal Party is quoting Liberal promises made during the election campaign, promises that were broken for 13 long years. This government has kept its promises. It is the Liberal Party that has broken the promises it made to the public.