Stephen Harper

[Government Programs, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this is the party that brought in new tax benefits for senior citizens. The Liberal Party opposed those measures.

This is the party that brought in new benefits for families with children at all income levels. The party opposite opposed those measures.

This is the party that proposes human rights protections for aboriginal people and matrimonial property rights for aboriginal women. The party opposite opposes those measures.

The Liberal Party is the party that yesterday voted against the families of the victims of the Air-India disaster. That is the party that called the victims of the terror attacks on 9/11 a sideshow. I say shame on the Liberal Party.

[Afghanistan, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party leader voted to send our troops to Kandahar, then he voted against sending our troops to Kandahar, and last week, he supported sending our troops to Kandahar.

I can say that obviously in the next two years we will gather all the facts before making our next decision, including figuring out what the latest position of the leader of the Liberal Party will be.

The reason I take my feet is just to note that I did receive a phone call this morning from President Karzai of Afghanistan. He wants to thank the Canadian people and the Canadian troops for all the good work they are doing on security and development in Afghanistan.

[Infrastructure, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I have to remind the leader of the New Democratic Party that Canadians have their own personal finances and do value tax cuts. At the same time, this government has put record amounts of money into infrastructure.

We have a plan and the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities is moving forward on that. I hope the NDP will support that plan and not oppose the budget, like it did last time. Hold on. Actually it did support it last time in the end.

[Infrastructure, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we recognize the challenges of middle class families which is why this government, in the last budget, brought in the biggest middle class tax cut in Canadian history.

The member talked about infrastructure. In the last budget the Minister of Finance brought in the highest levels in history of transfers for infrastructure spending for cities and communities throughout this country. I have complete confidence that the Minister of Finance will outdo himself in the next budget.

[Quebec Elections, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Bloc leader is trying to campaign on behalf of the leader of the Parti Québécois.

I will only say that we have one major decision to make here, and that is whether or not to support the next federal budget, which will be an important budget for Quebec. I hope that the Leader of the Bloc Québécois will support it, for the benefit of Quebec and of all the Canadian provinces.

[Quebec Elections, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Bloc Québécois is once again trying to get me involved in Quebec's election process.

I am the leader of a federal party here, in the House of Commons. I am proud to hold that job, and I have no intention of seeking the leadership of a provincial party in Quebec.

[Anti-terrorism Act, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it is the leader of the Liberal Party who changed his position at the last minute. The reality is that these laws respect national security and the courts have ruled on the constitutionality of these measures. The time has come for the leader of the Liberal Party to protect the interests of Canadians and not to play the Liberal caucus game.

[Anti-terrorism Act, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the deputy leader of the Liberal Party knows that these provisions do both.

What erodes trust is when the leader of the Liberal Party flip-flops his position on the eve of the vote, when the leader of the Liberal Party refuses to meet the families of the victims of the Air-India tragedy, when the leader of the Liberal Party refuses to meet the families of the Canadian victims of 9/11, when he ignores and denigrates the police in this country and when he ignores meeting members of his own party in both Houses and outside of these chambers who demand that he stand up for national security.

It is time the leader of the Liberal Party acted like Canadians should trust his judgment on national security issues.

[Anti-terrorism Act, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the government is obviously happy with the provisions that exist. The government offered, since the Liberal Party has flip-flopped its position, to extend the provisions if the Liberal Party does in fact want to make some changes. However, there is a lot at stake here. This is about our national security.

Let me do what I was unable to do before, which is to quote Maureen Basnicki of the Canadian 9/11 victims who said today, "We want to protect other Canadians from the devastation we experienced, so please keep the ATA intact and don't allow the sun to set on Canadian security."

[Anti-terrorism Act, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party supported these laws, not just for months but for years and abruptly the leader of the Liberal Party flip-flopped on his support just days before the vote. We have seen this before.

The hon. member for the Liberal Party knows full well that the powers that are there are necessary for national security. He also knows that the courts have found they are consistent with civil liberties. Instead, his leader chooses to ignore all that. He refuses to meet or listen to anybody who is on the other side.

I note that the families of the victims of the 9/11 tragedy are here today and the leader said, “We want to protect other Canadians”--