House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 64% of the vote.
National Defence May 13th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the Chief of the Defence Staff accepted the recommendations from the Deschamps report, and is acting on it. In fact, the person he appointed on this, General Whitecross, said, “What we are going to do is move out on all 10 recommendations, including number three which is this independent, centralized organization.”
Frankly, to quote a letter two months before that and apply something else is unfair to the Chief of the Defence Staff and to the men and women in uniform.
National Defence May 13th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the NDP leader is quoting from a letter that was written two months before the report was released.
After the report was released, the Chief of the Defence Staff accepted all of the recommendations. He has been very clear about that.
Ethics May 13th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, once again, the constitutional rules for senators are clear. The government followed the practices that have existed for nearly 150 years. It is Mr. Duffy's actions that are on trial, and I will not comment on matters that are before the courts.
Ethics May 13th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, obviously, I do not agree at all with the very selective and creative reading of the material before the courts by the leader of the NDP. It is Mr. Duffy's actions that are on trial before the courts. The government has provided all information to the RCMP and to the prosecution.
We will continue to work with the Crown and let the court make its own decisions on these matters.
Taxation May 12th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party wants to take away the universal child care benefit. He wants to take income splitting away from seniors and families and he wants to take away the tax-free savings account. What is more, his numbers do not add up.
What I have learned in my many years in politics is that governments either make things good for everybody or they make things worse for everybody. We are determined to make things good for everybody.
Taxation May 12th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, you see what happens when someone goes off script.
The government's plan is to make life better for every single Canadian family. That is what we are doing, and Canadians know full well that when they hear somebody talk about penalizing and raising taxes on some families, their intention is to do it on every family. We are not going to let that happen.
Taxation May 12th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, this government's record of tax reduction has helped every single Canadian family in the country. What the leader of the Liberal Party proposes is to take away from every Canadian family the universal child care benefit, to take away income splitting, to take away tax-free savings accounts, to take away all of these things from middle-class seniors and from middle-class families, and even after he takes all those things away, his numbers still do not add up. We are in a fight to keep taxes down and keep those benefits for Canadians.
Employment May 12th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, once again, thanks to our economic action plan, over 1.2 million previously unemployed Canadians now have jobs.
This government has one of the best job-creation records in the world and it is supported by all the experts. They recognize that the plan proposed by the NDP, which seeks to raise taxes and thus increase the deficit, will kill jobs.
We are going to continue to create jobs.
Employment May 12th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, obviously we never like a situation in which a Canadian loses his or her job. The reality is that there are 1.2 million more Canadians working today than at the time of the recession.
I would note the positive reception that the government's economic action plan continues to have from experts and from job creators across the country, such as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, among others.
I would call for the NDP to abandon its high-tax, high-debt agenda and get with a low-tax program that creates jobs.
Ethics May 12th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, as I have said on a number of occasions, the government follows constitutional practices that have been clear for almost 150 years. It is Mr. Duffy's actions, and no one else's, that are before the court. The court will reach its own conclusions.