Steven Fletcher

[Business of Supply, October 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the member is an experienced parliamentarian and has been here for a while in opposition and government. What does he feel about how the opposition has been pursuing the government? I was really struck by his comments that the NDP would rather see Canadians hurt by bad economics than see us succeed as a nation working together, because the former would be in their partisan interests. That is of concern. I wonder if the member could expand on that.

He also asked us to imagine what an NDP government would look like. That takes me to a very dark place. I know it will probably never happen but I wonder if he could just help me imagine what kind of country that would be.

[Business of Supply, October 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the member pointed out a 1994 issue with respect to a budget bill. If he is correct, that means that the Liberal Party brought forward a similar bill to what we have here at this time.

The other major difference between that time and now is that we have been debating many of these issues from election to election yet were unable to pass the legislation due to a minority Parliament. However, the debate on these issues in the House of Commons has been extensive. Looking at it since 2006, one could argue that many of the issues have been debated for six years.

Therefore, now that the government has a mandate from the electorate and the fact that these measures need to be taken in order to deal with a fragile economic recovery, perhaps the member's position is ill-placed at this time.

[Canada Post Corporation, October 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I take exception to everything the member just said. The government has been watching Canada Post, which is an arm's-length corporation, and proceeding with a transformational $2 billion investment to get it into the 21st century.

I would like to remind members and Canadians that the opposition party blocked the attempt of the government to get the mail to Canadians. By the way, mail would cost a lot more with a carbon tax.

[Canada Post Corporation, September 28th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Post is an arm's length crown corporation that makes day-to-day operating decisions based on market demand.

I know that is difficult for members of the NDP to understand, but if we want to make Canada Post viable in the long term, it will have to make adjustments from time to time. That is what Canada Post has done.

[Canada Post Corporation, September 21st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to high-quality mail service for all Canadians and businesses. We continue to expect that Canada Post maintain local service and fulfill its universal service mandate without becoming a burden on taxpayers.

In the specific case the member mentioned, I note that there are seven post offices within a five kilometre radius of the Pointe Claire post office, most of which offer extended hours to serve the community even better.

[Business of Supply, September 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member intently. Having visited his riding several times, including last summer, I want to say that it is a beautiful riding with wonderful people.

However, the NDP policies do not seem to be consistent with the desire of the people of the north. For example, on the gun registry, the member for the Northwest Territories voted against that. We had action through Bill C-38 to increase the ability for environmentally-friendly development at a fast rate. Again, it was something that would be great for the people of the north, but the member voted against it.

Everything we have done as a government is wonderful for the north, but the people across the way just want to make the north a big national park for the Americans.

[Public Transit, September 19th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like first of all to correct the member. I do not drive a limo. I think she can see that.

Our government has invested over $5 billion in transit infrastructure across Canada since 2006. We respect the jurisdictions of the provinces and the municipalities. We work with them. The NDP seems to vote against all our initiatives rather than support our initiatives. Why?

[Rail Transportation, June 15th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, again, it is a bit rich, coming from that member. I have said many times that we are committed to effective, safe and efficient rail service. We give VIA Rail enough flexibility so that it can operate the rail system the way it wants. We have made significant investments in VIA Rail. However, when we talk about jobs and the economy and rural Canada, the best thing for the people of Canada is Bill C-38, the bill we passed last night and that the member voted against.

[Rail Transportation, June 15th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, I would like to point out to the member that in the west, in the Prairies, all but four seats are represented by this government. In think that demonstrates that the people of the Prairies believe in this government.

With regard to VIA Rail, it is a national institution. We support safe, effective and proper rail service. VIA Rail must have the ability to change its routes, depending on demand. We do not really get involved in that if we absolutely can avoid it.

I would encourage the member for Churchill to take that train from The Pas to Churchill. It is a great trip.

[VIA Rail, June 13th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, this government has made unprecedented investments in VIA Rail, almost $1 billion since we have come to power. We have built infrastructure and we will focus on jobs and improve on service for passengers. From time to time, VIA does review its scheduling to ensure that taxpayers and passengers get the best service for their investment.

Again, I wish the NDP would look at the world view and instead of advocating for billions of dollars for Europe—