Ted Hsu

[Science and Technology, June 16th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has invested billions of dollars in the National Research Council to develop the technologies we need to be competitive in the 21st century.

The government has announced that it wants to trim the fat. Now it wants to cut 20% from the budget of the NRC, which employs people who could turn these technologies into jobs for Canadians.

Does the government believe that investing in technologies for the future is pointless?

[Libya, June 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Calgary East said that Canada was in Libya to promote Canadian values such as democracy and the rule of law.

Then I just heard the member opposite say that Libya is not ours to reconstruct.

I wonder if the member has any opinions going forward, if a new government takes control of Libya, to what extent is Canada willing to guide, forcibly or otherwise, that new government so that democracy and rule of law are present in the new Libya?

[Libya, June 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the ends of revolutions can be very messy affairs. I thank the parliamentary secretary for his remarks about Canadian values, promoting democracy and the rule of law.

If Mr. Gadhafi were to leave his country tomorrow, we still would not have democracy and the rule of law in Libya.

Would the parliamentary secretary be able to promise that Canada would remain involved in Libya to the point where we would have democracy and the rule of law in Libya?

[Libya, June 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I note with some concern the member opposite's remark that in some places in the country the food supply is only four or five weeks as compared to the three and a half month extension of our military mission that we are discussing today, the difference between those two being a couple of months.

I would like to ask the hon. member opposite how much of the $2 million in humanitarian aid will be applied to addressing the food situation? Does the hon. member expect that perhaps in the future we might have to increase this amount?

[The Environment, June 8th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I used to work with small businesses who helped people save energy and money in their homes. They would be disappointed by the non-answer given Tuesday in response to a question about the eco-energy retrofit program for homes. Here is a program the government cut and brought back and cut and brought back. People cannot run small businesses that way.

Since the Conservatives claim to care so much about stability, why do they not stay true to their words and help small businesses by committing to make this program stable for five years instead of just one year?

[The Budget, June 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of things in the hon. member's speech that I just cannot let pass.

One is the statement that “prior to the global recession, we kept the budget balanced”. I might remind the House that the budget actually went into deficit because of increased spending before the recession.

Second, I find it very strange and perverse to be bragging about all the people removed from tax rolls. In fact, the 20% of people in my riding who live below the poverty line might like to be in a position to have the income to pay taxes.

[The Budget, June 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Yukon spoke about climate change and the fact that budget 2011 contained hundreds of thousands of dollars for home energy retrofits, which is a good thing. However, is the member prepared to ask his government's ministers for the millions of dollars year after year to deal with the effects of global warming, which, as the member for Yukon knows, will be the most intense in the Arctic?

[The Budget, June 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as this is the first time that I rise in the House, I would like to thank the great people of Kingston and the Islands for choosing me to be their member in the House of Commons.

The minister stated in her speech, and I heard this many times during the election campaign, that a typical family would save about $3,000 in taxes per year. What about the lowest quintile of wage earners, the people who really need government's help, the people whom we really should be here looking out for? Does the minister know what a typical family in the lowest quintile would get in tax savings?