House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 78% of the vote.
Taxation March 27th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, one thing that has been overlooked by the opposition is the fact that we are supporting palliative care in the budget. We have a very good program that was initiated at the hospital here in Ottawa. That is helping with end-of-life care for seniors. That is pretty important.
To answer specifically the hon. member's question, these are companies that are supplying parking to hospitals and they were getting a special tax reduction. We do not think that is necessary.
Taxation March 27th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, as part of our low tax plan we continue to reduce taxes in every way. In fact, $65 million in tax reductions comes from the six free trade agreements we have signed since forming government. That is over and above the $525 million that I referred to in the previous answer. That is a grand total of $590 million in tax relief every year, and I believe that the NDP voted against most of that.
Taxation March 27th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member for getting up to page 331 of the budget.
What I would like to say are the facts, and let us let the facts answer this question. Since 2006, we have actually eliminated 1,900 different tariffs. What has that accomplished? That has provided $525 million in tax relief every year since then.
That is what we do with taxes. We lower them.
Mining Industry March 26th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, that is a surprising question about resource development coming from the NDP, which spends most of its time on a trash can tour, going down to the United States and trashing Canada. The leader of the NDP has consistently called the resource sector in this country a disease. We find that very offensive and so do Canadians.
We are working on what is important to Canadians, which is finding jobs for Canadians, protecting the economy and growing the long-term prosperity of all Canadians.
Taxation March 26th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is talking about millions of dollars, but from what I hear from the NDP, its carbon tax alone would increase the cost of everything by $21 billion.
I know the only way we could ever get the NDP to support this budget is if we had tax increases in it, but no one will find tax increases in this. We are trying to help Canadians grow jobs and we are worried about their long-term prosperity.
Taxation March 26th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, as we all know, preferential tariffs were actually about 40 years old and it was a program that was used as an official aid.
What we are trying to do is provide a level playing field for our Canadian companies and Canadian businesses so they are able to compete. For some of the other countries that are also wanting to export, it provides a level playing field for them as well.
Taxation March 26th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. member that budget 2013 is about jobs, growing the economy and the long-term prosperity of the country. All the measures in this budget are aimed toward that.
We hear the NDP members are going to vote against that. That means they are going to vote against businesses. We are helping small businesses. It means they are going to be voting against Canadians who want to retrain. There is a plan in this budget to help Canadians retrain for jobs that are available for them. We think that is very important and we would encourage the NDP to support that.
Financial Institutions March 25th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, we do continue to support credit unions. They do a great job supporting local communities. In fact, in the last budget, which the NDP voted against by the way, we allowed them the option to help grow their business nationally. They can come under federal regulation. The changes that are being made to credit unions across this country would eliminate an outdated tax subsidy. They would still have access to the lower small business rate.
Small Business March 25th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I am very disappointed to hear that the NDP will actually vote against small business and vote against the measures to help small business in budget 2013, measures such as extending and expanding the hiring credit for small businesses.
The NDP will also vote against increasing the capital gains tax exemption from $750,000, the lifetime capital gains tax exemption for small business, up to $800,000, and which will then be indexed. The NDP is going to vote against that too.
Health March 25th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I certainly reject the premise of that question. I know the NDP does not understand anything about tax fairness, but perhaps it should stop screaming and actually listen to the answer to the question.
We are ensuring that commercially paid parking is treated the same under the tax system everywhere across the country. We have lowered the GST from 7% to 6% to 5% and it is providing all Canadians with important tax relief.