House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 78% of the vote.
Finance February 25th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, indeed tomorrow the finance minister will stand in his place and deliver the third consecutive Conservative balanced budget.
Unlike the Liberals in previous years who amended their budget after it had been tabled, we will not accept any amendments that the Liberals would like to propose that would drive us into a deficit.
Federal-Provincial Relations February 25th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, we can always expect some interesting comments out of that hon. member in the form of a question.
However, I remind the hon. member that it was this Conservative government that finally brought a peaceful settlement to the fiscal imbalance that the Liberals would never even admit to, $39 billion.
We have signed the accord with the Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. We are happy to have those onside.
Finance February 25th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I might remind the hon. member that in January alone there were 7,200 new jobs created in Quebec. I know he is concerned about job losses as we all are, but 7,200 new jobs have been created. These are high value jobs.
That is because this government took steps last fall in our economic statement to provide incentive for industries to keep hiring, to grow jobs, and to grow the economy.
Finance February 25th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, it is an interesting question coming from my friend across the way.
I am not one who wants to pass on to my children and grandchildren the kind of debt that the Liberals passed on to us. That is not the way this government will go forward.
We are balancing a budget. I am looking forward to tomorrow when we will once again have the finance minister table a balanced budget in this House that will act upon reducing the debt and will support communities.
Government Contracts February 15th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, we have talked about these contracts before.
The hon. member certainly underestimates the amount of work that went into putting the budget speech together, in fact, the entire budget for 2007. I would invite the hon. member to look on the website. These are all detailed in obvious fashion for the hon. member to see.
What we do not see detailed is the expenditures of the Liberal Party, the $40 million that we are still looking for. We cannot find that on any website.
Mr. Speaker, while we share the member's concern with the volatility facing manufacturing and the forestry sectors in his province, we note that the larger Quebec economy remains very healthy, with the unemployment rate at a 33 year low of 6.8%. This January alone, 7,200 new jobs, mostly full time, were created in that province.
As McGill University economics professor, Tom Velk, pointed out in The Montreal Gazette, he said that most of those new jobs were from the private sector and outside of export dominated industries.
Indeed, some sectors in Quebec are even facing skills shortages.
As John Simonetti, the president of a Montreal employment agency, recently noted, finding people to fill vacancies in many industries is an increasingly difficult challenge. He said, “We can't find people, that's the problem. There is a shortage of skilled, experienced people in certain fields”.
Clearly, Quebec and Canada still have solid economic fundamentals as demonstrated through our robust labour market, fundamentals that we will build on to ensure Canada remains well positioned to face any volatility.
Mr. Speaker, I am once again pleased to inform my friend from Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup of the extensive support that our government is delivering for the manufacturing and forestry sectors, especially through the community development trust.
With the community development trust, our government intends to make a concrete difference for communities and workers who are adjusting to a shifting global economic landscape.
While Canada's economy is very strong overall, we know that global economic volatility has put pressure on particular communities and workers, especially those communities that rely on a single sector or company that is being challenged. That is why we will be investing $1 billion in the community development trust to support provincial and territorial initiatives that help these communities and workers weather the economic storms facing them.
This initiative has been widely praised by key organizations and provincial leaders. For instance, Shawn Graham, the Liberal premier of New Brunswick, remarked that his government was “pleased that the Prime Minister and his government have made this commitment”. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities declared that it “applauds the federal government's decision to help Canadian communities hit by economic upheaval”. The fund “is more than welcome”.
Indeed, communities told us that they need to receive this assistance in a timely fashion. That is why we introduced Bill C-41 to rapidly implement the trust. That is why that legislation received unanimous all-party support in this House, including support from the Bloc.
As Bill C-41 has now received royal assent, we are currently working as quickly as possible with each province and territory to identify priority areas for action and to seek their public commitment to support communities consistent with the objectives of the trust.
This trust builds on the significant actions we have already taken to strengthen the economy and improve the business environment, enabling businesses in all sectors to become more competitive and invest for the future.
We have brought in significant tax reductions and are on our way toward the lowest business tax regime in the major industrialized economies.
We have invested in skills development and education so that Canada can have the best educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world.
We have provided unprecedented funding for infrastructure, totalling $33 billion over seven years, to ensure that we have the critical and up to date infrastructure that drives a modern economy.
We have acted to reduce the burden of government so that these businesses can focus on what they do best: investing, producing value and creating jobs for Canadians.
Our government is committed to providing the conditions for economic success, and the community development trust demonstrates that.
Government Contracts February 8th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, let us talk about consequences since we took power in 2006. We have provided $140 billion in tax reductions to Canadians, individually and corporately. We have reduced personal income tax down to 15%. We have provided a tax back guarantee of $2.5 billion by 2012-13. We are increasing the basic personal amount to $9,600, something the Liberals never even thought about.
Government Contracts February 8th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear and very consistent on this. I will repeat that there was good value for money that was provided. Unfortunately, administrative functions were not followed, but that will be changed in further contracts.
But let me talk about the budget that we are actually talking about in this contract. There was money that was provided to Canadians, tax reductions to Canadians, pension income splitting for seniors, something they have been asking for for years.
The Economy February 8th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his passionate question.
We did take proactive action to stimulate the economy. The Liberals disagreed with that. They would rather spend us into deficit and raise taxes. That is the wrong course of action.
The action we have taken has stimulated the economy to bring unemployment to a 33 year low. In January alone, over 46,000 new, good, high paying jobs were created, full time employment.