Ted Menzies

[Manufacturing Sector, November 15th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it would not be the habit of this government to interfere with the Bank of Canada. It is completely separate from this government and we would never suggest that we would do that.

We need to remember that jobs are very important to the economy in this country. We all understand the seriousness when people are losing jobs. There are many other factors, such as the value of the Canadian dollar vis-à-vis the American dollar. There are a lot of other factors involved besides Bank of Canada money rates.

[Job Creation, November 2nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as I had mentioned earlier, we have actually seen an increase of 63,000 jobs in October alone. I would like to raise the point that 32,000 of these were in Ontario. It is unfortunate that some Ontarians have lost their jobs, but there were 32,000 new jobs in Ontario alone.

[The Economy, November 2nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, while we are very concerned and taking action to support the manufacturing sector, today's employment figures confirm Canada's economy remains strong. Sixty-three thousand jobs were created in October. Employment is at a record high. Unemployment is at its lowest level since 1974.

Since we took office, over 655,000 new jobs have been created right across Canada, and full time jobs account for nearly 80% of these gains.

As a CIBC report said this week, “not only is job creation—

[Remembrance Day, November 2nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as Remembrance Day approaches, I am reminded that this year Remembrance Day will hold particular importance in my riding of Macleod.

On September 24 of this year, Corporal Nathan Hornburg was killed in action in Afghanistan. Corporal Hornburg had very strong ties to the riding of Macleod. His mother, Linda Loree, resides in Nanton and his family has farmed in the area for many years.

As a reservist in the King's Own Calgary Regiment, Corporal Hornburg believed that service in Canada's military to bring security to Afghanistan was the right thing to do. It is my hope that all my colleagues in the House of Commons will honour the memory of this soldier and the memory of every soldier who has worked to defend our values and protect those whose fortune does not guarantee their rights this coming Remembrance Day.

Remembering the sacrifices that Canada's brave soldiers have made in past wars and in current conflicts is important for all Canadians who enjoy freedom, safety and security granted by their efforts.

Lest we forget.

[Points of Order, November 2nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I respect the circumstance that the member has been caught in and I extend my condolences to the family.

Certainly, if the hon. member wishes a separate briefing, I will speak to the department and see if we cannot arrange that.

It is unfortunate that the briefing happened at this time. As all members are aware, there was a lot of effort put into making sure that our economic statement was complete and ready to present to the House, even though we were not able to present it in the House. That was probably part of the issue, but the department is doing its best to make sure that arrangements have been made for all hon. members who are involved or interested to have an appropriate briefing.

If the hon. member wishes to speak to me later today, we will see if we cannot arrange that.

[October 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the October 10 announcement allows Nova Scotia to benefit from the new strengthened equalization formula, while guaranteeing the province's benefits under the 2005 accord are fully protected.

This government is proud to have worked with the Government of Nova Scotia to resolve its concerns about its offshore accord. Premier MacDonald has made it clear that he believes this agreement provides important benefits to the residents of Nova Scotia.

Former premier, John Hamm, who negotiated the original accord in 2005, said this of the new agreement: “It fits very nicely with the original accord”.

To quote the Halifax Daily News columnist Charles Moore, “this is a win-win situation. Kudos to Premier MacDonald, the Prime Minister, the member for Central Nova and the member for South Shore--St. Margaret's for putting their shoulders to the wheel and working to arrive at this accommodation”.

Nova Scotia can no more--

[October 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in response to the question by the member for Cape Breton—Canso regarding the implementation of the agreement with Nova Scotia on the Atlantic accord.

Earlier this month, an agreement was announced between the Prime Minister and Premier MacDonald to resolve Nova Scotia's concerns related to recent changes to the equalization program.

This agreement will ensure that the province will receive at least the full benefits it expected to receive from its accord at the time it was signed in 2005 and builds on measures introduced in budget 2007 which set out a new equalization program that applies equally to all provinces while respecting existing agreements with Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Formal letters have been exchanged between the federal finance minister and Nova Scotia's finance minister outlining details regarding our recent agreement on the accord.

This agreement was consistent with our prior commitment that flexibility would be provided to ensure a smooth transition to the new principles-based equalization program.

We are providing Nova Scotia a cumulative best-of guarantee to ease its transition to the new equalization system, guaranteeing Nova Scotia will do at least as well on a cumulative basis as it would have under the formula in place at the time the 2005 accord was signed.

With this guarantee, Nova Scotia no longer has to be concerned about the risk of opting into the new equalization formula too early and forgoing any potential benefits of the previous formula.

How much Nova Scotia will benefit from this agreement will depend on economic variables from economic growth, tax revenues, population, and revenues from natural resources, including oil and gas.

We can, however, guarantee that under this agreement Nova Scotia will receive all the benefits it expected to receive at the time it signed the 2005 accord, and possibly more under the new equalization formula.

Indeed, for 2007-08 alone, the new formula provides a net benefit of $95 million in equalization and offshore offsets to Nova Scotia, which the province can use for priorities like health care, education and infrastructure.

The equalization changes which have been agreed to will require amendments to the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act and we intend to introduce these changes as soon as possible as part of the second budget 2007 implementation act.

In addition, the agreement with Nova Scotia resolves the long outstanding issue with respect to Crown share adjustment payments. Through an independent panel, we will work to find an approach that is agreeable to both governments, something the previous Liberal government failed to do.

With regard to the concerns of the member opposite, I quote the words of Nova Scotia's own premier:

The [Liberal] opposition, they want to talk about the pieces of paper, and this and that.

We have the agreements in place and we're moving forward with that.

I think it's unfair to the people of our province that members of the opposition...have tried to paint a picture where somehow there is no agreement. I can assure you that there is an agreement.

If Nova Scotia MPs from all parties are not standing up and supporting this, that says to me, No. 1, that they're not in favour of us receiving the full benefits of the offshore accord.

I hope that our MPs, especially some of our Liberal MPs, after hearing some of the comments...are going to stand up and be counted.

[Income Trusts, October 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak again about what this government has done for Canadians.

There are many different opinions and we can bring up expert opinions on both sides of that issue, but the fact is that Canadians want to be taxed fairly. The Prime Minister and the finance minister have repeated that we will cut taxes for businesses, for corporations, for small businesses and for individuals. We will continue to do that.

[Income Trusts, October 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. finance minister would love to be accountable to Canadians and he would like to do it in the House this afternoon by providing an update on the fiscal situation in Canada, but unfortunately he is unable to.

We are providing tax fairness to Canadians. We will continue to do that with or without the support of the Liberals, whether they sit or stand.

[Income Trusts, October 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I think we would be assuming the promises that will be made. However, we all need to look forward to some good news coming out of this that I wish everyone in this House could be in their seats to listen to.

It is all about tax fairness and it is a little coincidental that opposition members are talking about tax fairness when they do not seem to be able to support the initiatives in our budgets and in our Speech from the Throne.