House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 78% of the vote.
Government Priorities December 16th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, we have heard loud and clear what Canadians' priorities are. That is why we put in place an economic action plan, a two-year plan to get Canadians back to work.
I must share with Canadians who are watching that not everyone in this House supported that plan. Some who did not support it now want to see it extended. We are still struggling with the thought process there.
Since July 2009, over 441,000 more Canadians have a job. That is an important thing at Christmas.
Democratic Representation Act December 16th, 2010
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Yesterday in question period a Liberal MP faulted the Conservatives for the lack of a prebudget report this year. The Conservative members of the finance committee want to complete this prebudget report and table it in the House. Conservative members of this committee will make themselves available in late December and early January for as many meetings as are necessary so this report can be completed.
I am therefore requesting unanimous consent to move the following: That notwithstanding Standing Order 83.1 the Standing Committee on Finance be authorized to present its report on prebudget consultations no later than January 19, 2011 and when that report is deposited with the Clerk of the House, it shall be deemed to have been duly presented to the House.
Arts and Culture December 14th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, millions of Canadians will have the opportunity to view another talented young artist's work, thanks to the annual Canadian Youth Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp contest. The 2011 youth wildlife stamp was created in partnership with the Robert Bateman Get to Know contest. It is a contest designed to encourage youth to get to know their wildlife neighbours.
One of my constituents, Ms. Bethany Harris from Millarville, Alberta, won with the selection of her painting “Going Deeper”, depicting a moose in its natural habitat. Ms. Harris is an inspiration to all youth passionate about art and Canada's wildlife.
I would like to offer my most heartfelt congratulations on her great accomplishment.
Hydroelectricity December 10th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, of course this government is always in support of things that will help our environment.
Our government has put together Public-Private Partnerships Canada Inc. There is a request that has come in to them to help fund this. The private portion of it is the most important thing that we think should be involved in a project like this. It is under review, it is arm's length from government and we will be looking forward to its solution.
Government Priorities December 10th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, that is a very troubling question considering that every time we put forward policies to help create jobs, members of the NDP have voted against it.
Members of the NDP have a lot of audacity to stand and say that we are not helping Canadians. Over 440,000 net new jobs have been created since July 2009. The NDP has voted against every initiative we have put forward that has helped to create those jobs.
Taxation December 9th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, we all know that the Liberal leader's plan to raise taxes will simply kill Canadian jobs. It will kill economic growth. It will harm Canada's economy. The Liberal job-killing taxes are dead wrong.
The Forest Products Association of Canada, which employs hundreds of thousands of Canadians, said yesterday, “the business tax reductions...are an important part of the industry's recovery plan for the period ahead”.
Why, once again, are the Liberals threatening Canada's forestry workers and their employers?
Madam Speaker, I am actually quite surprised that that hon. member would once again raise the issue of money that we cannot get back. I believe I referred earlier to $40 million minus the $233,000-some. That is still a devastatingly large amount of taxpayers' money that no one has chosen to give back.
That hon. member stands in this House and suggests that we, in ministers' offices, are not following Treasury Board guidelines, when in fact all ministers in this government do follow Treasury Board guidelines.
In fact, spending in ministerial offices has dropped 11.4%. That is a record that this government is proud of. In fact, we pay our debts. We encourage those opposition members to pay back Canadian taxpayers what they owe our taxpayers.
Madam Speaker, I, too, am very frustrated but for perhaps a different reason.
I would have thought that the Liberal member would have taken some time to talk to her Liberal colleagues about the devastating record of the old Liberal government in terms of, and I will quote her term, “wasting taxpayers' hard-earned money”. As the member knows, the former Liberal government was a government that redefined wasteful and beyond questionable spending.
The previous Liberal government showed no respect whatsoever for taxpayers' money. It treated their money like its own and it treated taxpayers' wallets like their piggy bank to fund their costly schemes.
The former Liberal government was the party of the infamous HRDC boondoggle, the party of the shocking sponsorship scandal. Donations of $5,000 went to leadership candidates from 8-year-olds. A former Prime Minister shamefully avoided Canadian labour laws and paying Canadian taxes by registering his fleet under a foreign flag, and much more.
I note the sponsorship scandal was so shocking in the level of waste, mismanagement and corruption that even Liberals admitted their collective shame and blame.
In the words of former Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin, “There is a collective responsibility in cabinet that I think we all have to accept, and I certainly have to accept my share of that blame”.
Even the member for St. John's South—Mount Pearl has admitted her shame, and I quote from a Toronto Star article: “The member from St. John's South--Mount Pearl agreed the scandal has hurt the party”.
Shamefully, the Liberal Party has not found it necessary to apologize to Canadians for their betrayal of taxpayers' money, or worse, even bother to pay taxpayers back.
While the public accounts for 2009-10 showed that Canadian taxpayers recovered $233,180 last year from the Liberal sponsorship scandal, unfortunately millions in outstanding money is still owed to Canadians by the Liberal Party.
Where are those millions of taxpayers' dollars? Why has the member for St. John's South—Mount Pearl not taken a leadership role in her party to ensure that those millions are paid back?
I expect members will be willing to act as a witness, and I would be happy to write the member a receipt, if she were to give a cheque to me this evening to start making amends. I may even see the President of the Treasury Board this evening and will register it with him straight away.
Why has the member not demanded of her leader that the Liberal Party, so hurt by the shameful legacy of the shocking sponsorship scandal, respect taxpayers and pay back the money owed to them? Maybe the member for St. John's South—Mount Pearl has lost faith in her leader to do the right thing, as do more and more Canadians.
No wonder news media is reporting today that more and more Liberals are even now demanding the Liberal leader be fired. A report today states:
--the Angus Reid survey, conducted for the Toronto Star, will be dispiriting...[the Liberal leader] inspired lukewarm levels of support among those who identified as supporters of his party. Of those who voted Liberal in the 2008 election, only 38 per cent said the current leader should remain in his job, while 46 per cent said the party should replace [him].
Pensions December 3rd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, we are protecting 34 million Canadians by reducing their taxes. That is what Canadians have asked us to do and we have delivered on that through our economic action plan.
We have created over 441,000 net new jobs since July 2009. That is what Canadians wanted. They wanted assurances that their government was listening to what they wanted. They wanted to ensure they had jobs so they could help support their families. That is what is important.
Harmonized Sales Tax December 3rd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the only policy that we have seen from the NDP is to support raising taxes. When we decided to lower the GST from 7% to 6%, NDP members voted against that, and from 6% to 5%, they voted against that. The tax reductions that we have put in place leave more than $3,000 in the pockets of the average family of four.
I would remind the hon. member that he should talk to his provincial colleagues if he wants to talk about a provincial issue, and that is the harmonized sales tax in Ontario.