Ted Menzies

[Taxation, February 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as I said in the House, I believe it was just yesterday, there was an appointed expert panel of independent experts that provided an opportunity for every Canadian, including members of the Bloc Québécois to put forward their suggestions to this panel. They heard nothing from them other than the heckling that we hear in the House today, which is a little late because the expert panel made recommendations. We are moving forward on those recommendations. It is an opportunity for us to allow our Canadian companies to compete internationally.

[The Economy, February 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, once again I would implore the House to recognize the fact that we have a plan in place. Part of it is delivering infrastructure. Part of it is extending EI. Part of it is providing tax cuts to businesses so they can continue to employ people.

However, we cannot get any of that accomplished if the opposition continues to hold up the legislation. The Liberals are supporting us on this. We encourage members to help get this through the House. We are planning on having extended hours at our committee meetings when we get it there. It is imperative we get it there.

[The Economy, February 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I assume the stimulus package that the hon. member is talking about is the one he voted against. That is an incredible statement for someone to make who did not even read the budget, who did not even address that and who actually is not part of bringing the stimulus package forward.

I am not suggesting that Statistic Canada's numbers are wrong. I am just suggesting that we need 308 people to actually help Canadians by voting for this implementation.

[The Economy, February 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, once again we are getting into an academic debate of whose numbers are right. If we look at the private sector forecasts that have been put forward in the last six months, there is not a lot of credibility in those numbers.

The numbers are changing by the day but the important thing to remember is that Canadians are in difficult times, through no fault of their own. This is a global recession. We are treating all provinces the same and all industries the same. We are trying to provide a plan that will help those industries. I would ask all members to please help us get that through.

[The Economy, February 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member had been listening, he would know that I was reflecting on the fact that the Prime Minister recognized this early on, as did the finance minister in the fall 2007 economic statement.

We put in tax cuts. We put in measures to ensure jobs were continuing to be created. Our economic action plan, which will be tabled in this House today, provides more measures to ensure we maintain the jobs that we have and that we slow down the loss of jobs. However, if we cannot get that through this House, we cannot provide any help to Canadians.

[The Economy, February 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, no one can express how troubling it is when one Canadian loses a job. We talk about numbers. What is important here is the fact that any Canadian has lost his or her job.

We have a challenge in front of us and we have a plan to meet that challenge.

[The Economy, February 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the former economist seems to like to dabble in academic debate while people are losing their jobs.

It is incredibly important that we get this passed. I would like to suggest that the member for Markham—Unionville consult with some of his constituents.

I will quote the mayor of Markham who said, “I want to applaud this government...for making the budget so comprehensive when it comes to job creation”. I applaud that sort of recognition. He went on to say, “I think it's great news for Markham and all municipalities”.

[The Economy, February 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, speaking about consequences, if we do not get the budget implementation bill, which will be tabled here today, through the House, the consequences will impact Canadians.

We are all very concerned and troubled when any Canadian loses a job. We have a chance to move this economic action plan forward and I would encourage all hon. members to help us expedite that.

[The Economy, February 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we absolutely know where we are going and we would implore all hon. members in the House to work with us.

As early as interviews at the end of 2007, the Prime Minister was clear with Canadians that we were going to be facing some difficult economic times.

We implore all hon. members in the House to stop complaining about getting the job done and actually help us get it done.

[Credit Card Interest Rates, February 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member had the opportunity to do something. He could have voted for the budget. In fact, he did not even read the budget because we talked about financial literacy, explaining to Canadians so they could actually understand. We are undertaking a project to prepare Canadians to deal with their financial institutions and ask the right questions.

Instead of voting against everything that this government wants to provide to Canadians, such as new jobs and support for the unemployed, he should have supported the budget.