House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 78% of the vote.
Economic and Fiscal Statement November 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, it is always interesting to hear the analogies from the other side of the House, but the truth is we did take pre-emptive action.
The previous answer to the previous question talked about a whole litany of things that we had done. In fact, when he is referring to the United Kingdom, it followed our lead in cutting its value-added tax by 1.5%. However, I remind the hon. member that it did it on a temporary basis. We did it on a permanent basis.
Government Programs November 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I am assuming from the beginning of the question that the hon. member is talking about a common securities regulator. We have laid that out as something in which we would encourage all provinces to join. We are the only country in the industrialized world that does not have a common securities regulator. We are encouraging all willing partners to get together to improve the investment environment in Canada through a common securities regulator.
Equalization November 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I might remind the hon. member that it took a Conservative government to recognize there was a fiscal imbalance. The Liberals refused to recognize that.
We fixed that. We fixed it so well that we felt it was appreciating too quickly. In negotiations with all the provinces, we put it on a level that is sustainable, and that is the growth of the economy. The provinces will get an increase in transfer payments every year.
The Economy November 28th, 2008
Once again, Mr. Speaker, the question is a little rich coming from a party that voted against a softwood lumber agreement that brought back some sustainability to the forestry industry.
The hon. member keeps throwing out job losses. It is very frustrating when we see such glee on his face when he talks about job losses.
I remind the hon. member that this year alone there are 200,000 net new jobs. Since the government took power, 900,000 net new jobs.
The Economy November 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure how many times I have to remind hon. members that we did this a year ago.
I believe we are seeing an awful lot of smoke and mirrors when we are talking about partisan politics and the funding of political parties. My sense is that is what this is all about, the underlying motive here.
They cannot believe the fact that families in our country are worried about their jobs. The opposition members appear to be worried about their entitlements
The Economy November 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the only way we will resolve these problems is if all members in the House remember why they were elected, which is to make Canada a better and stronger country. Instead of the petty, partisan politics we see here today, they need to support what we have done.
The hon. member seems to be having great difficulty with math. As I have stated on many occasions, we have net new jobs in our country this year alone of 200,000. We have a new auto plant opening this year.
The Economy November 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, as I said before, we will be looking forward to the budget in early 2009, which will lay out the plans.
The industry minister has stood in the House several times this week and has talked about the consultation he is having with his counterparts in the United States and with his provincial counterparts dealing with the auto sector. He is putting together a plan.
There is no sense putting a plan together unless it is coordinated with our biggest customer, and that is the United States.
The Economy November 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I do now know how many times I need to repeat this. The action has already been taken, despite the opposition members that voted against it. There are $31 billion in tax cuts to Canadians and they chose not to support that. I would like to see what their suggestion would be if it is not leaving taxpayers' dollars in their own pockets. I am sure even some of their constituents would question the knowledge that they put into either voting or abstaining, I forget which one it was now.
The Economy November 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I might remind the hon. member that we have actually put in place the biggest infrastructure expenditure that this country has seen since the second world war. I would suggest that this will be all across this country. Quebec will play a role in that. This year alone it will double. We will be providing $6 billion toward infrastructure that will put communities back to work.
The Economy November 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, once again, I will thank the Bloc for putting forward those suggestions, suggestions that we have not yet received from the other parties.
Having said that, those suggestions will be viewed in our planning for our budget of 2009. That is when we deal with spending. That is when we deal with incomes that come into government, but the fall economic update is simply an update for Canadians to show the state of our economy. It is nothing more than that and I would encourage the hon. members to support this, get on with governing this country and help us lead.