Tony Clement

[The Environment, October 21st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, our position is very clear on this matter.

It is important for Canada to go to Copenhagen to the International Conference on Climate Change. We are working obviously with all of our international partners, including the United States of America, and also China, India and other major emitters to make sure that we have a comprehensive climate change policy for the entire world.

That is what my hon. colleague, the Minister of the Environment, is doing, and that is why it is important for the NDP to get onside with what we can accomplish for not only Canada but the rest of the world as well.

[Government spending, October 21st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we are working with our municipal and provincial counterparts in the hon. member's province and every province in this country, whether it is a Conservative government, a Liberal government or an NDP government. We are working with them to make sure that stimulus works in their province, works in their territory, and works in every one of their municipalities.

I defy the hon. member to say that somehow there was some closed cabal somewhere in her province, where we sat down with the provincial government, to allocate money only to Conservative ridings. That simply did not happen. We are there for each province. We are there for the country because it is simply the right thing to do.

[Government spending, October 21st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we are focused on something that very clearly Canadians want. They want a government that is focused on the economy, on more jobs, on more economic recovery, and on helping those most in need. That is what we are focused on.

We are focused on economic stimulus measures that are being shared across the country to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity to get out of this recession to have a more prosperous country. That is what we are focused on. Members opposite should focus on the same thing.

[Government spending, October 21st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, for the Leader of the Opposition, who aspires to be prime minister one day, to get his facts so wrong is, quite frankly, shocking.

In Ontario, 29 out of the 57 $1 million maximum allocation went to projects in opposition ridings, while 28 went to government-held ridings. Of the total of 136 eligible projects, the city of Toronto received 118 of them, which is 86%.

We are being fair to all ridings and to all Canadians. That is what people would like us to do and that is exactly what we are doing.

[Government spending, October 21st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we are engaged in helping the economy. We are focused on the serious issues that Canadians care about: jobs, helping those who need help through our EI reform, and ensuring infrastructure is there now and for the future.

The hon. member fails to mention all the money that went to his own city for the Spadina subway line, the Sheppard subway line, Union Station and the northwest transmission line.

We can go on and on, but the point is that every part of this country must be part of the solution and that is exactly what we are doing.

[Government spending, October 21st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the evidence is clear and incontrovertible. We are engaged in economic stimulus to the economy—

[Government spending, October 21st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, our priority is the economy. That is our government's priority. We are creating jobs and stimulating the economy. And we are doing exactly what Canadians want.

We are on the side of Canadians. We are producing these projects because they mean jobs and opportunity. They mean getting behind and beyond the recession to a better and more prosperous economy through economic recovery.

That is our message to Canadians and that is what Canadians want of us.

[Pensions, October 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, first off, under this government's economic action plan, we have actually transferred $8.3 billion to a number of initiatives to assist Canadians in these difficult times, including enhancements to our EI plan.

However, in the case of pensions, there are other responsibilities and other levels of government. While we obviously have a lot of concern for pensioners, in this particular case the pension is before the Province of Ontario because it falls under provincial responsibility, and that is where the matter rests at this point.

[Infrastructure, October 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, if he checks the record on my riding, we in Parry Sound—Muskoka did in fact receive a lot of $30,000 to $40,000 projects. The city of Toronto got a lot of $500,000 to $600,000 projects. If he wants to compare apples to apples, I dare him to do that.

This is a fair program. It works for all of Ontario. It is important to get recreational infrastructure done. It is part of our stimulus package. It is for jobs, it is for opportunity and it is for the health of our communities. We are in favour of that.

[Infrastructure, October 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, let me assure the chamber and all Canadians that we had a rigorous selection process for these recreational infrastructure projects throughout the country, but certainly in Ontario. All parts of the province had access to these funds. In northern Ontario, southwestern Ontario and the city of Toronto, I had Liberal MPs thanking me for the recreational infrastructure in their ridings.

This is a fair program. It is good for Canada and good for Ontario.