Tony Clement

[Industry, September 17th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that the member who represents the Montreal riding is not asking that question because there are hundreds of employees of Ericsson in his riding. This is the kind of game the Liberal Party plays on these kinds of issues.

We are applying the law. We apply the law equally to Canadian companies and to foreign-based companies. That is how the rule of law works when it comes to foreign investment.

On that side of the House, the Liberals are willing to change the law to suit their own protectionist purposes. That will not help Canadian companies when they seek to invest in other countries. That is why we are on the side of the law; that is why we are on the side of Canadian business and will continue to be.

[Industry, September 17th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, our side of the House believes that we cannot introduce protectionist measures into the laws and regulations of Canada. That is our position; that is not the position of the opposition.

We cannot change the rules of the game, the rules of business, to suit the Liberals' protectionist and nativist impact on the country. That is what they do, but that is not what we do on this side of the House. They talk about opening the doors to India and China, but on this side of the House we are protecting Canadian investments.

[Industry, September 17th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, first, the hon. member is using the figure in U.S. dollars, which is quite consistent with that party actually, but let me get to answer the question.

The hon. member should know we in fact want to follow our laws. We have a set of laws on the threshold for investment. We are following those laws.

On the other side of the House, those members are quite content to muddy around with the laws of the people of Canada when it suits their interest. That is not in the Canadian interest.

[Nortel, September 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, many of the issues to which the hon. member refers are within the realm of provincial competency and provincial legislatures. However, this House did pass a bill, in fact, two parts of the bill, over two Parliaments and indeed, we are looking forward to enacting those regulations forthwith.

[Nortel, September 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is undoubtedly aware that many of the pension issues to which he refers are actually provincial issues within the realm of provincial legislatures.

When it comes to bankruptcy proceedings, however, this House has already opined on that issue and we are looking forward to enacting those regulations.

[Committees of the House, September 14th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 109, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to the second report of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology entitled, “A Study of the Crisis in the Automotive Sector in Canada”, tabled in the House of Commons on March 31, 2009.

[Infrastructure, September 14th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we are all proud of our constituencies, and I am proud of the hard work that I do for the people of Parry Sound—Muskoka, but perhaps the hon. member would like to know that the highest per capita spending anywhere in the country on infrastructure is in Windsor, Ontario.

Everybody gets to benefit. That is why this government is a government for all the people.

[Infrastructure, September 14th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we of course are not a government that makes decisions unilaterally. We work on these projects with other premiers, such as Premier Williams perhaps, Premier McGuinty, and former premier Doer, and municipal leaders of all political stripes. Indeed, these projects are going across this land, not only in the ridings he mentioned; but of course, last weekend there were more projects for Cape Breton and Halifax, and new projects for Toronto, with half a billion dollars for more than 500 projects throughout the 416 region.

That is what we are doing for Canada. That is what we are doing for these regions and we are proud of it.

[Conservative Government, September 14th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, that is not only an incorrect allegation but an odious one for the first day back in this session. For that member to accuse me or our government of homophobia and of misogyny is her party's stock-in-trade, perhaps, but it does not make it the truth.

In fact, we have an orderly transfer of delegated authorities. It was always contemplated on this side of the House as a procedural transfer of authority. Yet the Liberals create these conspiracies and this fallacy that we have an anti-women or anti-gay agenda.

It is not true, and in fact, that member should apologize to those groups right now for marginalizing their true issues.

[Gasoline Prices, June 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, living as I do in Muskoka, I understand the member's frustration. We all have the same frustration as to how these things happen. Because of the Competition Bureau's actions in Quebec earlier last year, it found the chisellers, found the people who were colluding, and went after them like a ton of bricks. We have given it even more powers to do that because we believe in a fair marketplace and we believe in protecting consumers.