House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 43% of the vote.
Public Service of Canada December 10th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the House that it is in fact the festive holiday season throughout the land. Whether it is Hanukkah or the advent of Christmas, public sector employees should also be able to decorate and celebrate. Our government has made it clear that the workplace can be a festive zone and we will not be grinched by the forces of political correctness.
May I say happy Hanukkah and merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
Government Services December 6th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, we understand that balancing the budget is important if we are to create jobs and long-term prosperity, something that former Liberal governments could not understand. At the same time as former Liberal governments were trying to deal with economic pressures, they cut services on health care and education to our provinces. That was their solution, which was no solution at all. We understand what is important to Canadians; they do not.
Government Services December 6th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, Canada's economic action plan 2012 is our plan for employment, growth and long-term prosperity. An important part of our plan is balancing the budget by implementing fair, balanced and moderate economic measures.
We have protected services that Canadians expect from the federal government, and we will continue to do so.
Government Services December 5th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that we have made sure that essential government services to the public have been ring-fenced and protected from our budget reviews, because we know that we have to deliver excellent public services to Canadians.
At the same time, we look for waste and inefficiencies. We remove these things from the budget. We make sure that we do better for less. That is what Canadians expect. They do not want the failed high tax and high spending policies of former Liberal governments.
Government Services December 5th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, we continue to move forward with a plan that ensures that we will eliminate the deficit in the medium term and continue to make the investments that are necessary for our economy, job creation, research and development and commercialization of that research and development, training and making sure we have the properly skilled people in the right jobs across this country. This plan is working. We will continue with this approach. This is the approach that has been lauded across the world as the best approach not only for Canada but also the rest of the world.
Government Services December 4th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, we have dedicated considerable resources, in fact, growing resources to health and safety issues. We made sure we ring-fenced those in terms of our budget reviews to ensure we were delivering excellent services to Canadians. We are transferring funds to the provinces on health care.
That is our record. We will not abide by the opposition members who continue to vote against budgets that have excellent programs for Canadians. That is our dedicated approach to growing jobs in our economy. That is our approach to economic growth and opportunity. The opposition members keep voting against it.
Government Services December 4th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, our economic action plan 2012 is dedicated to ensuring that we have excellent services for Canadians who need them. At the same time, it is important for growth and jobs and opportunity to get to a balanced budget in the medium term. We are focused on jobs and economic activity. That is the best guarantee we can continue to pay for our social programs.
Foreign Investment November 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. leader of the Green Party that, as we know in this place, this whole treaty is about protecting Canadians who are investing in China, to give them the same rights and protections that Chinese investors and other foreign national investors already have under Canadian law. I cannot imagine the hon. leader of the Green Party would not want that to happen.
The Economy November 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, or should know, economic projections are based on private sector forecasts, using the experts in the field. The expertise is in. The Wall Street Journal reported that Canada is “one of the developed world's most stable economies” and said that Canada “outperformed most of its peers in the Group of Seven”.
Christine Lagarde, IMF managing director, said, “Canada, a country with one of the strongest financial sectors in the world.... Canada can teach the rest of the world about how to build a stronger, safer financial system”.
That is the way it works. We are on the right track.
The Economy November 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, in the uncertain global times that we face, our economic situation is actually quite clear. This economy has generated over 820,000 net new jobs since the depths of the recession, 90% of them full-time jobs for the people of Canada.
The experts at the OECD are projecting that Canada will lead the G7 in economic growth, not only this year, not only next year, but for the next 50 years. We are on the right track. We are focused on jobs and growth for the Canadian economy, and that will continue.