House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 71% of the vote.
Infrastructure June 16th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not want an election. Neither does our government.
If the opposition votes to bring down our government, negotiations on infrastructure contribution agreements between the various levels of government will immediately cease. Thousands of projects will not go ahead in this construction season.
An irresponsible decision by the opposition to bring down this government will jeopardize our economy and will jeopardize tens of thousands of jobs across the country.
Protecting Victims From Sex Offenders Act June 8th, 2009
Madam Speaker, I listened with interest. The member spoke about wanting to create a positive atmosphere or make positive suggestions, yet he put facts on the record that were simply wrong and misleading.
For example, he suggested that somehow the worldwide economic recession was created here in Canada by this government, yet he well knows that it was something which originated primarily in the United States with the banking system, and that of course our government has been trying to work through this very difficult time, wanting to make sure that the Americans also get their house in order.
I take him at his word that he is not going to simply move this bill to committee where it will be stalled and die, but rather that he was sincere in bringing this legislation forward, perhaps even stronger than it is today. However, knowing Liberals as I do, this is simply a ploy for them to get this outside of public view to a place where they can kill this legislation.
Protecting Victims From Sex Offenders Act June 8th, 2009
Madam Speaker, I have a few comments to make. I want to emphasize how important this bill is in terms of removing the discretion to register, both in respect of the sex registry and DNA, to take DNA samples. It is absolutely essential and has nothing to do with, as some have suggested, not respecting the judiciary.
If one understands the administrative complications of actually obtaining a conviction and then having to bring those people back to court at a later date, one understands the complications that the police face. This is why hundreds of these people have in fact fallen between the cracks. Much like there is automatic fingerprinting in certain cases, such as when a person has been charged with an indictable offence, this would deal with mandatory registration upon conviction and it would eliminate a number of administrative steps that have only intervened to cause serious delays and therefore allowed these individuals to not be registered. From a practical prosecutorial point of view and from a police point of view, this measure is absolutely essential.
The second point I want to make, very briefly, is with respect to this distinction that we make between those offenders who are so-called violent offenders and those who are property offenders.
If one goes back to the record when this bill on DNA was first brought forward by the former Liberal government, there was a British expert who said, to suggest that these two groups of people are distinguishable is simply wrong. To get all the indictable offences under DNA where there has been a conviction--in Britain, in fact, it is when a person is charged--would allow police to cross-reference. Many times, people who are guilty of house burglary will also be found to be sexual assaulters, or guilty, indeed, of crimes like murder.
That is something that this bill would not do, but I think we need to examine that entire issue. That has not yet been addressed.
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act June 4th, 2009
Always the plea.
Questions on the Order paper June 4th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, with respect to funding provided from Treasury Board vote 35:
In regard to a) and e) A list of departments, the appropriations supplemented, and the budget program that is being funded from vote 35 is provided in supplementary estimates A, pages 77-82.
In regard to b), c), and d) Allocations from vote 35 are allocated to departmental programs, not to specific projects. As such, information on specific projects is not available. Treasury Board approves departmental programs, and individual department or agency determines which projects to pursue. The administrative responsibility for the execution of spending on any particular projects falls under an individual department or agency.
In regard to f) The use of vote 35 supports timely implementation of budget 2009 initiatives by enabling Treasury Board ministers to allocate funds to departments for Budget commitments where there is a cash flow requirement before the next supply period.
The decision to report on the allocation of vote 35 funds in quarterly reports to Parliament on the economic action plan was presented in the House of Commons and formally passed by Parliament on February 2, 2009. As well, the government has committed to provide a summary of vote 35 allocations in supplementary estimates, the most recent of which were tabled in Parliament on May 14, 2009. An updated list of approved allocations from vote 35 to departments will be tabled in Parliament in the June quarterly budget report.
The economic action plan website, http://www.actionplan.gc.ca/eng/index.asp, provides information about specific initiatives and projects as they are announced.
Questions on the Order Paper June 3rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the question above, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat cannot provide detailed information in support of this inquiry as it is not available at this time.
A detailed reconciliation of final departmental expenditures by vote and program activity is provided in volume II of the Public Accounts. This reconciliation of actual expenditures by vote and program activity can be found in volume II of the Public Accounts for fiscal year 2007-08, but the data for the recently concluded fiscal year 2008-09 will not be available until the fall of 2009. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat does not have information in support of departmental expenditures by town or city, project name and dollar value.
The Economy May 25th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government has proven to Canadians that we are the only option to soundly manage the economy. Our economic action plan is a road map to ensure that we continue to be a global leader in this recovery period. Our policies have reduced the tax burden on families, created jobs and are helping Canadians who have been hardest hit by the global recession.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Liberal Party says, “We will have to raise taxes”. That is not the direction our country should be going in.
Credit Cards May 25th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Minister of Finance for bringing forward the regulations that have been applauded by the Consumers' Association of Canada.
The Consumers' Association of Canada said, “All of the things that the finance minister has done are actually just what we asked for overall. I've got to congratulate him”.
We have the critics who want big government and we have the banks on the other side that want big corporations. When the Consumers' Association says that we are on the right path, I think we have struck the right balance.
Forestry Industry May 25th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I did not catch the question because the translation was not coming through.
Access to Information May 12th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, that is rich coming from a member who was part of the government that consistently opposed the release of information to the public.
It was this government that released information from many of the boards and commissions that the Liberal government refused to release. This has been the most open government in the history of Confederation and our government is committed to ensuring it remains that way.