House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 71% of the vote.
Employment March 13th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, we understand that this economic downturn is part of a larger global downturn. We sympathize with every Canadian affected, but I want to say that the member demonstrated that she does not care about some of the poorest in the country, which she represents in her riding. She voted against the budget that would have helped the very poor in this country. Why would she do that? Why would she turn her back on the poor of our country?
Employment March 13th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, that is the member who said that cutting taxes was not a good thing to do. That is the member who said that providing help for those who are hardest hit is not a good thing to do. He said that investing in roads, bridges and other infrastructure and helping people in the forestry industry was a bad thing to do.
He voted against the budget, the budget that would have helped all of these industries and would have helped the ordinary working people in Quebec. He turned his back on the people of Quebec. This party stood up for the people in Quebec and Canada.
Employment March 13th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, that is ironic coming from a party that voted against every initiative. As critical as I have been of the Liberal Party for standing in the way and taking political advantage for short term benefit, I completely condemn what the Bloc Québécois has done in terms of stopping the budget initiatives that we brought forward.
The Bloc members voted against every initiative that would help ordinary working people and now that member has the audacity to stand and make that kind of a comment.
The Economy March 13th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, independent analysts, such as Dale Orr at Global Insight, have said is that it is not this government's fault and it was not Canada's fault that we have a weakness that was not foreseen. The weakness in the Canadian economy is entirely coming from the United States.
We reacted in order to get money into the hands of Canadians. It was the Liberal Party that stood in the way and continuously indicated that there was an overblown fear of what may in fact happen, and it was wrong.
The Economy March 13th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have two options. They have the option of the Conservative plan of cutting taxes, providing help for those hardest hit, investing in roads, in bridges and in infrastructure, or they can have the Liberal approach, which is no plan at all and a not so hidden agenda of imposing a crippling carbon tax and taking the money away from families who need it for child benefits.
The Economy March 13th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, what Canadians understand is that they would have had no chance had the Liberals been in power. There is no question about that. In fact, they would have imposed a crushing carbon tax on our industries. They would have even deprived families of the universal child benefit that they consistently indicated they would do away with.
What has our government said? We will lower taxes, stimulate the economy and get money into the hands of the people who need it, and the Liberals refused. They stood in the way and now these are the--
The Economy March 13th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader wants to blame everyone else. Members of the Liberal Party were consistently told that delays by them and by the senators would prevent the delivery of important employment insurance benefits. It was a surprise to the Liberal leader that there were employment insurance benefits in that package.
The Liberals should have known better. They should have acted to help Canadians but they did not. They bear the consequences.
The Economy March 13th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, today's job numbers are sobering and we sympathize with every Canadian affected, but we are doing more than simply sympathizing with Canadians.
The benefits of our economic action plan would have taken effect sooner had the Liberals passed the budget earlier and not played their political games. The Liberal leader and the Liberal Party should apologize to all Canadians. Instead of cashing in on bad economic news and exploiting the hardships of Canadians, they should have acted constructively in dealing with this economic crisis.
We are dealing with this crisis. We are getting the job done.
Municipalities March 12th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, that question made absolutely no sense. That member says that there is no accountability and now, when we are bringing out the terms of accountability so that people spend taxpayer money in accordance with the rules and regulations, he says that it should not be done.
Will the member make up his mind? He certainly does not have his questions straight. He does not have his facts straight. Why does he not simply support the budget, get behind these infrastructure programs and help the people of Canada?
Municipalities March 12th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, we are taking unprecedented action in terms of helping municipalities with their infrastructure needs. Those municipalities cannot simply spend that money on anything they want. There are clear criteria and, as in any contract, if the terms and conditions of a contract are broken, the people of Canada need to have recourse to ensure the money has been properly spent.