The Budget  Mr. Speaker, currently close 1.3 million Canadians are out of work. Six out of 10 of those unemployed Canadians cannot access employment insurance benefits to help them get by. The government has made no new investments to improve access to EI benefits for those who need them the most.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, one thing that happened in the election which was very rare is that the NDP, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Party all agreed on one thing, which was to lower taxes for small business people from 11% to 9%. In the last budget, the Liberals broke that promise.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Elgin—Middlesex—London for raising concern about the money for affordable housing being delayed getting out the door. A man who goes by the name of Elvis lives in my riding. Elvis is an alcoholic. For years Elvis would get intoxicated to the point where the community would have to call for an ambulance to take him to the hospital or he would have run-ins with the law, which cost the criminal justice system money.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for talking about youth mental health. For over a decade on the west coast, primarily in the Nuu-chah-nulth communities, we have had a high number of youth suicides. We have had many suicide attempts, and recently there was a significant spike in the Nuu-chah-nulth communities.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, I must thank my friend from Avalon, who I went with to the east coast with the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. We visited his community and we met with cod fishermen and fishermen in Miramichi to talk about the decline of the Atlantic cod and the Atlantic salmon.

Fisheries and Oceans  Mr. Speaker, four months ago, a South Korean cargo ship lost 35 containers at sea, and potentially harmful debris is still arriving every day on Vancouver Island's west coast. Large pieces of metal and chunks of styrofoam are contaminating our sensitive ecosystems. The Liberal government continues to delay and refuses to act.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, we know that in Canada the real job creators are small business people. They are the people who drive our economy. They sit on our volunteer boards and our local governments. They are struggling to make ends meet. When we talk to small business people in our communities, they are having a hard time paying their rent and paying their employees' wages.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the member talked about how we should get ready for part two of the middle-class budget. I am hoping that this time the Liberals will actually include the middle class, the 17.9 million Canadians who got nothing from their middle-class tax break, those who earn $23 an hour and work full time and who got left out last year in the so-called middle-class tax break.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, at committee the Minister of Small Business said that the Liberals' promise to reduce taxes on small business was “a great sound bite” and “a great headline”, but at the end of the day, they were not really going to do it. My goodness, the old Liberal arrogance is alive and kicking.

Foreign Investment  Mr. Speaker, three of the retirement homes purchased by Anbang, a Chinese insurance company, are in my riding on Vancouver Island. American companies have refused to work with Anbang because of its murky ownership, yet the Liberals rubber-stamped the deal. British Columbians demand greater transparency when publicly funded assets are sold to foreign interests.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, certainly I agree with the member. It is shameful that we are here in this House today talking about the cutting of this tax benefit. As the member Barrie—Innisfil said earlier, with a stroke of a pen we can fix this. I am very glad that all parties have agreed to support the motion.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Barrie—Innisfil for his speech and for acknowledging the family of Master Corporal Alfred Barr. I think our whole country shares the sadness and sends condolences to Master Corporal Barr's family. I have a family member who just retired after 12 years of serving the Royal Canadian Air Force, Captain Mark Biernacki.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, on February 22, a family member of mine, Captain Mark Biernacki , a pilot with the Royal Canadian Armed Forces in the 5th (B.C.) Field Regiment, born and raised on Vancouver Island, retired after 12 years of service. Our family is very proud of his incredible commitment and sacrifices, as we are of all members of the armed forces in Canada.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his great speech breaking down the impact of tax havens and legal tax loopholes here in our country, which have cost Canadians, as he stated, more than $200 billion over the last couple of decades. When we put that together, that is as much as the whole national infrastructure deficit in our whole country.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I thank the member for talking about the trade-offs we are making. We are creating over $100 billion in tax havens for the super-rich, so they can have nice yachts, as he pointed out, and probably really good chefs too. The Liberals talk about the nine million Canadian who got middle-class tax breaks.