G8 and G20 Summits  Mr. Speaker, the extent of Conservative incompetence is now abundantly clear. The Conservatives are wasting taxpayers' money heedlessly. The summits cost—hold on, now— a shocking $1.3 billion. That is a staggering sum. To Canadians, this spending orgy is insulting. It seemed that everyone was spending, but nobody was keeping track.

G8 and G20 Summits  Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are spending taxpayers' money heedlessly. That is how they grew the biggest deficit in Canadian history, a Conservative deficit. Why did the summit they organized cost several times more than previous summits? Why were there so many untendered contracts?

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the minister should have shown some compassion a long time ago. But let us move on. The article that was published yesterday regarding the release of personal information, including the medical file, of a veteran—an ordinary Canadian citizen—who has criticized the government has shocked Canadians.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the Minister of Veterans Affairs whether his plan would be retroactive to 2006 or whether it would leave behind our veterans who were injured in the last four years. The minister wriggled around the question. Our veterans deserve better than that.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, it took a very persistent veterans ombudsman to show the government that it was not practising what it preached, despite wrapping itself in a cloak of virtue about our men and women of the armed forces. I am a proud ex-naval officer, and I know that actions speak louder than words.

Veterans Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister does not want to renew Pat Stogran's mandate because he was passionate about defending veterans' interests. Yet our soldiers who return with injured bodies and minds have made the greatest sacrifice a country can ask of its citizens. We owe them the utmost respect.

NDP Deputy Leader  Mr. Speaker, the comments made by the deputy leader of the NDP concerning the state of Israel are not only irresponsible and counterproductive, but they are unworthy of Canada's foreign policy. While acting as a moderator in the region, Canada has always defended Israel's right to exist.

Aerospace Industry  Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that our fighter planes need to be replaced and we know that several companies have expressed an interest in landing this major contract. There is a well established process for this kind of procurement and it begins with a tendering process. But this government cannot seem to follow procedures.

Aerospace Industry  Mr. Speaker, on May 27 the Minister of National Defence told the committee of the whole, “the reference to the next generation of fighter aircraft does not preclude a competition, and an open and transparent one”. Was the minister misleading the House? Does the minister intend to follow well-established procedures, or has he already chosen his $16 billion aircraft without tender, without competition?

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the member for Elmwood—Transcona has illustrated that this is an extremely complex matter and certain provinces, and he points out Alberta, have very clearly indicated they do not favour one national securities regulator. Quebec has made that quite clear. I believe Manitoba has also expressed similar reservations.

Business of Supply  I thank my colleague from Hochelaga for that lovely compliment. I believe he is in the same category as me. He has come to federal politics somewhat late, after distinguishing himself in his previous career. I presented both sides of the coin without giving my personal opinion.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am going to share my time with the hon. member for Charlottetown. Out of respect, I will start by reading the motion introduced by the hon. member from the Bloc: That this House denounce the government’s unrelenting efforts to marginalize the Quebec nation, in particular by depriving it of the major economic lever of securities regulation, a matter that is under the exclusive legislative jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces and for which they have established a harmonized regulatory system recognized for its effectiveness by the OECD and the World Bank, among others, and that it demand, along with Quebec’s National Assembly and the business community in Quebec, that the government immediately withdraw its draft bill.

G8 and G20 Summits  Mr. Speaker, we now understand the origin of the biggest financial mess in Canadian history, the $1 billion mess, the Conservative mess. We could have built three coliseums in Quebec City with the billion dollars. All that money for a summit that will ignore Canadians' priorities because of the Prime Minister's program that denies both climate change and women's right to choose.

G8 and G20 Summits  Mr. Speaker, their justification for this wasteful lake is completely ridiculous. The Minister of Industry says that this lake is a reflection of Canada. That is ridiculous. This lake is a reflection of Conservative waste, and all this waste reflects the Conservatives' incompetence and partisanship.

G8 and G20 Summits  Mr. Speaker, they can deny it all they want, but Canadians are not blind. They see what the Conservatives are up to and they are outraged. Let the Conservatives explain why they are asking taxpayers to pay $100,000 for a gazebo located 100 km from the site. Why are they paying $400,000 for a 1910 steamboat that will not even be in the water during the summit?