Canada-Panama Free Trade Act  This is to ensure that a company such as SNC Lavalin, which is leading a consortium to build a $4 billion copper mine in Panama, owned by Inmet, a Canadian mining company, will directly benefit from this agreement. We are making our way through some difficult economic times. Many hard-working Canadians are looking for us to show leadership on the economy, promote sustainable economic improvements, and create opportunities for job growth. Our government has made a commitment to do just that, to help Canadians capitalize on their expertise and expand into new and exciting markets.

House debate  In the middle of a global economic downturn, it helped create good well-paying jobs for hard-working Canadians. This program is part of the focus of the responsible economic action plan, an overall plan that has created almost 450,000 jobs and has helped Canada weather the global economic downturn better than any country in the G7.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  How does that square with the government statement that it would not raise taxes on hard-working Canadians? It does not. It goes to credibility. In looking at this, I think about things such as for a two-earner family, EI premiums will go up $1,264. We have to consider that ordinary Canadians are getting hit significantly.

Jobs and Economic Growth Act  Since taking power in 2006, the Conservatives have continued to rob workers of what is rightfully theirs. Instead of seizing the opportunity to do right by hard-working Canadians in this budget and returning all of the employee and employer contributions to the EI fund, the budget bill before us does the unthinkable. It legalizes the theft of $57 billion.

Jobs and Economic Growth Act  They did it on the backs of ordinary Canadians, which is nothing to brag about. It was not because of good business practices. They took it from hard-working Canadians. What did they do with that money? They spent it. We reduced taxes for ordinary Canadians. We reduced the deficit by $38 billion in the years we were in government. We not only reduced taxes but we put money into infrastructure.

Jobs and Economic Growth Act  Our government is correcting that and continuing the current practice in which remailers can continue to do business, in which 10,000 Canadians have their jobs. My question to the member is, how can she justify voting against hard-working Canadians?

The Economy  In this respect, New Democrats believe that any sound economic policy must benefit hard-working Canadian families. We also believe in an economy where no one is left behind. That is why we always analyze every economic proposal, by looking at how it will affect the must vulnerable among us, our seniors, our children, our disabled.

The Budget  In this budget our government is closing unfair tax loopholes. These loopholes allow a few businesses and individuals to take advantage of hard-working Canadians who pay their fair share. We are also repeating our promise. We will not balance the budget at the expense of pensioners. We will not balance the budget by cutting transfer payments for health care and education or by raising taxes on hard-working Canadians.

Speech From The Throne  It will not come by cutting transfer payments for health care and education or by raising taxes on hard-working Canadians. These are simply excuses for a federal government to avoid controlling spending. Our Government’s first step toward restoring fiscal balance will be to wind down stimulus spending as economic activity rebounds.

Fairness at the Pumps Act  It is not as if there are cases where people are getting free gas, no siree. Consistently, hard-working Canadian consumers are being ripped off. Two years went by before the Conservatives decided to take very reluctant action. What have they done? In this bill they have decided to, largely, privatize the inspection service.

Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act  He should accept that he is duty bound to respect the decisions made by the House of Commons and act on pension reform now. Seniors and hard-working Canadians deserve nothing less.

Taxation  Speaker, the government is taking very serious steps to recover the funds that honest, hard-working Canadians deserve. Last year we recovered over $1 billion in unpaid taxes. This is just one more example of what this government has accomplished, unlike the Liberals and NDP who have always failed.

Sustaining Canada's Economic Recovery Act  They want to spend on the baubles, on the corporate tax cuts, on the fake lakes, on the fancy meetings, on all those high-priced things, and then there is nothing left for ordinary, hard-working Canadians who are often just looking for a helping hand and a safety net when they fall into difficulty. That is where we differ fundamentally from Conservatives and Liberals. We believe in taking care of the essentials first.

Taxation  Speaker, the Prime Minister and this government have taken decisive action to give CRA the tools and resources needed to aggressively pursue those Canadians who avoid paying their taxes. We are cracking down to recover money owed to hard-working Canadians. The number of full-time employees working on international audits is up 44%, and we have doubled the number of people working in our aggressive tax planning program since the government took office.

Government Spending  The guidelines announced today further prove that our government is making an effort to eliminate waste, to ensure that it is living within its means and to keep taxes low for hard-working Canadian families.