The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I have to give credit to the member. At least he is not doing what previous members were doing and insulting others personally. Let me say one thing about what he said. How did the Liberals balance the budget? They did it by cutting transfers to the provinces. The Liberal government he is talking about made massive cuts to transfers to the provinces to balance the budget, and he should feel ashamed.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the member is talking about my being concerned about oil prices. He should be concerned too about oil prices, because it impacts the whole country. I am absolutely amazed and stunned, and in my speech I said so, that Canada did not need to bail out the banks during the worldwide recession, as other countries did.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to stand in the House and speak once more on a budget. As a matter of fact, this is my 18th budget speech I am making today, and 11 of them were on Conservatives budgets. Before I talk about the budget, I want to pause and reflect on the terrible tragedy that has befallen Nepal due to an earthquake.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, yesterday was the 18th time I sat in this chamber and listened to a budget being presented in this House of Commons. Eleven of them have been Conservative budgets. This was only possible because of the constituents of Calgary East. This morning, Canadians of all ages and from all walks of life are pleased that we have kept our promise to them by balancing the budget in 2015, the first balanced budget since the great recession.

Military Contribution Against ISIL  Mr. Speaker, let me remind the hon. member that our government has brought the debate into the House. When the Liberals were in power, they did not bring the debate to the House when they sent troops to Afghanistan. They made their own decision, so for them to say that they did the right thing is wrong.

Military Contribution Against ISIL  Mr. Speaker, we do have an exit strategy. The exit strategy is when we defeat ISIL. That is the exit strategy.

Military Contribution Against ISIL  Mr. Speaker, I was here too when we debated Afghanistan and when New Democrats opposed everything about defending Afghanistan. When they say that they have supported something like Libya, sometimes when they see public opinion has changed, they will change their position, but very soon they go back to their original position and stop supporting any of the missions.

Military Contribution Against ISIL  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for welcoming me back from the little break I took. I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss the continued crisis caused by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, known as ISIL, which is an ongoing crisis and a critical international issue.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the document “Report on Exports of Military Goods from Canada 2012-2013”.

Christmas Giving in Calgary East  Mr. Speaker, with the Christmas and holiday season upon us, families, communities, and businesses in my riding of Calgary East are joining together to celebrate this wonderful time of year, from breakfast with Santa at the Marlborough Park Community Centre to The Nutcracker (In a Nutshell), which is presented in 30 minutes for young children to enjoy at the Cardel Theatre, to Christmas Day dinner at the Glenmore Inn.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, we are extremely concerned about the transfers by Boko Haram to the Nigerian nation and the nations around there. I attended the security conference this past summer to help Nigeria fight this terrorist organization. We will continue to give it the capacity-building needed to fight this terrorist organization that has created havoc and kidnapped those 200 girls.

International Civil Aviation Organization  Mr. Speaker, this week marks the 70th anniversary of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, signed on December 7, 1944, which led to the creation of the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, headquartered in Montreal since its inception in 1947. Canada is proud to be both the host state to this important United Nations specialized agency and a contributing member state of the council of ICAO.

International Development  Mr. Speaker, the selection of Iran to the World Food Programme executive board is completely regrettable. Iran continues to be an agitator to peace and security. Its actions, in particular in Syria, have contributed to the ongoing suffering and food shortages that the World Food Programme aims to alleviate.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, on Friday the member for Hamilton Centre got up in the House and said that I had lied when I told my dear friend that we would beat him in the Grey Cup. Now that we have beaten him, can he get up and apologize to me, as I did not lie in the House?

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, our government is proud to have participated actively in the negotiations on the Convention on Cluster Munitions. We were one of the first countries to have signed on to the convention in 2008. Our legislation fully implements Canada's commitment to the convention.