Points of Order  Mr. Speaker, I am just responding to previous comments made in the House. As a female member of Parliament, I think it is important for all of us to respect appropriate language when it comes to gender in the House. I think that all parliamentarians in the House share that view, and I hope that we all work together, both sides of the House, in doing that in the future.

Points of Order  Mr. Speaker, I firmly share my colleague's belief that we should have decorum in the House of Commons, given that we all have responsibilities as parliamentarians to take debate seriously. I also hope that my colleague opposite would encourage some of his members who use demeaning comments like Muskoka minister et cetera in their comments, and share that with caucus.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, this week the environment committee is travelling across the country to develop recommendations for a national conservation plan. We have heard a lot in committee about the concept of a working landscape, that is, land being used for productive purposes while ensuring a positive ecosystem balance through sustainable development plans.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, with regard to the driver policy, I am certainly glad our Minister of the Environment is working hard. Anything to do with the policy is also subject to confidentiality terms, privacy terms as per Parliament. With regard to the charitable status of political activities in this country, Canadians want to see charities work within the tax code.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I want to thank all my colleagues here on the government side for being with us tonight and doing such a great job. We have a great team here. It is 1:20 Wednesday morning, and it gives me great pride to work with my colleagues. I want to speak about our plan for oil sands monitoring.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for this very important question, because to put these comments into perspective, we have been talking tonight a lot about funding programs that support the environment. The oil sands make a very important contribution to the Canadian economy. If developed sustainably, the oil sands are projected to contribute over $2.1 trillion over the next 25 years to our economy.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I want to personally thank the member for Selkirk—Interlake for his hard work on the Lake Winnipeg file. He has been a tireless advocate for the health of that lake. I know he supports our government's continued funding for the important environmental protection work that we are doing in that area.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, my colleague's question is well-informed. He is quite correct. I have a great fondness in my heart for Lake Winnipeg, having grown up spending countless summer nights on that lake. It is dear to many people in the prairie provinces. However, it is important to note as well that the Lake Winnipeg basin's watershed exceeds over one million square kilometres.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, again, our government wants to make sure that charities operate within the tax parameters that are set out in the tax code. Canadians support this. I should remind my colleague opposite that her government proposed the carbon tax, a tax on everything that would hurt jobs in this country, and our government will not do that.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, my colleague's excellent question shows how government can work with local organizations whose members understand the community and help support initiatives on the ground that make impactful, significant support for our environment changes on an ongoing basis. My colleague talked about organizations which we partner with, including Ducks Unlimited.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague from Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette who really cares about Canada's environment. He does a great job on the environment committee. He is a great superstar for our team. With regard to Canada's Great Lakes, we have invested millions of dollars to protecting Canada's water over the last years including, for example: $48 million to accelerate the remediation of contaminated sediments in Great Lakes areas of concern under the clean water action plan, and I am not sure my colleagues opposite voted for that; $8 million per year on an ongoing basis to support the remediation of the area of concerns under the Great Lake action plan in budget 2010, and I am not sure if my colleagues across the way voted for that either; $16 million to address the recurrence of toxic nuisance algae in the Great Lakes with a particular focus on Lake Erie in budget 2011, and they did not vote for that either; and over $330 million between 2005 and 2010 to enhance municipal waste water treatment infrastructure within the basin.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I had the opportunity of being at Lake Simcoe this year to announce further funding for the protection of this great region. Lake Simcoe has an enormous impact on the regional economy. We have several members of our government who are keenly interested in ensuring that this water basin maintains its health.

Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I will read a quote: In the face of tough fiscal choices, the government showed leadership by continuing its investments in research, innovation, research infrastructure and university-private sector collaborations. These investments will build a stronger future for our society and economy.

Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke of the ability for Canada to enact these changes for sustainability in our old age pension system over a longer period of time because of Canada's relative economic strength. Some of the measures our government has taken over the last six years, including the competitive corporate tax rate, have ensured that economic sustainability leads to this long-term planning ability.

Points of Order  Madam Speaker, to respond to my colleague's point, perhaps he should be more careful when he questions where the backbenchers are on a Friday.