Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, our government relies on the scientific expertise of our fisheries biologists and researchers to ensure the effective management, sustainable development, and protection of our aquatic resources. Our government has ensured that funding to science has remained consistent in recent years.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to go back to one of the things the previous speaker said, when he insulted the natural resource economy and the workers in the natural resources economy. He said that we need to go beyond it, we need to go into the modern economy. I represent a natural-resource-producing community, and those kinds of words and phrases I find extremely insulting.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to my colleague's speech. It exemplifies again the NDP's anti-development stance. The New Democrats would sooner never develop any of Canada's natural resources. A report came out today in the press saying that the entire Canadian economy is largely dependent on the development of our natural resources.

Regional Economic Development  Mr. Speaker, recently the RCMP announced that it had decided to discontinue its use of the iconic muskrat hat. This unilateral move by the RCMP has outraged the fur industry, rural and remote communities, and thousands of trappers. The fur trade is vital to the economy of many remote rural communities, communities that often have few other economic options.

Teaching Excellence Award  Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Mr. Byron Ross, who was recently recognized by our Prime Minister with an award for teaching excellence. Mr. Ross taught in the business program at the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School in Swan River, Manitoba. He taught his students tangible skills that provided them with the tools to become intuitive business leaders and entrepreneurs.

Coastal Fisheries Protection Act  Mr. Speaker, as I listened to the last two speeches, I realized that it is clearly time to set the record straight. The member for Cardigan talked about the Experimental Lakes Area. It is now being run by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and will continue to provide world-class science.

Rouge National Urban Park Act  Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The hon. member across the way referred to me as making a comment, and I have yet to speak today, so I would ask him to retract it.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to stand up in the House of Commons to inform Canadians of the work our government is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while keeping the economy strong. Under the previous Liberal government, Canada lacked any policy to reduce these emissions, which is why our government has been working so hard to reduce emissions.

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to the speech of my colleague from Winnipeg South Centre. I have the honour of serving in the Manitoba caucus with her, and I consider her one of the brightest and most talented MPs in the entire House. I, too, am very proud to be a Conservative member of Parliament.

National Conservation Plan  Mr. Speaker, our government's new national conservation plan has been welcomed by farmers, landowners, hunters, anglers, and conservation groups. The Canadian Wildlife Federation said, “The Federal Government's [...] investment in conservation is a positive step forward [...]”.

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to my colleague's speech. I found his historical references quite interesting, as well. One of the things about the parties opposite, the centre-left party and the left party, is that their economic policies are, by and large, to spend, spend, spend.

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, my question for the minister relates to investments that our government is making in Canada's youth. Providing Canada's youth with opportunities, information, and education is vital to the success of our country. Economic action plan 2014 would make a number of key investments to ensure that today's youth have the skills they need to get the jobs of today and tomorrow.

National Wildlife Week  Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise in the House to mark the first day of National Wildlife Week. The National Wildlife Week Act was passed in 1947 to commemorate the life of Jack Miner. A trapper and a hunter, he was known as the father of North American conservation and was credited with saving the Canada goose from extinction.

Juno Awards  Mr. Speaker, Winnipeg welcomed the Canadian music industry with open arms last week, as the 2014 Juno Awards rocked Manitoba's capital. Juno week showcased the exceptional talents of Canadian singers, songwriters, composers, musicians, entrepreneurs, and other music professionals, and came to an exciting end last night with the awards broadcast.

Jeffrey MacDonald  Mr. Speaker, Manitoba Conservatives have lost a good friend in Jeff MacDonald. Growing up on a farm near Minnedosa, Jeff was a political institution. He worked at the legislature for Premier Gary Filmon's minister of agriculture, and was the project manager for the Economic Development Board of Cabinet.