Government Operations committee  Thank you, Parm, for bringing to this committee the important voices of your constituents. It's obviously the case that many middle-class families in your riding will benefit or have benefited from the important activities of the construction industry. We need them and their workers to do all the right things they're currently doing in B.C. and in your riding.

Climate Change  That amount might be minimal to him when he is cashing his CCB cheque, but it is not to middle-class families. We now know why he wants to take money away from Canadians. He is in the pocket of big business. We learned from media reports that he was partying with oil lobbyists and CEOs at private, cash-for-access fundraisers in Banff just last year.

Carbon Pricing  Speaker, not only did the Parliamentary Budget Officer testify that the majority of households will pay more in carbon taxes than they get back in rebates, but there is also a table showing that, in every single province in which this tax applies, middle-class families pay vastly more than they get back. Canadians know it, because, under the Prime Minister, they have seen their food, their fuel, their homes and their heating go through the roof.

Carbon Pricing  That is because we created a plan that not only is one of the strongest plans to fight climate change in the world but also puts more money back in the pockets of middle-class Canadians, as we build a stronger future, better careers, more competitiveness and a safer environment for generations to come. That is the plan we have. That is not what they are doing.

Right Hon. Brian Mulroney  That is the day Brian Mulroney took the office of Prime Minister. It was very inspiring to see a fellow born in a middle-class working family become the Prime Minister of Canada. That can happen only here in Canada. I was later recruited by the Right Hon. Paul Martin, in 1990, to support him in his leadership race.

Business of Supply  According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the price on pollution puts money back in the pockets of middle‑class families and the least fortunate. What is more, 80% of the people who pay the tax receive more in compensation than they pay in carbon tax. The tax does not apply in all provinces.

Business of Supply  I went to many food banks that had a double to triple increase in one year. The demographic of who is using that food bank are students, seniors, working middle class and active serving military families. I could not believe what I heard Jane from Oromocto Food Bank. She said that it had about 50 active serving military families accessing the food bank.

Business of Supply  What the Conservatives never say and what the Liberals have such a hard time explaining is that there is a financial compensation program for middle-class families as well as for the poorest workers in the provinces where this carbon tax applies. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who is a leading authority on Parliament Hill, 80% of Canadian households in provinces where this applies get more back than they pay in carbon taxes, a legitimate price indicator tool to change behaviours.

Carbon Pricing  Speaker, fear and falsehoods to distract from the fact that after eight years of the Prime Minister he is not worth the cost, and neither is his carbon tax, which will cost the average Ontario family this coming year $1,674. That is $1,674 for a middle-class family that has lined up at a food bank, not able to feed itself or pay its heating bill. Will the Prime Minister give his head a shake, cancel his cruel April Fool's Day joke and spike the hike?

Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act  When we think of how this government has been there to support Canadians, providing programs that have seen disposable incomes go up for seniors and families with children, we have witnessed the Conservative Party vote against those measures time and time again, right from the beginning. We told families we would give the middle class a break and brought in a tax reduction for Canada's middle class, and the Conservatives voted against that. When we brought in reforms to the Canada child benefit, the Conservative Party voted against them too.

Business of the House  We have announced a whole bunch more homes being built in Canada. We have reduced taxes on the middle class and increased them on the one per cent, and those guys voted against it. The budget is the best in the G7, and we have a great record on reducing poverty. All these things are well in hand without the bad track record of the previous government.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  The main source country is one that, when you compare it to other countries in terms of the global middle class, does have an availability to mobilize money more easily than do other countries in which there are equally excellent students.

Taxation  Meanwhile, the NDP-Liberal Prime Minister has raised taxes on gas, heat, groceries and paycheques; raised income taxes on middle-class and lower-income Canadians; and raised taxes on small businesses. He keeps raising taxes. It is enough to drive a man to drink, but he wants to tax that too on April 1 with another 5% increase on beer, wine and spirits that will kill jobs for those workers and raise costs for consumers.

Carbon Pricing  While the Parliamentary Budget Officer actually did the calculation of the full fiscal and economic cost for the average family, he found that every family in the middle class is worse off under the carbon tax. For example, in Ontario, the net cost for the average family, above and beyond rebates, is $627 this year. How are they going to pay for that—

Business of Supply  We needed to bring in subject matter expertise, which a lot of these consulting firms have. Sometimes we do need that. We understand that. We will always have the backs of middle-class Canadians in my riding and across this country.