Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from Canadians who want the government to take measures to stop the global practice of shark finning and ensure the responsible conservation and management of sharks. They call on the Government of Canada to immediately legislate a ban on the importation of shark fins to Canada.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions signed by thousands of Canadians across the country, including those from my riding of New Westminster—Coquitlam, and Port Moody. The first is from Canadians who are concerned with cuts to Canada Post, the elimination of door-to-door service, the loss of up to $8,000 jobs, and the significant increase in postage.

Fisheries and Oceans  Mr. Speaker, this is the minister who has gutted the Fisheries Act, muzzled scientists, and ignored experts from her own department. Now she is turning her back on first nations, too. She is provoking unnecessary conflict and confrontation. Conservative mismanagement of our fisheries has British Columbians just shaking their heads.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions signed by thousands of Canadians across the country, including those from my riding of New Westminster—Coquitlam and Port Moody. The first petition is from Canadians who are concerned about cuts to Canada Post, the elimination of door-to-door service, the loss of up to 8,000 jobs, and the significant increase to postage.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from Canadians who want the government to take measures to stop the global practice of shark finning and to ensure responsible conservation management of sharks. The petitioners call on the government to immediately legislate a ban on the importation of shark fins to Canada.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's comments and his observation of my speech and intervention. I was trying to point out some relevant priorities that we could be looking at for the use of those dollars, and that Canadians want to see a better use of taxpayer dollars. To add to the list that I have, the truth is the government does not care about the growing inequality in our country.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, that is a great point. I think that is at the heart of the matter of why we were debating this motion that we have brought forward. It is the responsibility of each of us as parliamentarians to ensure that public money is spent with a frugal and restrained spirit. When spent properly, tax dollars can be used by government to make smart investments, provide impressive returns, and improve the socio-economic prosperity of all Canadians.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I think I did link the topic of ethics. I also talked about transparency and accountability. I am going to finish with priorities, in terms of where we should be spending the money that is being wasted by the government. Hopefully the member is paying attention to this intervention and does make the link to my points.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of the NDP motion before us about the misuse of taxpayers' dollars. It seems that the Prime Minister and his friends have been wracking up flights on government Challenger aircraft as if these jets are their own personal planes. Access to Information documents reveal that the Prime Minister is increasingly using Challenger jets, not only for his own family's travel, but for personal friends and Conservative Party fundraisers.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the member mentioned equivalent cost. I am curious. When he talks about equivalent cost of seats, is he seriously trying to tell the House that a seat on a private jet is the same as an economy seat on a chartered flight?

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions signed by thousands of Canadians across the country, including my riding. The first is from Canadians concerned about cuts to Canada Post, including the elimination of door-to-door service, the loss of up to 8,000 jobs, and significant increases to postage fees.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls on the Government of Canada to immediately legislate a ban on the importation of shark fins into Canada.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, certainly, putting funding into crime prevention has been shown in study after study to go a long way in increasing public safety in communities. The budget would not do that. In fact, we could look at other areas, like health care. Putting funding and resources into health prevention is also just as important and fundamentally helps increase health in communities.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, absolutely. In my consultations, I consulted with the municipalities in my riding. Certainly, New Westminster has pointed out, in its infrastructure needs for transportation, that it is looking for a predictable, reliable source of funding. Certainly they are looking for more funding and the gas tax is important.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to budget 2014. The government's budget document was over 400 pages, but I must say that it is very thin on ideas and solutions. The Minister of Finance speaks of returning to a balanced budget, yet this is the government that has created the largest deficit in Canadian history and has delivered eight deficit budgets in a row.