Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I have spent some time working with public accounts. I understand the process involved, and I realize the difference between some of the statements that are coming in and the proposed expenditures that will take place at other times. I heard one of the other members speak to this as well.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree. Even when we go into our own stores, we can look at the price of two litres of pop and compare that to the price of milk or something that is nutritious. It is frustrating when we see that sort of thing happen. It is one of the reasons we moved away from the food mail program, which also subsidized carburetors and snowmobile parts and so on.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River. I am honoured to have the opportunity to clarify why I cannot support the opposition motion. I can assure hon. colleagues that the government is committed to the welfare of northerners.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I spent my life as a high school math and physics teacher. For 34 years, I talked about economics and dealing with the ability for individuals to manage their accounts, how to deal with income tax, setting up their Canada pension plans, and managing and understanding EI, as well as concepts of savings and annuities.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the hon. member. It is absolutely true. When we look at different ways in which small and medium businesses send bills, whether electronically or by mail, there is no intent on their part to add more insult to injury. That is the frustration we have with mandatory fees.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, when there is a general discussion about income splitting, we have to look at what has actually occurred. Breaking it down, there would be a maximum amount that could be transferred to minimize the amount of tax. That is part of it. However, it is also a case of fairness.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, before I start, I would like you to know that I will be sharing my time with the member for Edmonton Centre. Our government has a strong record of empowering Canadian consumers. We understand that when Canadians make decisions about how to spend their money, they must be assured their interests come first and that they are given fair treatment.

Agriculture Producers in Alberta  Mr. Speaker, this past Saturday I hosted a round table at the Innisfail Auction Mart in my Red Deer riding to address the issues facing local livestock producers. We had a frank, open discussion about how our government can help central Alberta producers and the agriculture industry as a whole.

Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act  Mr. Speaker, earlier on, one of the NDP speakers said, on bringing back the costly Liberal gun registry, that the party had other plans. Could the hon. member comment on what the Liberal leader had indicated back on December 3, 2012. He said, “I voted to keep the firearms registry a few months ago and if we had a vote tomorrow I would vote once again to keep the long-gun registry”.

Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act  Mr. Speaker, of course the member was not here in the 40th Parliament when there was a private member's bill designed to get rid of the long gun registry. He did not see the members who had to be thrown under the bus when the numbers were not right as far as that bill being taken to committee.

Yukon and Nunavut Regulatory Improvement Act  Mr. Speaker, of course, as the member knows, the consultations were all consistent with the Umbrella Final Agreement, so all of the discussions were taking place within that framework. I remember earlier that the parliamentary secretary was speaking of the $100,000 that was there to help the consultations take place.

Yukon and Nunavut Regulatory Improvement Act  Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity a number of years ago, when I was first on the aboriginal affairs and northern development committee, to go to the north. We were in Iqaluit, Yellowknife, and Whitehorse. I had a chance to speak to different groups and different organizations.

Yukon and Nunavut Regulatory Improvement Act  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to speak to this legislation. After years of review and consultation with first nations and other northerners, with the legislation proposed in Bill S-6 we can now move forward with improvements to northern regulatory regimes. These improvements will yield long-term benefits for individuals and businesses in Yukon and Nunavut.

Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, sadly I know a lot of that, after having been a hospital board member and chairman for a number of years, back in the 1990s when the money was ripped out of the provincial coffers for social programs, as well as for health care. It was masterfully done, though, because if we ever listen to anybody at this point in time, they will say, “Remember how Ralph Klein destroyed the health care in Alberta”.

Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I certainly do not agree with their comments. Of course, I do not mean the opposition's comments particularly but the comments of the person the member was quoting. I have heard it mentioned by the Liberals that if we give people money, they are going to spend it on popcorn and beer.