An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to Make Certain Payments  That you wanted to give to the corporate sector. You just wanted to shovel it off the back of a truck.

An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to Make Certain Payments  Madam Speaker, I was interested in the comments of the hon. member opposite, particularly given the Conservative track record on management of financial affairs. Let us look at the Mulroney Conservative government of the 1980s and 1990s. We had record deficits, as we know. We also know that in the last federal election campaign the Conservative Party presented the most expensive platform in Canadian political history.

An Act to authorize the Minister of Finance to make certain payments  Mr. Speaker, I would like to praise the member for the tremendous work she has been doing as an advocate on behalf of all the people of Vancouver Island on the housing crisis which we are currently experiencing in British Columbia. In my area of Burnaby—New Westminster we have seen a tripling of homelessness.

An Act to authorize the Minister of Finance to make certain payments  Mr. Speaker, I am equally concerned about the use of public funds for private fundraising purposes, which we have seen through the sponsorship scandal and through the Liberal Party's mismanagement of public resources. These are public resources that belong to all Canadians and they were misused for private fundraising purposes of the Liberal Party of Canada.

An Act to authorize the Minister of Finance to make certain payments  Mr. Speaker, I am particularly pleased to have an opportunity to speak to Bill C-48, which the NDP, in this corner of the House, gave rise to. It is important. Indeed, after two years of Liberal inaction and budgets causing despair among Canadians, it is thanks to the NDP that we have a better, balanced budget.

Budget Implementation Act, 2005  Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the member's comments on the budget bill. I would like to come back to the issue of evergreening, because I know that the member has done a tremendous amount of work in that particular area to try to reduce those health care costs, which are going to what is an extremely profitable if not the most profitable industry sector in North America.

Budget Implementation Act, 2005  Mr. Speaker, I have two points. Obviously the hon. member for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam does not come to British Columbia very often. There was an election a few weeks ago. It is not two members of the NDP; it was the most significant breakthrough in Canadian provincial political history.

Budget Implementation Act, 2005  Mr. Speaker, I believe democracy is a fundamental component of Canada. Democracy, to my mind, means as elected representatives we come to this House and we vote and we make those choices because we have the responsibility as elected representatives. I was as shocked and appalled as anyone else in this House when Bill C-43 originally came up in this House.

Budget Implementation Act, 2005  Mr. Speaker, I would like to mention that I will be sharing my time with the member for Windsor West. I am very pleased to speak to Bill C-43 tonight, not because of what the budget originally contained when we began discussions on Bill C-43 but because of what the NDP has brought forward to help make this budget a better balanced budget.

Fisheries Act  Mr. Speaker, there is a whole variety of issues. It is not just the regulation that exists. It is the lack of action, particularly from the Liberal government, that has harmed most extensively the Pacific salmon fishery and the commercial fishery in British Columbia. As the hon. member knows, in many other areas as well we see the dithering of the government refusing to take action even in the midst of very clear indications that it needs to take action.

Fisheries Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Winnipeg Centre for sharing his time with me. This is an extremely important issue, not so much the amendments that I will read into the record shortly, but the whole issue of the fisheries across the country, including in my province of British Columbia.

Statistics Act  Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member well knows, it is not just the fact that there is no compatibility between the Conservatives and the New Democrats, it is also the fact that the Conservatives' poll numbers are sinking faster than a tugboat with a big leak in it. For those two reasons, I do not think anyone in this corner of the House would be interested in taking up that offer.

Statistics Act  Mr. Speaker, the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley stated very clearly the very positive reasons that this census data should be released 92 years after the fact and also spoke very eloquently to the balance between ensuring privacy but also ensuring that access to this information, which is very important and a public good, be continued or established by this act.

Firefighters  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member well knows that it is not for him to determine whether a motion is in order or not. The amendment will come around and the amendment will be put on the table in the House of Commons. I certainly hopes he supports it when that amendment comes up. I appreciate his past work.

Firefighters  Mr. Speaker, it is sad to see that some members in the House are not supporting what firefighters and public safety officers have been wanting, needing and deserving for a decade. It is certainly not the time to play politics with the lives and well-being of firefighters and their families.