Economic Action Plan  Mr. Speaker, tomorrow former Nortel employees will gather on Parliament Hill to make their concerns known. Our thoughts and empathy are with the people who have lost their jobs or suffered in any way during this global recession. That is why our economic action plan provides up to two years in training, extends employment insurance by five weeks, and 20 weeks for long-tenured workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.

Canada Grain Act  It's getting serious.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Liberal leader's office launched an adult conversation about higher taxes. This follows the Liberal leader's April statement, “We will have to raise taxes,” and his December 2008 statement, “I'm not going to take a GST hike off the table”. Last month he voted against the Conservative home renovation tax credit.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, it is on a night like tonight after Liberal attempts to force a wasteful and opportunistic election that members like that could have a change of heart and agree that now is the time to work together with the Prime Minister to advance the economic action plan. This action plan is creating jobs with construction projects that help our communities build and grow into the future.

House debate  Mr. Speaker, the member across the way talked about support for bank mergers. There was a member of the House of Commons who did support the bank mergers. In fact, he said, “The mindset was, we need to be more global, more like Citibank”. We have seen what has happened to Citibank.

Employment Insurance Act  Madam Speaker, my distinguished friend raises the important point about the various resources that we have in our country to create jobs and opportunities for Canadians of all walks of life. Our economic action plan does exactly that. It lowers taxes for families so they can spend and invest more and create jobs.

Employment Insurance Act  Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her question. The Conservative Party wants to act swiftly. That is why we have an economic action plan that respects Canadian labour values and helps families that need help. That economic action plan is not only helping people who have lost their jobs but helping them find new ones.

Employment Insurance Act  Madam Speaker, I thank the member for making proposals. We do not always agree in this place, but that does not mean we cannot work together. I appreciate that the member will be supporting this Conservative measure to help long-term workers get through a difficult period brought on by the recession.

Employment Insurance Act  Madam Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity to contribute to the debate on employment insurance and the Conservative economic action plan. Hon. members, many Canadians and their families are facing the real and immediate effects of the global recession. It is important for people to be aware of the action this government has taken to help men and women who have lost their jobs during this global recession, through no fault of their own.

Petitions  Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition to abolish the long gun registry immediately. The petition states that the long gun registry has wasted over $2 billion of public money and that criminals do not register their guns. It also states that the enactment of the long gun registry has led to the harassment of farmers, hunters, lawful gun owners, and there is scant evidence that this boondoggle has protected any lives at all.

Minister of Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, there are two tracks to the response to this global problem. One is to work with our international partners to increase the supply of medical isotopes and also to find alternatives in the meantime. The other is to appoint an expert panel that will work together on a long-term strategy for the production of medical isotopes in the future.

Medical Isotopes  Mr. Speaker, the member will know that the NRU reactor is aging and that currently that reactor is experiencing an unplanned and unexpected shutdown. AECL has stated that “it will take at least three months to action the repairs”. Those are the words of AECL. We are committed to ensuring that this happens as quickly as possible.

Medical Isotopes  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. There are two parts to it. One is the short-term reaction to the problem before us. Right now, Canada is leading in the world to find an international response to this global problem. In fact, the Petten reactor in The Netherlands has ramped up production by 50% and South Africa by 30%.

Medical Isotopes  Mr. Speaker, I quote Hugh MacDiarmid, the CEO of AECL: --even if we were to take the decision tomorrow morning for whatever set of reasons to try to return the MAPLEs to service, it would be many years and many hundreds of millions of dollars before those reactors would be licenseable and able to be put into service.

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, the Conservative economic action plan rolled out a massive job creating construction list Friday, including the Strandherd-Armstrong bridge. It will connect Riverside south and Barrhaven and take traffic out of historic Manotick. I worked with the province, the city, the federal transport minister and my MPP, Lisa MacLeod, to get the job done.