Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, it is that time of year again. Farmers are entering their fields for the annual spring seeding. Western grain farmers are anxiously waiting for their chance to seed their wheat and barley crop, which, for the first time in 69 years, can be marketed through the Canadian Wheat Board or through an open market.

Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I know the member for Selkirk—Interlake had a lot of input in this budget because, if we look at his situation, these are areas where he had a lot of concern for his constituents. He wanted to ensure they had the tools and resources they needed to get the job done on their farms and ensure they can produce a good, healthy crop and have a good lifestyle.

Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I could go on for hours on what the response will be from the manufacturing sector and the resource development sector on this budget because of what we have done. Right off the bat I can say that having a low corporate income tax rate is an incentive for companies to locate for value-added here on the Prairies, and that is in the budget.

Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, it is classic NDP spending priorities. We can take that money, put it on statistics and hire people who will study and study more things, or we can actually take that money and put into more education for aboriginal students, because that is what they are asking for in my riding.

Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Fredericton. It is my honour to be here today to speak to the budget and budget implementation. It is something that is actually very easy to speak to, because it makes so much sense and it actually sets Canada up for a future that will be very strong.

Public Sector Unions  Mr. Speaker, yesterday big union bosses at Canada's largest public sector unions imposed hikes on their members, with new levies to fund direct political action and support NDP tax and spend policies. We know this additional levy will be used for partisan purposes, including political ads, multi-million dollar strike funds and pension bonuses for the big union bosses.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, on March 29, 2012, our government introduced plans for jobs and growth, economic action plan 2012. The plan is forward-looking in addressing long-term challenges and opportunities for Canadians. It is a plan that Canada's leading economists have applauded. Now our Conservative government is squarely focused on implementing it and its pro-job, pro-economic growth measures.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, yesterday's budget, “Economic Action Plan 2012: Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity”, was great news for Saskatchewan. Our provincial finance minister welcomed the budget. He said that the changes to the employment insurance system would benefit our province and help deal with the skilled labour shortage.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition from 25 people in Nipawin, Saskatchewan, a community in my riding. The petitioners call upon Parliament to confirm that every human being is recognized by Canadian laws as human by amending section 223 of the Criminal Code in such a way as to reflect 21st century medical evidence.

Interparliamentary Delegations  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to this House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas, representing its participation in the bilateral visit to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

University of Regina Student Union  Mr. Speaker, my Saskatchewan Conservative colleagues and I were extremely disappointed to learn of the University of Regina student union's recent one-sided resolution calling on the university to join the boycott, divest and sanction movement against Israel. The state of Israel as a western liberal democracy is not perfect but considering the human rights abuses now taking place in Israel's neighbour Syria, it is saddening to see the U of R student union's use of alarmist language like “war crimes”, “oppression” and “occupation” against Israel.

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I would appreciate it if the parliamentary secretary could help me educate the member from the NDP on just how important this is to the people of Canada. Let us look at other countries where we have done trade deals in the past. We made a trade deal with Costa Rica and the quality of governance has gone up in that country.

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, again it goes back to the classic NDP position to oppose everything. It does not matter what is on the table, the NDP is just going to oppose it. When my constituents look at this deal they understand that no country is like Canada. Canada is a great beacon to the world.

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, the member would have credibility if the NDP actually agreed with any type of forward movement in trade. The member has not agreed with any trade deal. He has never said that it has been good for businesses. He has not gone out to talk to prairie farmers who said they have market access for their pulses and pork, which means that farmers are going to have more money in their back pockets.

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge that the Liberal Party at least understands that trade is important to Canada. However, I do not think the member understands how important it was to change the Canadian Wheat Board. In fact, the Canadian Wheat Board is still alive today and will be alive five years from now.