Budget Implementation Act, 2009  Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to join in the debate. I want to commend my colleague from Welland for articulating very carefully what happens to people when they are unemployed. It is important to do that because we can get caught up in the loftiness of national programs and billions of dollars this and billions of dollars that.

Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives' human resources minister claimed that increasing employment insurance benefits would “make it lucrative for them to stay home and get paid for it”, she did not just expose her own ignorance. No, she revealed how little the Conservative government and its Liberal dance partners care for workers who lose their jobs during this recession.

Economic and Fiscal Statement  Mr. Speaker, since this is the first time I have stood in the House since the election, I want to begin by thanking my constituents of Hamilton Centre for returning me and giving me the honour of being here again for a third term. When I was listening to the member I was struck by the member’s respectful tone, tenor and approach as he tried to avoid being offensive.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition from my constituents in Hamilton Centre who are troubled that Statistics Canada's error in calculating the consumer price index resulted in lost revenues for Canadians who are on fixed incomes, like CPP, old age security and the guaranteed income supplement.

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, I will continue with the riveting reading I was doing, putting on the record the editorial from the Globe and Mail of May 20 of this year. I believe I left off with the sentence that states: But given concerns “about the use of lawsuits, more particularly libel suits, to prevent a Member from performing his or her duties in the House of Commons,” she wrote, Parliament might wish to amend the rules to make clear that such suits do not pose the same sort of “private interest” as business interests and other assets and liabilities.

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, I will do that. It is here in both languages in the record. I am just watching my time but I will certainly slow it down a pace. --should have disclosed this potential conflict at the outset of the committee's proceedings. But her assessment that he should have recused himself from the hearings because the lawsuit gave him a financial interest sets a troubling precedent.

Privilege  Mr. Speaker, we need to underscore the importance of this debate. I know there are probably government members who will at some point, either on the floor or in some fashion, be asking why are we wasting our time on this when we should be dealing with blah, blah, blah. The reality is that stopping and dealing with these kinds of fundamental issues are crucial when they happen because we soon forget about them and go on about our daily business.

Privilege  The royal you.

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, Canadians were shocked and saddened this week by the passage of the Conservative government's immigration law. The new law will abolish any guarantee of fairness in the system. It will not help reunite families and it will not end the backlog of almost a million applications.

Budget Implementation Act, 2008  Mr. Speaker, the member is a representative of Toronto, the largest city in the province of Ontario, naturally, and these people are being hit very hard. This theft of $54 billion means that if we get into a serious downtown we run the risk that there will not be enough money there, even for those who do qualify.

Budget Implementation Act, 2008  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity and the remarks of my colleague from London—Fanshawe. As everyone knows, she is a very effective critic on women's issues and once again has proven that point. It does take us back to the issue that each of us has spoken to. I am glad to have the opportunity to underscore it.

Budget Implementation Act, 2008  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the chance to join in the debate on behalf of my constituents in Hamilton Centre. I want to touch on three things in the short time that I have. First, I want to talk a bit about how the system was unfair to my home province of Ontario, even prior to the budget bill coming forward.

Budget Implementation Act, 2008  Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment my hon. colleague from Hamilton East—Stoney Creek. Members may not know this but the hon. member is the former president of the Hamilton and District Labour Council and was the longest serving president of the council. Therefore, the member has a reputation and a track record for standing up for working people.

Budget Implementation Act, 2008  Mr. Speaker, first, I thank my colleague from Hamilton Mountain for standing up so strongly and clearly for the interests of the working people in her riding. Everything she has mentioned that applies to them applies to all workers in all our ridings. One thing should jump out, and I will ask the hon. member to expand on it a bit so everybody truly understands.

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, a new study by Infometrica and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has reached a stunning conclusion. To quote FCM's president, Gord Steeves: The conclusion is inescapable: Canada's broken tax system, which downloads on municipalities while keeping them dependent on the property tax, is a job killer.