Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, last week the NDP leader attacked Canada's national interests on the world stage. In a move that was criticized by premiers, media and even members of his own party, the NDP leader argued against the pro-Canadian Keystone XL project that would create thousands of jobs on both sides of the border.

Pink Shirt Day  Mr. Speaker, Pink Shirt Day was held February 27, issuing a challenge to all Canadians to make some noise against bullying. I am proud to report that the people in my riding are rising to that challenge. One town in my riding, Cochrane, Alberta, is now home to Bill Belsey who coined the phrase “cyberbullying” and who founded Bullying Awareness Week 10 years ago.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, under the leadership of our Conservative government, Canada has become a leader in a troubled global economy. We have the lowest debt burden and the strongest job creation record in the G7, with over 900,000 net new jobs since July 2009. Not only that, but the IMF and the OECD forecast Canada to be among the fastest-growing G7 economies in the years ahead.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, while the NDP talks down Canada's economy, our Conservative government has a low tax plan for jobs and growth. Our plan has kept more money in the pockets of families and Canadian businesses to create jobs. While the NDP may not like it, lower taxes, and not costly new carbon taxes, help create jobs for Canadians and promote economic growth.

New Democratic Party of Canada  Mr. Speaker, our natural resources sector plays a vital role in our economy. Projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline support 140,000 jobs for Canadians. While our government supports our natural resources sector, the NDP's plan for this sector is to send some of its senior NDP MPs to Washington to lobby against creating good Canadian jobs.

Bert Church High School  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Bert Church High School for placing as a top three finalist in the Under Armour Finding Undeniable contest. This national contest saw thousands of students, teachers and parents compete to show off their school spirit. Through a series of challenges that tested the morale of entire school communities, I am proud to say that Bert Church, home of the Chargers, rose to the top, finishing second in Canada in the preliminary round.

First Nations Financial Transparency Act  Mr. Speaker, I was being rudely interrupted and I did yield the floor to you to call order, and I appreciate your doing that, but it is unfortunate, when a question is asked, that the answer is not something hon. members are interested in hearing. The reason they are not interested in hearing it is that the answer is quite simple.

First Nations Financial Transparency Act  Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my remarks, we are talking about aggregated information. We are talking about audited financial statements. I do not believe there is anything that will harm any proprietary business interests in doing so. This legislation is seeking to simply provide to first nations members that same accountability, that same transparency that is provided to all other Canadians.

First Nations Financial Transparency Act  The salaries of members of Parliament are certainly disclosed and basic information is also provided. The legislation would expect of first nations the very same information being disclosed that is already....

First Nations Financial Transparency Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and for his efforts alongside me and other members of the government on the committee that spent time studying this legislation, and certainly for his contributions to it. In answer to his question, certainly not. All Canadians deserve the same rights to accountability and transparency.

First Nations Financial Transparency Act  I appreciate the question, Mr. Speaker, and I will reiterate to my colleague how important accountability and transparency has been for our government.

First Nations Financial Transparency Act  Mr. Speaker, part of this legislation would be accountability and transparency, which our government has made very high priorities. In fact, members only have to look as far as the first thing our government did upon taking office, which was the Federal Accountability Act, to demonstrate the government's very strong commitment to ensuring accountability and transparency.

First Nations Financial Transparency Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak on this piece of legislation today. There are those who argue that it is not necessary to enshrine transparency and accountability in legislation governing first nations' financial transactions. Those people appear to be content to let band officials decide whether they want to make available to members the information about how community funds are spent.

Liberal Party of Canada  Mr. Speaker, as time passes people learn, grow and change. Unfortunately, even though time has passed, the Liberal Party has not learned a thing. Yesterday, the senior Liberal spokesperson for natural resources said that Albertans should “go back to Alberta” if they want to represent the interests of Albertans and the energy industry.

Canadian Tourism Awards  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to bring your attention to the Tourism Industry Association of Canada's annual congress, which is now underway in Gatineau. This premier event brings industry and government together to both celebrate and strengthen Canada's $79 billion tourism sector, which directly and indirectly supports 1.6 million jobs.