International Trade  Mr. Speaker, our government is focused on creating jobs and economic growth all across Canada. A key part of our plan is deepening and strengthening our relationships with the fast-growing economies of the Asia-Pacific. Our ongoing efforts in the region will bring tremendous benefits to Canada's exporters, including our energy sector.

Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, simply put, the member was obviously talking about some of the changes to employment insurance, but he also talked about feeling that we were accusing him, his party and the other opposition members of fearmongering. They have certainly been talking about not having an opportunity to debate.

Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I noticed that my opposition colleague across the way spoke about being troubled. Let me tell members that I am also troubled. I am troubled by the fact that when we bring forward measures to try to make sure our economy continues to be one of the strongest in the entire world, to make sure we are insulated from some of the problems in Europe and other countries to the best degree we can, when we look at measures to ensure we can continue to grow our economy and develop our resources but do so while respecting the environment, when we look at improving trade opportunities for Canadians through new trade deals and expanding trade deals, when we try to do all of these for the best interests of the Canadian economy to make sure Canadian businesses continue to thrive and create jobs for Canadians, and I certainly look at our record of more than 700,000 net new jobs created over the past few years, certainly we have been doing all this for the benefit of Canadians to ensure that our economy continues to thrive and grow.

Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak tonight about the opposition's intransigence with respect to the passage of Bill C-38, the jobs, growth and long-term prosperity act, and to speak against the opposition's attempts to delay and defeat this important economic legislation. The NDP and its opposition cohorts are engaging in all sorts of games to hijack this important piece of legislation.

Canada–Jordan Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I know my colleague is a member of the international trade committee, so I suspect he has a fair bit of expertise in this area and has probably spent a lot of time studying this agreement. Could the member share with the House some of the ways that this agreement would benefit Canada.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, Canadians were horrified to hear of this weekend's massacre in the Syrian town of Hula in which more than 100 people, including 34 children, were killed. Even with UN observers on the ground, the Assad regime continues to ignore its commitment to the Annan peace plan and flaunt its utter disregard for human life.

Tourism Week  Mr. Speaker, May 14 to 20 is Tourism Week in Canada, a national initiative that showcases the economic impact of travel and tourism from coast to coast to coast. Tourism is one of the few industries that drives economic growth in every region across the country. Travel industry employment provides vital incomes for individuals and families and serves as the economic lifeblood of communities across this great nation.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, Canada's justice system should always put the rights of law-abiding Canadians ahead of those of criminals. Canadians are increasingly concerned about the violent and reckless behaviour displayed by those who participate in public riots. Those who vandalize the homes and businesses of hard-working Canadians should not be able to hide their identity while doing so.

New Democratic Party of Canada  Mr. Speaker, the recently announced NDP shadow cabinet contains the member for London—Fanshawe, the critic for pensions. The member opposite is a union activist who had a stint in the Ontario NDP cabinet of the current federal Liberal interim leader. That disastrous NDP government was best known for destroying Ontario's economy in the 1990s.

Preventing Persons from Concealing Their Identity During Riots and Unlawful Assemblies Act  Mr. Speaker, for the last several nights fires have been burning in the streets of Montreal. Police officers and journalists have been assaulted, stores and other private property were vandalized, and over 85 people have been arrested in riots that started on Tuesday. My private member's bill, Bill C-309, would protect Canadians from these crimes and would allow police to arrest masked troublemakers before these unlawful assemblies became full-fledged riots.

Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act  Mr. Speaker, first of all, it is very unfortunate the Liberal Party is choosing not to support legislation like this, legislation that is very balanced and fair and seeks to ensure that we provide protection for those who are genuinely in need of our protection in a quicker and more expeditious fashion, while also saving the taxpayers of Canada hundreds of millions of dollars by ensuring that we do not have to deal with bogus claims from countries we should not be dealing with.

Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act  Mr. Speaker, I note that in some of the hon. member's comments there were some very misleading statements. I would argue that it is certainly much fairer to those who seek to come here as refugees to know that they will have their claims processed much more quickly. By ensuring that we are able to eliminate the bogus claims from our system more quickly, we will also be able to be fairer to those who come here and genuinely need our assistance.

Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act  Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to speak to Bill C-31, the protecting Canada's immigration system act. I am proud to be part of a government that is effectively balancing ensuring that we offer protection for legitimate asylum seekers with maintaining the integrity of our immigration system and our security, all while ensuring that we build an immigration system that allows those who seek to come to Canada to contribute to the economic needs of our country and allowing them to be welcomed here more expeditiously.

Air Canada  Mr. Speaker, a work stoppage at Air Canada would be damaging to Canada's fragile economy and would strand over a million Canadians this week alone. Early this morning our government passed back to work legislation to keep Air Canada in the air. As expected, the opposition put the interests of its big union bosses ahead of the Canadian economy and the public interest.

Port of Québec  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to continue the discussion in response to the member's Motion No. 271, which proposes that the federal government recognize the importance of the Quebec Port Authority and support its various projects. The member for Beauport—Limoilou tabled a motion that calls upon the federal government to recognize that the port of Quebec is important for international trade, in creating jobs, in generating economic benefits and in ensuring the vitality of businesses in Quebec City and the surrounding areas.