Budget Implementation Act, 2006  Mr. Speaker, while listening to the speeches I was thinking about small businesses as I have a business background. Canadians have not put their clear trust into the Conservative government. Their trust is conditional. I personally feel that we are here to serve Canadians, whether we believe in their thinking or not.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, first of all I would like to congratulate the member on giving a great speech, from which it was quite evident that she has quite a few families in her riding who are earning under $36,000. How is the member going to defend the values and rights of those families when the government has brought in a tax increase in only one category, that is, the lowest income families?

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the member is probably one of the longest serving members here and will know that the previous prime minister did an extremely excellent job in calling the Gomery commission, which was an independent, transparent inquiry to address those issues. It was the first time in Canadian history that any prime minister brought a situation such as this to the public's attention in an open and very transparent manner.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, first of all, I am sure the hon. member has been in politics for as long as I have. He should look at the Conservative government that left this country broke in 1993. Its international credit was at risk. It was an international credit risk, with $42 billion a year in deficit.

The Budget  I am not the one saying this. The hon. member and other hon. members who are trying to heckle me should read The Economist magazine, which in fact said that Canada is the second best country to invest in. This is an achievement of the Liberal government of the last 13 years, and I want to tell those hon. members that Canadians kept 11% more after paying taxes than they did in 1993 when the Conservative government left this country dead broke.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my team with the member for Cape Breton—Canso. First, I would like to echo the comments made by the member for Surrey North. I am sure the member would also agree that those issues are important not only to the North Surrey but also to all the people of Surrey and North Delta.

Political Donations  Mr. Speaker, last year the RCMP began probing tens of thousands of dollars donated to former MP Gurmant Grewal in my riding. Some of these donations ended up in his personal account and many of the donors have never received receipts. Everybody, including the RCMP, wants to know where that money has gone, everybody except the Prime Minister.

Firearms Registry  Mr. Speaker, over the past month I have had the privilege to meet with the Canadian Federation of University Women and the Coalition for Gun Control. Both organizations are working to correct so much of the misinformation around the gun registry and the licensing and permit requirements for firearms.

Federal Accountability Act  Mr. Speaker, when we are members of Parliament and we go out of this House we do not carry that much authority and power. On the other hand, the Minister of Defence, who was a lobbyist for many years, now carries real influence and that is more dangerous. I do not think people who were lobbyists should be allowed to be ministers.

Federal Accountability Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me a bit of information as I am new here and have not served on any of the committees. I understand that committees play a major role when decisions are made around this Parliament. In fact, most of the real work that happens is around those committees.

Federal Accountability Act  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Mississauga--Brampton South. I am sure I will not be the last member to speak on some concerns that many Canadians have with this bill in regard to access to information. There are just too many gaping holes that suggest real transparency may be nothing but lip service from the government, as it is with so many aspects of accountability as well.

Alternative Fuels  Mr. Speaker, this is my first time speaking in the House, so let me begin by thanking the voters who elected me as their representative and who gave me this opportunity to represent them to the best of my intentions, including the firefighters from Surrey and North Delta who are in the gallery today.