Sales Tax Amendments Act, 2006  Mr. Speaker, there they go again. The government members are laughing again, but it is not that funny to the Canadians who benefit from those programs, because the Conservatives are not going to lead on those issues. That is why it took the NDP and the CCF being in the House to bring about those changes that affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of Canadians.

Sales Tax Amendments Act, 2006  Mr. Speaker, inasmuch as she might like to have a provincial debate on Saskatchewan here on the floor of the House of Commons, that is not going to happen. The reality is that the governments in the provinces will govern as they deem in the best interests of their citizens. However, let me say two things.

Sales Tax Amendments Act, 2006  Mr. Speaker, I would agree with the member that if we look at what has happened overall in Canada in the last 10 to 15 years, there was a major article over the weekend either in Maclean's or the Toronto Star. It might have been by Thomas Walkom. It was really good and talked about--

Sales Tax Amendments Act, 2006  Mr. Speaker, some of the government members are laughing and they would when these sort of things come up and we talk about unfairness because, quite frankly, if I were on the side that had everything, I would laugh if I heard someone representing the other side because we would not want it to take hold would we?

Sales Tax Amendments Act, 2006  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to join in the debate. Let me begin by saying that we have a lot of paperwork here. It is a big bill. There is the bill itself and the explanatory notes that go with it. The bottom line is, though, that most of this is indeed housekeeping.

Questions on the Order Paper  With respect to programs and spending administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) within the riding of Hamilton Centre: (a) what was the amount spent in 2006; (b) what is the projected budget for 2007; (c) how many CHMC-funded housing units for singles and families currently exist; and (d) how many CMHC-funded housing units for singles and families are planned for the remainder of 2006 and 2007?

Human Rights  Mr. Speaker, Sunday, December 10 is International Human Rights Day. This year the UN has adopted the theme of “Fighting Poverty: a matter of obligation, not charity”, something the government would do well to respect. In fact, under the Conservative regime, Canadians' rights are under serious attack.

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, last Thursday the government announced in its economic update a requirement that provinces, territories and municipalities consider P3 options. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities said, “We are concerned that this new funding requirement may create unnecessary red tape and become a barrier to participation by municipalities”.

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt it is being done around the world, but it is also failing around the world. The British Medical Journal found that P3 hospitals were up to 60% more expensive than public hospitals. The Australian state auditor found that its P3 hospitals cost twice as much.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have a petition, circulated by the Canadian Auto Workers union, with literally pages of names. The petitioners call upon the government to stop the free trade agreement with Korea, which is under way. There are many petitions being circulated and presented here in the House.

Budget Implementation Act, 2006, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, I would just pick up on the last point the hon. member made. I would bring to his attention that every time the government stands up and brags about money it is putting into anything that is socially progressive, that is money that came from Bill C-48, the NDP budget.

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, one of the former Liberal government's most shameful legacies is an immigration and refugee backlog of over 700,000 applications. Every day in my Hamilton Centre office we see the heartbreak of separated families and seniors in tears as they are torn away from their grandchildren.

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to join in the debate. I thank my colleague, the hon. member for Vancouver Island North for introducing the bill. Those who know her background will know how proud she is, like myself, to be a product of the Canadian labour movement. She carries those values and important priorities with her to this place.

Poverty  Mr. Speaker, I recently organized a round table meeting with some of the leaders of Hamilton's immigrant support organizations to discuss how we can better help settle new Canadians into our community. One of the key priorities raised is the chronic high unemployment and increasing poverty among immigrant families.

Questions on the Order Paper  With regard to the 1% reduction in the Goods and Services Tax (GST): (a) what measures have the government put in place to ensure that the vendors of products with GST included in the price pass the GST cut along to consumers; and (b) how will the government ensure that vendors do not take advantage of the GST decrease to implement a price increase and pocket the savings that were intended for consumers?