Employment  Mr. Speaker, shrimp season has just opened in Newfoundland. Today we have heard that the Quinlan Brothers processing plant, which employs about 700 people, has suffered a devastating fire. This disaster will impact not only the community and local plant workers but also the fishermen who land their catch at Bay de Verde.

George Lane  Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to honour a great Albertan, George Lane. George Lane was a legendary rancher and, as a member of the Big Four, a founding father of the Calgary Stampede. He was a former owner of the Bar U Ranch, the national historic site in my riding of Foothills.

Public Service Labour Relations Act  Mr. Speaker, my colleague brings up a good point. We are fooling ourselves if we believe that there has never been any influence or coercion, or strong-arming of members of a business or a company when it comes to forming a union. What we really need to focus on is ensuring that the RCMP members do not just have the privilege, but that it is their right to have a democratic secret ballot.

Public Service Labour Relations Act  Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear. We do support the outline of Bill C-7, but we are encouraging the Liberal government to take this back to committee and have a fulsome discussion on the merits of a secret ballot over the card check system. I am very relieved to hear from a member of the Liberal government that they are willing to have that discussion.

Public Service Labour Relations Act  Mr. Speaker, I missed the beginning of the member's question, but I believe she asked if someone in the field would have the same opportunities. Absolutely, that is part of a collective bargaining process, to have the opportunity to discuss various issues between employees and their union.

Public Service Labour Relations Act  Mr. Speaker, how often do members think those residents would be telling the person at the front door the truth? How would we feel here about it? When there is a card check system vote and they are asking people in a union shop, for example, to raise their hand while everyone else is standing there looking at them, how is that fair and democratic?

Public Service Labour Relations Act  Mr. Speaker, it truly is an honour to follow my respected colleague from Yellowhead. I thank him for sharing his time with me. I have a lot of respect for his 35 years of service with the RCMP, protecting the communities of Canada. We are truly blessed to have him as a member of our caucus.

Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act  Madam Speaker, we appreciate most of Bill C-7, and certainly we want to support our RCMP members and all the work they do, but I find it interesting that the bill does not include the opportunity for RCMP members to have a secret ballot when they wish to unionize. I would like to ask why.

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, during the debate today we have heard many times from the members opposite that the tax-free savings account is something that only benefits the wealthy, the affluent even. Some of the NDP members today have asked why they should be supporting a tax break for the affluent.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is going to Washington this week to meet with groups that are openly anti-oil sands and anti-Canadian jobs. When NDP members met in Washington to lobby against Canadian jobs, Canadians were appalled, but now the Prime Minister is doing it. There are thousands of Canadians across this country who are out of work.

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, first, on the child tax credit, the liberals got their math very wrong on the middle-class tax cut. I am really going to be interested to see what your math is like on the child benefit and whether it will indeed benefit nine out of ten Canadian families. On the TFSA, what is the harm in doubling it?

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, the key phrase in that question was “affluent Canadians”. With all the stats and facts that are out there, the Liberals still feel that the tax-free savings account is somehow a tax shelter for the wealthy. Sixty per cent of those people who maxed out their TFSA made $60,000 or less.

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak to Bill C-2. I want to focus my discussion today on the tax-free savings account. I find some of the comments from the other side of the floor about the tax-free savings account, which we initiated, very interesting. We are very proud of this initiative and I think many Canadians appreciate it.

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on the question my colleague asked regarding the consultation. When I went around my riding and most of Alberta, the feedback I received from Albertans was that the increase in the tax-free savings account was extremely welcomed to Albertans. Talking to my colleagues, I heard that it was extremely positive across Canada.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, earlier this week the Saudi oil minister announced that OPEC is willing to ride out this downturn. In fact, it is hoping that this will force competitors like Canada right out of the business. With thousands of jobs being lost in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the current Liberal government is content to continue to have foreign oil flow into eastern refineries.