Tax Convention and Arrangement Implementation Act, 2016  Madam Speaker, this type of treaty encourages greater links between Canada and the State of Israel, and greater investment and trade flows between Canada and Taiwan. That is what is important and what we need to focus on within this bill. It would allow Canada and Israel to continue to create stronger links between the two entities, and that is very important.

Tax Convention and Arrangement Implementation Act, 2016  Madam Speaker, to my hon. colleague, please look at part 1 and part 2 of the legislation and you will find the answer there.

Tax Convention and Arrangement Implementation Act, 2016  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak on Bill S-4. At first glance, members might ask why a bill dealing with international tax treaties and measures would be of much importance. On the face of it, Bill S-4 does not appear to have much to do with economic growth, but if we look at it a little, the thrust of the bill is entirely consistent with our government's commitment to growing the middle class and to help those looking to join it.

Vaughan Food Bank  Mr. Speaker, as we enter this holiday season, with all the joy it brings to many, it is important that we not forget those who are less fortunate in our communities. For over two decades in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, the Vaughan Food Bank, operated solely by volunteers and funded by private donations, has ensured that those facing difficult times are not left behind.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, I do remember quite well the gazebo that was built. I have not visited it, so I cannot describe what it looks like. I do understand it was an investment made in one of the member's communities. I am not sure quite why. Our government is continuing to invest in Canada and Canadians.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, what I will say to my hon. colleague, very simply, is I am here to build a better Canada along with my colleagues and to make sure that my children, who are growing up in this wonderful country of ours, have a bright future ahead. That is why we are making the necessary investments, be it infrastructure, social, green, community housing, or introducing the Canada child benefit, those key investments that will provide long, more inclusive, and higher growth rates for the economy.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, my focus here as a representative for Vaughan—Woodbridge is very simple. It is to make sure that we are working hard day in, day out to provide a better future for not only the residents I represent, but for all Canadians. That is what our government is doing. That is the plan we put forward and that is why we are executing on it, whether it is the Canada child benefit, whether it is the measures contained in Bill C-29 that deal with tax fairness, tax evasion, and tax avoidance, whether it is our regulations dealing with the Bank Act to make sure that Canadians from coast to coast to coast know that the banking system is sound and stable, that there are people they can turn to if they have concerns.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, in their 10 years of governing, the Conservatives added about $155 billion of new debt to Canada's total debt. They basically ran deficits every year after inheriting a $13 billion surplus when they came to power. So, nice job, gentlemen. In my years of experience working on Bay Street and Wall Street, one of the measures that many of us have looked at was the debt-to-GDP ratio.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of our government's work with the Province of Quebec and all the infrastructure funding that we have announced over the last several months for la belle province. I would also like to add that our government is very supportive of and understands full well the importance of small and medium enterprises, and that we will do everything within our wherewithal to make sure they succeed from coast to coast to coast.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, our government ran on a platform of investing in Canada and Canadians. That is what we plan to do. That is what we are executing on. It is a $180-billion program to invest in infrastructure. The members opposite left us with a huge infrastructure deficit. We are looking at the world environment, a period of very low interest rates.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to speak again to Bill C-29 in this House. I am not sure my remarks will be as colourful or as passionate as the prior exchange, but I will try my best. When I speak to Bill C-29 and think about budget 2016, I think about where it will take our economy, I think about where it will take the residents of my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, and I think about what it will do for those middle-class Canadians, those working Canadians in our country, who are working every day and putting food on their tables and saving money for their children's future, for their children's school, for their education, for their sports and so forth.

Canada Pension Plan  Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague and I sit together on the finance committee. In a time when defined benefit pension plans are going away and retirement savings are so important for Canadians and many generations to come, when the CPP is portable, fully indexed, stable, and secure and our government has reached this historic agreement with the provinces, why would the hon. member's colleagues and his party not join with us in celebrating this agreement and working together to ensure that this agreement comes to fruition, which it will, so our children would have good, dignified retirement security to look forward to?

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, one of the things we need to look at are industries that may be impacted by trade deals. We know that overall, we are better off with trade. We have seen it with NAFTA and other agreements we have in place internationally. We know that trade deals create good-paying jobs, whether it is in services, manufacturing, and so forth.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, on the European Union website, it talks in detail about the investment protection system. One of the areas is about the rules that will govern the members who sit on the tribunal. To prevent what is called double-hatting, where a member of the tribunal also works in parallel as a consultant and expert in other investment disputes, this is actually forbidden in the agreement for the entire duration of the member's employment.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise and speak about this historic agreement. My comments today on CETA will deal with the investor protection section of the agreement. However, before I begin I must comment on the significance, in my opinion, of this agreement to the current global context.