Indian Oil and Gas Act  Co-operation with provincial authorities is key. I want to make it clear that Bill C-5 would not increase the jurisdiction of provinces. It would allow for federal regulations to be made that are consistent with provincial laws, which is important to create clarity and certainty for both first nations and industry.

The Budget  I believe the greatest stimulus is to give the people of Canada their money back and let them decide where and how to spend it. Members of the NDP have made it clear that they do not think that the people of Canada deserve this money. They have made it clear that they desire to keep taxes high, even in the midst of a recession. They have made it clear that they do not want to support businesses.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  If I could interrupt, I think I'm almost out of time. Again, I completely agree with this. I'm just not clear this is the appropriate place to do it. This bill deals with a number of aspects of how first nations can access and manage the resources on reserve. But when you're talking about this next phase, I'm not clear.

Budget Implementation Act, 2009  They continue to persist that it is not their problem and they did not create that. It is pretty clear that the Conservatives inherited a $14 billion annual surplus from the previous Liberal government that had 10 years of surpluses and handed over the reins of a healthy economy. The Conservatives squandered that by their tax cuts and the spending spree that they went on, the highest spending per capita in the history of our country.

Natural Resources committee  Apparently Mr. Anderson wants that in, but I think the understanding is clear. I wish we would move forward so we can discuss the rest of the engaging calendar that we have before us, which the clerk has done such an admirable job on.

Budget Implementation Act, 2009  Since the time of the budget, with the terrible economic news that we have had, it should be abundantly clear to all in this chamber that we have a need for fiscal and economic updates. We have had a terrible drop in GDP of 3.4% in the last quarter of 2008, the worst since 1991. We have had big job losses.

Budget Implementation Act, 2009  The disproportion is very clear and it is also very clear that these changes will have a major impact on the future of public services in Quebec, particularly in the areas of education, health, and early childhood resources.

International Trade committee  It's very clear to me, Mr. Chair, that we have a unanimous recommendation from the industry that this will cause harm unless we carve it out. We have a responsibility, then, to do our due diligence and to change the implementation legislation so that shipbuilding is carved out.

Canada-U.S. Relations  Mr. Speaker, today is a day of embarrassment for the Liberal government. The member for Mississauga Centre has continued a long Liberal pattern of insulting our most important neighbour and trading partner, a pattern established by the Prime Minister, his former communications advisor, the member for Oakville, the member for Durham, and I could on and on.

Iraq  Mr. Speaker, I hope she will have more to say because that was an inadequate apology. But let us talk about another embarrassment. After months of having no position on the Iraqi conflict, the government tried to pass itself off as an international mediator, but its attempts have apparently been dismissed out of hand by the White House and the Security Council.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, they are discussing it all right, with as little understanding of the Canadian position as Canadians have. Here is another embarrassment. We know that the government was trying to participate in the Iraqi conflict through back channels by sending the HMCS Iroquois to the Persian Gulf.

Afghanistan  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not being perfectly clear, and we are going to ask him clear questions until we get some clear answers. Since the vote was held to extend the mission until 2011, the Prime Minister has stated that he does not intend to extend the mission beyond that date.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, I thank the government for considering it, because take the case of Canada Steamship Lines. It has interests that overlap the activities of virtually every government department: transport, industry, revenue, environment, fisheries, natural resources, trade, foreign affairs, and of course finance.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, that is what Erik Nielsen said and that is why the code is totally inadequate. Because of the Sinclair Stevens affair, the Parker report warned that family businesses or family firms with cabinet ministers would likely have to be sold to avoid conflicts of interest.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been using the Parker report on Sinclair Stevens to justify the special arrangements he made with the former finance minister, but the Parker report warned that so-called blind agreements cannot prevent conflicts of interest in the case of family businesses or family firms.