Red Tape Reduction Act  Mr. Speaker, first of all, the one-for-one rule does not apply to areas of the Minister of Finance, so they can make sure that our regulations are strong in regard to the economy and on health and safety. Let us just take a step back. This is not the actual regulation of those areas.

Red Tape Reduction Act  Mr. Speaker, the approach the government is taking is to acknowledge the impact of red tape on all Canadians, particularly Canadian businesses, and that when government seeks to regulate, it should find the level of regulation that has the least amount of burden on businesses. When a new regulation goes in, one of equal value has to come out, and this is done by a monetizing system to make sure that compliance is not onerous.

Red Tape Reduction Act  Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the minister for her work in making sure that our economy in the west is diversified and strong. First of all, as I mentioned in my speech, the passage of this particular piece of legislation would send a signal that Canada is open for business and that we recognize there are legitimate costs that are borne by small and large businesses when the federal government regulates.

Red Tape Reduction Act  Mr. Speaker, what I would start with first is I think it behooves this country and all Canadians to have a process in place to take advantage, the best advantage for everyone, of the estimated $650 billion of potential investment that can come through responsible resource development.

Red Tape Reduction Act  Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise in the House today to speak in support of this ground-breaking legislation to reduce red tape, one of the first of its kind in the world. The legislation before us would put strict controls on the growth of regulatory red tape by enshrining the one-for-one rule in law, which means that in order to change it, the government of the day would have to go to Parliament.

Public Service of Canada  Mr. Speaker, we are committed to a modern and high-performing public service that gets results for Canadian taxpayers. In fact, our government is getting results while making the public service more effective and efficient. For example, there are $3,400 less in taxes per year for the average Canadian family and a balanced budget in 2015.

Respect for Communities Act  Mr. Speaker, I am certainly glad we are debating issues. I think people will be happy to see that we are seized with such issues. My question is simple. There are many things that are under federal regulation. One is cell towers. We now require consultation with communities to make sure that if a cell tower goes in that the community is apprised and that consultation is made properly.

Agricultural Growth Act  Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Usually I would love to hear in this place talk of beautiful British Columbia, but perhaps the member could please bring this to a point of relevance. Perhaps he could say how Bill C-18 would actually benefit our home province. I think that would be a good turn of events.

Main Estimates, 2014-15  Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate that member's support for my bill on wine. Again, she has brought forward that her leader has made a suggestion and has put forward that they will have no more Liberal senators. They will call themselves Senate Liberals. The Liberals basically said that they were going to have free elections for their own leadership, their whip position, and the House leader, and it was the same individuals.

Main Estimates, 2014-15  Mr. Speaker, this goes back to the estimates process. There are some that are what we would call “statutory”, which means that they have already received Parliament's consent and will automatically be funded, and then there is discretionary. Tonight we are going to be voting on the discretionary aspects.

Main Estimates, 2014-15  Mr. Speaker, again, the NDP continues to believe that its magical thinking will pan out in a way that supports Canadians. That particular member, regardless of whether it is a discretionary or a statutory item, will vote in opposition, because the NDP ultimately opposes this government's agenda of low-tax policies that will help us grow our economy, create more jobs, and create long-term prosperity.

Main Estimates, 2014-15  Mr. Speaker, we all wish that things would be the way we want them to be. One of the toughest parts is that we all come here with notions about how things should be and how we would change things, but then we find out that not everyone in this place agrees with us. Therefore, we have to have a process to deal with the issues of the day.

Main Estimates, 2014-15  Mr. Speaker, normally I am happy to have the opportunity to participate in a debate, but not today. Today, in this case, I will be rising to oppose a motion denying the allocation of resources for the Senate. In other words, I will not be supporting the motion that opposes funding for the Senate.

Main Estimates, 2014-15  Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask a question in regard to consultation. The member is critical of the government for not consulting. The Supreme Court of Canada issued a ruling earlier, and part of that process was that the Province of Quebec gave its view as to what Parliament could do unilaterally and gave its view that Bill C-7 could not proceed without provincial consent.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it seems that the opposition has voted against every single tax measure, whether it be consumption taxes, corporate taxes, or income taxes. It does not matter what we do. Those members seem to be ideologically opposed to it regardless of the benefit. We saw a public budget officer report that said the majority of the $30 billion went to low- and middle-income families.