Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, where is the advantage in Advantage Canada if it cuts funding for non-profit organizations, such as Montreal International and Pôle Québec Chaudière-Appalaches?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, that may be the case, but the minister still cut $107 million from the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. When does the minister and his government intend to carry out their promise to eliminate the GST entirely, 100%, on gas if the price of gas went over 85¢ a litre?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I love the way the Conservatives cannot tell the truth. Out of 245 income trusts that existed before the announcement, there are now 197 left. Forty of those were due to takeover bids. Did the minister foresee this happening when he decided to tax income trusts?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, the minister likes to talk about his advantage plan. What is the advantage in cutting $107 million from the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec?

Questions on the Order Paper  With regards to the National Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility and the Canadian Extractive Industry in Developing Countries Advisory Group Report of March 29, 2007: (a) which of the 27 recommendations have been implemented by the government; (b) which of the 27 recommendations have been partially implemented or planned; (c) what directives, if any, have been given by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to his Department regarding the study of or implementation of each of the 27 recommendations; (d) what directives, if any, have been given since the March 2007 Report, by the Department of Foreign Affairs to its embassies and missions abroad concerning government policy towards Canadian extractive industries operating abroad; (e) what follow-up consultations between the government and extractive industry representatives, civil society representatives and the academic community have been carried out since June 2007; and (f) what future consultations, if any, have been planned by the government to address the recommendations delineated in the Advisory Group Report?

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, the government presented a defence plan that no one is allowed to read. It announced costs that no one can agree upon. It has cut the department off from any kind of communication. When will the minister give this House specifics on his so-called Canada first defence strategy?

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that the Minister of National Defence and the parliamentary secretary are not able to answer the simplest of questions. How can we trust them with something as serious as a 20-year plan for our army? The minister said that his plan would cost $30 billion, DND is talking about $50 billion, and industry stakeholders estimate nearly $100 billion.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, Canada has had a proud history on the international stage led by foreign affairs ministers who were engaged on Canada's behalf. Ministers like Pearson, Sharp, MacDonald, Clark, Axworthy, Manley and Graham all represented Canada competently and successfully. The current minister's gaffes and security concerns have forced the government to sideline him to minimize the damage.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, one of the things accomplished by this minister is to have put Canada on the verge of losing its chance at a seat on the United Nations Security Council. The Leader of the Government in the House of Commons is trying to reassure us about our national security. He should be a little more specific.

Official Languages committee  Thank you very much, Chair. I apologize for not having been here to hear the actual presentations. I'm not a member of this committee, but I'm particularly interested in the issue of our official languages minorities, being a member of one myself, in Quebec. Madame Martin-Laforge, you and Madame Poirier both talked about one of the issues being the exodus of our young people.

Textile Labelling Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-545, An Act to amend the Textile Labelling Act. Mr. Speaker, Canadians are increasingly demanding that our investments and consumption, both at home and abroad, be a constant testament to our principles and values of transparency and accountability.

Meritorious Service  Mr. Speaker, Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire holds the Order of Canada, the Order of Military Merit, the Ordre national du Québec, the Meritorious Service Cross, and the Canadian Forces decorations. The Secretary of State for Multiculturalism does not. General Dallaire graduated with a bachelor of science from the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean and was commissioned into the Canadian armed forces.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not believe the Prime Minister when he claims that he is always happy to cooperate with the RCMP because, if that were true, he would publicly commit that all records, files and emails seized by the RCMP during its raid of Conservative headquarters in April can also be scrutinized for evidence of investigating attempts to bribe Mr.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, we now know that the RCMP has questioned Dona Cadman and her daughter about the fact that Mr. Cadman told them that Conservative Party representatives had tried to buy his vote. Which government or Privy Council representatives have also been questioned? Are John Reynolds and the Minister of Natural Resources among them?

National Security  Mr. Speaker, if all of the necessary checks were done in terms of the Minister of Foreign Affairs' situation, the government could simply reassure this House and all Canadians by explaining the nature of these checks. If the government truly was diligent, it has no reason to avoid the questions.