Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, my colleague's question is a valid one. It is something that we are looking for the government to answer. I am concerned that there is not a plan. Because there is no plan, this is more of an ideological decision, trying to fulfill a campaign promise, and now naming other excuses such as financial restraints.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to be able to stand here today and support this motion. I will be sharing my time today with the member for Beauport—Limoilou. I believe that my job as a member of Parliament is to do three things. First, it is to represent my constituents, their values, and their beliefs.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, tens of thousands of jobs are being lost in the energy sector because of low oil prices, because of over-regulation, and because of carbon taxes, and now there is more uncertainty from the Liberal government when it comes to pipelines. When the Prime Minister is in one part of the country, he supports energy east.

Portage—Lisgar  Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to rise today to thank the people of Portage—Lisgar for electing me to a third term as their member of Parliament. What an amazing honour to serve in this esteemed chamber and to represent the values of hard work, strong families, faith, and generosity that so many people in southern Manitoba espouse.

Social Programs  Mr. Speaker, the opposition is mistaken. Our government provides assistance and support to vulnerable Canadians. We support vulnerable Canadians through services and benefits. We have increased staffing at different service centres. We will continue to help Canadians when they lose their jobs or when they need help in times of vulnerability.

Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, under our Conservative government, we have created 1.2 million net new jobs. The majority of those jobs are high paying, full time and in the private sector. We have done that because we reduced taxes on businesses. We have reduced taxes on those who are creating jobs.

Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, the member's comment is absolutely false. There have been no cuts to Service Canada. In fact, we have added 400 extra staff to deal with the EI claims during seasonal times. The department is meeting service standards. In fact, the majority of EI claimants are now paid within 28 days of making their claim.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, here is what Canadians know. Canadians know that this government keeps its promises in putting more money in their pockets, in Canadian jobs, in giving seniors income splitting, in making this economy grow. Canadians will have a choice in the next election. They will choose this party, this government, because we will continue to fulfill our promises such as balancing the budget.

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, I have talked about the numbers in terms of poverty that we have seen since we have come into government. In fact, we have seen the level of poverty decrease substantially because of the benefits that we provided, like the universal child care benefit. Now we have introduced the family tax cut.

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, let me tell the House what somebody from outside of Canada said about what we were doing to lift children out of poverty. He said, “That's really impressive. It's better than what the majority of other countries did during the recession”. That was because we have lifted 180,000 children out of poverty.

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, our government has done more than any other government to lift Canadians out of poverty. In fact, more than 1.4 million fewer Canadians are living in poverty. That is because of our benefits, such as the universal child care benefit and the family tax cuts. These are benefits that give money directly to those parents who are living in low-income or poverty situations.

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, it is shocking to hear this coming from the Liberals, who have promised to end the universal child care benefit, the same benefit that UNICEF said is what lifted 180,000 children in Canada out of poverty during the depth of the recession. That is the kind of policy that gives money back to families.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, recently I met Patricia. Patricia is a mom with three children and has a home business in Vaughan. She is a young entrepreneur. She is thrilled about our universal child care benefit expansion and increase, because it allows her to be able to stay home, look after her children, and run her business at the same time.

Support for Canadians with Print Disabilities Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-65, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (access to copyrighted works or other subject-matter for persons with perceptual disabilities). (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for that great question and the great work that he has done for his constituents over the years. I was pleased to be in Pickering over the last week and met with families to tell them about the expanded and increased universal child care benefit.