Transport committee  I will. First of all, thank you so much for inviting me to speak with you. I would like to extend my congratulations to you, Chair, as well as to Luc Berthold and Linda Duncan on their recent elections as vice-chairs. I have been asked to appear today to speak with you about my role in the development of a 10-year Canadian infrastructure plan and the delivery of a refocused new building Canada fund.

Points of Order  I have a document from the Department of Finance, from the 2006-07 year-end budget, that identifies a $13.8 billion surplus under the last Liberal government, which the Conservative government turned into a $150—

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the other point is that the Conservatives keep talking about this being a cost-free proposal. The reality is that it is going to cost $1.2 billion to squeeze an airport the size of the Ottawa International Airport into one-seventh of the land mass. One of the criteria for the City to study this, which the port authority had to agree to, was that it would pick up the cost for the expansion.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the Montreal Economic Institute had this to say this morning: “The Federal Government’s Deficits Will Not Stimulate the Canadian Economy”. After inheriting an operating surplus for this year, the Liberal government is now predicting an $18.4-billion deficit. I know that the Liberals do not like numbers, but those are the facts.

Health committee  From these discussions, culture emerged as a foundational component. Community innovation, partnerships across government, collaboration and coordination across sectors, and linkages between programs and services were also identified as being crucial for moving forward. This framework has been ratified by the Assembly of First Nations' chiefs of assembly and was released by the AFN in January 2015.

Information & Ethics committee  You said that several recommendations have been made to amend the Privacy Act over the past 30 years, but there really hasn't been anything substantial done. That certainly goes beyond whether it was a Conservative government, a Liberal government, NDP, or whatever. I'm looking for your opinion as to why there haven't been changes to the act.

Business of the House  What we are discussing here is a motion that affirms once and for all that, in fact, the previous Conservative government left the new Liberal government with a balanced budget. In fact, it was more than a balanced budget; we left the new government with a surplus of over $1 billion. Sadly, what we hear from the Minister of Finance, from his parliamentary secretary, and from some of the members on the Liberal side is the perpetuation of this canard that somehow the previous government left the Liberals with a deficit.

Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act  Madam Speaker, the Liberal Party has a record throughout its history of fiscal responsibility. As for the concerns about the ability to pay and the ability of this government to take into account costs that the hon. member raised, I point to the fact that under the Liberal Party, Canada has prospered in great ways in terms of financial management.

Business of Supply  There has been a complete breakdown in communication, which we saw in Vancouver. We had the silly response by government officials that the response was excellent, that they were going to get 80% of the English Bay spill. As the former Coast Guard base commander Fred Moxey said, that is simply not true.

Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act  I can tell the leader of the Green Party that years ago, even before the leader of the Liberal Party was Prime Minister and I was a part of that caucus, the issue of harassment in the RCMP was talked about. I can assure the leader of the Green Party that the Prime Minister, along with the other members of the Liberal caucus, is committed to dealing with that issue.

Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act  Madam Speaker, I find it rather puzzling that Conservative members opposite would raise sympathetic concerns now about municipalities. Under the previous government, we had a decade of federal-provincial-municipal relations that left a lot to be desired. Considering it is budget day, I will be positive.

Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act  Before I get to my question, I want to make a comment on something the member said earlier about the previous government not respecting municipalities, not caring for them. When the Liberals were in power for 13 long years, they only provided $1.5 billion to British Columbia in infrastructure funding.

Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act  Madam Speaker, let us recognize why we have Bill C-7 here today. The Supreme Court of Canada made a decision, which in essence said that the RCMP, an institution we all hold very dear to our hearts, needed to be afforded the opportunity for a free collective bargaining process. As a result, we have legislation now that has been introduced by the Government of Canada in recognition of how important it is that we bring it about in a timely fashion.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, what we have said many times in the House is that the Minister of Justice and all ministers, and in fact all reporting public office-holders, will be governed at all times by their responsibility in the Conflict of Interest Act and the code that applies to members of Parliament.

Food Safety  Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring the safety of food for all Canadians. I have been meeting on a regular basis with my colleagues in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The hon. member opposite may be aware that our government ran on a campaign to increase our investments in food safety.