Income Tax Act  I hate to say it, but I think it is true, and the record bears it out, that both the Liberals and the NDP on the other hand want more people dependent on government, and I am not sure why. The policies and programs that Liberal and NDP governments have put in place at both the provincial and federal levels across the country result in more and more people becoming dependent upon government.

Status of Women committee  Thank you so much, Madam Chair, and thank you for allowing me to come on such short notice. I'm thrilled to be able to be here. I've brought with me my incredible team from Status of Women to answer the really difficult questions, as they are training me up. Without further ado, I'll get started.

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak here today to express my support for Bill C-6, an act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another act. I plan to vote in favour of the bill, and I encourage all of my hon. colleagues to do the same.

Citizenship Act  I am an immigrant myself, so I will ask a question on behalf of the immigrant communities that I have been speaking to. The member talked about the language requirement and how his government is reversing what it used to be. He must know that past Liberal governments, between 1977 and 1984, and between 1993 and 2005, had a language requirement for the aged 55 to 64 bracket.

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the member's comments. He articulated a very important issue. The bill does in fact rectify a number of issues that the Conservative government had raised. The question I would like to ask the member is related to the whole issue of getting one's citizenship.

The Senate  Mr. Speaker, last night I met with the committee as part of discussing supplementary estimates (C). In fact, part of that did involve an investment in good government in an appointment process that will ensure that Canadians of the highest merit are named to the Senate of Canada.

Air Transportation  Mr. Speaker, this government recognizes that Bombardier is part of a key industry and sector in our country, the aerospace industry, which employs more than 180,000 Canadians in high-quality jobs and represents more than $29 billion in economic activity. We are in discussions with Bombardier, and we are in discussions with the Government of Quebec.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said many times, including in the House, that moving Canadian resources to market is a priority for him personally, and for the Government of Canada. The best chance for that to happen is to have a credible regulatory process. That, unfortunately, was not the case with the previous government, but is now in place to give us a result that we all want.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  The truth quickly caught up with this government last week,when the terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso and Indonesia took the lives of outstanding Canadians. The Conservative Party will continue to put pressure on the Liberals to reverse their decision and keep our CF-18s in the fight.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. friend, the member for Portage—Lisgar, for the opportunity to discuss an issue of such importance to the people of Canada. This government understands the importance of resources to the strength of our economy and the quality of our lives. The natural resources industry accounts for 20% of our country's GDP and employ tens of thousands of Canadians in every part of every province.

Canada Post  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take part this evening in this debate on the future of Canada Post. I would like to use the time I have been allotted to recap what we said we would do about Canada Post and what we have done. During the election, we committed to end the further installation of community mailboxes that began under the previous government.

Citizenship Act  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for a well thought-out question. Like my hon. colleague mentioned, I have had a lot of experience since I have been elected on the topic of immigration. The long processing times for family unification, for PR applications, for citizenship applications, for spousal applications, is something that I hear on a daily basis.

Citizenship Act  Madam Speaker, I appreciate many of the member's comments on this bill. I think he will find a great deal of support and sympathy, not only for him but also for many individuals who are trying to be reunited with families. He made reference to parents. One of the biggest frustrations that I and many of my colleagues have is the family reunification program to sponsor a spouse.

Income Tax Act  This plan was a piece of election hyperbole that was meant to seem progressive, but is actually detrimental to our middle and working classes. Liberal governments of the past have been able to flash left and then turn right while they were in power. We in the NDP do not intend to let the Liberals get by without a struggle on that front.

Citizenship Act  Mr. Speaker, the question from the member is a good one. I want to thank the New Democratic Party for supporting this. We all see it as moving forward in an appropriate manner. The question of doing things in secret is something that this government has had enough of for 10 years.