Human Trafficking  Mr. Speaker, as Canada and the world marks 16 days of activism against gender violence, a critical concern is human trafficking, a heinous form of modern-day slavery that preys on the most vulnerable, especially women and girls. Canadians are not immune from this terrible crime.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Etobicoke--Lakeshore for his nice summary of what the bill will do and how important is will be for our economy. I found it ironic listening to the things that the member for Parkdale—High Park thought should be in the bill.

Nature Conservancy of Canada  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this Wednesday. This not-for-profit organization is dedicating to protecting our most precious natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962, this organization and its partners have helped to conserve more than 2.6 million acres, or 1 million hectares, from coast to coast to coast.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate my colleague from Chatham-Kent—Essex telling us how important it is for the economy to move that bridge forward in a timely way. I would like to focus my question on the Navigable Waters Protection Act, which the opposition for some reason has tried to link to the environment.

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, our government's top priority is the economy, and that includes making sure that we spend our Canadian taxpayer dollars wisely. This change will ensure the privacy and the security of taxpayers' records, and will do so at a lower cost. We must ensure taxpayers' money is spent where it will do the most good as more Canadians move to our electronic services.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, I think I need to repeat the comments that I opened with. The opposition members seem to be more focused on counting than reading and they need to be focused on reading. Again, I need to use the example I used before. One line regarding MP pensions translated into 22 pages in the budget implementation act and the opposition felt comfortable moving that forward without any further debate at all.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to talk about the Navigable Waters Protection Act. I think my example said it all. It was creating a lot of bureaucracy for what was, in this case, a little creek that did not need that bureaucracy associated with it. We were focused on navigation, which is what it is.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, absolutely. I just wanted to contrast that with British Columbia's approach, which was at least a revenue neutral tax shift. According to yesterday's National Post: “...a new report from the NDP-linked Broadbent Institute...contained a prescriptive chapter on “fair taxes” that, if implemented, really would send the cost of everything rocketing skyward”.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, the opposition members are very confusing at times. At one point they are saying that we should withdraw things, take them out. The next minute they are complaining about not having enough time to debate them. Obviously, with the MP pensions we were able to move forward.

Jobs and Growth Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Edmonton—Leduc. I am certainly pleased to stand in the House today to speak to Bill C-45, which is our second budget implementation act. As members are aware, the budget was introduced last spring and, as is the typical practice of the House, there are usually two pieces of legislation that turn this aspirational and directional document into legislation.

Oil and Gas Industry  Mr. Speaker, the last couple of months we have heard a lot of rhetoric about pipelines in Canada. I think it is important to focus on a few facts. There are 72,000 kilometres of pipeline currently in our country, and 99.996% of crude oil and petroleum was transported safely. Pipelines are an efficient and environmentally friendly method for transportation of this important resource.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, if we reflect back on the Speaker's rulings of the past and we reflect on the need for a budget to reflect very comprehensive challenges that a country faces, he will see that we have followed what is a very good process and indeed the outcomes have been extraordinary.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, that question is about process. I talked about the extraordinary and very important situation in which Canada found itself. However, I do want to spend a minute talking about the process. The bill had incredible opportunities within the House for debate. I sit as a member of the finance committee.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, my colleague brings up two very important points. One is that the Speaker's rulings in 1994 looked at the budgets and budget implementation acts as typically involving a lot of statutes and helping to move the policy agenda forward. Earlier in my speech, I talked about the very extraordinary circumstances that we found ourselves in with global uncertainty.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, that truly is not only inaccurate but it is outside the relevance of the discussion for today. However, I look at the forestry sector in British Columbia, and the member is also from the community of British Columbia, and how trade with China has been absolutely critical.