The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I notice that my hon. colleague talked about the importance of infrastructure, and I agree with him. In fact, it was Paul Martin who started to take money from the excise tax on gasoline to devote to infrastructure, which was a good thing. Why is it that we are going to have to wait a couple of more years?

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I listened to the hon. member for Newmarket—Aurora talk about how her constituents were pleased with the tax reductions. There is always a price to pay for some things, and one of the things that has happened in the seven years of the Conservative government's rule has been that the national debt has increased by $124 billion so far.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I would like to very briefly quote Fleming, who of course was the discoverer of penicillin. He said: When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or bacteria killer, but I suppose that's exactly what I did.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague talked about lowering business taxes. Does he know whether corporations that have had their taxes lowered to 15% are actually spending that windfall of money they are receiving?

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, we know the Conservatives are increasing the payroll taxes on EI every year. My question for the hon. member is the following. I remember way back in 2011, during the last election, the Conservatives promised that once they balanced the budget, which looks like maybe 2015 according to their prediction, they were going to double the TFSA, the tax-free savings allowance, from $5,000 to $10,000.

Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, last fall, the government cancelled an employment insurance pilot project that provided up to five extra weeks of benefits to Canadians in regions with high unemployment. It would have cost $77 million to renew the program this year. Instead, the government will be spending $78 million on partisan budget ads.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer revealed that the crime rate has gone down 23% since 2002, but costs have increased by 23%, especially since 2006. The provinces obviously end up stuck with the bill for 73% of those costs. My question is very simple. Does the government plan on helping the provinces, which have no choice but to pay the ever-increasing court and prison costs?

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, the CF-18 replacement program is on track to becoming the greatest fiscal procurement fiasco by the government if it is not overtaken by the new ship program. Now we are hearing about upgrades and extensions to the CF-18 after being told we needed the F-35 really urgently.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, we have seen nothing but incompetence from the government on the F-35 file for two and a half years now. It would be funny if it were not so tragic. At stake is billions of dollars of taxpayers' money. At stake are considerable industrial spinoffs for the aerospace industry.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to present a petition on behalf of residents of the province of Ontario. The petitioners wish to draw the attention of the House to the fact that financial cuts to the Trent-Severn Waterway will have several adverse effects on the system that include: reduced recreational boating; drinking water systems being affected by lower and higher water levels; important first nations archeological discoveries being lost; fish populations being affected by the new development and possibly more invasive species entering the ecosystem, just to name a few.

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, General Lawson tells us that the statement of operational requirements for the new fighter aircraft has not been modified to date. This statement is so biased that there is only one option: the F-35. Yet the minister is telling us that all options are on the table as far as the new fighter jet is concerned.

Commissioner for Children and Young Persons in Canada Act  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-420. I would like to thank those who have spoken to this bill, who have shared their thoughts with me and who have taken the time to listen to me. In speaking with other members of Parliament, I was reminded of how parliamentarians, regardless of party, can work together to achieve common goals.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, the member for Labrador has had every opportunity to clear his name about anonymous and corporate donations, about interest-free loans, about illegally discounted air travel and about spending way over his campaign limit. His official agent even said that when he signed off on the paperwork, everything was okay.

National Child Day  Mr. Speaker, today is National Child Day. On November 20 of every year, we commemorate and celebrate Canada’s signing of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. With its 193 signatory states, it is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history, proof that the problems of children transcend political opportunism.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, the member for Labrador said he is finally ready to explain, next Tuesday, the long list of irregularities in a campaign that he won by only 79 votes. How will he explain $20,000 in overspending, an interest-free loan from a company run by his brother-in-law, a corporate donation of free air travel, anonymous donations and a corporate gift from a construction company that does business with the government?