Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the United Nations declared that access to clean water was a basic human right. For the community of Red Sucker Lake to access water, it is quite the challenge. Unlike most Canadians, people do not go to the kitchen and turn on the water. It involves pails and leaving the house.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, absolutely. Over the years that I served as an MLA, I heard some horror stories. I like to use milk as an example because I introduced a bill on numerous occasions, which unfortunately did not pass. However, the health issue is such a big concern on our reserves. Providing clean flowing, drinkable water would make a huge impact in the health conditions in those communities.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would agree. There is the expectation that people living on reserves are entitled to have living conditions that are far more acceptable than what they have today. There is no doubt that, between our first nations and our federal government, we are never going to achieve that unless there is a better sense of co-operation.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I have actually been provided one of the articles. It is a fairly lengthy, detailed article that Mia Rabson from the Winnipeg Free Press has written. It states from the beginning: The chief of a northern Manitoba First Nation says his reserve is nearing a water crisis after more than half of the band's residents were cut off from a primitive water system.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, being a member of Parliament from Manitoba and having had the experience of being in the Manitoba Legislature for a number of years, there are few issues that really touch a person as much as the fundamentals of being able to live. There is a certain expectation, I believe, that Canadians have as a whole in terms of normal living standards.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Madam Speaker, when the member from Dauphin made reference to hydro, it really made me sit up and listen. We in Manitoba have a passion for Manitoba hydro because it is a wonderful opportunity for economic development. This is a billion dollar question, maybe even a bit more than that.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, it is important that the previous speaker recognize that since 2008 there are actually 500,000 fewer full-time jobs. Housing is a very important issue in Winnipeg north, as I am sure it is in many communities across our country, whether it is housing for seniors or individuals on low income.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, the government House leader made reference to jobs. From day one, the Liberal Party of Canada has been talking about the importance of jobs. One of our fundamentals is that proper debate should take place. When we debate a bill it is always nice to have the minister who is responsible for it listen to what is being said, and even possibly answer some questions.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, the government House leader's arguments are absolutely, totally bogus. There is no justification whatsoever for a majority government to use its majority to try to limit the ability of the opposition to hold the government accountable. An election cannot be used as a card to give the government full rights to bring in time allocation any time it wants.

Financial Literacy  Madam Speaker, the member made reference to the FCAC, which is a great agency that does provide a lot of the services regarding financial literacy, which this motion hopes to do. I recognize that right up front. If we look at how things have changed, in good part because of technology, the Internet and so forth, from the days when I was in grade 12 where we would have had a simple economics course.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments put on the record by the previous speaker. The government House leader has just stood up, and this is something we see a great deal of lately, and gave notice of time allocation on this legislation because of the government's inability to work with the opposition in any way and its tendency to use its majority government to prevent any sort of real debate on legislation.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to continue with that question. The Conservatives have, for a while now, talked about how much they care about firefighters. One of the things they wanted to do was to provide this tax credit. The problem as we see it with the tax credit is that they are being very selective in terms of the volunteer firefighters they are helping.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to pick up on the idea of winners and losers. When I look at the government in terms of one of its many failings, it is in its dealing with seniors. There are many seniors who are experiencing very difficult times. They do not have the necessary funds to purchase the items they need.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, just to pick up on that point and look to the member to acknowledge that there are a half million fewer full-time jobs today in the Canadian economy than there were in 2008. One of the things that I think is really lacking is the government's will to recognize the valuable contributions that we could be making, in terms of housing, investing in our housing stock, and providing incentives for inner city-type housing renewal programs and all sorts of programs that would ultimately improve the quality of our housing stock while at the same time creating thousands of jobs.

Copyright Modernization Act  Madam Speaker, I have emphasized in the past a very offensive aspect that I think would cause concern for many Canadians. If the bill were to pass, it would by law prohibit post-secondary students, who have paid for their education, from retaining the studies and reports that they have done, as the bill has that 30-day clause.