Finance committee   consultations, Mr. Chair, what Canadians were up against: government was taking too big a bite out of their paycheques. Middle-class Canadians and their families told me that they were working harder and harder, but getting less and less in return. I kept telling them to wait until

Budget Implementation Act, 2006   out of their incomes and put into the government coffers were too much. We listened to Canadians and we did not believe middle class Canadians and their families, who work hard but receive less and less in return, were being treated fairly in our tax system. We also knew, from

Federal Accountability Act   that practice and limits political financing to $1,000, which would have the effect of forcing political parties to inspire everyday, middle class Canadians in order to win their donation as opposed to catering to the interests of the moneyed, powerful elite. Second, it would bring

Finance committee  , changing personal taxation for middle-class Canadians to be more competitive with the United States will also encourage younger Canadians to put their skills to work in the country that helped them develop those skills, to the benefit of us all. In closing, I'd like to thank

Budget Implementation Act, 2006, No. 2   for restoring core funding to post-secondary education. Tuition has almost tripled since 1992. It is becoming increasingly out of reach for even middle class Canadian families, much less ordinary hard-working Canadians. The student debt crisis averages over $21,000 per student. In some cases

House debate   of a 15 year period. Middle class Canadians as well have lost about a week's income over the past 15 years. It is like missing a paycheque. Indeed, they are earning less now than they were in the late 1980s. Even upper middle class Canadians have seen no improvement in their situation

Status of Women committee  , whether they come from another country or from our country. We had a model here the other day who was talking about how middle class Canadian women have been trafficked, and they do it through modelling agencies. There are many agencies, many ways to do it. The fact of the matter

Federal Accountability Act   are finishing the Chrétien work and making it even more modest to ensure that it is middle class Canadians, and not the interests of a few high powered financial contributors, who have a bigger voice in politics. This was a welcome change of which I think all members took great note

Finance committee   billion, $1.3 billion, and $1.4 billion in tax reductions over that time. I know that's trivial to you, but it's not to most middle-class Canadians.

Finance committee   hands, but others have suffered more, even though the actual dollar amounts may have been smaller. A loss of $25,000 or $50,000 might be more devastating than a numerically larger sum. If, like so many middle-class Canadians, one had retirement savings that provided an income barely

Business of Supply   of initiatives that will have a major impact on the lives of the working and middle class Canadian families. They also have a more immediate impact than the kinds of measures the hon. member's party propose, measures that require more government intervention and as a result, higher taxes. I

Business of Supply   in today's economy. We are losing a lot of good jobs in key sectors. Through the softwood lumber agreement, another mill went down in my community just within the last month. The loss of these good, family supporting jobs really hurts middle class Canadians. A report came out today from

Economic Prosperity  . They are right. The numbers back them up. Not only is there a growing gap between the rich and the poor, there is also an alarming erosion of economic security for middle class Canadians. Here is what my constituents want to see in the budget: property tax relief through federal investments

The Budget   in Canada. They do not feel that they are benefiting from the economic growth they keep hearing about, and they are right. The numbers back them up. Not only is there a growing gap between the rich and the poor, there is also an alarming erosion of economic security for middle class

The Budget   its budget when it allows individuals whose annual revenue is over $300,000 to pocket an additional $930, while there is absolutely nothing in the budget to improve the financial situation of most middle-class Canadians? How can this government pretend that its budget