Air Transportation  Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure to rise for the first time in this House as the first Conservative member of Parliament in over 50 years from the great riding of Brant. I wish to thank all the voters who made this possible. Constituents in the riding of Brant have seen medi

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time this morning with the member from the beautiful riding of South Shore—St. Margaret's. It is indeed a pleasure and a privilege to rise in the House today to speak on behalf of the people of Brant. Brant is made up of the city of Brantford,

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his question and comments regarding the agriculture industry and in particular how it is affecting our ridings. I can tell him that we had extensive prebudget consultations with many of the farmers in our communities, includi

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, to the contrary, on all fronts, we are investing in infrastructure in historic ways. We are about to nation build through the infrastructure projects, similar to, as was mentioned by the member across, the 1967 initiative for recreational facilities. My community ben

Safer Internet Day  Mr. Speaker, today the Government of Canada recognizes Safer Internet Day in announcing the renewal of the national strategy for the protection of children from sexual exploitation on the Internet. Today's announcement signals our government's ongoing commitment to help keep our

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, I wish to draw the attention of the House to the recent announcement of the government of over $10 million to build a new twin-pad arena in my riding of Brant and to rebuild the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre. We are creating jobs by doing this and making Canada strong

Sri Lanka  Mr. Speaker, like all Canadians, I am concerned by the ongoing civil war in Sri Lanka. This conflict has gone on for decades, and innocent civilians on both sides are bearing the cost. Currently a large rally taking place on the front lawn of Parliament Hill features dozens of T

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Liberals voted for the NDP's Bill C-311 tiddlywink bill. It is a bill the Liberal member from Ottawa South suggests has targets that are fiscally irresponsible because there is no accompanying plan to accomplish them causing him to say, and I quote, “We

Brantford Golden Eagles  Mr. Speaker, I would ask members of Parliament to join me in congratulating the Brantford Golden Eagles. Twelve days ago, this hard-working hockey team of high-flying Eagles swooped to victory over the Stoney Creek Warriors, eliminating the team 4-1 in games, capturing the Suthe

Cuba  Mr. Speaker, I read yesterday that the leader of the Liberal Party has called for the opening of ties with Cuba. He is quoted in the South Asian Focus newspaper saying, “Canada needs to have ties with Cuba - at present Canada plays no role there at all”. Could the Minister of In

National Access Awareness Week  Mr. Speaker, this week is National Access Awareness Week. As the parent of a 22-year-old, intellectually disabled son, this week reminds us all of the very real challenges faced by persons with disabilities and the importance of improving access so that these very special peopl

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, since tabling our economic action plan in January, our Conservative government has been at work to implement its measures. Among the most important in our plan were those to help free up financing for Canadian businesses, entrepreneurs, small businesses and familie

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, since 2007 our Conservative government's eco-energy retrofit homes program has provided grants to over 100,000 Canadian homeowners. In Canada's economic action plan, our government invested another $300 million into the program. This will stimulate the economy and he

Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, in 1999, 39 students arrived in Brantford to start the satellite campus of Wilfrid Laurier University. Ten years later, over 3,000 have arrived to the bustling campuses of both Nipissing and Laurier universities. Along with a thriving Mohawk College campus, post-seco

International Aid  Mr. Speaker, the opposition is always quick to quote rock stars like Bono and Geldof, and have often determined their policies on foreign aid by mimicking celebrities. Time and time again they drop the ball. In contrast to the Liberal opposition, our government honoured Canada's