Paralympic Games Athlete  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour one of northern B.C.'s great athletes. Robert “Bo” Hedges was born in Fort St. John, British Columbia. He grew up on his family's cattle ranch in the small town of Wonowon. He became paraplegic at the age of 13, and during his rehabilitation

Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada  Mr. Speaker, our government is focused on delivering meaningful reform to the Senate, including elections, term limits and tough spending oversight. We have also introduced 11 tough new rules governing Senate travel and expenses, which were introduced despite objections from the

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I bring forward today petitions from fellow British Columbians. The petitioners acknowledge the current impaired driving laws are too lenient. In the interest of public safety, the petitioners want to see tougher laws and the implementation of new mandatory minimum

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, today I would like to submit four petitions, representing hundreds of British Columbians. The petitioners acknowledge that current impaired driving laws are too lenient, and in the interest of public safety they want to see tougher laws and the implementation of new

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, in Canada's 2013 economic action plan, our government renewed its commitment to a fast and flexible immigration system that is more focused on Canada's labour market needs. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration please update

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition from some British Columbians. The petitioners acknowledge that the current impaired driving laws are too lenient. In the interests of public safety, they want to see tougher laws and the implementation of new mandatory minimum sent

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, we all watched yesterday as the two opposition parties seemed to debate whose environmental policies were worse for our government and our country. The Liberals' plan actually increased GHG emissions by 30% over their 13 years in government, and the NDP plan of a $21

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of residents of British Columbia and Alberta I would like to present a petition today. The petitioners note that Canada is a nation that has long promoted the right to equal protection and equal benefits of the law and that preventing the birth of baby gir

Tanker Safety  Mr. Speaker, while the majority of northeastern B.C. residents are in favour of developing our natural resources responsibly, some of my constituents have expressed concerns about shipping these resources overseas. Our government understands the importance of protecting our nati

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition representing thousands of people from British Columbia. The petition highlights that last year, 22-year-old Kassandra Kaulius was killed by a drunk driver. The group of people who have also lost loved ones to impaired drivers, call

Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, a simple challenge to the member, then, would be to vote in favour and pass the bill. The Certified General Accountants Association of Canada, representing over 75,000 tax professionals, stated: Some of the measures contained in today's bill [Bill C-48] were initi

Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, the simple answer is that I do not know. A lot of these measures simply make sense, as the hon. member stated in his comments. Obviously, they make sense to a lot of other taxpayers and to us as a government. The challenge I made before to the NDP members is that th

Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that this member would consider it a botched process. According to the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada, they welcome Bill C-48. As the last technical income tax bill was passed by Parliament in 2001, a significant backlog has

Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak in this House today to Bill C-48, the technical tax amendments act, 2012. Before I continue, I must say that I do find it remarkable that the opposition has delayed timely consideration of this highly technical bill for weeks on end, for no oth

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition signed by thousands of people from British Columbia. The petition highlights the death last year of 22-year-old Kassandra Kaulius who was killed by a drunk driver. The people who have lost loved ones to impaired drivers, a group