Infrastructure  Mr. Speaker, after denying reality for two months, the minister responsible for infrastructure is finally acknowledging the facts. In the answer he just gave about the building Canada fund, he finally admitted that the fund has been cut by 87%. He is allocating only $210 million

Sickle Cell Disease  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the House to raise awareness about sickle cell disease. It is a disease of the blood that causes chronic anemia, periodic episodes of pain and other health-related complications. Approximately 10,000 Canadian children are seriously ill from this here

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask a question of the member. In his speech, he gave us an entire history; he talked about 40 or 50 years from now, but we are talking about a budget that has been tabled. I would like to hear what he has to say about this budget. In his view, what i

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party has been asking the Conservatives to help the middle class for a long time. Yesterday, we learned why they have done nothing. The Prime Minister himself, in a reply he gave yesterday, showed that he had understood nothing and that he d

Employment  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the new Minister of Finance on his appointment. The minister is aware that 7 out of 10 provinces have seen job losses in the past year. In the riding of Bourassa, the unemployment rate is especially high among young people, newcomers and cultural comm

Employment  Mr. Speaker, the unemployment rate in my riding, Bourassa, is particularly high. Yesterday, the Standing Committee on Finance began its study on youth employment in Canada. I asked senior officials what programs exist to help youth, newcomers, persons with disabilities and membe

Government Advertising  Mr. Speaker, during the Oscars broadcast, the government ran partisan commercials that apparently cost over $100,000 each. The government has already spent $113 million promoting its economic action plan, and many see that as wasteful spending. The Conservative government could

Tax Evasion  Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise to take part in this debate on Motion No. 485. First of all, even though I do not agree with all of the arguments made by the NDP member, we in the Liberal Party plan to vote in favour of the motion. I just listened to the Conservative gove

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, let us be serious. During the last election, the Prime Minister made a solemn promise to introduce income splitting. Now we know that the Minister of Finance is dragging his feet. He is not convinced. My question is simple and clear, and it is for the Minister of Na

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the dramatic increase in Canadian household debt is hiding the truth about the Canadian economy. Under this government, the average rate of public debt has increased by $20,000 per family. Imagine: right now, for each dollar a Canadian worker makes, he or she owes $

Yves Ryan  Mr. Speaker, it is with emotion that I pay tribute to Yves Ryan, a great man who has just passed away. He dedicated his life to Montreal North, first as a journalist and then as its mayor for 38 years. He was elected 10 times, six of those by acclamation. I knew Mr. Ryan becaus

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, in last year's budget, the Conservatives were priding themselves on their job creation. Today we learn that that was based on two fictitious measures. First, the job grant program has never existed, and second, the Conservatives have reduced the building Canada fund

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, Communications Security Establishment Canada allegedly spied on Canadians through the free Internet service at one of our major airports. The purpose of this operation was not to protect Canadians. It was a test that was requested by the U.S. National Security Agency

L'Isle-Verte  Mr. Speaker, in the early hours of January 23, tragedy struck L'Isle-Verte. A terrible fire destroyed the Résidence du Havre, leaving 32 people dead or unaccounted for. In the face of such tragedy, there are no words to express our grief and our compassion. I would nevertheless

Unemployment  Mr. Speaker, December's disastrous employment statistics should serve as a wake-up call for this government. Today there are 275,000 more unemployed Canadians than before the recession. The Conservatives' solution is to run an ad campaign to promote an employment program that d