Valentine's Day  Mr. Speaker, over the past two years I have had the incredible privilege and honour of serving the constituents of Kitchener—Conestoga here in the Parliament of Canada. While the list of those who have influenced my life and encouraged me along my journey is a long one, there is

Canada Elections Act  I would have been welcome. He indicated that under the previous regime, loans could not be forgiven without consequence. I was wondering if he could outline for the House what the consequences would be for someone like Mr. Rae, who has a loan of $845,000.

Canada Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, the previous speaker mentioned that everything was okay with the fundraising initiative that was scheduled for last evening. I was wondering then why the event was cancelled, and further to that, during the hon. member's speech he said, or at least changed.

Canadian Content in Public Transportation Projects  Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the member's speech and I think the goals of his motion are certainly laudable. I have two questions. First, does he have any idea as to how municipalities would feel about the federal government putting a restriction on their purchasing

Finance  Mr. Speaker, in the fall economic statement our government acted early to deliver tax relief for Canadians. Tomorrow afternoon the Minister of Finance will bring forward our government's third budget. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance please inform the

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to have the opportunity to speak today in support of budget 2008. It has been said before and it deserves to be restated: this budget is balanced; this budget is focused; and this budget is prudent. I would like to extend my congratulations and thanks t

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member did point out that in budget 2008 we have set aside a large amount of money to recruit more police officers. I cannot say specifically where these will be allocated, but I know the government is committed to working with territorial, provincial a

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I think one thing that almost all of the members in this House and the opposition parties continue to ignore is the rapid debt repayment that this government has embarked upon. By the end of this year, just a few weeks from now, we will have paid down over $37 billio

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the government has moved ahead with action on aboriginal affairs issues. I pointed out the water issue. We have addressed over half of the outstanding water issues in first nations communities that have critical concerns. There are a number of other initiatives on

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, residential schools mark a sad period in our nation's history for generations of aboriginal children. We have heard stories of abuse, loss of language and culture, the effects of which are present even to this day. It is the time to turn the page on this sad chapter

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member opposite on his diligence and hard work, and the successes that he has achieved in his 40 years since coming to Canada. I am glad he is here in the House representing his constituents. He has highlighted for all of us the num

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my colleague's comments and he repeatedly used the words “the Liberal government would have”. The Liberal government would have fixed the infrastructure problem. It would have solved the climate change issue. It would have solved the healt

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would remind my colleague that this is International Women's Week and that this week we all had the opportunity to meet a number of Afghan female parliamentarians who were here in the House. That was a great privilege for all of us. I also would remind her of some

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to the statements of my next door neighbour and colleague, who accuses this government of doing nothing more than paying lip service to many of these issues. I take issue with that, because I serve on the aboriginal affairs committee an

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, with increasing global economic turmoil, it is more important than ever that Canada's government remain vigilant and keep its fiscal house in order. Under the leadership of the Conservatives, taxes are at the lowest level in nearly 50 years, the unemployment rate is