Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation  Mr. Speaker, my colleague's question underscores what I said previously, that this is not just because of the lockout, as the opposition would now characterize the situation, but of an ongoing series of disruptions right across the country. The issue then from a management poin

Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation  Mr. Speaker, many of us in the House would prefer not to be in this situation. I think that is the case on all sides. However, we must take action to protect especially the small and the medium-sized businesses, like the ones in my community. I have heard from, and many MPs hav

Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation  Mr. Speaker, the member's question is completely relevant to my personal situation. I have two nephews and a niece who are postal carriers. I also understand that many postal carriers prefer that this situation had never arisen. They would like to have more control of their own j

Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation  Mr. Speaker, I am not in a position to have any of the information the member is asking for, but I do know many of the people in my community who are being directly affected by this, as I mentioned earlier. In fact, I have received numerous emails not only from businesses but als

Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent my government in its support of Bill C-6, An Act to provide for the resumption and continuation of postal services. This legislation, once enacted, will bring an end to the work stoppage at Canada Post. The labour dispute between Canada Post

Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation  Mr. Speaker, I was at the point of saying that the last thing we would like to see is this situation deteriorate any further and see businesses fail, unemployment increase and our economy go into a tailspin. Canada Post, a crown corporation, has more than 70,000 full and part-tim

Brantford Red Sox  Mr. Speaker, the Brantford Red Sox, steeped in tradition dating back to the start-up of the Canadian baseball league in 1911, celebrated its 100th anniversary last Friday. Fans gathered to pay tribute to the players and teams who were the heroes to many in my community, includin

Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services Legislation  Mr. Speaker, I have received comments from a number of businesses, in particular small business. These are companies that would hire two or three people. One in particular has the postal service deliver its media. It is a weekly newspaper in one of the smaller communities and the

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, this week marks two years since Iranians went to the polls to express their democratic will. The regime in Tehran responded with repression. Could the Minister of Foreign Affairs please comment on this anniversary?

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, basic economics and business 101 tells us that the final end cost of products and services is the fixed and variable costs that go into them, which can fluctuate. I disagree categorically with his analysis that the prices of oil and other raw materials and finished g

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question, but again it is somewhat misleading in its characterization of large companies benefiting all of a sudden. The feedback from my business peers in my community has been right across the board that small, medium and large scale

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, as this is the very first time I rise in the House, I, too, would like to thank the good people of Brant for returning me to the House. When we come to this place, we are in awe of the history that has gone before us and we are charged with the duty of ensuring we

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, these are the items the NDP has been asking for over the course of budget consultations: enhance the GIS for low-income seniors; employment insurance; pilot project extensions; extension of work-share enhancements; a one-year extension of the eco-energy retrofit prog

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, when I was first elected in 2008, the global economic recession had taken hold in my riding of Brant. It was a time of uncertainty for workers and their families. Today, I am proud to report that the economic climate is changing, thanks to the hard work and determi

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, recently the Liberals sent the member for Willowdale to Brantford looking to attack my riding. The Liberals found a local business, Brant Screen Craft, that happened to be removing a sign from its building that day. The Liberals said that was a sad sign of depressing