An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to make Certain Payments  Madam Speaker, we are here tonight on this beautiful evening to debate a bill that is empty. It is empty on prudent fiscal guidelines, empty on good public policies, and most importantly, it is empty on much needed tax relief for Canadian families. The Liberal-NDP budget contain

Transfer Payments  Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Bank of Nova Scotia released a report arguing that the “financial arrangements between Ottawa and the provinces are in a mess and need a major overhaul”, and that the government needs to take a holistic approach to solving the issue of the fiscal imbala

Transfer Payments  Mr. Speaker, the Bank of Nova Scotia report clearly states that the fiscal imbalance needs to be addressed for the good of our nation and the benefit of our provinces and our municipalities. The Conservative Party of Canada is the only federal party that is listening to the prov

Conservative Party Youth Caucus  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to announce that today the Conservative Party of Canada officially launched the young Conservative caucus, a group of 20 Conservative MPs aged 40 and under. Our party is young and energetic, led by the youngest leader in the House. We have the youngest ca

Budget Implementation Act, 2005  Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to my colleague's speech on Bill C-48. I have a question that is perhaps off topic. It is not about economics necessarily. I think all the social programs that some of this money would go to are very important, albeit that I think they were arrive

Budget Implementation Act, 2005  Mr. Speaker, I too have enjoyed sitting on the finance committee with him. It has been a great learning experience. The changes that we made to the budget are important. They speak to productivity, responsibility and accountability. Those are three important values that Canadian

Budget Implementation Act, 2005  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Central Nova for sharing his time with me. I am sure my remarks will be much less exciting than his. It is a pleasure to rise and speak to the budget today in its final stage. The budget has been without a doubt one of the most watc

Child Care  Mr. Speaker, Quebec's child care network is still on strike, which is making life very difficult for Quebec parents. Why is the government insisting on implementing such a vulnerable model across Canada?

Child Care  Mr. Speaker, Quebec created its child care program six years ago. Last week on television, we saw parents lining up in the streets, some for over 24 hours, in order to get a spot. Is this model for child care, which the Liberals want to adopt, not just a waiting list system?

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am happy to address the member's misconception of our policy. I think it is very important for the member to recognize that the Conservative Party supports all forms of day care, which is why we talk about choice. We support any parent's choice to use formal day ca

Supply  Mr. Speaker, when I refer to what parents are saying, I refer back to many of the polls and surveys that have been done that indicate that almost 100% of working parents have said they would like a choice if money was not a consideration. What we are pointing to is the choice fac

Supply  moved: That the government recognize that its current child care proposals creates a two-tier child care system because: (a) the government ignores the fact that each province is unique and faces different challenges with regard to assisting families in finding and providing chi

Child Care  Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are now intent on creating a two tier child care system. In contrast, the Conservative Party plan is universal. We will financially empower all parents equally. We will give cash subsidies directly to parents so that they can make their own child care ch

Child Care  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Social Development has admitted that he does not know if his child care plan is universal, and I can tell him that it is not. We know almost 100% of working parents have said that if they could afford it, they would stay home part time with their chi

Budget Implementation Act, 2005  Mr. Speaker, our amendment to part 14, which is Motion No. 7 before us right now that relates specifically to the creation of the greenhouse gas technology investment fund, is to allow the minister and the government to have more flexibility to create more than just the one fund