Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  I am sorry, Mr. Speaker, I was seated in another place. My name is Steven Blaney and I am the member for Lévis—Bellechasse. I would first like to thank my colleague for wishing--

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, first I wanted to thank my colleague for welcoming all new members of Parliament, including myself, here to the House of Commons. I am proud to have the opportunity, as the representative for Lévis—Bellechasse, to ask her my first question. I listened closely to he

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my hon. colleague on her speech and remind her that the Liberal government had such a fine fiscal record thanks to two measures implemented by the previous Conservative government, that is the free trade agreement and the goods and servic

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I am very honoured to address the House today and to show my support for the Speech from the Throne, delivered by the Governor General, Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean. First, I would like to thank the people of the riding of Lévis—Bellechasse, which includes Les Etc

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his wishes. This is indeed the first time I rise in this kind of debate. First, regarding shipyards, I would remind him that the shipyard in Lévis flourished under a Conservative government. And our Prime Minister's ships are not sailing u

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I have had to call upon every ounce of my university training in engineering to follow the hon.member's math.

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  I want the hon. member to know that the proposed measure is for all parents, regardless of income or child-rearing choices. As we know, some parents choose the child care system. Other mothers and fathers choose to stay at home with their children. I am proud of the fact that w

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I would just like to remind my colleague that, as I said last week, any slight improvement in the economy under the Liberal government is attributable to the Conservative government's introduction of the GST and free trade, which the previous government opposed. I w

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for speaking on the environment. It is a topic we will return to in the weeks to come, for it represents a national concern and an important issue for our future. My colleague referred to black Friday. In response to that, I would like to point

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for what he had to say about culture. Our new road map does talk about culture. I would like to remind my colleague that we have a culture of accountability here in Ottawa. In my view, the highest priority of this Speech from the

RESUMPTION OF DEBATE ON ADDRESS IN REPLY  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her remarks and congratulate her on being elected to Parliament again and having the trust of her constituents. It was said that the Conservative government's first throne speech neglected to mention several things. But it is

Canada's Commitment in Afghanistan  Mr. Chair, it is my duty to speak this evening to support our important mission in Afghanistan. By the way, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Edmonton Centre. I support this mission for two reasons that have been given this evening. The first reason is that the

Canada's Commitment in Afghanistan  Mr. Chair, I feel that it has been clearly demonstrated this evening that the Afghan mission entails greater risks than those usually encountered by peacekeeping forces, and it is important to face them in order to maintain security efforts enabling the reconstruction of Afghanis

Canada's Commitment in Afghanistan  Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for her question. I really have no experience in international relations, but I think it must surely be quite similar to personal relations. It is often said that we discover our true friends when the going gets tough. Afghanistan needs to count

Canada's Commitment in Afghanistan  Mr. Chair, it is very simple. We can see it clearly, and our colleagues have said so this evening. This is a two pronged mission. The first is security and the second is reconstruction. Both are such that tangible progress can be expected in Afghanistan.