Income Trusts  Mr. Speaker, with that response I guess he agrees that the Conservatives did break their campaign promise. Does the Prime Minister understand that his promise directly led Canadians to put their money into income trusts, that he is personally responsible for the increase in acti

Income Trusts  Mr. Speaker, the Conservative election platform stated that “A Conservative government will...preserve income trusts by not imposing any new taxes on them”. Will the Prime Minister admit that his decision to tax trusts is a direct violation of his explicit campaign promise?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Yukon and the member for Labrador. The minister in her remarks claimed that the new Conservative government was investing in the vulnerable. I would like to ask her how the vulnerable are being helped by eliminating 14,000

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-253, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act sponsored by my colleague, the hon. member for Pickering—Scarborough East. I am also pleased by the Speaker's announcement today that the bill can proceed in its present form in spite of previous

Captain Nichola Goddard Scholarship  Mr. Speaker, this week the Canadian Islamic Congress awarded its first ever Captain Nichola Goddard Scholarship in Peace and Conflict Studies. This honour was awarded to Ahmad Syed, a graduate student at the University of Ottawa, who is concentrating his studies on conflict resol

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government has failed to announce its plan for an estimated 200,000 undocumented workers in Canada and it refuses to grant them amnesty. Instead of addressing how to use the immigration system to better benefit the Canadian economy, the government is

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, the minister's answer shows he is totally clueless. These workers bolster the Canadian economy. In addition, many of them have children who are Canadian-born and have a legal right to remain in Canada. This is an urgent issue. The minister has the ability to act on

Global Centre for Pluralism  Mr. Speaker, this week His Highness the Aga Khan visited Ottawa to announce the planned location for the Global Centre for Pluralism. The centre will transform the former location of the Canadian War Museum on Sussex Drive into a non-denominational, not for profit organization d

Access to Information  Mr. Speaker, in the election platform entitled “Stand Up for Canada”, the Conservative Party made a distinct promise to strengthen access to information legislation. In fact, on page 12 of their election platform it states that “A Conservative government will implement the Infor

House debate  Mr. Speaker, one of the first targets of Kimveer Gill at Dawson College was 18 year old Hayder Kadhim. Mr. Kadhim was shot in the head, in the neck and in one of his legs. Fortunately, Mr. Kidhim survived and is now slowly recovering. This young man has made a simple request. M

House debate  Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Firearms Centre reports that 85% of spousal homicides occur in private homes, and a shocking 71% of the firearms used in spousal homicides are in fact long guns. In light of these horrifying statistics, I asked the public safety minister last June why th

Literacy  Mr. Speaker, economists from across Canada agree that literacy is fundamental to boosting economic productivity and prosperity. Canada currently has one of the highest levels of post-secondary attainment among OECD countries. However, this achievement is in jeopardy, as the Conse

Retirement Wishes  Mr. Speaker, all too often we tend to take for granted the services provided by hundreds of support staff of the House of Commons. They are translators, security guards, maintenance workers, chefs and many others, all of whom make the work of parliamentarians possible. Today I w

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for York West. In the wake of the $1 billion that the Conservatives recently cut from the programs aimed at helping people, such as jobless youth, illiterate adults, first nations, women, and those people requiring legal a

Early Learning and Child Care Act  Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member and her assessment that child care is expensive, especially in urban centres. The previous Liberal plan created approximately 200 spaces in my riding of Don Valley East. The Conservative government's plan of $100 per month is really unfair, es