Canada Pension Plan  Madam Speaker, I would like to tell a story today, a tale from history, which may be somewhat unfamiliar to those on the other side of the aisle, but I assure them that it is true. Once upon a time, there was a country with a pioneer spirit. It grew from a small settlement in th

Canada Pension Plan  Madam Speaker, I do not buy packages. The CPP exists for a reason; it did a good job and is continuing to do a good job. Expanding it at this time, or at any time, with the rates proposed by the government, would impose taxes on businesses. As a result of that, we would lose jobs

Canada Pension Plan  Madam Speaker, I always enjoy my conversations with the hon. member. As he said, we both owned businesses. If the member is calling this proposal an investment, then to be honest with him, it would be a bad investment. This would hurt people more than benefit them. Any business

Canada Pension Plan  Madam Speaker, I will answer the member's question as a business owner who knows the economy. I can assure my colleague that this would be a wrong investment. I have worked the numbers. I would be happy to work with the leader of the Green Party on this at some point.

Canada Pension Plan  Mr. Speaker, I enjoy working with my colleague on the finance committee. It seems like the $50,000 mark mostly is a point of argument that is favourable for him to start by showing that $4,000 increase. To be honest that $4,000 increase, from $12,000 to $16,000, in a four-year te

Canada Pension Plan  Mr. Speaker, I think it would be important, at this point, to clarify for the Canadian public how the government is selling what it calls the CPP expansion, which is a tax scheme, by all measures. Canadians must know that this is not going to solve any immediate issues. This is g

Canada Pension Plan  Mr. Speaker, the government and the member opposite never mentioned the payroll tax as a result of the bill. It would negatively affect Canadian businesses across the country. My question is twofold. Does the member opposite know how many full-time employees there are in Canada

Students of Edmonton Manning  Mr. Speaker, I went to school last week, more than one school in fact. I met with students at seven schools in my riding: St. John Bosco School, Overlanders School, Homesteader School, Belvedere School, John D. Bracco School, Sifton School, and St. Elizabeth Seton School. They we

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, as Christmas approaches, the Canada Revenue Agency has decided to play the grinch with its employees. Using typical Liberal math, an announced expansion of 70 jobs at the tax processing centre in Summerside, P.E.I., means 182 people are being told they must move to

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, that is not good enough. That is an attack on the middle class. The Liberal plan to devastate rural communities is getting worse. These are real jobs in jeopardy because the Liberals are taking Atlantic Canada for granted. Rural communities need jobs like this to

Agriculture and Agri-Food  None is left.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, the member mentioned innovation and all the good stuff, or maybe the long-term stuff that may or may not be done, but there was nothing on productivity. Could she be specific on the impact this agreement would have on productivity and in putting Canada in a proper co

Lebanon  Mr. Speaker, today is an important day on the world stage as Lebanon celebrates its 73rd anniversary of its independence. There are almost 200,000 Canadians like myself who have some sort of Lebanese ancestry. The first Lebanese immigrants arrived here 1882, 134 years ago. We L

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition concerning seniors in Canada. We will soon see a dramatic demographic shift in Canadians over the age of 65. Currently one in six Canadians is a senior. In 14 years, that will shift to one in four. Canada needs to prepare for this d

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Madam Speaker, my colleague made a wonderful speech and provided much detail. Trade agreements are always a gateway to job creation and economic prosperity. Could the hon. member comment on how difficult job creation would be without trade agreements? Also, would the opportunit