Marriage  Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, a significant majority of my constituents have loudly and clearly reinforced my decision to support traditional marriage when we vote tomorrow. As the hon. member knows, we have a few members in our own party who have made the decision, for a variety of reasons, to vote against this motion.

Autism Spectrum Disorder  Mr. Speaker, I dedicate this speech to someone who has more impact on people than most of us could ever dream. As amazing as it may sound, he is an individual who does not have a mean bone in his body. He is incapable of hate. He is incredibly intelligent and never says anything he later regrets.

Universal Children's Day  Mr. Speaker, today countries around the world celebrate Universal Children's Day. This day reminds us of our shared commitment to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. The convention recognizes the fundamental role that parents and families play in the lives of children.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Statistics Canada released a startling report showing that violent crimes had increased as a direct result of gun and gang crime in our cities. The numbers show that the national homicide rate has gone up for the second straight year because of a spike in gang related homicides.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, earlier tonight the member for Oakville implied that in order for our children to be “the best and the brightest”, they need to be cared for by a massive government child care system. I want to take issue with that statement on behalf of stay at home parents across Canada.

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, I am not an expert in procedure but I clearly said no. The member, whose riding I am not sure about, was clearly heckling me for saying no, so he definitely heard me say no. I am sorry if you did not hear it, but I clearly said no loud enough for people to hear me on both sides of the House.

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, I want to dedicate this statement to my constituents, Jake and Marie Penner. No matter who one is or where one comes from, within a week of moving into our neighbourhood, one can count on a warm welcoming visit from Jake and Marie. Most Canadians, including myself, can take a lesson from the Penners.

Member for Edmonton--Mill Woods--Beaumont  Mr. Speaker, last Saturday night I went to an Oilers game at Rexall Place, something I had done literally hundreds of times over the past 10 years working for the team. This night was special though as it was game six of the Stanley Cup finals. I stood beside the Prime Minister and, with a choir of 17,000, sang a spine-tingling version of O Canada.

Stanley Cup  Mr. Speaker, tonight the Edmonton Oilers will be playing in Carolina in the opening game of the Stanley Cup championship series. This is the first time since 1990 that the Oilers have made the finals. Since 1993, when the Liberals came into office, no Canadian team has won the cup.

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, last year the member for Richmond told the Chinese community repeatedly that the government could not and would not apologize for the head tax. It claimed that it had received legal advice that to do so would create open ended liabilities. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister please tell the House if the former government had its facts straight?

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, for the third time today I have heard someone from that side shamelessly suggest that the Liberal program has something to do with helping parents who have kids with autism. I have a 10 year old child with autism. I have no idea how the program that the Liberals had in place was going to help parents with the $50,000 they need for ABA, for autism funding.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, in listening to the Liberal speakers, I am left wondering if any of them did any door knocking during the campaign. While the Liberal funded special interest groups made a lot of noise during the campaign, the people at the doorsteps were clearly in favour of our plan.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member mentioned autism a couple of times in her speech. I have a 10-year-old son with autism. Like many families in this situation, we made a decision to have one parent stay at home. My wife, who was a teacher, has stayed at home for 10 years. For us, that probably equates to roughly $400,000 in income that we have gladly given up to do what we think is best for our child.

RESUMPTION OF DEBATE ON ADDRESS IN REPLY  Mr. Speaker, I am always glad to talk about autism and working to find solutions. As for a national autism strategy, I absolutely think the country could use a national autism strategy. It is important that we do something to not only help the kids who have autism now but also to find a solution.

RESUMPTION OF DEBATE ON ADDRESS IN REPLY  Mr. Speaker, the Conservative child care plan will benefit all families equally across the country. Obviously the money follows the child so for every child under six years old the family will receive $1,200 taxed in the hands of the lowest income earner in the family. The second part of the program that often gets ignored is the plan to invest in actual child care spaces in the rural communities, as well as those day care spaces funded by community groups, not for profit groups and corporations.