David Price

[Interparliamentary Delegations, February 5th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association. This is the report of the official delegation which represented Canada at the conference, “Securing Peace: NATO’s Role in Crisis Management and Conflict Resolution”, which took place in Brussels on October 16, 2003.

I am also presenting the report on the visit to Canada by the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly on October 27 and 28, 2003.

[Canadian Forces, October 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, HMCS Calgary will return home soon after three months of patrol duty in the Arabian gulf region participating in Operation Apollo, Canada's contribution to the international campaign against terrorism.

More than 7,000 Canadian Forces personnel from the navy, army and air force served on Operation Apollo, which began in October 2001 and will end with the return of HMCS Calgary .

Yesterday, the captain, Commander Dan MacKeigan, expressed his pride for the excellence of his Canadian crew and his gratitude for the constant support received from home. I know we all echo that pride.

I believe Commander MacKeigan's own words are best to describe the accomplishments of our brave men and women in uniform under Operation Apollo, “We were here on your behalf, making a real difference every single day”.

On behalf of my colleagues, and all Canadians, I wish to thank all Canadian Forces personnel.

[Interparliamentary Delegations, October 20th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, which represented Canada at the annual tour of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly held in Italy from July 28 to August 2.

[National Defence, September 23rd, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the supplementary budget estimates were tabled today, and we all know the financial challenges faced by the Department of National Defence.

Could the minister outline how the estimates will remove much of the pressure from the Department of National Defence?

[Interparliamentary Delegations, September 18th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association which represented Canada at the spring session of the NATO parliamentary assembly held in Prague, Czech Republic, on May 24 to May 28, 2003.

[Interparliamentary Delegations, May 14th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present, in both official languages, two reports of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association.

They are the report of the official delegation that represented Canada at the meeting of the standing committee held in Paris, France, on April 5, 2003, and the report of the joint meeting of the defence and security committee, the political committee and the science and technology committee, held in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 10 and 11, 2003.

[Sherbrooke Biotechnology Development Centre, May 8th, 2003]

Madam Speaker, it is my honour to rise in this House today to given Canadians another example of the excellent job this government is doing in the riding of Sherbrooke.

On April 25, the Sherbrooke Biotechnology Development Centre received a non-refundable contribution of $1.5 million from the Government of Canada, under its biomedical development project. This funding will buy state of the art equipment in the fields of biotechnology and human health.

The Sherbrooke Biotechnology Development Centre is a multi-tenant building with 20 or so laboratories which could accommodate more than 140 researchers. The building is under construction in the Sherbrooke Biomedical Park, a major scientific park in Quebec.

I want to assure the citizens of the riding of Sherbrooke that they—

[Royal Canadian Air Force, November 27th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, on May 5, 1943, a Vickers Wellington bomber was intercepted and shot down by a German fighter aircraft. Flight Sergeant Gordon Carter and Flight Sergeant Howard Hoddinott were able to jump safely from the burning aircraft before it crashed into a peat bog.

As the plane disappeared from sight it took with it the lives of three brave members of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

I am honoured to rise before the House and inform members that a funeral ceremony with full military honours took place earlier today at the Wilnis General Cemetery in Wilnis, The Netherlands.

The three airmen honoured were: Flight Sergeant Joseph Evariste Adrien Thibaudeau, Flight Sergeant Joseph White and Warrant Officer Class I Robert Benjamin Moulton.

Family members of the crew members travelled from Canada to attend the service and the widow of Flight Sergeant Howard Hoddinott travelled from Scotland. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs represented the Government of Canada.

On behalf of all Canadians I would like to express our gratefulness to the people of The Netherlands for their assistance in the recovery effort of our fallen heroes.

[Cuba, November 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for Latin America, Africa and the Francophonie, who is just back from the first Canadian ministerial visit to Cuba since March 1999.

Following this mission, to what extent does Canada feel it has achieved its objectives?

[Royal 22nd Regiment, October 21st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, 88 years ago, on October 21, 1914, one of the most illustrious of the Canadian Forces Infantry Regiments was born: the Royal 22nd Regiment.

Among the regiment's 21 battle honours are Flers-Courcelette, Mont-Sorrel, the Somme, Ypres, Vimy, Sicily, Northwest Europe and Korea.

The blood shed by its valiant members on the battlefields of Europe and later in Korea has helped forge its reputation for excellence, a tradition handed down for the past 88 years to each member of the regimental family.

Last September, the 1st battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment was the recipient of the first Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation awarded by the Governor General of Canada for its reopening of the Sarajevo Airport in July 1992.

I invite all hon. members to join with me in expressing to the Royal 22nd best wishes for a happy anniversary and for many more such anniversaries.