John Williams

[Committees of the House, December 12th, 2006]

The Wheat Board did not either.

[Committees of the House, December 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the member opposite, whom we all know is from P.E.I. He never advocates a single market for the potatoes that are grown there, but he seems to want to keep the farmers in the west under the domination of a socialist idea of the Wheat Board.

He uses phrases such as the proposals would undermine democratic principles and the essence of what we are as a country. As we know, Canada was built on the entrepreneurship of the great pioneers who developed it, who created the wealth and so on. It seems to me that the member opposite is absolutely opposed to anything for which our country stands and how we build a country. In fact, he went on to say that the people who were interested in profits were the people who were out to destroy Canada. He needs a little lesson on capitalism.

If he feels the Wheat Board single market is so good, could he tell us why the grain industry has been in such bad shape for generation or more? Farmers have gone bankrupt by the thousands. We would think, if he were such a great proponent of this wonderful idea, they would be so prosperous that everybody would want to emulate them, but the opposite is true.

[Committees of the House, December 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I have been listening to the member opposite go on at length talking about deception, trickery and other things by specific members on this side of the House. While the words might be quite appropriate in the terminology, I think the inference is quite disparaging.

I would ask, Mr. Speaker, that you caution him and suggest that if he is trying to explain his point he do so without his disparaging remarks about the government and ministers on this side.

[Softwood Lumber Products Export Charge Act, 2006, November 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. You know and everyone else knows, including the member for Timmins—James Bay, that there is a long-standing rule in the House that members do not make reference to the fact that someone is not in the chamber. He keeps talking about empty chairs and wishing the member were here so he could speak to him.

I would ask that he respect the rules of the House. If he wants to give a speech, which nobody really wants to hear, we will let him give it but he should also abide by the rules.

[Federal Accountability Act, November 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I noted that the member from Prince Edward Island is also a farmer in Prince Edward Island. He is so adamant and vociferous in his support of the Canadian Wheat Board, which applies only to prairie farmers, not to P.E.I. farmers, and he is absolutely insistent that this Wheat Board monopoly remain in place although it of course does not apply to him.

I was just wondering if the member, who is a farmer from Prince Edward Island, would be willing to apply to potatoes in Prince Edward Island the same standards that apply to the Wheat Board. Maybe they should be sold to a single outlet. Why is the member so insistent in imposing his points of view on prairie farmers if he is not prepared to accept the same position for his own farmers and his own business?

[Federal Accountability Act, November 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, according to Transparency International, the 2006 corruption index has Canada stalled at 14th place. Scandals like the Liberal sponsorship scandal only served to increase Canadians' perception of corruption among our country's leaders.

My question is for the President of the Treasury Board. Could he comment on why he believes the accountability act should be passed and not held up in the Senate?

[Petitions, October 25th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition, again from people in and around St. Albert, asks the Canadian government to make a public statement regarding the communist regime committing crimes against humanity by the persecution of Falun Gong, to release these Falun Gong practitioners immediately and to take active measures to help stop the mass killing and organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners.

[Petitions, October 25th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions today from many of my constituents in Edmonton—St. Albert.

The first petition calls upon the government to take all measures necessary to immediately raise the age of consent from 14 to 16 years.

As members know, our government has already acted on that petition.

[Points of Order, October 25th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I was wondering if the document that is going to be tabled is in both official languages because we can only accept it if it is in both official languages.

[Parliamentarians Against Corruption, October 17th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the second global conference of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption, which I chaired, was held in September in Arusha, Tanzania.

GOPAC is an organization of parliamentarians from around the world committed to improving the effectiveness of parliaments as democratic institutions of oversight of government.

GOPAC has three pillars supporting its mission: peer support for parliamentarians, education for parliamentarians, and leadership for results.

Coming out of the conference, GOPAC demonstrated leadership by resolving to create task forces to advance a number of politically important agendas such as developing a code of conduct for parliamentarians and engaging governments to ratify and implement the UN Convention against Corruption.

Members will hear much of GOPAC in the years to come as the Arusha agenda of democratic oversight and accountability gains momentum around the world.