Dawn Black

[Criminal Code, February 5th, 2009]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-293, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (means of communication for child luring).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to reintroduce this bill, which would strengthen the laws that protect our children.

The luring of a child is the first step that is taken by those who would try to exploit, abuse or hurt children. However, as the law now stands, this luring is only a crime if it is carried out by a computer. As we all know, technology has changed. We know that other means of communication are now used by child predators. It is time to modernize our laws to criminalize child luring in all of its forms.

I urge all of my colleagues in the House to support the bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, February 5th, 2009]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-292, An Act to change the name of the electoral district of New Westminster--Coquitlam.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce a bill to change the name of my riding to include the vibrant city of Port Moody, known as the “city of the arts”. Port Moody is a city steeped in history, from the gold rush on the Fraser River to the arrival of the first Canadian transcontinental train into British Columbia.

It is very important that the name of my riding reflect all of the diverse communities, which I have the honour to represent in the House of Commons. I urge the government to expedite riding name changes in this Parliament, as previous governments have done, and not ignore them again in the 40th Parliament as it did in the 39th.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[World Cancer Day, February 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to highlight World Cancer Day, a day of action against a disease which, as it has with far too many, has touched me personally. Two of my children have battled cancer, one as an infant and one while in university.

In the 1990s I was proud to be an initiator of a parliamentary study on breast cancer, which resulted in the groundbreaking report “Breast Cancer: Unanswered Questions”. These committee hearings were a turning point. Many of the women who testified are leaders today in the fight against cancer.

We have come a long way. Research funding is up. Every province has a breast screening program. Canada led the way on a vaccine for cervical cancer.

But so much more needs to be done. Cancer patients need a catastrophic drug plan so that they can focus on fighting cancer, not on fighting to make ends meet.

Today I join thousands of Canadians across the country in a call for political action and public engagement in the campaign to control cancer and to beat it.

[The Budget, January 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, most Canadians think the RCMP is different, but that is the opinion of the government.

The government is full of lofty words and promises, but Canadians who actually look at the budget can see that the proof is not in the pudding.

The Conservatives are again making big promises to Tri-City residents about the Evergreen transit line. Yet the budget says only that the project could be funded. The Evergreen project still has to find millions in private capital, capital that simply is not there because of the credit crunch.

How does the government have the gall to continue to promise something that clearly may not happen—

[The Budget, January 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, trust is in very little supply with the government. ThePrime Minister talks tough about crime and law enforcement, but when it comes time to stand by those on the front lines, he leaves them in the cold.

The budget continues the government's betrayal of the RCMP wages by rolling them back after having signed a new contract with the RCMP only in November.

RCMP members are rightly disillusioned by this betrayal by the Harper government. If the RCMP can no longer trust the government, how can Canadians?

[The Budget, January 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to program reviews, Canadians know they cannot trust that government. They know its record: cuts to the Food Inspection Agency, hidden cuts to status of women, ideological cuts to the Canadian arts and $7.6 billion in allocated spending that never went out the door. Now it is planning hundreds of millions in new spending cuts.

Could the government please outline the programs it ideologically disagrees with and which ones are now up on the chopping block?

[The Economy, December 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, western Canadians have a long tradition of standing up and standing against anti-democratic figures, even when such figures are from western Canada themselves. Instead of worrying about his job, he should be taking action to create jobs for everyday Canadians.

As a proud Canadian from British Columbia, as a lifelong fighter for democracy, as a duly elected member of this House, I call on the Prime Minister to stop preventing me from exercising my duties in this House of Commons. I demand that the Prime Minister allow me to vote--

[The Economy, December 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, 8,000 jobs were lost in British Columbia, and that is for October alone. It is more than any other province. Instead of providing desperately needed stimulus packages for the economy, the government chose partisanship games. We needed real action on community infrastructure, forestry, pension protection and help for small business. This is about jobs.

Why do Conservatives care more about saving their own jobs than providing jobs for western Canadians?

[Violence Against Women, December 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Saturday will mark the 19th anniversary of the massacre at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. Sadly, in the years since the massacre, we have made very little progress toward ending gender violence. Half of Canadian women experience abuse and violence in their homes, communities, workplaces and schools during their lifetime. Across the world women are overwhelmingly the victims of war, and rape is used as a weapon to break and shame women.

We must ensure that no woman, no matter where she lives, the colour of her skin or race suffers violence simply because she is a woman. Each of us has the power and responsibility to end violence against women and to create communities where women can build their lives without the threat of violence.

December 6 is not just a day to remember, it is a day to take action and to finally end violence against women.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, June 19th, 2008]

With regard to government involvement with the Evergreen Light Rail Transit Project: (a) what funds have been committed to the project; (b) what are the expected costs to the government; (c) which department is responsible; (d) what is the expected timeline; (e) what is the amount of money that will be approved in grants; (f) what amount will be in loans; (g) what consultations have been carried out with (i) the government of British Columbia, (ii) municipal governments, (iii) local residents, (iv) local businesses, (v) local post-secondary institutions; (h) what construction techniques have been committed to the project; (i) what is the expected length of track that is being built; (j) what environmental impact studies have been either commissioned or reviewed; (k) how will merchants along the Evergreen line be compensated for disruption to their businesses; (l) what research is the government using for estimates of ridership along the line; (m) what will be the revenue source if ridership numbers are below those expected; (n) will construction of the line be constructed at grade or below through Port Moody; (o) what efforts have been made to enhance security at stations; (p) will the line be fully integrated with the existing system allowing for continuous travel from Port Moody to Commercial Drive; (q) what efforts have been made to ensure that environmentally sensitive lands, such as Miller Park Ravine are protected; (r) what negotiations have taken place with Canadian Pacific Railway Limited; (s) is the government considering using a P3 model for the project; and (t) does the government have any plans with regard to foreign workers and the project?