Sarkis Assadourian

[Youth Employment, May 29th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development.

The government is restoring hope to young Canadians and delivering on promised initiatives made in the red book. Youth-oriented programs such as Youth Service Canada and the youth internship program are giving young people the tools to build better lives for themselves and for our society.

Will the minister outline for us some of the actions the government has taken to ensure that Canada's youth gain valuable work experience this summer?

[Food And Drugs Act, May 15th, 1995]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-325, an act to amend the Food and Drugs Act.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to introduce to the House today my private member's bill entitled an act to amend the Food and Drug Act, re lactose warning labels.

This bill amends the Food and Drugs Act by ensuring that any packaged food or drug that contains lactose and is intended to be sold and used by the public is packaged in containers labelled with a warning that it contains lactose and may be harmful to persons with lactose intolerance.

Lactose intolerance is a condition that affects one out of five Canadians, which is about six million of the population. I hope all members will take the time to carefully review this bill and come to the realization that the proper labelling of food containing lactose would certainly assist at least six million Canadians.

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

[Ontario Election, May 10th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, on June 8, 1995, Ontario voters will be going to the polls to elect a new provincial government. This time they will do it right.

In 1993 we promised to restore hope to Canadians while creating jobs and building a strong economy. The red book outlined some of these campaign promises. Over the last 18 months the Prime Minister has governed with integrity and honesty, as he said he would.

Last week Lyn McLeod unveiled the Ontario Liberal plan, reiterating that her party's top priority is to get Ontario working again after five years of NDP misery. On June 8 Premier McLeod will be able to put the Liberal plan into action, as we did 18 months ago.

I wish Lyn McLeod and all the members of the Liberal team success in their campaigns. On June 8 I will be supporting my provincial representative, Elinor Caplan, MPP for Oriole.

[Petitions, May 5th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I would like to present to the House a petition signed by 66 Canadians who live in the riding of Ottawa South.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to oppose any amendments to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act that provide for the inclusion of the phrase "sexual orientation".

[Members Of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act, May 4th, 1995]

Madam Speaker, it seems to me the hon. member agrees that if someone serves this House for six years and gets his pension then he can go to the provincial government, serve there, and get another pension and it will be okay.

I cannot follow the logic. A pension is a pension is a pension. They always make the point that there is only one taxpayer in this country. In this case, the taxpayers of this country are paying $151,052 for a member of Parliament who is not even here to defend himself.

[Members Of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act, May 4th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, can the member identify a member in the House who receives a $60,012 annual pension from Alberta, who receives $64,400 MP pension and donates 15 per cent of it? Last year, he received $21,300 in an expense account for a grand total of $151,052. Can he identify this MP for the audience in the House and for the viewers in Canadian living rooms?

[Petitions, May 4th, 1995]

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to present to the House a petition signed by 38 Canadians of Armenian descent on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the genocide.

These 38 individuals marched from Montreal to Ottawa from April 21 to April 24, the day they arrived. They humbly ask Parliament to adopt their petition and condemn the genocide against the Armenian people committed in 1915.

[Holocaust Memorial Day, April 27th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, today, April 27, marks Holocaust Memorial Day. As the Prime Minister of Israel said, it has been 50 years since the doors of hell were opened.

In Israel and around the world humanity remembers and pays tribute to six million Jewish people, including one million children, who were murdered at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust of 1939-45.

This is the precise reason I introduced a motion on April 3, 1995, M-282, to designate April 20-27 a week to remember crimes against humanity. At that time I called on members of the House to view the Holocaust and genocide as more than crimes against one group, but to see them as crimes against humanity.

I call on Canada and the international community to oppose any oppression in all its forms, regardless of race or religion, and to defend the rights of victims of hatred and crime.

[Armenian Genocide, April 25th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, April 24, over 2,000 protesters rallied on Parliament Hill for the 25th time to remember and pay tribute to 1.5 million Armenian victims of the first major genocide of the 20th century. This genocide was planned and executed by the Ottoman Empire on April 24, 1915 as a brutal and final solution to the Armenian question.

The Permanent People's Tribunal in Sorbonne, France considered the Armenian genocide in April 1984 and ruled that it was an international crime for which the Turkish state must assume responsibility.

We must not allow the international community to simply dismiss Ottoman Empire crimes against the Armenian people. Benjamin Whitaker, a British writer, said if we cannot face yesterday's truth how can we ensure tomorrow's justice?

[Life Insurance, April 24th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for International Financial Institutions.

Life insurance polices classify flying, racing, boating, snowmobiling and hot air ballooning as hazardous sports. Since hundreds of Canadians die or are injured every year in gun related activities, what action can the secretary of state take to ensure gun activities are classified also as hazardous sports by life insurance companies in Canada?