House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2008, with 50% of the vote.
Nuclear Energy February 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the minister might do well to get media briefings from Greg Weston; she might know more about what is happening in her portfolio.
After last year's shutdown over safety concerns, the public was right to expect its government to be monitoring the plant more closely than ever and reporting incidents to the public immediately.
How will the minister guarantee that the public will not continue to need media leaks to find out about radioactive leaks?
Nuclear Energy February 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, last week, we were stunned to hear the Minister of Natural Resources tell the House that she was not aware of “some of the details that have subsequently come to light” in the media concerning the radioactive leak at Chalk River. When it comes to nuclear safety, the lives of Canadians really are in the hands of the minister.
I would simply like to know why the media know more than the minister about the matter?
Sri Lanka January 30th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, for three years, the Canadian government has watched in silence as innocent civilians in Sri Lanka have been victims of their own country's armed forces.
When aid workers were executed by soldiers, Canada was silent. When hospitals, schools and churches were bombed, Canada was silent. Forced deportations, countless atrocities, mass disappearances and still silence.
The Sri Lankan government heard that silence loudly and now has forced a quarter of a million people into the jungle while banning foreign journalists from seeing the truth.
There is no more time for silence. Civilians are today the homeless targets of government bombing and shelling. I call upon the Canadian government to finally stand up for the human rights of the Tamil civilians and join international efforts to prevent one of the greatest humanitarian disasters of the century.
Criminal Code November 26th, 2008
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-231, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (consecutive sentences).
Mr. Speaker, volume discounts for rapists and murderers, that is the law in Canada today. It is called concurrent sentencing that cheapens life. The life of the second, the third or the eleventh victim does not count in the sentencing equation. The lowest price is the law every day in our courts.
This was true when this bill passed third reading in the House by a 4:1 margin in 1999. It was true last month when the premier of Saskatchewan called for consecutive sentencing when a child killer who confessed to sexually assaulting 40 women was freed without serving one day for any of those 40 victims.
Consecutive sentences for multiple murderers and rapists remain the only way to bring proportionality to sentencing and bring a measure of justice to victims of immeasurable crimes.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Veterans Affairs June 18th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the government's record on veterans affairs can be summarized as frothy promises mixed with flat results.
The government broke its promise to give VIP services to all widows and, in the last two years, only added 5,000 survivors to the program. In the last two years of the Liberal government, we added 20,000 without fanfare.
The government excluded allied veterans from the VIP in three budgets while criticizing a decade-old decision to do the same thing. It announced a Veterans Bill of Rights that had no bill, no legislation and absolutely no new rights.
On agent orange, after two years of delay, about 3% of those it promised to compensate will see any money.
However, the government followed through on the New Veterans Charter passed in 2005 and opened new OSI clinics in Calgary and Fredericton, also announced that year.
I feel that veterans deserve a government that exceeds expectations the way veterans did for their government.
Public Transit May 9th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the annual reports of the Toronto Transit Commission prove that the government's non-refundable tax credit for transit passes is a total failure when it comes to increasing ridership and protecting the environment. The TTC results reveal that ridership trends did not change at all after the transit pass plan was launched; no more riders, no less pollution.
The government's tedious tax credit plan was supposed to pay for two free months of public transit, but as the TTC says, there is “The Better Way”. The government could work with the provinces and use the same money to deliver free public transit for two months every year: no receipts, no accountants, just a free ride for all who can get out of their cars, get a break from gridlock and get a breath of fresh air.
Foreign Affairs April 18th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, maybe it is time to build a firewall around the government caucus members. This is not the first time the member for Calgary West has helped to put this Conservative government on the world stage.
He is also infamous for calling Nobel peace prize winner Nelson Mandela a communist and a terrorist. Just recently, the foreign affairs minister has trashed the governor of Kandahar with allegations of corruption.
When will the Prime Minister rein in his foreign relations wrecking crew--
Foreign Affairs April 18th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, a government member, who was once labelled a foreign political saboteur by CNN, has undermined Canada's ability to have constructive dialogue with China on human rights.
The member for Calgary West has compared the Beijing Olympics to Adolf Hitler's 1936 Berlin Games. He has even mused about an insurrection.
With his foreign affairs minister calling for the overthrow of the governor in Kandahar and a backbencher calling for riots in Beijing, when will the Prime Minister put some diplomacy in his foreign affairs policy?
Municipal Property Taxes April 14th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, homeowners in Mississauga and around the country are bracing for massive property tax increases as the federal government continues to shortchange the future of Canada's cities.
The latest estimates show that homeowners will pay thousands more in property taxes over the next decade to rebuild roads, transit, waste management, and other municipal infrastructure that are the essential bodily functions of a growing economy.
In Mississauga the bill will work out to $100 per resident per year, adding over $300 to the average property tax bill. This is the end of the road for Canada's cities. Property taxes will have to rise unless the federal government rises to the occasion and finally commits to funding the infrastructure our economy is built on.
Vimy Ridge April 9th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, it was a year ago that Canada paused to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the triumphant yet tragic battle of Vimy Ridge.
Canadian schoolchildren at the Vimy Memorial in France witnessed the scale of the magnificently restored tribute and felt the scale of the sacrifice it represents. Here at home, at memorials across the country, the memory of those who fought at Vimy continues to bring pride, tears and inspiration even after four generations.
The mission Canadians accomplished at Vimy was more than the capture of a key summit. It captivated the nation and captured the respect of the world. Those who rose from the trenches 91 years ago today will forever rise in the memory of a grateful nation.