Andrew Leslie

[Retirement Congratulations, June 19th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, this will be the last time I have the pleasure of rising in this place.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Orleans for trusting me to speak on their behalf on the Hill.

It has been an honour and a privilege to serve among all members.

However, that is not why I am rising today. I am here to recognize Luc St-Cyr, who is not only a constituent but a dedicated employee who has worked with all of us in this place for many years.

He served for 18 years as a constable with the House of Commons Security Services and an additional 16 years with the page program. He started when he was just 22 years old, and he has not changed a bit.

When Luc started here in 1985, there were only 285 MPs.

He has worked alongside six prime ministers and has seen seven Parliaments come and go. There have been 640 pages who have passed through his training hands.

He has witnessed state visits by Presidents Reagan, Clinton and Obama. He even witnessed Nelson Mandela's address.

Thank you, Luc, for your 34 years of exemplary service.

I wish him all the best in his retirement.

[30th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, June 10th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to draw the House's attention to Ottawa's reserve artillery unit, first formed as the Bytown Gunners in 1855.

This proud and distinguished unit, now called the 30th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, has contributed trained gunners to fight the Fenian raids, the South African War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, numerous peacekeeping missions and the latest war in Afghanistan. For 164 years they have answered the call to duty, with many being wounded or killed.

When not training to fight, they conduct the ceremonial gun salutes on Parliament Hill and elsewhere in the capital region, rain or shine.

My family's history is linked to the 30th Field Regiment. My great uncle, my father, brother, two nephews and my son have served in the regiment, as have I. My eldest daughter is a captain in the regiment and, like so many, deployed to Afghanistan in 2009-10.

I congratulate the commanding officer, the RSM and all ranks for their best efforts in keeping alive the tradition of service before self.

The next time members see or hear the guns fire a salute on or near Parliament Hill, I urge them to go out and thank the troops who make it all happen, the Bytown Gunners.

[Acromegaly, May 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to raise awareness about a rare disease called acromegaly. I was made aware of this rare disease by a constituent of mine, Mme. Dianne Sauvé, who was diagnosed with acromegaly in 2012.

Today, I want to make the House and all Ontarians aware of this rare disease called acromegaly.

Acromegaly is a hormonal disorder that develops when the pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone during adulthood. I am pleased to say that Dianne has formed a support group in Ottawa and has a Facebook group, Acromegaly Ottawa Awareness and Support Network, to help raise support for and awareness of this disease.

I therefore wish to thank Ms. Sauvé for her courage and perseverance, and for sharing her experience with all of us.

[Natural Resources, April 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I ran out of time in my previous 10 minutes to complete the list of all the investments we were making in Alberta with respect to pipeline capacity, so let me continue.

Another $72 million to fund three clean-tech projects in Alberta's oil and gas sector are coming into effect over the next 18 months, investments that will help leverage more than an additional $415 million in funding from other sources. That is why we are also investing another $49 million to support petrochemical innovation in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta.

Through budget 2019, we have proposed investing another $100 million to support the clean resource innovation network.

Alberta is receiving a great deal of federal investment to better its technology and products. Quite frankly, we are proud to be able to help.

[Natural Resources, April 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-69 is about re-establishing the balance between economic prosperity and environmental protection. It is about restoring investor certainty, rebuilding public trust and advancing indigenous reconciliation, all the while ensuring that good projects are built in a timely, responsible and transparent way. That is what we have been doing since assuming office. We have approved the Line 3 replacement project, supported Keystone XL and done the hard work necessary to ensure we move forward in the right way on the Trans Mountain expansion project.

We know there is still more to be done, but our efforts are starting to pay off.

Let us look at the LNG Canada decision last fall to proceed with its $40 billion project on the west coast of British Columbia. It will create thousands of good jobs and generate billions of dollars in new revenue for government, all the while building the cleanest, large scale LNG facility in the world to bring Canadian natural gas to new global markets.

There are also plans for a $4.5 billion petrochemical facility in Sturgeon County.

Inter Pipeline, which is another example, is proceeding with two new facilities, valued at $3.5 billion, in Alberta's industrial heartland.

Nauticol has given its green light to develop a $2 billion methanol plant just south of Grande Prairie.

These are real investments in our energy sector, in Canadians and in Alberta. In fact, there are more than half a trillion dollars in new resource projects that have either been started or are planned over the next 10 years. In Alberta alone, that includes 102 energy projects, representing a total investment of $178 billion. That is good news.

At the same time, we have recently announced a $1.6 billion package to support workers in the energy sector and boost the industry's competitiveness. This includes a $1 billion program in commercial financial support from Export Development Canada to invest in innovative technologies.

There are another $500 million in new commercial funding from the Business Development Bank of Canada to support energy diversification, as well as $50 million from Natural Resources Canada's clean growth program that will leverage almost $900 million in new investments in oil and gas projects.

These investments reflect our confidence in Alberta and our belief in all Canadians with respect to making Canada the supplier of choice in this century of clean energy.

[Foreign Affairs, April 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I know that I and my colleague across the way will work together in strongly condemning these heinous acts as a united Parliament, including the assaults on those at prayer during the January attacks in the Philippines, to which we referred so strongly. We will continue to work not only here in Parliament but across our nation with our allies and friends around the world to prevent terrorism and violent extremism to the best possible extent that we can. We have to do all that we can to make sure there are no more victims of the peaceful innocent and that violent extremism in all its forms does not spread further. That is a commitment that we avow.

[Foreign Affairs, April 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the attacks on a Roman Catholic cathedral in Jolo, the Philippines, were appalling and despicable attacks that claimed the lives of 20 people and left many more injured. This was a terrible act of violence and hatred, and the Government of Canada strongly condemns it, as it does all such occurrences. Such atrocities call on us to do more and to do better in communicating and helping, by reaching out a helping hand to counter hate and violent extremism.

Canada is engaged with the Philippines and other partners in the region to help address this issue by funding numerous initiatives to build greater regional institutional capacity to tackle extremism and terrorism. For example, Canada is working with Interpol on a regional counterterrorism maritime security program, which seeks to strengthen front-line institutional capacity in the region to combat terrorism, piracy and armed robbery. We have also partnered with the United Nations on a variety of projects focused on building regional capacity to combat terrorism and radicalization in Southeast Asia.

We all know of the incredibly tragic attack in Christchurch, New Zealand. Both the prime ministers of New Zealand and Canada called on world leaders to unite in the fight against hate and violent extremism, so eloquently mentioned by the hon. member opposite. Sadly, a week ago, we were yet again reminded of the scourge of hate and violent extremism when worshippers were targeted in coordinated bombings in Sri Lanka on April 21. Many of the victims of that attack were Christians who were targeted at prayer in church on one of the holiest days on the Christian calendar. Canada condemns these vicious attacks, and we mourn with the families and loved ones of those killed. In particular, our hearts are with the diaspora community in Canada, those who have suffered such tragedies in a variety of nations around the world, and who gathered to grieve in churches, mosques and synagogues across Canada.

Easter is a time of renewal and optimism for Christians, as mentioned by my colleague, and a time to reflect on hope for the year ahead. It is appalling that the hate behind these attacks should target those celebrating this message of peace. I could not agree more, and I am sure I am joined by all members in the House when I say that the faithful should always be free to pray in peace in their houses of worship. However, the peace of those sanctuaries was desecrated in Sri Lanka, Christchurch and again this weekend at a synagogue in San Diego.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs said earlier today, “In the wake of attacks like these, all peace-loving people must come together in sorrow, but we also must resolve, together, not to be bent or cowed by the horror of violence.” Now is the time to stand together, sharing in our loss and our pain, as well as sharing in our resolve to not be broken by these acts of terror but rather to work together to mitigate and prevent it.

[Justice, April 12th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, in March, the minister spoke to the chair of the OECD working group. She confirmed to him that we are fully committed to co-operating with the good work her team does and that we fully support the OECD's work.

Canada is a strong supporter of the rules-based international order and this flagship organization.

[Justice, April 12th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, in March, the minister spoke to the chair of the OECD working group. She confirmed to him that we are fully committed to co-operating with the good work they do. Obviously, we fully support the OECD's work in all such endeavours. Canada is a strong supporter of the rules-based international order, including the OECD, which is a flagship organization.

[International Trade, April 11th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the illegal and unjust American tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum must be lifted.

American legislators, both Republicans and Democrats, have asked Ambassador Lighthizer and even the President to lift these tariffs. Dozens of U.S. industries have called for the elimination of the American tariffs, citing the impact of Canada's countermeasures.