House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 53% of the vote.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police June 19th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the government's own investigator calls the RCMP “horribly broken”, “a breach of fundamental trust”, says David Brown. What is the Conservative response? “Another insider RCMP fix” says the Edmonton Journal.
When it comes to bringing so-called accountability and transparency to the RCMP, why did this Conservative government settle for a top secret, closed door task force? Where is the transparency?
Petitions June 14th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. As the Conservative member for Selkirk—Interlake introduced a private member's bill yesterday, Bill C-459, identical in its intent and outcome to my previously introduced bill, Bill C-450, I would like to seek consent for the following motion that deals with the 75th anniversary of famine genocide in Ukraine: That notwithstanding any Standing Order or the usual practices of the House, Bill C-450, An Act respecting a national day of remembrance of the Ukrainian Holodomor-Genocide, be deemed to have been read a second time, referred to a committee of the whole, reported without amendment, concurred in at report stage and read a third time and passed.
Ukrainian Holodomor-Genocide Remembrance Day Act June 5th, 2007
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-450, An Act respecting a national day of remembrance of the Ukrainian Holodomor-Genocide.
Mr. Speaker, it is with solemnity that I introduce my private member's bill, the Ukrainian Holodomor-Genocide Remembrance Day Act.
The purpose of the bill is to establish the fourth Saturday in November as a day of remembrance for the estimated seven million to ten million Ukrainians who died a horrifying slow death from starvation in 1932-33 during the famine masterminded, organized and carried out by the Soviet regime under Stalin.
This Holodomor-Genocide inflicted a deep and lasting scar on the Ukrainian community throughout the world. Many survivors of the famine and their descendants later immigrated to Canada. This famine was an attempt to crush the longing for freedom and to erase all aspirations for an independent Ukrainian state.
Part of the Soviet strategy also involved suppressing, distorting and wiping out all information about the Ukrainian famine, now and into the future to be known as the Holodomor-Genocide.
By enacting this legislation and recognizing a day of remembrance of this horrific tragedy, Canada will reaffirm her core values of defending human rights and condemning all injustices committed by humans against their fellow human beings, and to condemn the greatest of all evils, genocide.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Settlement of International Investment Disputes Act May 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, when the member referenced the softwood lumber treaty in his speech, many here were quite perplexed. He also talked about, not just free trade but fair trade when we go about trading with our neighbours to the south.
There was great concern because $1 billion, from what all of us understand, were left on the table. Some of us were quite concerned that this perhaps was pandering to special interest groups.
In his speech he also mentioned some of the economic missteps in the budget, such as the broken promise on income trusts, and now there is a second train of thought that what we are seeing is not pandering to special interests but perhaps just plain incompetence.
I was wondering if the member could perhaps elaborate on what this incompetence is costing Canadians.
Petitions May 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my privilege to present a petition signed by over 200 concerned Canadians that was collected by the Alberta branch of the Canadian Polish Congress.
The petitioners demand that Parliament pass and the government adopt private member's Motion No. 19 calling for the lifting of visitor visas for the following EU member states: Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Hungary. These countries are European Union members and the same visa regime should apply to them as to the other EU member states.
Canada's burdensome visa regime is a throwback to the days of the cold war and should be modernized to reflect new geopolitical realities. The iron curtain has come down. It is time for Canada's visa curtain to come down as well.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police May 11th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the public accounts committee's investigation of the RCMP pension fund heard new allegations of obstruction of justice and destruction of evidence.
Testimony indicated that Deputy Commissioner Gauvin interfered with access to information requests. Files have gone missing. Just two weeks ago, his executive assistant got into the secure area of RCMP archives before it closed on a Friday in an attempt to access files the committee had requested.
While Mr. Zaccardelli is gone, his deputy commissioner is still in a position to obstruct and destroy evidence. Why?
Nelson Mandela May 11th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, 13 years ago this week, a man who was incarcerated by a violent segregationist state became the first black president in its history. Nelson Mandela's transition from revolutionary to philosopher, from prisoner to politician, set the tone for the changes South Africa would go through under his leadership and afterwards.
Under a Liberal government, Parliament bestowed honorary citizenship on Nelson Mandela, an act that enriched all Canadians, an act that was a statement of our values to the world. The motion itself almost gained unanimous consent. The Conservative member for Calgary West voted against the motion and against Canada's salute to Mr. Mandela.
By this and other actions we are reminded that the fight against bigotry and intolerance knows no boundaries and must be confronted everywhere, in the House, throughout Canada and around the globe.
On today and every day we salute our fellow Canadian Nelson Mandela.
Petitions May 3rd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 it is my privilege to present a petition signed by approximately 300 concerned Canadians that were collected by the Canadian Polish Congress and the Lithuanian Credit Union of Toronto.
The petitioners demand that parliament pass and the government adopt Motion No. 19 calling for the lifting of visitor visas for the following EU member states: Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Hungary. These countries are European Union members and the same visa regime should apply to them as to the other EU countries.
Canada's burdensome visa regime is a throwback to the days of the Cold War and should be modernized to reflect new geopolitical realities.
The Iron Curtain has come down. It is time for Canada's visa curtain to come down as well.
Ukrainian Canadians April 30th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, Ukrainian Canadian settlers transformed the bush of the North-West Territories into the golden wheat fields of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. They are one of Canada's founding peoples, yet during World War I over 5,000 were interned in concentration camps, 80,000 declared enemy aliens and over 100,000 disenfranchised by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Borden.
On August 24, 2005 the Liberal government signed a historic agreement for $12.5 million with the Ukrainian Canadian community for the acknowledgement, commemoration and education of this dark episode in our common history.The ACE program was to be administered by the Shevchenko Foundation. The Conservative government not only cancelled this agreement, incredibly it claims it did not exist.
The Conservative government likes to reannounce Liberal programs under new names. Will the government finally reannounce this program while 98-year-old Mary Haskett, the sole survivor of the internment, is still with us?
Business of the House April 19th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Discussions have taken place among all parties with respect to Bill C-254, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda), first introduced during the 38th Parliament and reintroduced on May 24, 2006. This bill at long last includes the legal word for “gender” in the definition of what constitutes a hate crime.
I hope to find consent for the following motion: That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-254, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda), an act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda), be deemed read a second time, referred to committee of the whole, deemed considered in committee of the whole, deemed reported without amendment, deemed concurred in at report stage and deemed read a third time and passed