Claude Gravelle

[Criminal Code, November 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member from the Liberal Party who called the member for Elmwood—Transcona a star in the House. I would like to ask the star from Elmwood—Transcona a question on telewarrants.

Telewarrants allow police officers to apply for search and seizure-related warrants by providing information to a justice of the peace by oath via telephone or other means of telecommunication. The amendment would also expand the availability of telewarrants to public officers. They are officials who enforce federal non-Criminal Code legislation, but are not police officers.

That is a bit of a concern to me. I would like the star member to give me his thoughts on this.

[Petitions, November 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition that is 30 pages long and is signed by hundreds of Canadians from coast to coast.

The petitioners urgently call on the government to establish an independent judicial inquiry under the federal Inquiries Act that would fully explore all the facts, consult with scientists and stakeholders, determine what went wrong with this year's sockeye run and present a public report with binding solutions within six months.

[Museums, November 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the employees of the Canadian War Museum and the Canadian Museum of Civilization have suffered enough. Ottawa's tourism industry has suffered enough. No one is winning in all this. Management's lastest proposals are miles away from the employees' demands. The employees appear to be the victims of penny pinching policies. Let us be serious. It is time to settle the dispute.

Will the government commit to appointing an arbitrator so that the parties can reach an agreement?

[Child Protection Act (Online Sexual Exploitation), November 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member named some positions that Canada was in compared with other countries. I would like to ask him whether, if this child pornography issue were put into the hands of the police, who are trained to identify child pornography, would that help in making Canada a safer place in eliminating child pornography?

[Tax Harmonization, November 24th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the federal Conservatives want to impose a new tax. The provincial Conservatives do not. The provincial Liberals want to impose a new tax. The federal Liberals are not sure they do. One thing is certain: the NDP does not want a new tax that would drive up heating costs, any more than the Canadian Association of Retired Persons does. In two months, opposition by retirees to the Conservatives' proposed harmonized tax has risen from 73% to 85%.

Why is the Minister of Finance turning his back on retirees?

[Tax Harmonization, November 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance may not have noticed, but Canada is a northern country, and winter is fast approaching. Heating bills are going to rise quickly, especially with the Conservatives' proposed harmonized sales tax.

The federal government is reaping what it sowed. Northern Ontarians are realizing that the $4.3 billion the federal government has put on the table will not give them anything.

Why are the Conservatives turning their backs on northern Ontario?

[Business of Supply, November 20th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, would the hon. member give the House his thoughts on why the Liberal Party would vote to delay Bill C-311 until after Copenhagen?

[Economic Recovery Act (Stimulus), November 16th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member talked about the HST. The government is trying to make Canadians believe that the final say on the HST belongs to the Premier of Ontario and the Premier of British Columbia.

At this end of the House, we know that that is not true. The NDP knows that is not true. The Bloc knows that is not true and the Conservatives know that is not true. We are not sure what the Liberals believe so we are going to leave them out of that scenario because they are not even sure what they believe themselves.

I would like to ask the hon. member this. How do we make the government understand or make Canadians understand that the final say for the HST in Ontario and British Columbia belongs to the federal government and not the provincial governments?

[Economic Recovery Act (Stimulus), November 16th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like the hon. member from the Bloc Québécois to explain something to me.

We know that the budget bill was bad for a number of reasons. We voted against the budget and one of the main reasons was the absence of fair pay for women, which did absolutely nothing to stimulate the economy. However, there were some good aspects to the bill, such as the renovation tax credit, the first-time homebuyers' tax credit, and measures for Radio-Canada/CBC.

The hon. member has been here much longer than I have. Could he explain to me why the Liberal Party would vote against that part of the budget that helps so many people?

[Economic Recovery Act (Stimulus), November 16th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre a question on the home renovation tax credit, which is very popular but, he is right, does not go far enough.

He said something about asbestos. A lot of homes and small businesses today are infested with asbestos. Could the hon. member to tell me his thoughts on the following? If the home renovation tax credit is expanded, should homes that are filled with asbestos be included, maybe at 100% of the cost to remove it? As we know, asbestos is a burden on our health system and people have cancer because of it. Could I have his thoughts on that?