Don Davies

[Salmon Fishery, October 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to one of the most profound issues facing British Columbia today: the endangerment and potential extinction of our wild salmon. There is no way to overstate the critical importance of wild salmon to B.C.'s economy, society, culture and indeed civilization.

Salmon is a linchpin species upon which our bears, orcas, eagles and wolves depend. It is the natural fertilizer for our great coastal rainforest, contributing to biodiversity and oxygen production. Salmon feed our first nations, commercial fishers, wilderness tourism industry and recreational fishery. Salmon feed our spirit.

Under the federal government's watch, we have seen the slow extinction of wild salmon species because of misguided policies, inept management, and a refusal to respect fundamental principles of sound science. I call for an emergency summit on salmon, an increase in funding for salmon enhancement programs, and an immediate ban on open net fish farms.

It is the federal government's constitutional duty to protect our wild salmon and indeed all of our fish. I call on the government to do exactly that.

[Petitions, September 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from constituents in British Columbia regarding the HST. The petitioners point out that taking money from the pockets of hard-working families makes no sense in these difficult economic times and it represents an unfair tax shift from corporations onto consumers.

They note that, from restaurants to realtors, small businesses in Vancouver will be hurt and consumers will pay more on everything from haircuts to vitamins. Further, they note it was a product of political deception in the last B.C. election by the provincial Liberals. Although they are aware that the HST is supported by both federal Conservatives and Liberals, they urge the government to change its mind and withdraw its support for the British Columbia HST.

[Parliament of Canada Act, September 30th, 2009]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-446, An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (members who cross the floor).

Mr. Speaker, three years ago, in Vancouver Kingsway, a member of Parliament was elected as a Liberal and crossed the floor to sit as a Conservative two weeks after that election.

Our citizens were outraged. They regarded this as an act of democratic betrayal. It rendered their votes meaningless. People from every political persuasion joined together to demand the restoration of their democratic rights. People like Mike Watkins, Jurgen Claudepierre and Shannon Steele worked tirelessly for this noble goal.

I am honoured to rise today to introduce a piece of legislation that serves to restore respect for democracy in our country.

This bill would require any member who crosses the floor to resign and run in a byelection. It would put the actions of a floor-crossing member to the test of the will of the voters of his or her constituency, where it properly belongs. In a time when voters are increasingly cynical, I believe this would go some way towards restoring confidence in our political system.

I hope that all members of this House put their partisan interests aside and support this law. It is good for our democracy. It is good for our country.

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

[Employment Insurance Act, September 17th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I will withdraw my last comment.

[Employment Insurance Act, September 17th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, my hon. friend talked about propaganda and misinformation. Liberals promised a national child care system. They promised a national housing program. They promised to pull out of NAFTA. Talk about propaganda and misinformation.

This member has the audacity to talk about breathing life into government. They did it 79 times because they were cowards and afraid of an election. Now, the NDP is supporting this because it is good for people and because Canadians do not want an election. He talks about the importance of EI. They ignored this program for 13 years and did nothing. I worked and helped unemployed workers for 13 years and sat across from them when they got their pittance of a weekly allowance that the government did nothing to improve.

They did nothing to change the rules that disqualified people if they quit or were fired. The Liberal government did nothing for that. They talk about regional differences. The Liberal government brought in the regional differences for EI and they say they cannot survive on the amount of EI today. The Liberal government did not raise the amounts of EI for 13 years. There was only a $50 difference in 13 years.

They did not care a whit about unemployed workers and he stands up and deigns to criticize the New Democrats in the House. The sweet stench of a hypocrite is something else.

[Employment Insurance Act, September 17th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, what is an absolute fact is that for 13 years, through three successive majority governments, the Liberal Party did nothing to improve EI for the workers of our country. In fact, the Liberals gutted EI and they took $57 billion of workers' and employers' premiums and they put it into general revenues. Now they stand here when the government comes forward with some proposal to fix EI and they vote against it.

Could the member opposite explain to me why, during 13 years in power, the Liberals did not take any action?

[Employment Insurance Act, September 17th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, 1.6 million Canadians are unemployed. This winter that number will grow. Many will run out of EI and risk ending up on welfare, and we have a responsibility to help.

New Democrats have long called for improvements to our EI system, particularly during this time of economic recession, and we are pleased that the government has moved forward on this.

With this bill, the Conservatives have clearly agreed that EI is broken and needs to be fixed, and New Democrats have long proposed additional changes, like dropping the two-week waiting period and increasing the amount of benefits received. Can the member opposite please comment on these proposals?

[Petitions, September 17th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to present two petitions on the same subject, signed by my constituents and other residents of Vancouver.

The petitioners assert that every country has an obligation to protect the human rights of its citizens and Canada should be a strong voice for human rights around the globe.

The petitioners, therefore, call upon the government to take all available diplomatic steps to urge the protection of human rights in China and, in particular, to end the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in that country.

[Infrastructure, September 16th, 2009]

Actually, Mr. Speaker, those are not Vancouver. He should look at a map.

The Conservative government seems to have forgotten the action in its own action plan. The government cannot get infrastructure dollars into Vancouver, but it has no problem getting money out of people's pockets through the HST.

This new tax created by the Conservatives and supported by the Liberals has British Columbians feeling betrayed. From haircuts to home heating, this tax makes life harder for British Columbians. It is bad policy during a recession.

Is this the Conservatives' economic action plan for Vancouver, wherever the minister thinks it is? No stimulus spending and--

[Infrastructure, September 16th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in January the government promised to deliver infrastructure dollars to cities and municipalities to get our economy moving.

In my riding of Vancouver Kingsway, we are counting on those federal dollars to boost business and create jobs. However, just this weekend I spoke to the mayor of Vancouver and was shocked to learn that Canada's third largest city had not received one single penny of infrastructure funds. We have many worthy projects ready to go, from housing to roads to bridges, but nothing in nine months.

When will Vancouver receive its fair share of infrastructure stimulus spending?