Francis Scarpaleggia

[The Environment, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this week, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development tabled a report on the state of conservation of our natural heritage. The report showed that the government’s track record is a pattern of unfulfilled commitments and responsibilities.

Staffing for conservation work in national parks has decreased 23% compared to the average of the previous seven years. Many national parks lack baseline data on the state of the park, so there is nothing against which to measure whether progress is being made. Environment Canada itself has shown that the ecological integrity of over 70% of fauna reserves and over half of migratory bird refuges are considered inadequate.

We are a country defined by our natural beauty and heritage. Not only is conservation good in and of itself, it is key to preventing disruption associated with economic development.

The government must get its act together on environmental policy. It has had seven years to show some good faith on this file and some concrete actions and results. What is it waiting for?

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we have been listening to the other side in this House boasting about its supposed economic accomplishments for quite a while now, and it is wearing a bit thin. What we notice in the speeches from the government side is this inherent contradiction in everything the members say. They say the economy was bad because of other countries, because the recession started with the housing crisis in the U.S. Then when things pick up, it is never because of an increase in demand elsewhere; it is always because of the government's policies.

The government says that although the recession started outside of Canada, we have a stable financial system and we have a good debt ratio; however, it never mentions that the stable financial system was there when it arrived and was preserved by the previous Liberal government. It never mentions that if we have a good debt ratio, it might be because of the seven years of continuous surpluses that the previous government built up.

One thing I find quite interesting is that the government takes credit for the growth in employment, but anyone who has read an economic textbook knows that employment naturally increases with population. Some economists are saying that the increase in employment is being driven by an increase in population.

How can the government constantly take credit for things that are happening naturally? Increased demand for oil is happening naturally. Immigration is bringing in more people and creating more jobs and so on, so how can the government always take credit for everything?

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am quite intrigued by the whole issue of weakening worker protection. We are all quite close to our communities. We listen to Canadians. I have never heard anyone say that what we really need to do in this country is to weaken the ability of workers to stay away from dangerous work situations. No one in the entire time that I have been an elected MP has said to me, “This is a big problem. Too many workers are refusing to work in dangerous situations that are actually not dangerous at all.”

I am wondering from where the impetus came for the government to act on this issue in this way.

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I listened very closely to my NDP colleague's speech, which he delivered with great passion and enthusiasm.

He highlighted a number of key issues for Canada's future. I am very interested in one issue in particular: water. I have been working on this issue for quite a long time. The member also mentioned the fact that the government is no friend of scientific research. I would like to talk to him about a subject that has to do with both water and scientific research: the Experimental Lakes Region, an open-air laboratory that the federal government has been involved with for some 40 years, a place where scientists have been doing field research on water pollution. As we all know, the current government eliminated that program.

Does the member think that now would be a good time for the government to use Bill C-4 to reverse its decision and reinstate the research projects in the Experimental Lakes Region?

[The Suburban, October 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, The Suburban is celebrating 50 years of excellence providing Montrealers with the news and analysis they need to take an active part in the life of their community. The newspaper has distinguished itself with the quality of its reporting and through editorial content that reflects a deep understanding of the events—local, national, and international—that shape our world.

The Suburban's success has been reflected not only in the accolades it regularly receives from readers but also in the numerous Quebec, Canada-wide, and international awards the paper has earned over the years since its modest inception on March 1, 1963 in Sophie Wollock's basement on Davies Avenue, in Côte Saint-Luc.

The Suburban's readership has grown over the years in the highly competitive marketplace of weekly newspaper publishing. This is testimony to the paper's ability to stay on top of the technological trends that have and are continuing to shape the media industry.

Congratulations to The Suburban on this milestone anniversary. We wish the paper continued success covering the issues that matter to the communities it has served so well for half a century.

[Petitions, October 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.

The petitions are in response to a delegation of 14 Canadians from across the country, led by the Rev. Shaun Fryday of the Beaconsfield United Church, to study the impact of Canadian mining interests on indigenous peoples of the Cordillera region in the Philippines. The report, known as the Beaconsfield initiative, contains recommendations including for the calling of this petition and other representations, which were made to the international subcommittee on human rights in May 2012.

[Clayton Glenn, October 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Clayton Glenn was a pioneer and innovator whose remarkable career spanned the most dynamic period of Canada's airline industry. He was, to quote his friend Rémi Lafrenière, “an active participant, indeed more often than not the principal player, in just about every increment made in the aviation industry”.

After graduating from university, Clayton Glenn joined a fledgling airline called Trans-Canada Airlines where he worked on the North Star, taking a good airplane from the manufacturer and making it better. He was then seconded to work on the Avro jetliner and later designed improvements to a succession of well-known aircraft for the national carrier.

I was very honoured when Mr. Glenn shared his written memoirs with me. His account of his life in the airline industry is a gift to Canada, a treasure trove for historians. They illuminate key decisions by both industry and government that shaped today's air passenger sector.

To Elaine, his wife of 63 years, and daughter Holly, son Raymond, and their families, we offer our deepest condolences. They have lost a husband, father and grandfather. We have lost a great Canadian.

[Government Advertising, June 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday evening during the hockey game, taxpayers had no choice but to watch three Conservative government ads, which were paid for out of their own pockets and cost a total of $420,000.

Rather than forcing taxpayers to pay for ads announcing programs that will not exist as long as lengthy and difficult negotiations are not held with the provinces, seven of which have already said they are not interested in negotiating, why does the government not spend that money on real training for workers who want to learn new skills today?

[Petitions, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Post continues to close post offices, including in historic villages on the Island of Montreal. In particular, it recently closed the Pointe-Claire post office in the village of Pointe-Claire. It now has plans to close the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue post office in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, one of the oldest communities in Canada.

I have petitions from people who object to the closing of the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue post office and also to the two post offices a little further east, namely in Snowdon and in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

[Roger Bider, June 14th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay homage to Dr. Roger Bider who passed away this past April. Dr. Bider was a visionary who left a profound and lasting impact on our appreciation of the natural world around us.

For more than three decades, Dr. Bider taught wildlife biology at McGill University. In 1981, he founded the St. Lawrence Valley Natural History Society to promote research on, and conservation of, amphibians, reptiles, birds and other animals native to the St. Lawrence region. In 1988, as the public education component of its mission, the society created the Ecomuseum Zoo. Few are the children from the Montreal region who have not visited the Ecomuseum on a school field trip.

Dr. Bider's daughter, Jeanette, has best captured the essence of the man:

He would take us all camping and fishing all the time. He had such an incredible passion for nature and wildlife and was so happy to share it with us.

I offer our deepest condolences to Dr. Bider's wife, Marjorie, his children, Tim, Steve, Donna, Keith, Jeanette and Marc, as well as his many grandchildren.