Stephen Woodworth

[Petitions, November 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition from Canadians from the Langley, British Columbia, area who are concerned about the fact that the use of ultrasounds is causing many young girls not to be born into this world. It is creating a global gender imbalance, leading to the human trafficking of girls. Ninety-two per cent of Canadians believe that sex-selective pregnancy termination should be illegal

The petitioners ask all members of Parliament to condemn discrimination against girls occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination

[Taxation, November 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, under the Conservative government's family tax cut, every family with children will have more money to spend on their priorities as a family.

The majority of the benefits will go to low- and middle-income families. For instance, a single mother with two children earning $30,000 per annum will benefit by a whopping $1,500 very year.

However, the Liberal leader is promising to reverse this tax relief and force hard-working middle-class families to pay more. We reject the Liberal leader's high-tax policies.

Our Conservative government has kept our promise to families, and we continue to stand with them. After all, we all know that there are only two people who really know what is best for their kids: mom and dad.

[Justice for Animals in Service Act (Quanto's Law), November 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is really with a great deal of disbelief that I listened to the members opposite complaining about how there is inadequate time to debate bills, and yet when given the opportunity to debate this bill, Quanto's law, the member opposite does not even speak about it. I listened very carefully to his comments and I waited for him to talk about the sections of the bill that he liked or did not like. Instead, all I heard him talk about were other issues.

Quite frankly, I think this contributes to a lot of the disillusionment across the land, when people tune in and see these kinds of antics. When they see a member such as the member opposite trying to distract people and discussion from the matter at hand and see him wasting time talking about unrelated issues rather than addressing the bill before us, people get cynical about what goes on in this place.

I would be interested to see if the member could stand on his feet and just for 30 seconds talk about two or three provisions of Quanto's law.

[Foreign Affairs, November 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as Chair of the Canada-Cyprus parliamentary friendship group, I have learned of a great escalation in Turkey's aggressive attitude toward the Republic of Cyprus. Turkey recently deployed a research vessel escorted by warships into the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Cyprus, where key resource projects are being explored by Cyprus with great potential for all Cypriots. This resulted in a suspension of the negotiations between Cyprus and Turkey. As agreed at the Commonwealth heads meeting last year, Canada expresses full support for, and solidarity with, the Republic of Cyprus and its sovereign right under international law to explore resources in its exclusive economic zone. Canada calls for an end to provocations that threaten stability in the eastern Mediterranean and for resumed negotiations toward a lasting solution that will bring stability to Cyprus and the entire region.

[Petitions, November 21st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I have is yet another petition from many people across Canada who call on Parliament to condemn discrimination against girls occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination.

The petitioners note that 92% of Canadians believe that it should be illegal, and that there are over 200 million girls missing worldwide.

[Petitions, November 21st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present.

The first is a petition from a number of constituents in and around the Kitchener area who are concerned about our foreign aid assistance, protecting small family farmers, and the exchange, preservation and use of seeds by small family farmers.

The petitioners want our aid policies to be consistent with those concerns and to be developed in consultation with small family farmers.

[Business of Supply, October 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I regret that my colleague's question is a bit premature, because we have not even had the assessment completed for this terminal, much less had it built or had it able to start exporting any products. I want him to hang on to that question, and in due course, when we reach that point, I expect that he will ask it again.

However, I would say this to the member. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been one of the most faithful—

[Business of Supply, October 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank my colleague for that question. He and I served together on the environment committee. He is an extremely diligent and hard-working member who knows his science on environmental issues.

The member is quite right that at the moment, there is feedstock that comes to North America from countries around the world that are guilty of human rights practices that we would not contemplate in Canada. In fact, the ISIL group that is operating in the Middle East right now has access to oil resources, which it is selling on the black market. It is not entirely impossible that some of that oil will find its way to our shores.

On the other hand, Canadian oil is the most ethically produced oil in the world, and we should be using nothing but that throughout North America.

[Business of Supply, October 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am holding in my hand the scientific study produced by Fisheries and Oceans Canada on the impact of the very geophysical surveys at Cacouna Harbour on the St. Lawrence beluga that my friend is asking about. I am surprised that he has not been able to get a copy, because I was able to find it readily on the Internet. It contains a detailed scientific analysis of the risks of those geophysical surveys. It includes a number of conclusions, which I mentioned in my remarks earlier, and imposes a number of restrictions on those surveys.

Now that I am aware that the New Democrats did not have access to this, it makes it a little easier for me to understand why they brought this motion. Therefore, I will provide it to my colleague when the debate concludes.

[Business of Supply, October 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have been describing the many scientific assessments of this project that will help us better understand the potential and the risks. If the project goes ahead, the assessments will inform the design and operation of this proposed project to minimize any future risks. They will also ensure the protection of the beluga whale.

I would also like to stress that under the government's responsible resource development plan, rigorous environmental protection measures are being implemented to ensure the sustainable development of our natural resources all across the country, including for the proposed energy east pipeline project. The government has already undertaken many major steps to enhance an already robust oil tanker safety system regime and to create a world-class regime that protects both coastal communities and our environment.

As members know, Environment Canada has a mandate to protect water and air from pollutants, and it takes that responsibility very seriously. The department implements strong environmental laws, such as the Fisheries Act. The government will enforce all laws or regulations that are violated as a result of any spill and will ensure that the responsible parties are prosecuted to remedy any damage.

The department will continue to work in close partnership with other federal departments and other levels of government as well as with the private sector and international organizations to reduce the frequency and consequences of any violations in the marine environment. It will strive to prevent incidents. It will place emphasis on preparedness. It will provide response and recovery advice, and the department will work to advance emergencies science and technology.

To this end, Environment Canada's National Environmental Emergencies Centre is ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide scientific and technical advice and to identify environmental protection priorities when required. It is in a position to tailor its advice to the unique conditions of each emergency.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada is responsible for ensuring that the critical habitat of the beluga and other aquatic species is protected under the Species at Risk Act. In addition, I am very pleased that the environment department, through its marine program, has prepared a best practice guide to aid operators of vessels in avoiding collisions with large aquatic mammals. This very useful guide will be available as part of the process led by the National Energy Board to inform its decision and to inform any potential conditions that could be placed on the proponent, especially regarding the protection of the beluga whale.

At the end of the day, should environmental decisions not be evidence based and science based, rather than ideologically or politically based? By proposing a political decision today to block development before appropriate scientific study has been completed, the NDP has once again revealed its absolute determination to block Canadian resource development without any regard whatsoever for science-based evidence.

Needless to say, I urge my NDP colleagues to insist on the historic right of members to vote freely on non-government business and to defeat this motion. I am confident that the proposed Gros-Cacouna port terminal project will be rigorously and scientifically assessed in a manner consistent with the principle of sustainable development.