Canadian Broadcasting Corporation  Mr. Speaker, as Canada's national broadcaster, the CBC has a responsibility to be accessible to all Canadians. Why is the CBC withdrawing service from rural Canadians?

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation  Mr. Speaker, service in small or remote locations is poor and getting worse. Taxpayers in my riding, less than two hours away from Ottawa, cannot receive an over the air signal, as is the case in the rest of rural Canada from coast to coast. Will the minister direct the CBC to use the $60 million in additional funding to maintain transmission infrastructure rather than fuel a fire sale of assets, which is the current plan?

Business Of The House  It being Thursday, I would like to ask the hon. House leader for the government if he has the business for the rest of today, tomorrow and next week.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the announcement today that another Canadian company and Ottawa valley employer, Mitel Corporation, will be laying off 430 workers rather than adding the 300 workers it planned on two months ago tells us that the government's luck has run out in relying on the Americans to pull us through the current downturn.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, unemployed Canadians want jobs, not excuses. It is not good enough for this government to say that there are adjustments or changes in the U.S. economy or the technology sector that account for this change. How long will the parents of Canada's best and brightest have to say goodbye to their children as they seek work elsewhere?

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want is a full public debate. Bill C-6, now before parliament, licences water exporters and its sister bill, Bill C-10, will establish where the water will be taken through cabinet order. Why is the government not telling the people who live along the Great Lakes that it is setting the stage to allow the selling of their water in bulk?

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned about water. Why is the government sponsoring legislation that will allow for bulk water exports?

Heritage Canada  Mr. Speaker, the auditor general has identified a lack of accountability for $700 million in grants and contributions of taxpayer money that Canadian Heritage currently spends. How could the government justify spending an additional $563 million by that department when it cannot account for what it currently spends?

Heritage Canada  Mr. Speaker, obviously the minister has chosen to ignore the auditor general's report. Will the minister delay the spending of the announced funds until her department cleans up its act?

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the government could learn from the provinces. It was our leader, as the finance minister of Alberta, who changed the debt repayment legislation to raise the bar, to increase the debt repayment target. For our children, why will the government not commit that the $10 billion it says will go to debt repayment will become a yearly minimum amount of debt reduction for the rest of its mandate?

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, paying down the debt with budget leftovers is no plan at all. Taxpayers need more assurance than the whim of the finance minister that the debt will be repaid. After all, debt represents nothing more than future taxes on our children. When will the government commit to following the lead of the provinces of Alberta and Ontario and putting in place a legislated repayment plan of the debt so that Canadians will have a guarantee in law that our debt will be repaid?

Health  Mr. Speaker, yesterday in Toronto the Prime Minister demonstrated that the government's priorities are wildly out of line with those of Canadians. In giving $560 million to the arts, Canadians are left wondering how many MRI machines those tax dollars could have purchased. Could the Prime Minister explain to Canadians why their tax dollars are being spent on culture as defined by the government instead of being invested in health care?

Health  Mr. Speaker, the opposition understands perfectly. Canadians want investment in health care. Only this week we learned that one of the few parts of health care that the federal government actually manages, prescription drug testing and warnings, is so poorly managed that our physicians are now relying on Americans for information about drug safety.

Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act  Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to speak as the official opposition critic for Canadian heritage on this bill, Bill C-10, an act respecting the national marine conservation areas of Canada, at second reading. What we have before us today is the third attempt to pass this legislation.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, if the Minister of Natural Resources had read his mail, he would have seen the letters on this issue. Obviously a deal in principle with a government which has no principles is no deal. The technology to be developed by the Canadian neutron facility holds the solution to tomorrow's energy crisis, the science for innovative new materials and research for medical breakthroughs.