Debates of Dec. 13th, 2002

Canada Pension Plan

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Speaker]

All those in favour of the motion will please say yea.

[Some hon. members]

Yea.

[The Speaker]

All those opposed will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Speaker]

In my opinion the nays have it.

And more than five members having risen:

[The Speaker]

Pursuant to Standing Order 45, the division stands deferred until Monday, January 27, 2003, at the expiry of the time provided for government orders.

[Marlene Catterall, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions between all the parties and there is an agreement, pursuant to Standing Order 45(7), that the recorded division requested on report stage of Bill C-3 be redeferred until Tuesday, January 28, 2003, at 3 p.m.

[The Speaker]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

French-Canadian Community

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I want to congratulate the French-Canadian community for two initiatives to provide French language health services.

First, I want to congratulate the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada for successfully culminating its work on French language health services with the foundation, in early December, of the Société Santé en français. Under the leadership of Hubert Gauthier, president and CEO of the St-Boniface General Hospital, this organization will develop a national network for cooperation to help francophones in Canada gain access to French language health services.

Second, I want to congratulate the French Language Health Services Network of Eastern Ontario, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary. I want to salute the co-chairs of the interim committee, Pierre de Blois and Rolande Faucher, and the network's chairs, Jean-Claude LeBlanc, Jacques Schryburt and Edgar Gallant, as well as its executive directors, Jocelyne Lalonde and Normand Dupasquier.

I am very proud to see that French Canadians are creating their own networks and organizations, a sign of their vitality and their determination to obtain the services they deserve.

Christmas

[James Lunney, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, 700 years before the birth, the prophet Isaiah declared the virgin birth and said, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace”.

Five hundred years before the birth, the prophet Zechariah told of his death, how much his betrayer would be paid and that he would come riding on a donkey. He was born in Bethlehem, which means in Hebrew the house of bread. He said, “I am the bread of life...I am the way, the truth and the life...I am the resurrection and the Life and his life showed he was the Son of God”.

That is what Christians believe. That is what they celebrate at this time of year. He is the reason for the season.

May it truly be a very merry Christmas for you, Mr. Speaker, for all members of the House, for all Canadians, and a wonderful new year for Canada and for the world.

Export and Import of Rough Diamonds

[David Pratt, Liberal, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over 14 months ago I introduced a private member's bill which would have prohibited the import of conflict diamonds into Canada and created a diamond certification scheme. At that time I noted, “Canada has an obligation to pass meaningful, effective legislation which would put our domestic policy in line with our stated foreign policy objectives”.

I am very pleased that yesterday the Governor General gave royal assent to the federal government's Bill C-14 which will in fact bring Canada directly in line with the Kimberley process, an international system for the certification of rough diamonds. Once again the Government of Canada has proven its commitment to work with our international partners to address issues of international peace and security and in this case, the illegal trade in conflict diamonds.

I would like to offer my congratulations to everyone involved in this process, all of the officials at foreign affairs and natural resources, as well as the NGO Partnership Africa Canada that did a tremendous job. Its hard work—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Peterborough.

The Economy

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the National Bank of Canada projects a 3.6% growth for Canada next year, following this year's 3.3% growth. This is an extraordinary forecast. We will once again lead the G-7. We will once again have a balanced federal budget. We will once again lead the United States.

2002 was unprecedented. We not only led the U.S., but while U.S. economists were revising their forecasts down, our forecasters had to revise their forecasts up. All Canadians benefit from this. For example, in 1990 a typical family in a typical house paid 40% of its income on the mortgage. In 2002 that family paid only 25%. 2003 is going to be another great year.

Happy new year to you, Mr. Speaker. Happy new year to all MPs and happy new year to all Canadians.

The Environment

[Jeannot Castonguay, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is going to be honoured today by the Sierra Club for his commitment to the Kyoto protocol. He will be awarded the John Fraser Award for Environmental Achievement.

This award is in recognition of the scope of the environmental initiatives put in place by the Liberal government.

Canada has played a lead role in the Kyoto protocol negotiations. Future generations will reap the rewards of the steps taken throughout the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Prime Minister has shown his determination to enhance the health and well-being of Canadians, and to ensure a future for our children and grandchildren. Preservation of the environment is an important legacy. This honour is richly deserved.

Congratulations and thank you, Prime Minister. Holiday greetings to you, Mr. Speaker, and to all our colleagues in the House.

Canadian Forces

[Leon Benoit, Canadian Alliance, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured on behalf of the Canadian Alliance, Canada's loyal opposition, to thank the men and women of the Canadian forces for helping to keep Canadians safe and secure. I especially want to remember all of our troops who will spend Christmas far from loved ones so that we in Canada may enjoy our holidays with our loved ones in safety and peace.

More than at any other time in this generation, Canadians have come to appreciate freedom and democracy, and that we cannot take them for granted. The commitment of Canada's military personnel to upholding these values and to keeping our country safe and secure is deeply appreciated. Canada deserves the very best, and in our military personnel it has the very best.

I am sure all members of the House will join with the Canadian Alliance as we thank all of the men and women in the Canadian forces for the sacrifices they make on our behalf. We pray that those overseas during the holidays will be kept safe from all harm. May God bless them all.

Perth--Middlesex Riding

[Marlene Catterall, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to congratulate Rick Horst, who last night was chosen as the Liberal candidate in the great riding of Perth--Middlesex. Nearly 2,000 people jammed the Stratford Coliseum to choose among six superb candidates.

Dr. Horst will make an excellent candidate. He has been very involved in his community, in sports, in health care, in children's services, with the military as padre of the Royal Canadian Legion, as chaplain of the militia 48th Cameron Highlanders of Canada.

We wish him luck in his battle. We know that we will soon be welcoming him into the House of Commons as the new member of Parliament for Perth--Wellington.

Fight Against Substance Abuse

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this past November 27, I had an opportunity to take part as a panellist in a very special evening. All parents of secondary school students in Saint-Hyacinthe were invited to visit 15 displays set up by organizations involved in the fight against substance abuse. They were also able to hear from a group of specialists and ask questions on topics that were of concern to them.

We in Saint-Hyacinthe have made a choice to face the problems of drug use head on. The Info-Crime committee, co-chaired by myself and the head of the school board, Raymonde Rivard, wanted to start our action by addressing young people, who are the first victims of increased drug use, as well as a captive market for the criminal element.

As a result, an exceptional collaborative effort was initiated by the various stakeholders: the school, health workers, community groups and community police workers such as Claude Denis, who is on the Info-Crime committee. All of these work together to provide parents with operating tools for understanding and prevention.

My warmest congratulations to the organizers of this great project, and in particular to Richard Gingras, drug abuse prevention coordinator for the Saint-Hyacinthe school board, and Gilles Charest, principal of the Hyacinthe-Delorme polyvalente, which hosted the event.

Thank you very much, and the warmest of holiday wishes to everyone in the House as well as everyone in my wonderful riding of Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot.

Canadian Banknotes

[Gurbax Malhi, Liberal, Bramalea—Gore—Malton—Springdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a growing number of private businesses are refusing to accept $50 and $100 bills even though they are legal tender for fear of their being counterfeit. This is a policy that more and more food chains are adopting. This is affecting our economy.

With the holiday season upon us and the large amount of people who prefer to pay with cash, I would like to encourage the government to take action to settle this issue.

Liberal Government

[Ken Epp, Canadian Alliance, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, how fitting that this sitting of Parliament should end on Friday the 13th. With the boondoggles and fiascos of this morally bankrupt government, the whole fall session has been bad luck for Canadians.

We have had endless sandbox squabbling between the Prime Minister and the ex-finance minister. Another minister has been forced to resign over patronage in his province. We have seen a Prime Minister beleaguered with patronage and sleaze turn his sights on backbench and opposition MPs. We have seen a Prime Minister threaten the members of his caucus as they wrested away a small part of his control over committees.

The Liberals take pleasure in putting innocent farmers into jail but they will not stop pedophiles and child pornographers. They throw away $1 billion on a gun registry that does not work.

Bad luck this whole session. It is time for Canadians to send these “fiberals” packing.

Big Brothers and Big Sisters

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on December 6, along with the representative from the Quebec chapter of the association of federal Liberal assistants, I had the honour of delivering a cheque for $1,000 to the Grands Frères et Grandes Soeurs de l'Outaouais.

Big Brothers and Big Sisters runs a program that pairs an adult with a child to foster the personal and psychosocial growth of children between the ages of 6 and 14. The child and volunteer participate in sports and recreational or cultural activities together in order to get to know one another and to develop a meaningful friendship.

This donation is one of four $1,000 donations given to non-profit organizations in Quebec. I would like to thank the Quebec chapter of the association of federal Liberal assistants for this generous initiative.

I wish all the assistants of ministers, members, and senators, and the residents of the great riding of Hull—Aylmer, a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Voices in the Wilderness Peace Team

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to four courageous Vancouver women, Irene MacInnes, Linda Morgan, Irene Vandas and Jennifer Ziemann, who are presently in Iraq to support the people of Iraq.

They are there as part of the Voices In The Wilderness Peace Team whose members go in relays so that there will be members in Iraq if and when the U.S. launches a war. In effect, they are there to act as human shields.

The purposes of the peace team are to live among the Iraqi people, to be there with them during any aggression, to use their presence to protect life supporting facilities and to speak truthfully about Iraq from the perspective of peace activists and to look at the effect of sanctions and war on the people of Iraq.

They are joined by two Canadian doctors, Dr. Amir Khadir and Dr. David Swann.

War would have devastating consequences on the people of Iraq who have suffered too much already.

New Democrats call once again for the lifting of the genocidal economic sanctions on the people of Iraq. We call as well for an end to any suggestion of war on the people of Iraq, with or without the sanction of the United Nations.

Brigitte Saint-Vincent

[Odina Desrochers, Bloc, Lotbinière—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Brigitte Saint-Vincent was chosen woman farmer of the year for 2002 by the Fédération des agricultrices du Québec at the 15th soirée Saturne in Saint-Hyacinthe. Brigitte, at 34 years, is the youngest recipient of the award and the first woman from the Beauce region to win.

At a very early age, she took part in animal shows and her work on her father's farm led her to become one of the first women horse and cattle judges in Quebec. She holds a Bachelor of Animal Science from Macdonald College, and judges across America and Europe. She was also the first woman to judge the finals for purebred beef cattle in Brazil.

A great horse lover, she is also a certified instructor with the Fédération équestre du Québec and owns a horseback riding school in Saint-Cuthbert.

On behalf of my colleagues from the Bloc Quebecois I would like to congratulate Brigitte Saint-Vincent for this title as an ambassador for agriculture. I am proud that young women like Brigitte are so motivated and active within the agricultural sector.

Cadets

[Claude Duplain, Liberal, Portneuf, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw the attention of the House to the presence of the Donnacona Air Cadet Squadron, from my riding, and the Lanark Sea Cadet Squadron.

These 100 young people are here as part of an interprovincial exchange, to meet, take part in activities, share their experiences and develop lasting friendships. Discipline, team spirit, leadership, and mutual aid are the values that the Canadian cadet movement promotes for our youth.

I would like to welcome the cadets to the national capital and congratulate them on their drive and involvement.

Merry Christmas to all.