Debates of Nov. 20th, 2008

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest honours any of us could have is to be chosen by our fellow citizens to represent them in this wonderful and august House. I would like to thank the constituents of my riding of Esquimalt--Juan de Fuca, the most beautiful riding in Canada, for enabling me to serve them for a sixth term and to be their voice here in Parliament to fight for their needs.

I also want to give a very big thank you to all of the volunteers. Clearly, with a win by 68 votes, this would not have been done without their hard work. This is a victory by them and for them and I thank them very much for this, especially my two campaign managers, Harry Kuiack and Lynne Henderson. They worked tirelessly, along with all of the volunteers on my team.

The Speech from the Throne was reasonable in its content but it lacked vision and specifics on the big issues of the day.

All of us here are citizens of our great country, but our citizenship implies a responsibility, a responsibility to ourselves, to our citizens and to our country. It also implies a responsibility on the part of the government of the day to our citizens, and as elected members we have a responsibility to our fellow countrymen and countrywomen.

A series of solutions should have been enshrined in the Speech from the Throne to deal with the most pressing and persistent issues that affect our citizens on the ground, and in that, the throne speech was lacking. I am going to outline some of the things the government should do. If the Prime Minister is truly being honest in his desire to work in a bipartisan fashion, then I know he will find across party lines the willingness to do this in the interests of the common good of our great country.

We have heard much about the economic challenges. This will entail a number of solutions. Timely, temporary and targeted fiscal stimuli may be necessary. The Bank of Canada rate is at about 2.25%, which is low. We could also use a number of integrated responses here. We could have an integrated parliamentary committee to deal with international trade, revenue and finance, to work together on the solutions that are required.

We could also bring together our best and brightest minds to put together the science and policy making, rooted in good research, which should drive the policies our country requires to deal with the challenges ahead. One of the heartbreaking things that I have noticed in this House over the last six terms is the inability to connect the best and brightest minds in our country with the challenges at hand. Too often the battle that goes on here has to do with trying to embarrass the other side, rather than trying to find the best solutions. Rather than a battle over ideas, people try to make the most egregious comments against each other.

There is something that is missing internationally. International tools are required to have a common securities regulator, for each country to have common objectives and common guidelines, in terms of how we deal with investments. The recapitalization of banks is critically important. It is essential that the countries of the world come together to ameliorate the contagion that is running through the financial markets in order to limit the damage but also to prevent this from happening in the future.

We saw a Ponzi scheme wreak havoc with the international financial markets, but most important, destroy the financial savings of citizens around the globe and cause the unemployment rates to increase. This is having a devastating effect on people's lives. At the end of the day, that is what it is all about.

The Speech from the Throne missed many other areas.

The number one sleeper issue that is not being dealt with is our aging population. Years ago people could expect to live to about 57 or 58 years. Now men can expect to live to the age of 79 and women can expect to live to the age of 82. There will be a huge impact upon our society, especially on the expenditures that will have to come out of government revenues. We have to deal with this by providing solutions now.

People could be encouraged to work longer if they were able to extract their CPP, perhaps tax free. We have to expand our workforce in a way that is responsible and give people the choice to continue working if they wish to. Today, 65 years of age is the new 40. I can say that at my age very easily.

Access to education is important. Education is key to ensuring that we have a productive economy. Shockingly, access to education in our country is dependent upon the amount of money one has in one's pocket. We live in a country where we should never have to say to those who are qualified and want to get a post-secondary education that they cannot because they do not have enough money in their pockets. In the last election the Liberal Party put forth a very comprehensive series of solutions to enable our citizens access to education without hurting financially as a result.

As I said before, we have to connect some of our excellent research groups, such as Genome B.C. and the Public Health Agency of Canada, which do phenomenal research, and innovative groups such as the MaRS Centre at the University of Toronto which links up research and the utilization of that research to market.

The big issue that was not dealt with in the election campaign, much to our chagrin and to the chagrin of the Canadian public, was health care. In Canada today it is a toss-up for those who get sick as to whether or not they will get timely access to quality health care. Why on earth are we wedded to a piece of paper? Why are we not wedded to the fundamental principle of enabling our citizens, when they get sick, access to timely, quality health care when they need it, without hurting financially as a result? That is what we should be fighting for.

The old shibboleth that we have a choice merely between the Canadian system and the American system is nonsense. What about the systems that exist in the European countries, in Germany, France, Norway, and Sweden? They have better outcomes and healthier populations at a lower cost. Why is that? We do not have to study this any more, but we need to work with the provinces, the managers of health care, to enable them to implement those solutions that will enable our citizens to get the care they need when they are most vulnerable.

We are all getting older, and so too is our medical workforce population. They are getting older. They are getting burnt out, and they are leaving the profession, which means there is a smaller number of medical professionals who are able to carry on the work. We put more pressure on them, and therefore, more of them burn out. There is a crisis in our medical workforce. We need a national medical workforce strategy. We need to work with the provinces and the professional faculties to deal with this crisis, not tomorrow, but now.

The public service has been maligned and ignored by the Conservative government. No longer can that continue. If the Prime Minister really wants to work in a bipartisan fashion, he needs to listen to MPs from all parties. No longer can it be a government run by the Prime Minister’s office. A small number of people, largely unelected, cannot continue to make the decisions in our nation. The problems are too large and too complicated. There are many people with many good ideas who must be heard in order to work for the common good. The public service cannot have a situation where those of us in the opposition require somebody from a minister’s office to listen in as a spy during meetings with them. That is absolutely ridiculous.

On the international aspect, the world needs more Canada. We are in a unique position to deal with the global challenges that face us. We are part of a global society. We must work in our own self-interest, but our self-interest is tied to the interests of our fellow citizens around the globe. As the saying goes, we only have one race, the human race. The Prime Minister said that he wants to double aid to Africa. Make no mistake, that aid should be for development and should be measured in outcomes. We should focus on the millennium development goals and not simply focus on a number but on the outcomes we are having in the international field. We are at the nadir with respect to our international diplomacy. We need to deal with that.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I thank the constituents of Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca. Together we can work for the common good and for all of us, that is our task at hand.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, first, I congratulate the member for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca on his recent election victory. I know it is one of many in the past.

The member brought some commentary with regard to the health care system to the floor of the House of Commons. It seemed during the election campaign that we, as members of Parliament and as candidates for respective parties, were pressured not to comment on anything but the status quo when it came to the health care field.

The hon. member has brought to the floor some discussion with regard to alternatives to the current system, something that is different from the status quo in terms of possibly the delivery of health care.

He was a little vague in terms of what specifically he was proposing, so could the hon. member bring a bit more depth to his suggestion that things might be done differently within the health care system?

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member and all of our colleagues across party lines on being elected. It is a huge honour for all of us and I look forward to working with everybody. I want to congratulate everybody on their great victory in being able to represent their constituents.

There are a couple of things.

First, the national medical manpower strategy ought to be implemented by working with our provinces. The Minister of Health should work with her colleagues across the country to implement a national workforce strategy.

Second, the head start program is the most effective way of preventing an array of social problems. It keeps kids at school longer, reduces youth crime by 60% and saves the taxpayer $7 for every dollar invested.

By looking at the European models of mixed systems of public and private, and we already have that in our country, we can utilize the best of both worlds to strengthen our public system and enable us to have better outcomes at a lower cost.

As time passes, the amount of money that is being spent on health care is growing and consuming vast amounts of the public purse, so much so that health care is being rationed in our country and being withheld from the public in order to save money. That cannot continue. Who pays the price? The poor and the middle class. They are the most vulnerable in our society.

Last, on the issue of poverty, so many members of our society do not have enough money for their basic needs. We had an excellent solution in our green shift to shift some moneys to those who were least privileged in our society. The government should take that on as one of the most important tasks at hand.

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, I was quite heartened by the potential for a democratic promotion agency. The member, who is probably the dean of the House in international aid, has been a great champion and has had great success with work in that area. I hope this will be a shift in direction.

It is great that Canadians have great diplomatic skills with all our great diaspora and experience in developing democracy around the world. We should put more emphasis in that direction and not just send in the troops. Maybe this in conjunction with the troops would be a great addition.

I was a bit concerned that I did not see any specific help in the throne speech for very troubled spots in the world. We have financial troubles, but there are people who are even worse off.

The member is very sensitive to the people of Darfur, the people of the Congo and the people of Tibet and, as chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Burma, the people of Burma. I am sure the member is on side that we need not forget these people. We should do everything we can to help them.

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Yukon for the fine work that he has done on Burma. The citizens of that country are some of the most desperate individuals as a result of their brutal and thuggish government. The member has tried very hard to get assets on the ground in times of emergency. I have enjoyed working with him to that effect.

The government has failed to show any kind of vision with respect to dealing with the international challenges ahead.

Our combination of defence, diplomacy and development of trade, three D's plus T, will deal with what I call the three C's that are affecting the developing world, conflict, corruption and the lack of capacity. These three issues should be the cornerstone of what we should address.

It is not the goal to have a certain amount of money. What is more important is how we spend that money. We should look at is the outcome for development. This means Canada should tap into the capacity we have here and use it to help other countries help themselves.

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the House once again on behalf of the people of Crowfoot and to respond to the Speech from the Throne delivered in the Senate chamber yesterday.

This is also my first opportunity to speak in this 40th Parliament on behalf of the voters of Crowfoot. I want to spend a few moments to thank them for the support and the confidence that they placed in me in the last election. I pledge again today to work very hard on their behalf as their elected federal representative in the House of Commons. I am humbled and I want to thank them for their strong level of support.

I want to thank my campaign team, my campaign manager, my board, Steven Snider, Judy Wilson and Gail Nordstrom, three of the main ones in my campaign organization.

Most of all this afternoon, I would like to thank my wife and my family for their remarkable support, not only in the last campaign but throughout my tenure here in the fourth Parliament that I have had the privilege of serving.

I should also say a little personal note. Shortly after the election my wife broke her arm and is today sitting at home recuperating from two major surgeries on that arm. I wish her a speedy recovery as I sit way down here and she sits way back there.

In the last election the people of Crowfoot spoke with a very strong voice. Again, I am proud to be their spokesman in this place. It is an honour to represent people who are so firm in their convictions.

I would like to think that Albertans know a fair bit about what works and what does not work. We try to pay as we go. We also try to save for rainy days. Our communities, like many other communities across the country, pull together when the going gets tough to accomplish large tasks.

I hope in this 40th Parliament that we learn from the lessons of our municipal leaders and our provinces. With the different parties that are represented in Parliament, I hope we learn to pull together because over the next bit, as the global economic crisis increases, we will need all parties to work together where we can to help make our nation stronger.

My riding is predominantly a rural riding consisting of a few small cities, a number of large towns and many villages and smaller towns. I think everyone is now aware of the economic times ahead. Over the past summer, we faced some very difficult times. In fact, in the election campaign, when we began in September, the number one issue was the high cost of fuel.

People drive long distances in my rural riding. There is no mass transit. We drive to work. Our children are picked up by school buses and in some cases transported for close to an hour to get to school. With the high price of gasoline and diesel fuel this past summer, we had a preview of some of the hard and difficult times that our country would perhaps go through, although the economy in Alberta remains fairly stable.

The agricultural sector in my constituency was hit hard as well. Input costs were high. The price of diesel was felt when the tractors were fuelled up in the spring and the combines in the fall. We have high input costs already and this was an added blow to the agricultural sector. People in Crowfoot remain confident and optimistic.

Basically, the constituency is made up of predominantly fiscal Conservatives. We understand that when the going gets tough, we have to batten down the hatches and face what is coming. We do what is necessary to get the job done. We work together.

When I think back over my 10 years in Parliament, I think about different analogies of working together.

In 2002 Alberta faced the largest drought that our country has ever seen. In my agricultural and mainly gas and oil riding the farmers were devastated. We had no feed for our livestock. Members will recall that eastern farmers responded. Farmers from Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia sent 60,000 large hay bales out to Alberta in what we called the Hay West Campaign. I had the privilege of serving as one of the ones who helped distribute that hay in Alberta. We got the animals fed. That is how Canada works. We had come together. We put aside party lines and we ask how we can help when there is a need. We help each other.

The Speech from the Throne states on page 3:

Canada was founded on the belief that, by joining our strength in confederation, our united country would be able to meet and rise above any challenge set before us.

Canadians on October 14, and also in 2006, elected a Prime Minister and a government that were prepared to lead our country through this global economic crisis. There is a plan for our country to survive the coming hard times and emerge as an even stronger nation when things turn around and become more stable in the global economy. Part of the plan was given to us yesterday in the Speech from the Throne.

All countries in the world already recognize that the economic fundamentals have served us here in Canada very well. Many nations wish they would have adopted similar banking systems and regulations that Canada has had the privilege and the pleasure of living under for many years.

These nations also know that since 2006, the Conservative government has paid down close to $40 billion on the accumulated national debt. In the previous Parliament, our government dramatically reduced taxes for businesses, families and individuals. Our government's prudent economic track record is the reason Canadians re-elected us to govern on October 14. Canadian voters entrusted our government with a renewed and a strengthened mandate. Now they are saying that they expect this Parliament to work.

At the same time, the time of extraordinary global challenge, our Prime Minister and my colleagues are mindful of the privilege and the responsibility that we have to govern and that has been entrusted to us. Therefore, in the Speech from the Throne we pledged that we would devote our energy to addressing the challenges that families and businesses faced. Our government is committed to ensuring Canada's continued economic success even in spite of the global economic instability.

The Speech from the Throne lays out the government's plan to protect the economy and the security of Canadians by doing a number of things. I will list five of them here: first, reforming global finance; second, ensuring sound budgeting; third, securing jobs for families and communities; fourth, expanding investment and trade; and, fifth, making government more effective.

What will this plan do? In order to reform the global finance networks, Canada has agreed to work with its allies and trading partners to re-examine and renew the rules that underpin the global financial system. Our Prime Minister already has assured leaders from other allied countries and other counterparts in the international community that we will work together and that we will help them in the current crisis.

We will ensure our federal government sticks to sound budgeting so Canada does not return to ongoing, unsustainable structural deficits. We will be putting all federal expenditures under the microscope of responsible spending. This is what small families, individuals and businesses expect. That is what they are doing right now as they recognize also the difficult times that they will be facing in their business, the same type of re-evaluation at which many businesses are looking.

The Prime Minister's plans outlined in the throne speech will also secure jobs for families and communities by encouraging the skilled trades and apprenticeships, and supporting workers facing transition.

The Prime Minister gave us an appetizer as to what we may be doing with apprenticeship programs, but I think it is important that we understand that the key to a strong economy in these difficult times is to continue to educate our workforce, to continue to ensure it is trained, and that it is ready to face the onslaught that is coming.

We also stated that we will expand our investment and we will expand our trade with the United States. We want to work on addressing the shared challenges that we have with our largest trading partner and our closest neighbour. We want to also encourage new trade agreements with European countries, Asia and the Americas. I am very pleased to see that the Minister of State for the Americas recognizes the importance of continuing this, together with our trade minister.

Finally, we want to make government more effective by reducing red tape, fixing procurement, improving program and service delivery, and improving the management of federal agencies, boards, commissions and crown corporations.

The Speech from the Throne states:

Hard decisions will be needed to keep federal spending under control and focused on results. Grants, contributions and capital expenditures will be placed under the microscope of responsible spending. Departments will have the funding they need to deliver essential programs and services, and no more.

As Canadians begin to tighten their belts, watch their wallets closely, streamline business and cut out inefficiencies, our federal government will be doing the same thing. Given today's economic uncertainty, it is more important than ever that our government keeps our sights fixed on responsible fiscal management.

The throne speech also sets out our government's plan to build on the work that we did in the previous Parliament. We are making a difference in the lives of Canadians. Besides recognizing this economic global unrest, besides recognizing what came out of the United States and that has affected the entire world, this government has recognized that people and families are still the main reason that we work here in this place.

Besides working to face this crisis, our government wants to secure our energy future, tackle climate change and preserve Canada's environment, expand opportunities for Canadians and also keep Canadians safe. We highlighted contributing to global security and building stronger institutions.

I want to talk not so much specifically in great detail but just a bit on each one of those.

In terms of reducing our energy future, we want to develop our rich energy resources and pursue new, cleaner energy supplies. This includes further development of natural gas resources in Canada's north. Although we have talked about many different aspects of Canada's north, the importance of our sovereignty, the importance of using it or losing it, the natural gas and the resources that are in the north will definitely be a huge part in our coming out of this downturn and securing our future.

We will tackle climate change and preserve Canada's environment by continuing what we brought forward in the last Parliament, by reducing our gas emissions 20% by the year 2020. We will ensure that 90% of our electricity needs are met by non-emitting sources by 2020.

My constituency office still receives letters about the sale of Canada's fresh water. I think it was the Prime Minister again today who very clearly said that we will ban bulk water exports. We will protect Canada's fresh water and our environment. To underscore that, this is part of the plan in the throne speech.

We plan to further improve the universal child care benefit, increase access to maternity and parental benefits under employment insurance, and take action to help Canadians who care for loved ones with disabilities. Those who were in the previous Parliament know that these were all issues that were brought forward and we continue to work toward.

In terms of the security of our country, we pledge to keep Canadians safe by strengthening the sentences for serious criminal offences. Canadians need to be assured that they are safe in their homes and in their communities. We want to strengthen our criminal justice system in key areas, such as youth crime, organized crime and gang violence. We need to continue to focus gun laws on ending smuggling and stronger penalties for gun crimes.

The throne speech says that our government does not support criminalizing law-abiding firearm owners. This again remains one of the most responded to issues in my constituency, the long gun registry. I was very pleased when I heard the Governor General mention this while reading the throne speech and our commitment to ending the long gun registry.

We will continue to contribute to global security by ensuring that our foreign policy is based on Canadian values. We will continue to rebuild Canadian Forces with the best possible equipment.

Again, we find that Canada is involved in Afghanistan, that Canada is taking a leading role in the most difficult part of Afghanistan, the Kandahar region, and we will again commit to being certain that the mission moves toward reconstruction and development as time goes on. We continue to help train the Afghan military, work with the Afghan police, and build institutions in Afghanistan. But the mission in Afghanistan continues to change.

Finally, we will not only improve the institutions in countries and nations far away but the institutions in our country. This includes moving toward representation by population in the House of Commons and in those provinces that are seeing a large growth in population, specifically British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.

We also want to introduce fixed terms for our senators, allowing Senate nominees to be selected by voters. I should mention that Senator Bert Brown from my constituency sits in the other place down the hall and he is there because the people of Alberta elected him to that position.

In my riding the Speech from the Throne is good news on a number of fronts. We responded to many of the concerns that are facing our agricultural sector. We understand the difficulty that the beef industry is facing at the present time. In fact, while I was in Ottawa, my wife rounded up the cattle and sold our calf crop that I thought I would sell in January. I understand the difficulties that the agricultural sector is facing.

What was also mentioned in the Speech from the Throne was the fact that western Canadian farmers have asked the government to move toward a place where they could have more choice in how they market their grain. Again, we are committed to ensuring freedom of choice for grain marketing in western Canada and I look forward to moving toward that.

I encourage all members to sit back and take a look at the times we face. Where can we work together? There is a global economic crisis and Canada is very well positioned to come through it with far less pain than many other countries around the world. We have the opportunity to emerge from this crisis stronger than before, and I hope that this Parliament will take the opportunity to build on that so that Canada will continue to be strong and that Canada will continue to prosper.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, like all of the previous speakers, I want to congratulate all of the new members and all of the members who have returned to the House following the election.

I listened carefully to my colleague's remarks. It is interesting to hear how much he wants to see change happen and wants things to be done to help the economy recover. However, I wonder if my colleague can explain why and how. When we were called back to the House in a hurry less than a month after the elections, we were glad. We believed that the voters would get their money's worth, that the government would take charge of the economy, that it would make sure things were working, and that it would bring in specific measures to ensure that people did not suffer because of economic ups and downs.

However, this week, the Minister of Finance told reporters that he did not intend to implement any measures, introduce any new programs, or spend any new money before the next budget, to be introduced in February or April. It looks as though the desire to act has little in common with reality. Can the member tell us why?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we have laid out very clearly that our government will play a role in dealing with this economic downturn.

I recall our Prime Minister saying over a year ago that we would be facing economic difficulties in the future, that there was going to be a crisis facing the world, and that we needed to position ourselves well and early. I was one who, when the GST cuts came, initially did not understand the importance this would have to our economy, but as I went out into our constituencies, I kept hearing people say that it meant great savings for them so they could purchase things or do things.

What our government tried to do early was to lower the tax level for individual Canadians and for business. We tried to put in place strong fiscal measures so that Canada would be well positioned. What else did we do? We cut taxes. We cut the amount of revenue coming into our government, but we said that with the surplus we have, we would not go out at the end of the fiscal year and start to spend, spend, spend. We would pay down our national debt and that has positioned us very well.

When investors from around the world take a look at what Canada has done in paying down debt, they see a commitment and they have more confidence in our economy. They see an economy that is based not only on energy but on people, and so again, there is more of a confidence there now.

The member is asking what we are going to do. I am saying that the departments are going to take a look and see where we can streamline. Our departments are going to evaluate whether Canadians are getting value for these programs, and if they are not getting value for programs, these programs will be diminished.

That is why members have heard our Prime Minister and different ministers inviting the opposition to come together and ask how we can streamline some of the programs that exist at the present time that are not delivering value. I hope that different opposition leaders and different parties come and say, “These are some of the areas where we can streamline”.

We can also say that we will respond. We have responded to programs that deal with families, that deal with single parents. We have responded in many different ways. We are going to continue to keep a strong social fabric here in Canada that we have come to appreciate and expect.

[Shawn Murphy, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, like others, I want to congratulate the member for Crowbush on his election to the House of Commons. As he wins by large majorities he obviously is held in high esteem by the constituents of that riding.

In earlier comments, the member mentioned that he comes from a part of the country that knows what works and what does not. When we came back to Parliament this week we were faced with a very severe situation of an economic downturn, not only worldwide but in this country. We get reports every day that this country is either now in or is heading into deficit.

During the election the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance spoke to reporters and Canadians and told them that was not possible. In fact, the Prime Minister said that all we were going through was a buying opportunity in the stock market.

I will not blame everything on the Prime Minister. The problem started in the United States with an ideology of capitalism, lesser and lesser governments, lower and lower taxes, especially for the rich, and the deregulation of all industries, whether it be the mortgage, the banking or the food safety industries. This did not work for Reagan and it did not work for George W. Bush. Although we are only in the first couple of years of this mandate, I am not sure it will work in this country.

The member across said that he knows what works and what does not work. Does he have any concern that the ideology with which this country is now governed might not work?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would just correct the hon. member. It is not Crowbush. It is Crowfoot.

The member across asked whether this will work. I have a lot of confidence in the Prime Minister. I have confidence in the fact that we ran in the last election on leadership. Canadians looked at the leadership of different parties and they said that they wanted the leadership in the Conservative Party at this time.

As I stated in my speech, going into the election we were concerned about high gas prices and different things, but as the campaign went on we realized we were into a downturn that my generation has never seen before. Am I confident that it will work? I am confident that when good men and women from different sectors and different political parties decide to work together, great things can happen. That is what we are inviting the opposition to do. We are inviting the opposition to recognize the difficulties around the world and how they will affect our country, our businesses, our people, the wealthy, the middle class and the poor, and then commit to working together.

The member spoke about capitalism and whether capitalism works. I spoke to a radio station in Stettler, Alberta, Q14. The lady interviewing me said that everyone was a capitalist on the way up and a socialist on the way down. I am finding in this place that on the other side there are more socialists on the way up and down.

I am suggesting that we all must realize that economies around the world are moving downward. We need to be aware of the social problems. We need to be aware of problems facing investors, small towns and cities, and the difficulties facing all sectors in this downturn. It is time we worked together to put in place strong economic fundamentals.

We have a strong banking system in this country. I will not get into a debate about who put them in place but I am glad they are there. Our banks remain strong. The fiscal capacity of our government remains strong. I am proud of that and we are very fortunate that we can say we still have a strong fiscal capacity. We have paid down debts and have lowered taxes in the past. Our pensions remain strong.

We want to make certain that provinces continue to receive the dollars they need for social, health care and all the other issues that are their responsibilities. We want to make certain that families have more disposable income. I am not one who sits back and simply waits for a government to respond and ask what it will do for me. Now is the time to give Canadians the opportunity to keep money in their pocket and to do much more for themselves. Our government will be here where we need to be.

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Thunder Bay—Rainy River.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate you on your re-election to the chair. I am sure you will do what you can to maintain a dignified level of debate in this Parliament. I will also strive to live up to the expectations of the people of my riding, Sudbury and all Canadians, as they expect this from the House.

I would also like to join with my fellow New Democrats in offering up my congratulations to the Prime Minister and to the leader of the official opposition.

I am also offering them to the leader of the Bloc Québécois.

I also want to recognize my fellow new MPs who are taking up their duties for the first time. I am honoured to have been elected alongside them and I look forward to working with them on behalf of Canadians.

I also want to thank the people of Canada for electing the second largest New Democrat caucus in our history.

I would be remiss if I did not thank my family. I want to thank my wife, Yolanda, my two young daughters, Trinity and Thea, my parents, Eddie and Georgie, along with my large extended family for their faith and never wavering support.

Most of all, I would like to give a big thanks to the people of Sudbury for allowing me to represent them to the rest of the country. I understand the enormous responsibility with which this role comes and I am humbled that they believe in me to carry it out on your behalf. I will not let them down.

It is in the spirit of responsibility, however, that I must join with my fellow New Democrats in opposing the Speech from the Throne. The Canadian economy is facing an unprecedented downturn. Millions of Canadian families are worried about their jobs, their pensions and their savings. They are counting on the federal government to take bold and strategic steps.

The words in yesterday's throne speech do not match the urgency or the depth of what is required to protect working families in this economy. Canadians were hoping for more. New Democrats were expecting more.

In Sudbury, we are already seeing signs of the slowing economy. Six months ago, as commodity prices were riding high on the exchange markets and economies around the world were expanding, so was Sudbury. Not only were Vale Inco and Xstrata hiring massive numbers of new miners and other workers, but new junior companies were staking claims and planning new mines.

Sudbury had not seen this level of expansion in decades. Some predicted that this boom would last another decade or so. With the price of nickel and other metals plunging, so has expansion. Planned new mines are being mothballed and the first of the layoffs have already started. Families that were once so hopeful for what this future could bring are now worried about what this global crisis will bring.

Sudbury has endured recessions before and knows the costs to a community. In talking to people in my riding, they see nothing in yesterday's throne speech that will help them or their community in this downturn.

I had the opportunity to speak to an elderly widowed woman in Sudbury just last week. The conversation was difficult as she explained to me that she had just recently lost her husband and that she was alone trying to pay the taxes on her home, put food on the table and pay the bills, all the while her savings and her pensions are vanishing in this economic downturn.

She is not alone. She is one of literally thousands of seniors in my riding of Sudbury and millions of seniors who built our great country who were virtually ignored in the throne speech.

Organizations like the Older Adult Centres Association and our local YMCA continue to offer programs to help seniors through difficult times, so too should this government.

I commend the work of the many organizations in Sudbury working hard for our seniors and one day I hope to commend the government on the work that it should be doing on behalf of our seniors.

That is why I decided to run for office. People like the elderly woman in Sudbury need more, not more of the same. We need bold action and a fresh direction. We need to start putting families first rather than big corporations. In all the talk of restraint there was no mention of suspending the $7.3 billion in corporate tax breaks set to kick in in 2009.

We were elected just as this economic turmoil began. The people who voted for us, no matter what party we belong to, voted for real action to help alleviate the impacts of this global crisis. Sadly, most of what I heard in yesterday's throne speech was a steady as it goes approach with little direction to actually deal with problems facing Canadian families.

Besides the lack of real action and a real action plan for dealing with the economy, there were a number of gaping holes that should not have been ignored.

There was little mention of how the government will deal with the growing doctor deficit. Five million Canadians still do not have access to a family doctor. Family doctors are the front door into our medical system. Without an adequate amount it starts to fall apart and other areas, such as emergency departments, must take up the slack. It also has an adverse effect on people's health as they wait longer to see a doctor and medical problems end up getting worse.

There was no mention of trying to stop outrageous fees being charged on credit cards, bank accounts and cellphones. This price gouging has been going on far too long as the government has turned a blind eye to these predatory tactics. By capping and scrapping these hidden and outrageous fees, the government would actually be making life a little easier in these uncertain times.

Child care is virtually ignored in the throne speech. Families across Canada have been demanding a truly national system of child care. I just received an email from a mother in Sudbury who has been waiting over a year and a half for a day care spot. This is forcing her to choose child care options with which she is not entirely comfortable. This is a horrible situation for any parent to go through. The throne speech does little to help parents dealing with the lack of affordable child care spaces across my riding and across the country.

However, despite my objection over the majority of the content of the throne speech, there were some positive and encouraging aspects to it. First, the overall tone of the speech was more conciliatory and less combative than previous statements. While we believe that this should have been backed up with real change, it does indicate that the government might be willing to set aside with the brinkmanship of the past and start working closer together with the opposition to achieve real results for Canadians. That is a good sign.

Second, New Democrats welcome the invitation to work with the government on an energy retrofit program, something that we have been calling for and we believe could have a very positive effect on our economy. Also, the mention of the establishment of a continental cap and trade system sounds promising and we look forward to seeing further details.

Third, the new language around the new world-class research facilities is promising. However, if the government is serious about investing in cutting edge research for the industry, I would suggest that it reconsider its objection to funding the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation in Sudbury. Sudbury is a world leader in this field and it is time that the federal government recognizes it as such.

Yet, while these and other items were welcomed, they are still too vague and not enough to counter all that the throne speech does not do.

I will be voting against the throne speech, not out of malice or partisanship. The Speech from the Throne is the government's agenda in broad strokes. While there might not be much detail, it does give an overview of the government's direction and some scope of how it plans to implement its mandate.

To support the throne speech is to support a flawed agenda, one that I do not believe would help Canadian families at this time. Hopefully, our opposition to the throne speech will signal to the government that Canadians need more than vague language; that bold action is needed to help protect the people and communities from this economic downturn.

Canadians are looking to us to work toward protecting their jobs, their savings and their futures. We need to be brave and lay a new foundation for Canada in the 21st century, a foundation not only to get us through this current crisis, but one that will position Canada to be stronger coming out of this troubled time. Some say that cannot be accomplished. However, in the words of the late great Tommy Douglas, “Courage my friends, It is not too late to build a better world”.

The people of Sudbury elected me to work hard and tirelessly to ensure that their concerns were met in this Parliament. They can count on me. In these uncertain times, working and middle-class families can count on our team of New Democrat MPs to ensure that their interests come first. That is why Sudbury voted for change. I will not let my constituents down.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for his question. The Bloc Québécois will also not be supporting this Speech from the Throne because it does not meet Quebec's expectations, particularly with regard to assistance for the manufacturing and forestry industries.

Earlier on, an NDP colleague spoke more specifically about the forestry industry. He spoke about the softwood lumber agreement and denounced the Bloc Québécois for listening to and respecting the unanimous consensus in Quebec. We know that Quebec unions and businesses supported the agreement even though they did not want to. All Quebeckers wanted the agreement to be approved and therefore that is what the Bloc Québécois supported.

I would like to know whether my colleague believes that, as representatives of Quebec, we did the right thing when we listened to the people or should we have adopted an ideological stance—as suggested by his colleague—and rejected the demands of the Quebec unions?

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member on his election.

Sudbury is seen as a mining community and it is important to recognize that forestry jobs also have been lost in Sudbury, a total of 900 jobs. Therefore, I need to be able to explain to families how they will put food on their tables and pay their bills. We need a government that is going to take action on EI reform and action that is going to make differences in the lives of people who are losing their jobs.

Right now what matters is what is important for the people who have the kitchen table problems that we have talked about all along. The partisan stuff I thought we were talking about earlier is working in the spirit of cooperation.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate you on your election and thank the people of London—Fanshawe for putting their trust in me once again. I congratulate the member for Sudbury as well.

I have a question with regard to some of the issues that he has brought forward. We know that Canada and Canadian families are on the edge of a serious economic time. Families are worried. My riding of London—Fanshawe has lost about 1,200 jobs in the last few months. People are frightened. They are hoping they have a government that is willing to invest in communities, child care, affordable housing and pay equity, but they have heard nothing in the Speech from the Throne.

My question for the hon. member is about employment insurance. Over and over again people come to my office. They are desperate because they have been cut off employment insurance or they do not qualify. They are very clear that we need new rules.

Has the member encountered this and would please comment on it?

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Yes, Mr. Speaker, we have experienced this in the riding of Sudbury. When a resource-based economy sees this kind of economic downturn, there is tremendous worry in the community about what will happen to all our jobs. When we start seeing plant closures and mines being mothballed, we need to ensure that people can once again pay their mortgages so they do not lose their homes, pay the bills and put food on the table.

We need to look to the government to make the necessary changes on EI reform so people can qualify and ensure that we keep this economy and their lives stable. We need to ensure that they can make their mortgage payments, pay their bills, put food on the table and pay for child care.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member on his election to the House.

We have just come through an election which has triggered the need for us to have a throne speech and a debate, but maybe the starting point is to ask why we had the election. The last Parliament passed a bill setting fixed election dates and it should not have been until October of 2009.

Would the member agree that the last election was totally unnecessary and we should have been here working on behalf of Canadians.

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it was time for an election because the Canadian people obviously expressed some change that was needed. The need for that change was throughout northern Ontario because seven of us were now elected to represent northern Ontario. Therefore, yes, it was very much time for that election.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker,

[Member spoke in Ojibway as follows:]

BooZhoo. Awbinogeeyak. Eekwayuwug. Ininnywug.

[English]

I begin in Ojibway and give greetings in Ojibway to the House because I would like to honour the elders of the many first nations who are in my ridings. I would like to respect those elders and the work that they and their predecessors have done to help build our country. I would like to ask the government today to ensure that our brothers and sisters in the first nations, the Métis and the Inuit are all included in the continuing building of this nation.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Pam and our children, Zara, Elizabeth, Liam, Jennifer and Jacob.

I would like to also particularly thank my mentor, my friend and my neighbour, Howard Hampton, the leader of the Ontario New Democrats and all the ONDP.

I would like to thank the member for Toronto—Danforth and my caucus for their support. I would like to thank the federal party for the support, particularly in this last election, that it has shown me.

I would like to thank my friends in broadcasting, particularly Fraser Dougall who gave me my first job on radio.

I would like to thank World University Service of Canada, headquartered in Ottawa, for the six and a half years that I spent overseas as a volunteer and working for the organization.

I would like to thank the elementary school students in the west end of my riding who laughed at my jokes and who listened to my stories of adventures with African wildlife.

I would like to thank the terrific volunteers in my riding for their support, many of whom have been with me for the whole time.

Of course, I would like to thank the people of Thunder Bay—Rainy River who have honoured me with their confidence and their belief that I can help make Thunder Bay--Rainy River a better place to live, a place where no one gets left behind.

It takes more than five hours to drive across my riding. It spans two time zones. It is, bar none, arguably the most beautiful riding in our country. We have Kakabeka Falls, Niagara of the north. We have Quetico Park, the most accessible wilderness park in the country. Little do members know, I am sure, that the Prairies actually begin in the west end of my riding. Our farmers have been hit hard in Stratton, Emo and Bergland, seniors in Rainy River, Morson, forestry families in Barwick, Fort Frances, Sapawe, Upsala and Thunder Bay and Atikokan, too.

However, I would like the members in the House to know that we have a fighting spirit and that we are willing to work with all levels of government to ensure we have the wherewithal and the tools to make lives better for our families.

People in Thunder Bay—Rainy River are worried about their jobs, their pensions and their savings. We were hoping there would be some bold and strategic moves by the government in the throne speech, but what we have is a throne speech that does not match the urgency and the depth of the problems facing Canadian families.

We have proven again by not supporting this throne speech, just as in the 39th Parliament, that we are the effective opposition in the House.

The Speech from the Throne does not secure jobs for our families. It does not secure and ensure sound budgeting. Just today the parliamentary budget officer announced that we could be facing a $13.8 billion deficit. Cancelling the scheduled $7.3 billion in corporate tax cuts in 2009-10 would go a long way to putting Canadians and Canada on a sound financial footing.

However, let me be clear, I want to work with the government. People in my riding have told me that they do not want another election any time soon. They want me to work with the government. We need to ensure that no one gets left behind or no families get left behind.

I was pleased to hear some of the words in the throne speech. I was pleased that I heard, at least two or three times, the term working families. Everyone in the House will recognize where that term came from.

I look forward to working with the government on home retrofit programs. I welcome the language on the new world-class research facilities, reducing gun crime and ending cross-border smuggling of guns. It was in our 2008 election platform.

I have spoken with three ministers so far and I have pledged my co-operation on a broad range of issues. Every educator knows that success breeds success.

I heard this morning, and I heard recently from the hon. Conservative member, that the government finally would get rid of the long gun registry. I am very pleased to tell the House that for eight years, since the turn of the century, my constituents have told me that we need to get rid of that long gun registry. They have told me that it unfairly penalizes farmers, gun collectors and hunters. If that bill appears as a stand-alone bill, I will honour the wishes of the constituents in my riding.

As I said, success breeds success. We can make the government work for all Canadians, where no one gets left behind. Do not let anyone tell you, Mr. Speaker, that it cannot be done.

[Member spoke in Ojibwa]

[English]

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my hon. friend on his first address to the House and his time here.

As a member of Parliament for Saskatchewan, I was very much interested in his remarks on the long gun registry. As he may know, all provincial parties in Saskatchewan, the provincial Liberals, the provincial NDP and the provincial Saskatchewan Party, have all come out firmly against the long gun registry. As a member of the government party, a member sitting in support of the government, my question to him is very simple.

What can we do as members to help him so that he will find it easier to vote for the repeal of the long gun registry and other members of his caucus will be able to join him in that effort, having spoken with veteran members of that caucus who are also prepared to vote for the repeal of the long gun registry?

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should not try to trick us by putting it in some big omnibus bill or a bunch of other bills that we cannot support.

I will emphasize once again that I have promised the constituents in my riding in their support of getting rid of the long gun registry. Almost to a person they believe that it should be gone. I would like to honour that and I hope the hon. member and other hon. members will help me in that.

[Shawn Murphy, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I, like others, want to congratulate the member across on his election to Parliament and I wish him all the best.

I want to follow up on the last question about the abolition of the system of gun control that we have in this country, and in particular, the long gun registry. I would ask a very simple question of the member. Is there anyone else in his caucus who supports him on this view?

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. We are not talking about gun control here. We are talking about the long gun registry.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

I have to admit I am a little embarrassed by the Conservative support. Let us make that perfectly clear right off the bat.

To answer the hon. member's question directly, I have not spoken to other members of my caucus. I do not know what other members of my caucus feel about this particular issue, but I would like to remind the hon. member and other members of the House that I was elected for two reasons: to take care of the people of my riding through the constituency work that I am doing already and to honour the wishes of the people of my riding and to represent them in Ottawa. That is what I will be doing.

[Serge Ménard, Bloc, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question based on what the member said, which I found shocking from an NDP member. My question is about the registration of long arms.

Some people here have a lot of sympathy for duck hunters; the topic comes up often. As far as I know, duck hunters drive their cars—which are registered—to hunting locations. They ride in boats—also registered. In civilized countries, it is common to register dangerous objects, especially objects that were designed to kill.

Why would a farmer agree to register his tractor, which is not used to kill anyone, but is still dangerous? But an object that is—