Lupus is known as a disease of a thousand faces, as it can affect a person in many different ways. Lupus is a disease that could be affecting the person beside us, our teachers or our neighbours, but we may not even be aware of the struggles they are facing.

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can affect any organ of the body and in a pattern that varies greatly from person to person. This disease affects men and women, both young and old. The people and their families who are dealing with lupus are looking for more and concentrated research, a greater awareness of the disease and, of course, increased public support.

This Sunday, thousands of Canadians and people around the world will be walking in a “Walk a Block for Lupus” campaign to raise awareness for this disease.

I ask all members to join me in recognizing those facing this disease and the commitment of those walking in support on Sunday.

Official LanguagesStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Bloc

Richard Nadeau Bloc Gatineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, imagine for a moment that this government had not put any figure under the National Defence heading in the March budget. Unthinkable, you say? But for the official languages action plan, on page 256 of the budget, there is nothing. It says: “to be determined”. That was on February 26, and here we are on May 8, 72 days later, and still there is nothing.

The Conservative government said to wait for the results of consultations leading up to the Lord report for the action plan renewal. The document was made public on March 20, and still nothing.

The fact that the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages has yet to table the second plan proves that the anti-French-language and anti-French-culture neo-Reform ideology reigns supreme amongst the Conservatives.

Charles CacciaStatements By Members

2 p.m.

NDP

Bill Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to the life of the Hon. Charles Caccia, a distinguished former colleague and my predecessor as Dean of the House of Commons.

Charles was the member for Toronto--Davenport for 36 years and, while he was here, he established a reputation as one who practised politics with dignity, with principle, with civility, with independence of mind and with a deep, abiding and well-informed concern for the environment.

It is not an exaggeration to say that had Charles Caccia been listened to more often over the years by both Liberal and Conservative governments, many of our ecological problems would be far less difficult than they are today. Unfortunately, he was the minister of the environment for only a very short time.

His concern for the environment was part of a larger ethic of care that made him an advocate for peace and social justice in general and a mentor to many in this place. I worked with him in the mid-eighties when we were our party's respective environment critics, on the environment committee, on the special committee on acid rain and on many issues of mutual concern over the years.

Many others will also gratefully remember the excellent work he did more recently as chair of the environment committee for over a decade, producing critical reports that challenged his own party and government.

Parliament could have used a lot more Charles Caccias. May his memory be instructive now and in Parliaments to come.

Victory in Europe DayStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Conservative

Brian Storseth Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB

Mr. Speaker, 63 years ago today, the guns in Europe fell silent after six agonizing years of conflict.

Today we pause to remember those who fought and the 45,300 Canadians who died on land, at sea and in the air as the allies triumphed over evil and set Europe free from Nazi tyranny.

We owe a debt that can never be fully repaid to those who served and those who never came home. These few words are my humble attempt to thank them.

I thank those of Churchill's Few. I thank those who braved the Atlantic and enemy submarines to keep Europe supplied. I thank those who fell at Dieppe and who stormed the shore at Normandy. I thank those who fought their way up the Italian boot and across North Africa. I also thank those who, night after night, flew into the valley of the shadow of death as members of Bomber Command. Fifteen Canadian squadrons were part of that incredible effort and 10,000 aircrew made the ultimate sacrifice.

Some of those who survived join us today as we remember Victory in Europe Day. We are privileged and proud to be in their presence.

Lest we forget.

Mother's DayStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Paul Steckle Liberal Huron—Bruce, ON

Mr. Speaker, Canada is a nation that embraces various cultural lifestyles and groups. In spite of this obvious diversity, we also share many common traits. In particular, each one of us has a mother.

This Sunday we will observe the 94th annual Mother's Day, an observance that was originally set aside on May 11, 1914, as a way for us to remember the numerous and substantial personal sacrifices that our respective mothers made on our behalf. In many cases, our mothers put their own lives on hold to see that we were provided with the tools that we would require to enjoy a prosperous and rewarding future.

If we look back over our history, I am certain that we would see countless Canadians who made a difference to this country and to the world in general. If we look a little further, we would find that many of those remarkable achievements were made possible because of the selfless efforts and acts of caring provided to those people in their formative years.

I stand here today as a father, a grandfather, a husband, a successful businessman and a member of Parliament. I am blessed with success and have only one more thing to say to my mother, Seleda, who is preparing to celebrate her 100th birthday this fall, thanks, mother.

The EnvironmentStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Conservative

Gary Goodyear Conservative Cambridge, ON

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is committed to helping Canadians do their part for the environment.

After 13 years of Liberals not getting it done on the environment, I want to congratulate the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of the Environment for their hard work and support of made in Canada technologies to save the planet.

I had the pleasure of meeting with students from the University of Waterloo, which is the first university to build a fully functional, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. This vehicle runs better than my own car and produces absolutely no emissions.

The engineering team told me that the time is coming when solar panels on the car will provide the electricity needed to produce the hydrogen to fuel the car. Power from the sun, fuel for the car, no emissions for our future: that is getting it done.

Regional Award Ceremony for WomenStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Bloc

Pauline Picard Bloc Drummond, QC

Mr. Speaker, the École d'agriculture de Nicolet hosted the award ceremony for the regional winners of the Chapeau, les filles! contest. This ceremony was an opportunity to congratulate 11 women from the Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec region who are enrolled in a vocational or technical training program, and who intend to work in a traditionally male-dominated field.

I am proud to pay tribute to Vicky Brousseau, who is studying machining techniques at the Centre de formation professionnelle Paul-Rousseau, and Rosa-Julia Asalde-Martinez, who is studying transport logistics techniques at the CEGEP in Drummondville.

The Chapeau, les filles! contest aims to challenge stereotypes by encouraging women to choose unconventional careers. There is no doubt that women have a role to play in less traditional fields that for too long have been strictly reserved for men.

Budget 2008Statements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Conservative

Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is no surprise that Bill C-50, budget 2008's first implementation act, enjoys the support of the overwhelming majority of the members in the House.

While budget 2008 is widely acknowledged for its fiscal prudence, I am exceptionally proud of the many new and worthwhile investments contained in Bill C-50. Some of these investments include the creation of a $500 million public transit trust fund, a $400 million police officers recruitment fund, $110 million to the Canadian Mental Health Commission and $282 million over this and the next two years to extend new supports to survivors of our war veterans who are disabled or in financial need.

Those are but a few examples of the many substantial new investments that are contained in Bill C-50, a bill drafted by our outstanding Minister of Finance under the strong and principled leadership of our Prime Minister.

I encourage all members to assist the government in passing Bill C-50 as quickly as possible as our provincial and territorial governing partners, as well as many worthy organizations, eagerly await these new federal investments.

Charles P. Allen High SchoolStatements By Members

May 8th, 2008 / 2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS

Mr. Speaker, the Charles P. Allen High School Learning Centre in Bedford is full of bright, articulate and thoughtful young people. These students are on the Hill today to teach us about the education gaps facing special needs students.

I have been amazed by how passionate they are, how engaging they are and I believe their message is one every MP should hear. These talented students raised over $25,000 to travel to Ottawa and they deserve to be applauded for their efforts.

I know that all members will join me in congratulating them for their courage, their conviction and their commitment.

Bloc QuébécoisStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Conservative

Daniel Petit Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc is living in a dream world. It thinks that changing the C in CRTC to a Q would solve all of Quebec's communications problems even though it is against signing administrative agreements. The problem is that the Bloc has been watching from the sidelines for 18 years and has no hope of getting into the game.

If only it had managed to get one tiny little piece of legislation passed in the House of Commons. Oh, my mistake. It did get two bills passed—to change the names of a couple of ridings.

Has the Bloc done anything to help the economy?

Bloc QuébécoisStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

No.

Bloc QuébécoisStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Conservative

Daniel Petit Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC

To help workers?

Bloc QuébécoisStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.