Debates of June 18th, 2009

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

[Patrick Brown, Conservative, Barrie, ON]

Madam Speaker, today I want to pay tribute to an inspiring constituent in Barrie by the name of Derek Walton. In May 2002, Derek was diagnosed with ALS.

In Canada, approximately 3,000 people are currently diagnosed with ALS, over half a million worldwide. ALS is the most common cause of neurological death on an annual basis.

Derek helps organize our annual ALS walks in Barrie and raises funds for ALS at Barrie's dragon boat festival. Derek has raised tens of thousands of dollars and his enthusiasm is contagious in Barrie. Our walk this year was the largest ever.

Recently, Derek represented all neurological patients in Canada at a ceremony at the MaRS Centre in Toronto and accepted a cheque for $15 million from our health minister to help neurological charities in Canada develop their action plan.

Despite being in a wheelchair, Derek actually insisted in skydiving on August 22 to raise funds and awareness for ALS. He is a remarkable man, a good friend, and I am honoured to have such a distinguished Canadian live in the city of Barrie.

St. John's Catholic Church

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on June 7 St. John's Catholic Church in my riding of Beaches—East York celebrated its 100th anniversary with a rededication mass and on June 11 the St. John's choir held its annual spring concert which focused on its 100th year history in the community.

The church was first opened on May 22, 1892, named St. John the Evangelist. Over the next 20 years more and more families packed the church and a new church was eventually built on the land and opened on June 5, 1932.

Set back on Kingston Road, overlooking the convent to the west, St. John's modern Gothic style is complete with a bell tower, pointed arches and beautiful stained glass windows. It is not just the structure that is so important to our community but the people who have made St. John's what it is today.

On behalf of the people of Beaches—East York, I congratulate St. John's Catholic Church for its service to our community and wish it all the best in the years to come.

Housing Cooperative

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, six young adults living with intellectual disabilities will finally be able to feel pride of ownership thanks to the determination and courage of their families. Their home is the first housing cooperative in Quebec to provide supervision tailored to the specific needs of each co-owner. It is called the Coopérative de Solidarité Entre-nous.

The goal of the residents' families was to provide them with a place to live where quality services would be provided and it would be possible for each resident to maintain close, meaningful ties with his or her family.

Mission accomplished. The Coopérative de Solidarité Entre-nous has all that under one roof. It is moving to have people with intellectual disabilities come up to you and proudly introduce themselves as owners of the building.

Dominique, Viviane, Denise, Luc, Yves and Jérémy, my Bloc Québécois colleagues and I congratulate all the people who helped make this happen, and we wish them a long life in their home.

Participation of Women in Politics

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last year was a historic high for women candidates in Canada's federal election: 28%. That is progress but it is certainly not good enough. Women earn 30¢ less on the dollar and make up two-thirds of minimum wage earners. Is it any wonder to see that happen, when we know that only 22% of members in the House of Commons are women.

Equal Voice has laid down “Canada Challenge 2009” to all party leaders to raise the number of women who run and are elected to Parliament.

On behalf of the New Democrats, I accept the challenge.

Women have a place in Parliament, and we have to do more to make sure they take it.

We remain committed to an equal voice for women in Canadian politics. We have run outstanding women in our party, elected them and been led by them, but we can and will do better. Our goal is greater than 50%.

We set a parliamentary record with 43% of women in our last caucus, but we are not there yet. I want to achieve full equality for women, so that I can answer the question from my new granddaughter--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Peace River.

Peace River

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as this parliamentary session draws to a close, I am pleased to stand in the House to pay tribute to the hard-working men and women of the Peace country.

Like many regions in this country, the global economic downturn has had a significant impact on the communities, businesses and families in our communities. Our forestry sector, our oil and gas industry, and our farming families have all been affected by the reduction in the international demand for our goods.

In spite of these challenges, I am inspired again and again by the many people who are meeting the challenges head on. Local business owners are streamlining their operations, cutting waste, embracing new technologies, and increasing their efficiencies to position themselves for the future.

I am shameless in my praise, but it really is the only way that I can convey the strength, the resilience, the dedication, and the resolve of my constituents to have made the remarkable changes that are necessary and to meet the challenges of the future. As a result, I know that they will be well--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Ottawa South.

Day of Cultural Understanding

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the students of Charles H. Hulse Public School in my riding of Ottawa South who recently celebrated their fifth annual Day of Cultural Understanding.

This initiative, started by teacher Patrick Mascoe, was designed to enhance students' understanding of the principles and practice of tolerance and responsible citizenship, two fundamental Canadian values.

Each year the predominantly Muslim students of Charles H. Hulse engage in a pen-pal exchange with the students of Hillel Academy in Ottawa, and throughout the year the students work together on a variety of community building exercises; this year raising awareness for Darfur.

The culmination of this project is the Day of Cultural Understanding. The students will spend the morning on collaborative activities and in the afternoon with David Shentow, a holocaust survivor who will speak to the students about the consequences of intolerance.

I ask all members to join me in congratulating the students and their teacher, Patrick Mascoe, for their commitment of tolerance and understanding. They are engaged not only in an academic exercise but an activity that promotes nation building.

Canterbury Folk Festival

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to recognize the contributions of an event in my riding, the Canterbury Folk Festival of Ingersoll, Ontario.

This year's theme, “Remember when the Music was Free” is sure to draw a spectacular crowd of young and old alike. From July 9 to 12 the Canterbury Folk Festival presents traditional folk, bluegrass, Dixieland, Irish, Canadian and aboriginal music. Activities include arts, concerts, dances, chalk walks, children's and seniors' activities by local artists.

Ted Comiskey, artist director and founder of this festival is to be praised for his dedication and commitment to serving this event over the past 10 years. The folk festival with a grant of $15,000 from Heritage Canada will present a wonderful program.

I wish to express my best wishes to all those involved for a successful event and invite everyone to join in the festivities.

Bill C-429

[Gérard Asselin, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning I introduced a bill to promote the use of wood when building, maintaining and repairing federal buildings. That was one of the Bloc Québécois recommendations that the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology approved last week in its report on Canada's industrial sectors.

Quebec and British Columbia have already committed to similar measures. A number of other countries around the world also have policies for the use of wood.

We have the technical capability to go ahead with this kind of measure, but most importantly, this is a positive step for the environment, particularly with respect to greenhouse gases and energy consumption.

In closing, I would like to thank my colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord for his work on this issue, and I hope that all members of the House of Commons will take some time over the summer to study this bill.

Veterans

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, during the second world war and Korean war Canadian soldiers fought courageously in the name of freedom and democracy. However, they were not alone in their struggle. Hundreds of thousands of Polish, Jewish, Korean and Russian Allied soldiers fought alongside Canadians as brothers-in-arms and sacrificed much.

To the veterans who lost their homelands to the scourge of communism after the war, Canada offered a new home. Many of them started new lives here and have worked hard to help build our great country.

This noble legacy is why today our Conservative government is proud to be restoring well-deserved benefits to our Allied veterans through Bill C-33. These benefits were shamefully cut by the Liberal government in the 1990s.

Restoring these benefits is the right thing to do and our Allied veterans can once again stand tall knowing that their government honours and respects their important contributions.

We are pleased that some of those veterans are on Parliament Hill today to witness Bill C-33 receive royal assent in the Senate.

Let us all take this opportunity to thank them for their service and remember to always honour their sacrifice.

School Violence

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I ask members of the House to join me in extending our thoughts and prayers to the victims, students, faculty and families of St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School in my riding of Mississauga—Streetsville.

Yesterday we read and watched the news of a horrific story of violence. My constituents, and especially the families involved, experienced an incident that no family or community ever expects to face. As a mother, I cannot even begin to imagine.

As the end of the school year approaches, students should be thinking about what to pack up for their family vacations or what exciting summer jobs await them in the coming months, not violence in their hallways.

Sadly, no community is immune to violence. I know the people of Mississauga—Streetsville will come together in support of St. Joseph's. We will unite as a strong community and hope that nothing like this ever happens again.

I would like to extend my gratitude to the courageous students and the staff of St. Joseph's, especially teacher Maria Locicero for her heroism. I also wish to thank the Peel Regional Police for its exceptional work.

My most heartfelt thoughts and prayers go to the victims and their families.

The Economy

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that our Conservative government is delivering real results for them. With our economic action plan, we have taken unprecedented action to speed up job creation to help Canada weather this economic storm.

Because of these steps, families and businesses are paying less tax, unemployed workers are receiving more support, and major job-creating projects are breaking ground. This is in stark contrast to Liberal plans to deal with the recession. The Liberal Party recently reaffirmed its commitment to a job-killing carbon tax. We also know that the Liberals want to increase the GST and end the universal child care benefit.

As if that was not enough, the Liberal leader recently shocked Canadians by saying, “We will have to raise taxes”. Canadians cannot afford more taxes. That is why they soundly rejected the Liberal Party in the last election.

Our Conservative government is providing strong economic leadership and the world has recognized that our plan is exactly the right one for these difficult times.

Housing

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this past week I had the privilege to join women for the third annual downtown eastside women's march for housing in Vancouver. Many of the women who marched live in shelters, on the street, and in dangerous and unstable housing. Still, they are strong and determined in their fight for social housing, child care and health care for all.

These women have a clear message for all levels of government and I am pleased to bring it forward here today. The women of the downtown eastside are calling for a stop to evictions and the provision of affordable safe housing, recognizing the needs of people before Olympic profits, and a stop to the criminalization of the poor.

I would like to thank the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre Power of Women Group for speaking out on these important issues. In the words of the Power of Women Group:

Although we are still suffering in shelters and on the streets, we are not yet defeated! We are making our voices heard, we are bringing empowerment into our lives, we are fighting for positive change, and we are expressing the humanity of our neighbourhood. We hope all of you will join us.

Bloc Québécois

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again, Pauline's puppet is demonstrating just how easy it is for his master to make him shake his head no, no, no.

He and his puppet theatre friends are all shaking their heads in unison: no, no, no.

The economic crisis is not a theatrical production. It is real, but every time our government puts forward solutions, the Bloc says no, no, no. The Bloc leader is like a doll that can only say no.

He misleads voters during election campaigns. All he wants to do is provoke crises in Ottawa, and he takes offence when our Conservative government does what needs to be done to stimulate the economy. There can be no doubt that the Bloc is hurting every single region of Quebec.

Coming this fall to your TV: Pauline's puppet and his Bloc friends who always, always say no, no, no.

Participation of Women in Politics

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today Equal Voice is once again challenging the federal political parties on the issue of women's participation in politics. And again, the Bloc Québécois is rising to the challenge.

In the 2008 election, the Bloc Québécois ran 20 women candidates and got three quarters of them elected. That is a much higher success rate than that of our Conservative, Liberal and NDP opponents.

Equal Voice is calling on the federal political parties to run more women candidates than in the last election. We will make every effort to meet that target. In our party's constitution, it is written in black in white that the Bloc Québécois shall endeavour to ensure equal representation of women and men. That is our goal.

In the Bloc Québécois, we have a clear political will. We want to promote more than ever the crucial participation of women in politics, bearing in mind this goal of achieving gender parity, which may sound bold, but really is only something normal.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to associate our party with a renewal process as old as Parliament itself.

As time goes on, this House is reflecting more and more our country's diversity in terms of the different languages, genders, sexual orientations, races, beliefs and cultures.

We have to become more representative of the population. Today, I rise to take a step in that direction.

Today, on behalf of my party, I accept the Equal Voice challenge. The Liberal Party is committed to having more women in politics, in Parliament, and in government after the next election.

Today, on behalf of my party, I pledge that, at the next election, at least one third of our Liberal candidates will be women.

Taxation

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this Conservative government has responded to an unprecedented global recession with unprecedented action. We have provided the largest fastest stimulus package in the G8. We have given Canadians an additional $20 billion in tax cuts.

While we are taking action, the leader of the Liberal Party is suggesting that he would raise taxes. He solidified this when he declared “We will have to raise taxes”. He said that he would even reverse the Conservative government's cut to the GST, taking more out of the pockets of Canadians when they need it most.

The leader of the Liberal Party is also pushing his job-killing carbon tax, a carbon tax that the Liberal Party voted to make one of its main policy commitments. This does not come as any surprise. After all, the leader of the Liberal Party even refers himself as “a tax-and-spend Liberal”.

Under our Conservative government, the only way taxes will ever go is down.

Medical Isotopes

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the isotope crisis is not just a health care issue; it is about leadership. The government has not shown Canadians that it has a plan to deal with the crisis. Canadians need to know what the current and projected isotope shortfall is, which patients will get treatment and who will not and who will pay the skyrocketing cost of medical isotopes.

The Prime Minister promised Canadians a plan. This plan should be public. Where is it?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this issue is of great concern to us on all sides of the House. The government has been very clear.

The Minister of Health and her officials have been working with their provincial counterparts to ensure the health care system responds to this. They have been doing very good and dedicated work in this regard.

The Minister of Natural Resources and her officials have been working with isotope providers around the world. I know she returned this morning from a meeting in Toronto in this regard.

The government has been very clear to Atomic Energy of Canada, which has the independent responsibility for the operation of the reactor, that our priority is to see that reactor up and running as soon as possible.

We will continue work on all these fronts.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we are in the fifth week of this crisis and in the fourth year of a government that has seen two shutdowns of isotope production on its watch.

Chalk River is shut down indefinitely. The Dutch reactor, on which hopes rest, will be shut down for repairs this summer. Cancer tests are being cancelled. Hospitals cannot get isotopes.

The issue is simple. When will the government stop improvising and provide Canadians with a plan that is transparent, public and credible?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the lack of a reliable supply of medical isotopes in the world is one of great concern to us and is one of great concern for the health and safety of people all over the world. That is the message I delivered this morning to the international committee dealing with the security of supply issues in the world. I delivered a call to action for the international community, asking it to have the maintenance schedules to be coordinated so we could minimize the shortage as much as possible.

We are working together to ensure the world has the medical isotopes it needs.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, there is a global shortage of medical isotopes. Diagnostic tests have been cancelled. The triage of patients has already begun. The price of isotopes has gone up dramatically. Hospitals and patients are already paying the price.

What is the government doing to correct this situation?

In other words, where is the public and transparent plan to correct his situation?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, in the short term we are doing some very clear things

First, we have indicated to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, very specifically, that its number one priority is to ensure that the reactor is up and running, healthy and safely for the people of Canada, and producing medical isotopes.

Second, we have called upon our friends in the world to step up to the plate, just as we stepped up to the plate, in order to ensure we have a secure supply of medical isotopes going forward.

Third, we are working with the community in order to get the information to the medical community with respect to how much isotopes are available any—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Mount Royal.