Debates of Nov. 27th, 2012

Diabetes

[Matthew Kellway, NDP, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is a 12-year-old boy in my riding who can play keep-up with a soccer ball for almost two hours straight. That is over 10,000 kicks in a row, alternating feet. He is being scouted and invited to the youth academies of professional clubs in Europe.

Today he came and spoke to the Standing Committee on Health as part of the JDRF Kids for a Cure Lobby Day. Michael has had type 1 diabetes since he was six. His mom, Debbie, tells us how hard it is to live with this, saying “It is a disease that never sleeps. It is a disease that never takes a vacation”.

However, Michael is determined not to let his disease interfere with his dreams and goals. One cannot help but admire him. We can do more than that; we can help him and the other 300,000 Canadians living with type 1 diabetes.

Michael's day used to start and end with a needle. Now he has an insulin pump. On the horizon, not far off, is an artificial pancreas. Our job is to get Michael there with investment in health research and technologies. He will take care of the rest.

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal

[Wai Young, Conservative, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on November 14, it was an honour to present a number of outstanding Vancouverites with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Among these recipients were two veterans of World War II, who voluntarily enrolled themselves in the Canadian Forces despite being denied Canadian citizenship due to their Chinese ancestry.

Mr. Marshall Chow fought in the Normandy invasion that successfully cleared the French coastline, Belgium and Holland and finally gained Germany. On his part, Mr. Neill Chan volunteered for commando training and served primarily in the South Pacific, including on the infamous Burma Road. Both men returned to Canada as heroes.

In recognition of their service to Canada and steadfast belief in equality for Canadian born Chinese, the government granted citizenship in 1947 to those born with Chinese ancestry. This is one example of how Canadians have touched people, saved lives and impacted the world.

The medal honours Canadians' commitments, contributions and ongoing service and sacrifice as we continue to work together to make Canada the great country it is today.

Diabetes

[Scott Andrews, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to stand today in support of JDRF's Kids for a Cure Lobby Day. JDRF is the leading global organization and largest charitable supporter focused on type 1 diabetes research.

Currently, more than 300,000 Canadians and their families suffer from this disease and are faced with its devastating complications.

Currently in Ottawa are 40 “Living Proof Champions” and their families, who are meeting with parliamentarians to discuss the personal challenges they face in living with type 1 diabetes and encouraging government to expand the JDRF Canadian Clinical Trial Network to all parts of the country.

One of those champions visiting Ottawa is from my riding, 14-year-old Jordon Mayo, who travelled with his mom, June, from Newfoundland to be part of JDRF's Kids for a Cure Lobby Day.

To recognize Jordon's efforts and leadership, I had the pleasure of visiting Baltimore School in Ferryland this past Friday to present Jordon with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. Indeed, Jordon commits much of his time to JDRF, church, sports and music while maintaining a 99% average at school. To further recognize his efforts, last evening the president of JDRF designated Jordon as a “JDRF Diabetes Champion”.

JDRF and Jordon Mayo are doing their share to find a cure. Now it is up to us to support these families and this initiative.

Operation Red Nose

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Burlington branch of St. John Ambulance is once again providing an important service this Christmas season.

Operation Red Nose is a unique program devoted to the prevention of drinking and driving. It is a volunteer driving service offered during the holiday season to all drivers who have been drinking.

The Operation Red Nose service is provided by driving teams, each consisting of three volunteers. Two of the volunteers, a driver and a navigator, ride with the client in the client's vehicle while the other volunteer, the escort driver, follows behind in their own car. In this manner, the client arrives home safety along with their own vehicle.

The service is confidential and free. Donations from clients are gratefully accepted. This weekend, my wife and I, as well our member of the provincial legislature, will be a volunteer team.

I want to encourage everyone in Burlington to use this free service. Please do not drink and drive during this holiday season.

Timeea Enache and Mylène Poulin-Bellefleur

[Charmaine Borg, NDP, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to congratulate the winners of the Create Your Canada contest, Timeea Enache and Mylène Poulin-Bellefleur.

Today, I am moving a motion on their behalf to study the feasibility of installing mandatory breathalyzers in motor vehicles.

Mr. Speaker, they would like to thank you for welcoming them and considering this motion. They would like us all to know that drunk driving accidents can happen anywhere at any time to anyone, including us or our loved ones. They want to give future generations a chance and make Canada a leader on this issue. They hope to raise our awareness of this issue and persuade us that, together, we can save lives that would otherwise needlessly be lost.

I would like to encourage all young Quebeckers and Canadians to follow their example and get involved in politics. I would also like to congratulate all of the young people who are working together to build better communities across Canada.

Recognition of Service

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, I am honoured to rise today to recognize two citizens for their service.

First is Ellen Irene Montgomery, whose nephew Alvin Johnson is a long-time resident of my riding. Ellen was born in 1925 and at the age of 18 became one of over 21,000 women to enlist in the Canadian Women's Army Corps during the Second World War. Mrs. Montgomery, who passed away earlier this month, served her country until she was discharged in 1946. The courage and determination of women like Mrs. Montgomery helped pave the way for future generations of women to serve in the Canadian military.

Second, I also take this opportunity to recognize the service of Constable Brett Cunningham, a long-time resident of Fort St. John and member of the RCMP and whose parents, John and Carol, are with us today. This week, Constable Cunningham graduates from the training section of the RCMP's historic Musical Ride. I congratulate Constable Cunningham for having done his family and his region proud.

Taxation

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, economic and social mobility is the key measure of a successful democracy. The Fraser Institute recently showed that Canadians can get ahead and are getting ahead, that where someone is today does not determine where he or she will be in 10 to 15 years. Two of every five Canadians in the bottom group of income earners in 1990 ended up in the top 40% by 2009. However, despite our government's lowering of taxes, the cost of living and the cost of three other levels of government are squeezing Canadian families. Many are spending more than they earn just to pay their bills.

Meanwhile, the NDP's mentors at the Broadbent Institute have unveiled the biggest threat to Canadians' ability to get ahead. The $21.5 billion carbon tax would be just a start; they also want new sales taxes and an inheritance tax. That is the potential agenda of the NDP if it were ever to become the government. The socialists want to seize Canadians' lifetime savings after we die. That is something Conservatives would never do.

Windermere Secondary School

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the fantastic work of students and faculty at Windermere Secondary School in Vancouver Kingsway, as they launch their fourth annual climate change conference. This event is organized entirely by the grade 11 leadership class at Windermere.

As world leaders meet in Doha this week to discuss global environmental issues, students from all over Vancouver will gather to educate themselves about the impacts of climate change and motivate one another to take steps toward creating a better planet. The Windermere climate change conference will culminate in an afternoon of action where students will put what they have learned into action and take concrete steps to address this global challenge.

Canada has been criticized in recent years for lagging behind and acting as an obstacle to solving climate change. However, the youth of Canada recognize the seriousness of this issue and are leading the charge to ensure that future generations are not left to pay the price for our inaction.

I call on parliamentarians to stand with the leaders of tomorrow, young Canadians, and take immediate action to combat climate change and protect our environment. Congratulations to Windermere and Vancouver students.

Violence Against Women

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada and the world are marking 16 days of activism against gender violence. An important area of concern for our government is ensuring the safety of women on post-secondary campuses. That is why we recently announced the results of a cross-country call for proposals for Status of Women Canada funding of innovative projects that respond to the safety needs of young women on these college and university campuses. These projects will build partnerships and collaboration between campus and community stakeholders to ensure that women on campuses are safe and able to focus on their studies.

Our Conservative government is committed to addressing the problem of violence against women and girls. Since 2007, hundreds of projects have been approved through Status of Women Canada to help end violence against women and girls across the country. These students are our future leaders. Our government is ensuring that the safety needs of young women on these college and university campuses are being addressed through programs nationwide.

Operation Red Nose

[Djaouida Sellah, NDP, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this Saturday, Operation Red Nose will once again begin offering its services throughout Quebec and Canada, including in my riding of Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert. As they do every year, thousands of volunteers will give their time in order to keep our streets safer.

At the Saint-Hubert location, over 1,200 volunteers gave over 1,600 rides home during the 2011 campaign. In Saint-Bruno and the Richelieu valley area, over 250 volunteers gave some 850 rides home.

Operation Red Nose has also raised over $44,000 in donations for swim clubs in the greater Longueuil community, including the Hippocampe swim club in Saint-Hubert.

I wish to congratulate Operation Red Nose and its volunteers on their hard work.

If you have had too much to drink, do not drive. Call Operation Red Nose.

Diabetes

[Patrick Brown, Conservative, Barrie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as chair of the all-party juvenile diabetes caucus, I am proud to rise today on behalf of the over three million Canadians living with diabetes.

National Diabetes Awareness Month is celebrated every November to raise awareness of all forms of diabetes and to gain support for critical research toward preventing, treating and curing all forms of this disease.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a person's pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. More than 300,000 Canadians are affected by type 1 diabetes.

This morning I was honoured to meet with an eight-year old, Noah Stock, a resident of Barrie, who presented me with a scrapbook he created showcasing his life as a child with type 1 diabetes.

I ask that every member of Parliament join me in welcoming to Ottawa JDRF and the 40 children from across Canada who are raising our awareness of Canadians living with type 1 diabetes.

Suzanne Rivard Le Moyne

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

Mr. Speaker, Suzanne Rivard Le Moyne, one of Ottawa's most respected artists, died last month.

The recipient of many awards and prizes, including the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts, Ms. Le Moyne exhibited her art in many major cities, such as Montreal and Paris.

In 1972, she founded the Canada Council for the Arts’ Art Bank.

A positive force for change in our country's visual culture, Rivard Le Moyne's determination made the Art Bank the largest collection of contemporary Canadian art, with some 18,000 works in various disciplines by nearly 3,000 artists.

As a passionate and visionary leader, she was articulate, well-informed and always open to new ideas. The memory of Rivard Le Moyne and the impact she had live on.

If my colleagues have not had the opportunity to visit the Art Bank, I suggest they do so. They will be impressed and in turn might want to impress upon their representatives on the Board of Internal Economy the necessity of revisiting the existing restrictions on renting Canadian art from Canadian artists for their offices in the Canadian Parliament.

Liberal Party of Canada

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last week some more light was shed on the Liberals' arrogant beliefs and divisive attitudes.

First, the disgraced senior Liberal spokesperson for natural resources made outrageous comments showing the Liberals' anti-Alberta, anti-energy agenda. Furthermore, the member for Ottawa South said that MPs from Alberta did not belong here in Parliament and should “go home”.

This anti-energy prejudice is the same the Liberals had when they brought in the disastrous national energy program in the 1980s, a program that damaged the economy and cost Albertans billions of dollars.

Then we heard from the Liberal critic for amateur sport, the member for Papineau, who directly attacked Albertans by saying:

Canada is in bad shape right now because Albertans are controlling our communities....

These divisive comments do not belong here in Parliament. They are anti-Canadian and unbecoming even to the Liberal Party. That is why I am calling on the Liberal leader to fire his critic for amateur sport.

British Columbia Byelection

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, following the distinguished footsteps of former NDP MP Denise Savoie, last night the citizens of Victoria elected Murray Rankin as their next member of Parliament.

We are excited to have Murray join us in this House to take on the important work of New Democrats showing Canadians that they have an alternative to a Conservative government plagued by scandals, ethical lapses and mismanagement.

He will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with an NDP caucus to make the right decisions when it comes to public policy. If a waste treatment plant is the right thing to do, we will support it even while others flip-flop on the issue just to score a few cheap political points. The ocean is not a garbage can.

Murray will stand up to the Conservatives and their billions in tax handouts to profitable corporations, even while they cut health care and OAS. He will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with NDP MPs from coast to coast to coast who are working together to build a fairer, greener and more prosperous Canada.

Congratulations to Canada's newest NDP MP, Murray Rankin.

Liberal Party of Canada

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Albertans and all Canadians have long known that the Liberal Party has a deeply ingrained arrogant anti-Alberta, anti-western Canadian attitude.

The Liberal energy critic reminded us just how deep those feelings were when he told Alberta MPs to go back home because they had the audacity to stand up for their constituents.

The Liberal member for Papineau, the son of Pierre Trudeau, the creator of the national energy program that decimated western Canada, said that Canada was in bad shape because Albertans were running it.

The Liberal leader fired the Liberal energy critic, but the member for Papineau has not been disciplined at all for saying, “Canada is in bad shape right now because Albertans are controlling our community and social democratic agenda. That's not working”.

Why do the Liberals think they can get away with such divisiveness? When will the Liberal Party leader put an end to these anti-Alberta attitudes? When will he hold the Liberal member for Papineau responsible for his disparaging, divisive and dangerous comments?

The Economy

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are now bracing for the impact of reckless Conservative cuts. Raising the age of retirement for OAS to 67 and slashing health care funding by $36 billion. Even the banks are criticizing Conservative choices. Today, the TD Bank is calling on Conservatives to invest in early childhood education. That is a heck of a lot better than corporate tax giveaways.

Now that even the big banks are challenging the priorities of the Conservatives, when will the Prime Minister rethink his shortsighted budget choices?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the policy of this government has been to gradually balance the budget over the medium term, while not raising taxes, as the NDP would like us to do, and while preserving our payments for vital programs like health care, education and pensions for our senior citizens.

With that approach, Canada has record leading job creation among major developed countries and policies that are highly emulated around the world, one of the reasons I think that somebody like Mr. Carney can be recruited to serve in another country. Canada has a lot to be proud of.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, 50,000 more people are unemployed today than before the recession. That is the Conservative record. The global economy is shaky and Canadians need reassurance. Now the Governor of the Bank of Canada has abruptly resigned. Two weeks ago, the Minister of Finance—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. member for Vancouver East has the floor.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, he left in quite a hurry. Two weeks ago, the finance minister claimed he had contingency plans to deal with another recession.

Could the Prime Minister table his finance minister's contingency plan, or is the finance minister again making this up as he goes along?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, who has done a tremendous job and we know will do a tremendous job in a country with much greater difficulties than Canada, has told me he will take up that job in July of next year. That sort of stretches the definition of abruptly just a little. We are honoured and we wish him well in his new functions.

The record of this government is that there are 800,000 net new jobs created in the country, more people working now in Canada than before the recession. While there is a ways to go, this is better than the vast majority of developed countries at this time.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the record is that the finance minister and the Prime Minister cannot get their stories straight on whether the budget will be balanced by 2015. They cannot agree even on whether more service cuts are coming. The finance minister claims he has a plan for another recession, but the Prime Minister cannot tell us what it is.

How can Canadians have any confidence in our economy when the Prime Minister does not seem to have confidence in his own finance minister?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has been recognized as probably the best in his job in the entire developed world. His record speaks for itself. Besides agreeing on all of the big issues, one of the things we most strongly agree on is that the country does not need the kind of tax increases advocated by the NDP. We do not need to raise taxes on employers at a time when we are trying to create jobs. We do not need to raise sales taxes on consumers. We are opposed to a carbon tax on everything.

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister are bickering, but this is really not the time, because Europe is experiencing another recession and the United States is slowly heading toward a fiscal cliff. The IMF says that Canada has one of the lowest rates of growth of the developing countries. Canadians want reassurance. The finance minister told Canadians that he has “contingency plans”.

When is he going to table these plans in the House?