House of Commons Hansard #36 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was infrastructure.

Topics

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

1:40 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a brief point of order. I think that nothing is as critical in this place as the ability to debate issues as important as the budget. I find it disturbing—and I do not know if there is anything that can be done about it—that the construction noise is so loud that it vibrates through our desks and reverberates through our brains. I have missed much of what the hon. member for Malpeque was trying to say, and I do not know if anything can be done.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

1:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

I do not know whether that is a point of order or not. I take the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands' comments under advisement. We will see what can be done.

We are all aware, of course, that Parliament Hill is the subject of a considerable renovation program. I encourage members to adjust their audio control as they may need to with these distractions, and we will certainly do our best. However, I will take the hon. member's comments under advisement.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Milton.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

1:40 p.m.

Conservative

Lisa Raitt Conservative Milton, ON

Mr. Speaker, when I was a minister in the former government, I had many conversations with the member opposite, and with the people of Prince Edward Island through their elected representatives, with respect to ensuring that they had secondary sources of energy through an electrical cable that would attach Prince Edward Island to the mainland in New Brunswick. There was much lobbying about it. There was a great business case put forward, because it was an important piece of infrastructure that was needed. I find it interesting that the hon. member stood today to talk about everything he received for Prince Edward Island. I would also say that they understood, at that point in time, the importance of having this extra piece of infrastructure to ensure they had an energy supply.

At the end of the day, my question to the member, who is the chairman of the finance committee, is this. Knowing as much as he knows about the importance of energy to the maritime provinces and to Atlantic Canada, can he tell the House right now that he is firmly in support of the energy east pipeline for the other provinces in Atlantic Canada, and that he will vigorously lobby the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to ensure that this will be built quickly?

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

1:40 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE

Mr. Speaker, the member for Milton talked about the electric cable. That is a very important infrastructure project for Prince Edward Island. It gives us the opportunity to import hydro electricity from the grid on the mainland when we need it. It also gives us the opportunity to export energy from our windmills on Prince Edward Island when they are producing more than is needed. Close to 30% of our energy in Prince Edward Island now comes from the renewable energy created by those windmills.

I would also say that one of the sad points with respect to that cable was that a commitment had been made by the previous Paul Martin government for the federal government to pay 100% of the cost of that cable, which was just prior to the previous Conservative government coming into place, and that was the very first proposal it cut.

With respect to the energy east pipeline, I fully support it as a member of Parliament, and we need it right across this country.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

1:45 p.m.

NDP

Cheryl Hardcastle NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the hon. member to ruminate a bit with respect to the ad nauseam infrastructure funding that has been described as a key campaign issue and that has been reflected in the budget. My concern is that there is no mention of ensuring that small and rural communities would have their fair share of that. I wonder if the member could explain if there are any measures that he foresees being put in place or if there is a commitment that there would be fair and equitable funding among this shortchanged pot.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

1:45 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE

Mr. Speaker, I certainly would not say it is a shortchanged pot when it comes to infrastructure. It is the biggest infrastructure spending announcement that any federal government has ever made. As we said, it is looking at the future. It is looking at transit infrastructure, physical infrastructure, and social and green infrastructure. Therefore, it is a very comprehensive proposal by the government.

Of course, it is extremely important that rural communities, be they small or medium sized, get their fair share out of that infrastructure money. I think it has been outlined by the previous minister, including the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, that as the program rolls out it is the intent that it will be shared by small, medium, and large municipalities across Canada, so that all Canadians can benefit from the good investments that this Liberal government is making.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

1:45 p.m.

Conservative

Lisa Raitt Conservative Milton, ON

Mr. Speaker, today I am very pleased to be sharing my time with my friend the member for Brantford—Brant.

A couple of weeks ago, the Minister of Finance was trying on his new shoes for the budget, and I can appreciate the need for new shoes, personally speaking. However, the finance minister did it at the Boys and Girls Club in Toronto, which is a place that is very well known for teaching life lessons and giving kids a good foundation. I felt a sense of irony when the minister chose this spot to talk about his plan for the Liberal budget, because it is a plan that actually commits Canadians to long-term structural deficits, and it is the future generations in that room who will be paying for it. While the Liberals struggle with the notion that, if they borrow money, some day they have to pay it back, kids understand very well that when one lends something, there is an expectation that it will be given back one day.

Before the Liberals took office, taxes in this country were at their lowest point in 50 years. By the end of the Conservative mandate, the average family of four in Milton was saving $7,000 per year, our debt-to-GDP ratio was actually lower than when the Conservatives took office, and it has been confirmed by the good people at Finance Canada that we left the government with a balanced budget and a surplus, to the point of $4.3 billion. However, as with all things, times have changed.

One of the first things the Liberal government did since taking office was actually undo the advances the Conservatives had made over the past 10 years. In doing so, it completely abandoned its election promise to cap its deficit at $10 billion. It decided it was no longer important to aim for a balanced budget, and I am sure that when it is pressed, it will also reverse on the debt-to-GDP ratio.

The Liberal budget, as presented, is very disconcerting, and Canadians cannot actually comprehend what the Liberal government is attempting to do in this plan and how it tries to justify it. The finance minister's last economic outlook actually showed that revenues were holding up better than expected. GDP growth in the last quarter of 2015 was also higher than expected. Canada is not in a recession, yet the Liberal government is on track to borrow millions and billions of dollars in order to solve a recession that is not happening.

Plans for this spending spree confirm what Conservatives have long believed: Liberals are more concerned about optics than they are with helping Canadians. The budget sets out spending that is untargeted, and this spending will actually end up hurting Canadians in the long run in the form of tax increases. The budget is nothing more than a betrayal of the middle class, because Conservatives understand that, if the Liberals are not willing to control spending, taxes will eventually go up to pay for the money that has been borrowed.

It is a betrayal of families, because they understand that their household budgets cannot be sustained on credit. As well, it is a betrayal of small businesses, the 1.2 million Canadian men and women who were promised relief by every party in the election campaign, because that relief leads to job creation and solid economic investments. It was the Liberal government that turned on them. In addition, it is a betrayal of Canadians who trusted the Liberals not only to keep the promise to small business, because that is where 98% of the economy is, but to keep their election promises.

I originally come from Cape Breton Island, where unfortunately I learned a thing or two about unemployment, the long-term effects, and what happens when Liberals try to fix our problems. There are more than 100,000 Canadians out of work today in the oil and gas industry alone. In a recent poll, Canadians across the country said very clearly—46% of them, actually—that they are concerned for either their own jobs or the jobs of others in their households. Those 46% of Canadians live with the weight in their minds and hearts of whether they are going to have jobs.

Families need to see a real plan to ensure that we are creating well-paying jobs. However, what they are seeing instead is small business being saddled with an increase in payroll taxes, as well as the provinces being encouraged to introduce a carbon tax. Both of these are job-killing measures that discourage investment in our economy.

In the last two weeks, we have had the ability to speak with folks in our ridings, and some of us have spoken to folks in their ridings as well. The one question I get is this: “What did they buy with $30 billion of our money?” I cannot blame people for being confused. Canadians are seeing money fly out the door with no assurance that they are going to get value. However, here is the best part. The Liberals call it investments, when we know it is spending.

Canadians are not the only ones who are confused, it would appear. Last week, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a scathing response, providing proof that the budget is not only overinflated, not only an overestimation, but it is not transparent. Is that not a far cry from what the Liberals offered on the campaign trail? The PBO pointed to a massive hole in the budget and asked this very pertinent question: How is the government going to fill it? The response, just like now, is silence, because there is no response.

It is mind-boggling to Canadians that the government has planned deficits of $115 billion over the next five years and it has yet to decide what it is going to spend it on. Since the campaign, the Liberals have been forced to admit that their math has been wrong. They miscalculated the price of their own tax plan. They miscalculated the size of their own deficits. As well, as if it is not bad enough that Canadians do not have confidence in their math, the Liberals suggest continually, including today, that we should not trust the math prepared by the officials at Finance Canada that shows we left a surplus.

It is no wonder that Canadians are worried. The Liberals have clearly demonstrated that they have an inability to make the hard choices that governing requires. They have demonstrated an even greater inability to provide measures for Canadians that will actually help them.

The Conservatives found themselves in a tough economic situation, the great recession. That is why we had a plan to return to balance, to live within our means. We achieved that in 2015.

I was opposed to a modest $10-billion budget, and I said that during the election campaign. Had the Liberals actually kept that pledge, we would have ensured that every single cent went to encouraging job creation. However, that number was a dream compared to the nightmare scenario we are looking at today.

Uncontrolled spending will inevitably lead to long-term structural deficits that are simply unsustainable. Some economists go as far as to say that it is $150 billion in new debt over the next four years alone. Now the Liberals say that the only thing that matters is debt-to-GDP ratio, but that is not true. The only thing that can be controlled in debt-to-GDP ratio by the government is the debt. It cannot control growth, and it certainly cannot control interest rates.

Why does the government not focus on the things that it can influence? Those are creating proper incentives to stimulate economic growth, watching the debt, and ensuring we are not increasing departmental sizes to the point where they become unsustainable.

I have one final word with respect to the budget, and it is a word that we have difficulty with on our side of the House. However, it is definitely not a difficulty on the other side of the House, and that comes to taxes. As I pointed out already, we strove to reduce taxes because we know that is what we do to spur economic growth and have companies create jobs. The government has set it up so that the Liberals' tax increases have moved a tax rate in Canada above 50%. In some provinces, as in Ontario, people are paying 53.5% in income tax to the government before they get to keep any of their money. However, that is not all. The Liberals broke their promise to small business, 1.2 million Canadians, on their taxes. The Liberals are also encouraging carbon taxes, and employers are going to be left with no choice but to look at their stock of employees and determine who will lose their jobs.

It is in times like this that it is important for us to be responsible, to live within our means, and to have a plan. However, this budget is unconstrained. It is haphazard spending. It is not economic stimulus. Any long-term benefits will be outweighed by the enormous literal costs, and as such it must be firmly opposed.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

1:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

The hon. member for Milton will have five minutes for questions and comments when the House next returns to debate on the question.

Jean LapierreStatements By Members

1:55 p.m.

Bloc

Rhéal Fortin Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC

Mr. Speaker, on March 29, all of Quebec was shocked by the tragedy in the Magdalen Islands. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the seven victims of that terrible accident.

I am not exaggerating when I say that Quebeckers across the province are thinking of them. It is important to me to pay tribute to Jean Lapierre, who was killed in the accident.

Jean Lapierre is well known in the House of Commons. He was elected five times and represented two parties, including the Bloc Québécois. However, he made a name for himself and was known above all in his home province, Quebec, where he was a brilliant political analyst known for his knowledge of a range of issues and his legendary and colourful eloquence, which won over Quebeckers of all political stripes.

His morning radio segment tuned us in to what was on the minds of Quebeckers and Canadians on a daily basis.

Thank you, Jean.

Citizens of Mississauga—LakeshoreStatements By Members

1:55 p.m.

Liberal

Sven Spengemann Liberal Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour an incredible team, Dr. Iggy Kaneff and his wife Mrs. Didi Kaneff, long-time residents of my riding of Mississauga—Lakeshore.

When Dr. Kaneff arrived from Bulgaria in 1951, he was nearly penniless and did not speak any English. Through exemplary hard work and a strong entrepreneurial spirit, lggy has since become one of Canada's most successful real estate developers and patron of the sport of golf.

In recognition of his business achievements and philanthropic efforts, Dr. Kaneff has received numerous high honours over the last 65 years, among these prominently, the Order of Ontario.

Eight years after arriving in Canada, also from Bulgaria, Didi Kaneff founded the Ignat Kaneff Charitable Foundation in 1986. Didi Kaneff is a community leader in her own right, who tirelessly champions the arts, local charities, hospitals, and health and social services.

I ask all members of the House to join me in honouring and acknowledging the truly remarkable and inspiring achievements of Dr. and Mrs. Kaneff.

Citizens of Mississauga—LakeshoreStatements By Members

1:55 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear!

George LaneStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Conservative

John Barlow Conservative Foothills, AB

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to honour a great Albertan, George Lane.

George Lane was a legendary rancher and, as a member of the Big Four, a founding father of the Calgary Stampede. He was a former owner of the Bar U Ranch, the national historic site in my riding of Foothills. It is still a living tribute to our Canadian cattle industry.

George Lane epitomized the western spirit: a tireless work ethic, a community leader, and a visionary entrepreneur.

This weekend, George Lane will be inducted into the prestigious hall of great westerners at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. This is considered among the greatest honours in western culture, and he will be the first Canadian ever inducted into the hall.

I look forward to joining fellow Albertans this weekend in Oklahoma to honour George Lane's outstanding achievements. This is also a great opportunity to celebrate the heart and soul of Alberta, our rich ranching history.

Agriculture and Agri-FoodStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

TJ Harvey Liberal Tobique—Mactaquac, NB

Mr. Speaker, I was recently asked to give the opening remarks at the Canadian Young Farmers' Forum conference in Vancouver. The conference was titled “Farm Together-Agriculture United”. As demonstrated through the budget, this government shares the same vision: supporting science, investing in innovation, and working with industry partners to contribute to the growth and development of Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector as a priority.

Canadian farmers are a hard-working and innovative group, and the farmers in my riding of Tobique—Mactaquac are no exception. However, rural Canadians rely heavily on the agriculture sector for economic opportunities and want to see policy that not only supports agriculture producers but allows them to flourish. Investment in exploring specific strategies to further economic growth and diversification in these sectors is crucial to ensuring that producers in my riding and across Canada continue to thrive as leaders in the agricultural sector.

Information sharing and working together will pave the way to ensuring that our agricultural sector is competitive, innovative, and continually sustainable.

Tax HavensStatements By Members

2 p.m.

NDP

Pierre-Luc Dusseault NDP Sherbrooke, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Panama papers exposed the rampant abuse of tax havens.

These notorious revelations, the largest information leak of its kind in history, make it clear that it is high time the Government of Canada took meaningful action to put an end to this kind of scheme, recovered the money that was diverted, and took legal action against the fraudsters.

Furthermore, Canadians are demanding real change to our country's laws. They want the government to restore a tax regime that is fair for all, regardless of their income, which means prohibiting secret amnesty deals or discount agreements for the rich; reviewing the agreements Canada signed with some tax havens; and allocating more resources to the Canada Revenue Agency to investigate and combat tax evasion.

If the government does not intervene, the wealthy will continue to profit from our lenient tax laws. The Liberal government must propose legislative amendments as soon as possible to eliminate these loopholes and to combat tax evasion.

As honest Canadians are filling out their tax returns, now is the time to crack down on these profiteers once and for all.

Community Service AwardsStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Jati Sidhu Liberal Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to congratulate the winners of the District of Mission Community Service Awards.

I had the pleasure of attending the awards ceremony last Thursday, where remarkable individuals and organizations were recognized for their contributions to our community. The award winners have demonstrated exemplary volunteerism in the community through a wide range of charitable activity. Their high level of commitment is an example for all.

I am proud to take this opportunity to recognize these residents for being exceptional leaders. I would like to thank them for their outstanding service to our community.

Wine IndustryStatements By Members

April 11th, 2016 / 2:05 p.m.

Conservative

Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB

Mr. Speaker, 25 years after the Canadian wine industry underwent a major transformation, hundreds of Canadian wineries make high quality, international award-winning wine. The economic impact of the Canadian wine industry now is roughly $7 billion dollars.

There is something that has not kept pace with this growth.

In 1994, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency put in place a guideline that was to be an interim measure that in effect would allow wine producers to bypass country of origin labelling. The “Cellared in Canada” designation allows wines made from non-Canadian grapes to carry the Canadian brand. These wines have limited, if any, connection to Canadian land, or its terroir.

Just as we would take issue with consumers being sold counterfeit goods like a generic cola with a Pepsi label on it, we should take issue with non-Canadian wines being sold as a Canadian product.

As such, I urge the Standing Committee on Agriculture to study the effects of this out-of-date, misleading designation and recommend changes to this policy that would be fair for all Canadian wine producers.

University of Toronto Scarborough CampusStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON

Mr. Speaker, great things are happening at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus. In less than two years, UTSC has added two new amazing facilities that students will be able to enjoy over the coming years.

Last summer, UTSC hosted the Pan Am games at the newly built, state-of-the-art Pan Am Centre. This sports centre has received international praise and is already attracting other multi sport events to our community. In 2017, the Invictus games for injured veterans will take place at UTSC.

Earlier this year, I was proud to take part in the opening of the new environmental science and chemistry building. It was inspiring to see the passion of the world-class faculty and over 200 graduate and Ph.D. students who would bring this building to life.

These facilities have become centres of thought and athletics in our city and are part of a much grander vision for UTSC as a hub for renewal in Scarborough.

I want to congratulate Principal Bruce Kidd, faculty, staff, and students on these achievements.

Khalsa DayStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON

Mr. Speaker, waheguru ji ka khalsa. Waheguru ji ki fateh.

The Sikh community in Canada today is celebrating Khalsa Day. It is a day of great joy and happiness. It all comes from the day Guru Gobind Singh Ji originated the Khalsa panth, the equality of all Sikhs, the importance of sacrifice for the greater good, and the teachings that we share as our values. It is also the time we celebrate how the harvest becomes golden brown.

The history of our religion and culture makes us unique but also more united. I am proud to be a Sikh MP, along with all the other Sikh MPs and ministers, the most in Canadian history. Sikh history, culture, and religion are being celebrated in places across the country, like in my riding of Brampton South.

On behalf of all Brampton MPs, I wish all Sikhs across Canada a very happy Vaisakhi and a happy Khalsa Day.

Waheguru ji ka khalsa. Waheguru ji ki fateh.

Income SplittingStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Mr. Speaker, income splitting is a basic tax fairness measure. It means that two families with the same family income pay the same amount of tax.

Our government believed that all families deserved tax cuts and deserved equal treatment under the tax code regardless of their child care choices. We did not believe that a family should pay higher taxes just because it made the sacrifice to spend time off work at home.

In my riding, I know many families that make these kinds of sacrifices. Moms and dads, some professionally trained, are making sacrifices to do what they feel is best for their kids. We should not tell parents how to raise their children, but we should respect their choices and honour all of those who sacrifice for their kids.

It is unfair that the budget does away with this vital tax fairness measure. Families in my riding want me to oppose the budget because it raises their taxes. They can be assured that this is exactly what we will do.

Rwandan GenocideStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Robert-Falcon Ouellette Liberal Winnipeg Centre, MB

Mr. Speaker, this week marks the 22nd anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. We wish to honour the memory of the hundreds of thousands of people killed by unprecedented violence that stemmed from identity policies, but we also want to take this opportunity to highlight the progress that has been made.

I want to underscore the work done by the people of Rwanda and Burundi to overcome ethnic divisions and tribal loyalties. Although this work has only just begun, as an aboriginal Canadian, I encourage the Rwandan and Burundian leaders to draw inspiration from the efforts being made by their fellow citizens to build modern nation states that respect human rights, human dignity, democracy, and the rule of law, and that will be an example for the rest of the world to follow.

[Member spoke in Kinyarwanda as follows:]

Murakoze.

VaisakhiStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC

Mr. Speaker, today we celebrate Vaisakhi, the first time the Sikhs were baptized.

One of the important aspects of this day is the reaffirmation of the equality of the sexes, as proclaimed by the first guru. When the 10th guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh, created the holy baptismal nectar, a woman was also involved. He called her jagat mata, the mother of all humanity. Her equal contribution underscored for the guru the importance of treating everyone equally. Both men and women prepare the holy nectar.

The guru then asked all men to bear the name Singh, which means lion, and women to bear the name Kaur, which means princess. This meant that the men had to respect every woman as they would a princess and revere women because without women there would not be any men. Guruji declared that all women are individuals and free to lead their own lives and do as they wish, such as become warriors or priestesses, if that is what they choose, and that all women are kaur.

[Member spoke in Punjabi as follows:]

So kio manda aakheeyai jit jamaai raajaan.

Oil and Gas IndustryStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Conservative

Chris Warkentin Conservative Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB

Mr. Speaker, the oil and gas industry is an essential part of Alberta's economy. I am proud of that industry and I am proud of the people who work there.

Over the past number of months, we have seen over 100,000 hard-working Albertans lose their jobs. The Liberals have failed Alberta families.

The government could have announced in its budget a plan to approve energy east, the trans mountain pipeline, or new LNG projects, but it did not.

Energy east would not only create more Canadian jobs, but it would also allow Canadians to use Canadian oil. In 2013, Canada paid $26.3 billion to import foreign oil. That is over 42% of the oil that Canadians use. What is more is that these projects would not cost the government anything. In fact, they would lead to more government revenues that could be used to pay for better education, better health care, and better infrastructure for all Canadians.

It is time for the Liberal government to reverse its opposition to pipelines. It is time for the Liberal government to stop making life more difficult for Alberta families. It is time for the Liberals to start defending opportunity, prosperity and hope for all Canadians.

Primatology and ConservationStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of so many Canadians to express my profound gratitude to Dr. Jane Goodall, the world renowned primatologist and conservation activist.

From Dr. Goodall's trail blazing chimpanzee research to her ongoing “Roots and Shoots” youth education initiative, her positive influence spans geography, cultures, and generations.

When she talks about conservation and habitat destruction, she advocates with compassion for those who cannot speak for themselves.

As she once said, “I truly believe that only when we work with head and the heart, that change can occur...We can think of the big impact our small choices can make.”

Dr. Goodall's message of hope knows no partisan boundaries. This afternoon at the reception we are co-hosting with other members of Parliament, I am so excited to ask her how the democratic debates that she hears in the House compare with the dispute resolution she has heard for so many years with the chimps in Tanzania. I fear that we will suffer by comparison.

Kevin StubbingtonStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

NDP

Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON

Mr. Speaker, I pay tribute today to Kevin Stubbington, a truly inspirational man from my community who recently passed away at the age of 64.

Mr. Stubbington was instrumental in initiating the safety towards other players, STOP, program, an awareness campaign highlighting the dangers of checking from behind in hockey.

The simple idea of the incorporation of a stop sign patch placed on the back of every jersey continues to be an effective plan for players to make the game of hockey safer. The STOP program is now mandatory in many hockey associations across this world.

As a volunteer coach with the Windsor Minor Hockey Association, I know that protecting the safety of players and minimizing serious injuries, especially concussions, is so important. I am proud the member for the Windsor—Tecumseh is continuing this legacy.

Mr. Stubbington was a great inspiration and will continue to be missed by the entire community. He made life safer for countless youths, while the sport that Canadians love can be enjoyed and played in safety.

Jean LapierreStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

Conservative

Denis Lebel Conservative Lac-Saint-Jean, QC

Mr. Speaker, on March 29, a terrible tragedy took place in the Magdalen Islands. It claimed the life of my friend. Many of us lost a friend or former colleague. Quebeckers lost a man who listened to them, and Canadians lost an exceptional human being.

Jean Lapierre was passionate about politics and cared deeply about people. Elected to Canada's Parliament at 23 years of age, he began to pursue his passion and ambition early in life. Over the course of his career, Canadians came to know him as an outstanding communicator who made politics accessible and certainly made our world more accessible and easier to understand.

On a personal level, I appreciated his energy and honesty. Although I did not always like the comments he shared with me, I appreciated them because he always said what he was thinking, and he did so sincerely and with conviction.

We all know that Jean Lapierre was a great Magdalen Islander. Throughout his entire life, he did his work with dignity and dedication. His sole purpose was to serve the people well.

On behalf of all members of the official opposition, I humbly offer my most sincere condolences to the families of the seven who lost their lives. Of course, our thoughts, prayers, and sympathy go out to Jean Lapierre's mother in particular. Until we meet again, Jean.