Lost her last election, in 2008, with 39% of the vote.
Child Care October 20th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and the minister said, negotiations are currently underway. We are not negotiating with the Bloc, but with the legitimate Government of Quebec.
The minister is currently in a meeting on the conditions and the political will for a better child care system for children in Canada and Quebec.
Nicholas Salamis October 19th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, we were deeply saddened on Saturday to learn about the passing of the Right Reverend Nicholas Salamis.
This is a loss for his family, his friends, myself, the Greek Orthodox Church and the thousands of parishioners whom he served for over four decades as a priest.
Father Nicholas Salamis was among the first of the Greeks to have immigrated to Canada, settling in Montreal in 1919.
At the age of 35 Nicholas Salamis returned to Athens to study theology and was ordained a Greek Orthodox priest in 1938.
Father Salamis was my spiritual leader when I was a student at Socrates Elementary School. During his long career he touched many lives, bearing witness to over four generations of Greek immigrants to Canada, selflessly contributing to his beloved community in Montreal, having baptized, married and buried tens of thousands of Canadians of Hellenic origin while at the same time watching as each new generation matured and made their contribution to Canada, his own beloved second patrida .
He had turned 108 just last August, his life indeed also bearing witness to Canada's rise from little more than a colony into the independent nation we know today.
Evangelos Hadjis September 27th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, we were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Evangelos Hadjis on September 10. His death is a loss for me and the Hellenic community in Montreal, and for everyone in Quebec society, for we have lost one of our most distinguished and respected members.
Evangelos Hadjis was an exemplary brother, husband, father and friend.
Since coming to Canada in 1955, Evangelos was both a mentor and a protector. A member of the Bar of Quebec, Evangelos distinguished himself as a lawyer. He was widely respected by his colleagues in the legal community, yielding great influence through his keen sense of justice, power of negotiation and generosity of spirit.
Ever mindful of his roots, Evangelos served his fellow Greeks and their various organizations for over 40 years with dedication, dignity and humility. He was recognized as a leader and pillar of strength by one and all. No less genuine was his pride in being Canadian. This was exemplified by both word and deed in moments of national debate.
[Member spoke in Greek and provided the following translation:]
[Translation]
May your memory be eternal, dear friend, and may the ground that covers you be light.
Points of Order June 21st, 2005
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should take the time to read what I read into the record yesterday.
I will repeat what I said yesterday because he may be interested in my words. He maligns character. Character assassination in the House is the sport of choice of the Conservative Party with no consideration for the truth.
Here is another example of wallowing in the mud by that particular member for Calgary West. In fact, he did not say what he said he read into the record. He does not even have the courtesy that the Bloc did to actually withdraw his remarks. He has no respect for the House and no respect for Canadians out there.
Privilege June 20th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, during debate on private members' business on Monday, May 9, the member for Montmorency--Charlevoix--Haute-Côte-Nord, while presenting examples during debate on his bill, Bill C-312, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act, appointment of returning officers, which we will be voting on tomorrow, made reference to my riding of Ahuntsic and stated that:
In another riding, it was discovered that the returning officer was the president of the Liberal association for the riding. It is time somebody woke up. This is Earth calling.
That is inappropriate language.
The returning officer is the president of the Liberal riding association in Ahuntsic.
This matter was only brought to my attention last Monday when the member for Calgary West, while referring to the May 9 presentation by the member for Montmorency--Charlevoix--Haute-Côte-Nord, stated:
In the member's last presentation he spoke about how even current presidents of Liberal riding associations have actually been appointed to be the returning officers in their ridings. He listed specifically my riding, the riding of Ahuntsic.
While I support the aim of the member opposite's motion, I have to repeat the remarks of my colleague from Gatineau in the same debate, “We must not get too carried away on this point. People's reputations are at stake”. This is something the opposition is continually forgetting.
Second, she said that even Mr. Kingsley, the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, had said, in his testimony before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, that he would, in the end, keep almost all of the incumbent returning officers if he had the authority to hire or dismiss them.
Mr. Speaker, I call on you to ask the member for Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord and the member for Calgary West to withdraw their comments, since they are totally erroneous.
Let me be clear. The facts are the Ahuntsic returning officer did not hold the position of riding president at the time of his nomination and therefore, by consequence, definitely did not hold the position at the time of his appointment.
Again we continue to malign reputations in the House without any consideration for the truth and only for political expediency. In fact, it has become the sport of choice of both the Bloc and the Conservatives.
As such, I respectfully request that the members for Montmorency--Charlevoix--Haute-Côte-Nord and Calgary West be asked to withdraw their specific comments which are untrue.
Privilege June 17th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, I rise today on a question of privilege. Some remarks that were made by an hon. member were only brought to my attention this Monday past .
During private members' business on Monday, May 9, the member for Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, while presenting examples during debate on his Motion No. 312, made reference to my riding of Ahuntsic and stated:
In another riding, it was discovered that the returning officer was the president of the Liberal association for the riding. It is time somebody woke up. This is Earth calling. The returning officer is the president—
Supply June 14th, 2005
Madam Speaker, I will reiterate my question and again put on the record that what the Conservatives think we are doing is totally false.
I have asked the hon. member what his party is proposing. All I have heard is a tax break, which seems to be the band-aid solution that his party uses for most of the problems.
The reality is that 72% of the population in Canada are working parents who choose to work. I respect the fact that certain parents choose to stay at home. I also stayed at home for awhile when I had my first two children and I also had their grandmother take care of them when I went back to work.
I want to know what he is actually proposing. It is very easy to criticize but I have not heard a solid solution in terms of this problem.
Supply June 14th, 2005
Madam Speaker, I have some comments I want to put it on the record since we are coming to the end of the debate. I believe it is this side of the House that is giving the real choices to parents, not a tax break that the other side of the House is actually proposing.
Let us put it on the record that it is only Her Majesty's official opposition that is opposed. Members of the Bloc and the NDP do support an early learning and child care system, perhaps in different ways in terms of the Bloc members.
I want to put something on the record about stay at home parents because it has been falsely stated in the House that there is no support for stay at home parents. The government provides both income benefits and services for parents. The best examples I can give are the national child tax benefit and the national child benefit supplement.
Let me also reiterate that we have already signed agreements in principle with five provinces and that party has said that it will support those agreements.
Since the member believes that we are not offering choices, although our choice is $5 billion over five years, what exactly is the member and his party offering? A tax break of 20%, if we do the analysis, for low income families will not help a single mother who chooses to work. Again, we are talking about choices. We are not saying that a parent should stay at home. We are talking about parents who choose to work.
We have studies that show that in 72% of two parent families, both parents are working and they are the ones who actually need to have those choices in various forms, not just in terms of a day care centre but it could also be a family run centre, as some of them are in Quebec.
What type of benefit are the Conservatives actually providing to all families, including those that choose to have working parents?
Supply June 14th, 2005
Madam Speaker, the brief answer is yes. However, I also want to commend the hon. member because I know how many years he and I and others on this side of the House have actually worked toward arriving to today to have a national early learning and child care system. Let us not forget our agreements with the provinces prior to these agreements in terms of early learning and child care.
Supply June 14th, 2005
Madam Speaker, we stated that these agreements are agreements with the provinces. The provinces will be administering these programs and we are putting the money down. When we are talking about the for profit sector, we are talking about regulated child care.
If I were to use my home province of Quebec as an example, the profit and the non profit exist side by side, but they are regulated, The underlying principles are respected in the province of Quebec. The bottom line, if I may say so to the hon. member, is that there is universality, accessibility, and inclusiveness. That is what we are looking for in terms of establishing a national system of early learning and child care.