Alexa McDonough

[National Defence, November 5th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, Liberals are refusing to let Canadians have their say before they drag us into George Bush's missile madness. Why? Because the Prime Minister does not want Canadians to know the real cost and dangers of Canadian participation.

The government now wants a vote in Parliament only after Canada signs on to Bush's next arms race.

Will the government ensure there will be no Canadian commitment to missile defence participation until Canadians have their say and only then, after a vote takes place in this Parliament?

[Arts and Culture, November 5th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow Wendy Lill's friends, family and colleagues will gather to pay tribute to the former Dartmouth MP who endowed this chamber with creativity, compassion and dignity.

Wendy Lill brought national attention to challenges facing Canadians living with disabilities; worked relentlessly to establish a parliamentary committee on persons living with disabilities.

This talented playwright turned parliamentarian earned affection and acclaim as an articulate champion of Canadian arts and culture. Wendy Lill's successor stated in this House yesterday:

Her tireless efforts to help the poor and the disadvantaged are causes we all should champion.

Let us translate Wendy's extraordinary work in Parliament into a lasting legacy by taking up these worthy causes with the same spirit and tenacity demonstrated by this wonderful, remarkable woman.

[Sudan, November 2nd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the Darfur region of Sudan is the site of the worst humanitarian crisis in today's world. There are 1.5 million displaced Sudanese, hundreds of thousands of starving and diseased, and tens of thousands killed, raped and tortured.

Yesterday the Sudan Liberation Army walked away from peace talks conducted under the auspices of the African Union because the government army conducted new raids on refugee camps in Darfur, denying humanitarian agencies access to refugees.

The Prime Minister must unequivocally condemn these raids. He must not use his trip to Sudan later this month as an excuse for remaining silent in the wake of these latest atrocities. Canada's peacebuilding leadership is desperately needed. We have a moral obligation to show that leadership in this desperate crisis.

[Natural Resources, November 1st, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, in a desperate bid for votes in the dying days of the spring election, the Prime Minister said that he accepted the basis of the Newfoundland and Nova Scotia premiers' proposals to end the equalization clawback. He said:

I'm very sympathetic to Nova Scotia's position as I was very sympathetic to the position of Newfoundland and Labrador--

He went on to say that he would support 100% of offshore royalties, but what did the Prime Minister do? He slapped a cap on offshore revenues.

When will the Prime Minister end the uproar that he has caused and keep his promise, not just to the premiers but to the people of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland?

[Communications Security Establishment, October 26th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, immense powers and resources are granted to the Communications Security Establishment with virtually no checks and balances, with no court order, no accountability and no specifics. CSE needs only the defence minister's authorization to listen to and record any communication from any Canadian to a designated country. To make matters worse, the oversight commissioner is a powerless part time watchdog. This is terrifying.

Where are the checks and balances? Why has the government failed to ensure proper accountability?

[Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, October 20th, 2004]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-237, an act to amend the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act (qualifying period for disability relief).

Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of introducing this afternoon a second bill entitled an act to amend the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act.

The current Canada Student Financial Assistance Act provides relief, with respect to student loan repayment, for students who have become disabled within six months after completion of their studies.

The bill recognizes that this is a woefully inadequate provision and proposes to increase the qualifying period for disability relief to five years for a student who becomes disabled after completing their studies.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, October 20th, 2004]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-236, an act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (student loan).

Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of introducing this bill which is designed to undo the damage from the 1998 bogus education budget introduced by the government. The current legislation openly discriminates against students by restricting their ability to declare bankruptcy when they are driven to financial ruin by their student debt burden and inadequate post-secondary education funding.

It had been hoped that the government would remedy this injustice in the throne speech, or indicate its intention to do so. It was silent on the matter. I therefore introduce this bill to try to remedy that problem.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Resumption of debate on Address in Reply, October 19th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle and I cannot help but believe that he is going to have a very difficult time following the record of his predecessor, the Hon. Lorne Nystrom. I hear him spewing the policies about telling everyone they are on their own and telling them they can sink or swim on their own. He says we should not worry about having modern, accountable government programs to back up our medicare system, our post-secondary education system, our environmental remediation, our child care needs and so on.

I want to ask a very specific question because I think it is important we talk about small business and the burden on small business, and what it takes for small businesses to thrive. Does he not recognize that small businesses, more than any other businesses, very much need the support that comes from a comprehensive health care system, from decent pharmacare programs and from comprehensive child care?

These are all things that many large businesses can negotiate in group plans and so on, but small businesses desperately need their families to have those kinds of supports because they cannot provide those kinds of benefits through private means, certainly not efficiently or effectively.

[National Defence, October 19th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, it is reported that the U.K. has reached a deal with George Bush to place interceptor missiles on British soil.

It is time the government stopped pretending that participation in BMD will cost us nothing and will not involve missiles on Canadian soil.

Before any decision is made to participate in Bush's missile madness, will the government assure Canadians that they will have their say through cross-country hearings and that no vote will take place in Parliament until after those public hearings have been held?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 19th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I want to take the opportunity to ask the member for Burnaby—Douglas, who just made his first speech in the House, and a very fine one, if he could address, in a little more detail than was possible in his speech, a serious issue that he raised which was the whole issue of the proper appeal process for refugee claimants.

I know that it sent shock waves throughout the entire Canadian families that have been concerned about this issue to have the previous minister make some completely ill-founded statement to the effect that refugee claimants already enjoy, I think the number given was 20 different opportunities for appeal before they face deportation from this country. Of course no such thing is true. As the member has accurately indicated, there is now in law a requirement for such a full, proper appeal process to happen that the government has chosen or seen fit not to proclaim.

I wonder if the member could give us a little bit more insight into what the implications are to help underscore the urgency for getting that full, proper appeal process in place.