Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with parental rights. In particular, the petition asks Parliament to retain section 43 of Canada's Criminal Code which recognizes and affirms parental rights for Canadians.
Lost his last election, in 2006, with 33% of the vote.
Petitions March 25th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with parental rights. In particular, the petition asks Parliament to retain section 43 of Canada's Criminal Code which recognizes and affirms parental rights for Canadians.
Petitions March 25th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to table two petitions on behalf of constituents.
The first petition asks that Parliament support the immediate initiation and conclusion by the year 2000 of an international convention which will set out a binding timetable for the abolition of all nuclear weapons.
Aboriginal Affairs March 25th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, Connie Jacobs and her son Ty died tragically this week when the RCMP tribal police and a band social worker tried to seize six children from Mrs. Jacobs' home on the Tsuu T'ina reserve. This is not a time for political finger pointing. It is time to grieve for Connie and Ty and to pledge to solve the root problems that led to this tragic shooting.
Aboriginal people are calling for a judicial inquiry. Will the Indian affairs minister ensure that the root causes of this tragedy are thoroughly investigated and not just the shooting itself?
Rainmakers Basketball Team March 16th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, March 7 all the hard work of Prince Rupert's Secondary School basketball team paid off.
I would like to congratulate the Rainmakers for their 81 to 61 win over J.L. Crowe from Trail, B.C. to claim the AA basketball provincial championship.
Described as quite likely the best basketball team Prince Rupert has produced in a very long time, this is the Rainmakers' first provincial championship in 34 years.
Justin Adams scored 33 points and picked up 15 rebounds in the final game and was named the most valuable player. Colin Yates scored 18 points despite spraining his ankle in the second quarter.
According to Rainmaker coach Mel Bishop, every member of his squad stepped up for their game. He says it takes more than a few players to win the AA senior boys provincial championship against teams from bigger schools.
Congratulations Rainmakers for this great achievement. You worked hard, you got along and you won. You have made the city of Prince Rupert proud.
Aboriginal Affairs March 11th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, as I have said, we have asked the minister consistently for over a month and this is the first time we had a commitment to pay those legal fees.
In the matter of this leaked letter the privacy commissioner and the minister of Indian affairs found that correspondence in her office was handled in a lax manner. Both investigations concluded “physical security afforded to sensitive correspondence was poor and did not comply with government policy”.
Could the minister tell us who in her office is responsible for security of sensitive correspondence?
Aboriginal Affairs March 11th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, we asked the minister repeatedly in the House to make that commitment and she has only made it right now.
In the matter of Bruce Starlight—
Aboriginal Affairs March 11th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the minister of Indian affairs has conceded that the unauthorized leaking of Bruce Starlight's letter was wrong. The privacy commissioner says her department in fact broke the law.
On Monday, after more than two full months, the minister finally apologized to Mr. Starlight but that will not pay his legal bills.
The Liberals had no trouble coughing up more than $2 million to the former prime minister when they leaked one of his confidential letters.
Will the minister commit here and now to pay Mr. Starlight's legal fees?
Aboriginal Affairs March 9th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the privacy commissioner is explicit and unequivocal in his ruling. The minister's office broke the law.
The record shows that the minister's office was in the habit of breaking the law, based on testimony by hundreds of grassroots aboriginals who have written to her. Yet we have not heard the hint of an apology, until right now, from this minister to Mr. Starlight.
Will the minister now stand in her place and apologize directly to Mr. Starlight and his family for the anxiety, pain and hardship they have had to endure because of her department's illegal behaviour?
Aboriginal Affairs March 9th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, Bruce Starlight wrote a confidential letter to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development last year which was deliberately leaked to Chief Roy Whitney.
The Reform Party asked the privacy commissioner to investigate. The commissioner has now ruled that the minister's office broke the law and violated the Privacy Act.
Since the minister's own investigation has not identified the individual responsible, will she take personal responsibility for this illegal behaviour?
Supply February 18th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I will try keep my question short. I congratulate my friend on a great intervention. I think he put it forward very well.
I would like to ask him if he would consider that the problem here is a conflict of vision, a conflict between the Liberal-Tory view of Canada in which we have to have a nanny federal government that congers up a new program, a new spending initiative for every problem that comes along, and Reform's vision of a smaller, more focused federal government which lets the provinces and municipalities do more for themselves.