Svend Robinson

[Supply, February 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest and astonishment to the comments of the Reform Party member for Calgary Southeast. Of course, it is interesting to see the born again Reform Party suddenly expressing concern about the MAI.

The member for Calgary Southeast quite rightly points out that the Liberal Party during the last federal election campaign was silent on the MAI. That silence was just as deafening from the Reform Party. I recall on many instances the leader of my party, the member for Halifax, colleagues from Winnipeg and elsewhere, alerting Canadians to the profound dangers of the MAI.

We were the only party that even touched this issue in the last federal election campaign. In fact as recently as a couple of weeks ago, Reform Party members of Parliament were vigorously defending the MAI. My colleague from Vancouver East debated the member for North Vancouver and the member for North Vancouver was extolling the virtues of the MAI.

Reform Party members of Parliament signed on to the agreement of the foreign affairs committee on the MAI. New Democrats of course have from the outset strongly opposed this agreement, this 20-year lock-in that would constitute a massive assault on Canadian social programs, environmental programs and culture.

My question for the member for Calgary Southeast is a very straightforward one. Could the member explain why the leader of the Reform Party was totally silent, not one word, not a peep, not a whisper, about the MAI during the last federal election campaign?

Why the hypocrisy today? They realize that Canadians are deeply concerned about the MAI. They suddenly woke up and said “my God, maybe we better do something about this”. They were silent and had supported the MAI from the very beginning.

[Iraq, February 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Defence. Many Canadians are deeply concerned that the United States is planning a military strike on Iraq, a strike that will only further hurt the Iraqi people, especially children already devastated by the impact of sanctions.

Does the minister agree with his colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who said recently that we must maintain the integrity of the UN system in this case? Will Canada strongly oppose any unilateral U.S. military action, promote a peaceful, diplomatic solution—

[Petitions, February 4th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by several hundred residents of Burnaby.

The petitioners note that the Food and Drugs Act is designed to protect Canadians from potentially harmful effects related to food and drug consumption, that the consumption of alcoholic beverages may cause health problems, and that fetal alcohol syndrome and alcohol related birth defects are preventable by avoiding alcohol during pregnancy.

The petitioners therefore call upon parliament to mandate the labelling of alcoholic products to warn pregnant women and other persons of certain dangers associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

[Pensions, February 4th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, following consultations with all sides of the House, I wish to seek consent of the House to put the following motion, with the support of members of the Liberal Party, the Reform Party, the Bloc Quebecois, the Conservative Party and the independent member for York South—Weston. I put this motion to the House with my NDP colleagues on behalf of the 130,000 U.K. pensioners living in Canada, 60,000 of whom are women.

I move:

That, in the opinion of this House, the government should renew its commitment to British pensioners living in Canada and vigorously pursue an agreement with the Government of the United Kingdom to provide them with uprated pensions to achieve benefit parity with other U.K. pensioners.

[Petitions, February 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition I wish to present. It is signed by hundreds of residents of my constituency as well as elsewhere in British Columbia.

The petition notes that there continue to exist over 30,000 nuclear weapons on earth and that the continuing existence of nuclear weapons poses a threat to the health and survival of human civilization and the global environment.

Therefore the petitioners urge 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.

[Petitions, February 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions. The first petition is similar to the one presented by my colleague from Halifax West. It is signed by many petitioners from British Columbia and is on the subject of the pension system.

The petitioners note that the CPP, the OAS and the GIS are the cornerstones of Canada's social safety net. The petitioners support a publicly administered universal pension plan. They call upon parliament to rescind Bill C-2, which makes major changes to the Canada pension plan.

Further, they petition the House for a national review of the retirement income system in Canada to ensure the adequacy of Canada's retirement system for today and tomorrow.

[Member For Burnaby—Douglas, February 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, on December 30, I was involved in a very serious hiking accident on Galiano Island in my home province of British Columbia. During the two weeks I was in Vancouver General hospital and in the days since then I have been deeply moved by the messages of support I have received from my constituents in Burnaby—Douglas and from people across the country.

The support I have received gave me a great deal of strength and hope for the future.

I want to take this opportunity to express my profound personal gratitude to my partner Max, to my dedicated staff and a special word of thanks to you, Mr. Speaker, and our staff on the Hill for your tremendous personal support.

I will be in a wheelchair for the next few months and my jaw is wired shut for some time to come. I understand that an all-party delegation led by the prime minister and my leader, the member for Halifax, has urged my gifted surgeon, Dr. Patti Clugston, to wire the jaw permanently shut.

I take this opportunity to briefly send a message of strength and hope to our colleague, the member for Labrador, who is fighting cancer in a St. John's hospital today.

I say to my colleagues on all sides of the House and in the other place, du Québec et partout au Canada, your words of solidarity and support have meant more to me than you will ever know.

[Apec Summit, December 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and it concerns the recent APEC summit in Vancouver.

Today we learned that the Prime Minister's office muscled UBC and the RCMP into moving protesters out of sight and sound of the APEC leaders.

In view of the the PMO's police state tactics of silencing aboriginal rights speakers, pepper spraying protesters and overturning UBC-RCMP agreements, will the government now order a full independent inquiry, not an independent inquiry into the RCMP, but into the role of the PMO in these tactics which are more appropriate to a dictatorial third world thug?

[British Pensioners, December 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, following consultation on all sides of the House, I would seek the unanimous consent of the House to put the following motion with the support of members of the Liberal Party, the Reform Party, the Bloc Quebecois and the Conservative Party. I move:

That, in the opinion of this House, the government should renew its commitment to British pensioners living in Canada and vigorously pursue an agreement with the Government of the United Kingdom to provide them with pensions fully indexed to the cost of living.

[Iraq, December 10th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Last month UNICEF reported that nearly one million Iraqi children are suffering from chronic malnutrition and thousands have died of hunger and shortage of medical supplies as a result of the impact of UN sanctions.

What action is our government taking to respond to this humanitarian crisis? Will the minister on this international human rights day urge the UN security council to lift sanctions and stop punishing innocent Iraqi children for the deeds of their leaders?