Andy Savoy

[Meritorious Service Cross, May 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the heroic actions of an RCMP officer in my riding of Tobique—Mactaquac. Constable Tony Vienneau will be awarded the Meritorious Service Cross by the Right Hon. Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, later this month.

He is receiving the cross as a result of his life-saving efforts in my hometown of Perth-Andover. In 2002, Constable Vienneau prevented a young man from committing suicide. He was off duty and on his way home when he saw a young man standing near the railing of the Perth-Andover highway bridge. Constable Vienneau called for back-up, then stopped his vehicle, got out and approached the young man. Despite the sub-zero temperature, Constable Vienneau stood on the bridge for almost an hour eventually convincing the young man not to jump and to seek help instead. Constable Vienneau suffered hypothermia as a result.

Constable Vienneau is one of just two recipients of the Meritorious Service Cross nationwide. His heroic actions are a reflection of the dedication of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police across this great country.

[Beef Industry, April 20th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, some of Canada's best beef is produced in my riding of Tobique—Mactaquac.

Last week, businesses and organizations throughout New Brunswick had an opportunity to purchase this prime beef on the hoof at the Carleton county spring show and sale.

This annual event is an opportunity for the St. John River Valley's beef producers and 4-H'ers to bring their steers to market and raise the profile of their industry.

This year's show and sale saw 58 steers sold for a grand total of $130,547.30. I was pleased to be able to purchase a steer myself from Andrew and Tracey McIntosh.

I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to the board of directors of the Carleton county spring show and sale, particularly president Jack Smith, for another successful event. I would also like to congratulate Kristina Parkinson who earned the title of grand champion and 4-H champion.

I must also applaud Valley Equipment, Valley Honda and Connell Chrysler, buyers of this year's charity steer which raised $6,612.50 for the Alzheimer Society of New Brunswick.

[Grand Falls Knights of Columbus, April 13th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely proud to pay tribute today in the House of Commons to the Grand Falls Knights of Columbus Council 0621, Msgr. Leclerc Chapter. This organization has been serving my riding of Tobique—Mactaquac for 60 years and has just celebrated its diamond jubilee.

Two of its members have been part of this organization throughout its 60 years and several others have long records of service as well. They are: Msgr. Urbain Lang, member of the Knights of Columbus for the past 63 years, even before the Grand Falls Council was formed; Joe Toner, 60 years of service; Bernard Savage and Patrick Ouellette, 59 years; Everard Daigle, 49 years; and Enoil Bourgouin, 42 years.

I want to congratulate the Grand Falls Knights of Columbus on their 60th anniversary.

[World Amputee Olympic Games 2006, April 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to tell the House about a young man from my riding of Tobique—Mactaquac, a young man who overcame tremendous odds to represent his country at the sport he loves.

Two years ago, Eric Watson of Debec was in a horrific snowmobile accident late at night. He spent that night, one of the coldest of the year, outdoors, and suffered severe frostbite and hypothermia as a result.

Doctors questioned whether he would survive. He did not just survive, he thrived.

The road to survival was not easy. Mr. Watson, an avid hockey player, had to have his right leg amputated at 10 inches below the knee. Even as he recovered in the hospital, he told doctors he would play hockey again.

He is not just playing hockey, he is excelling at hockey. Mr. Watson recently earned a spot on Canada's National Amputee men's hockey team and will travel with Team Canada to Italy for the World Amputee Olympic Games in 2006.

I want to congratulate Eric Watson for turning a tragic event into a great achievement for himself and our country.

[Harold Culbert, March 9th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to recognize a friend and colleague of many in this House who passed away last week, the late Harold Culbert, former member of Parliament for Carleton--Charlotte from 1993 to 1997.

He held office with distinction and was a committed parliamentarian. Harold will be remembered for his selfless dedication to his church, his community and his country. A civic minded volunteer until his death last week at the age of 60, Harold served four terms as mayor of the town of Woodstock, New Brunswick and was the current national director and provincial president of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Harold leaves a rich legacy of untiring service to others. He was a family man and a loyal friend. We will benefit from his contributions to society for years to come.

On behalf of the House I wish to express my deepest condolences to his wife Doreena and children Eugene, Angela and Timothy on the sudden loss of a devoted husband and father.

[Income Tax Act, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to speak to Bill C-273. Like the member who spoke previously, I would like to congratulate the member for Cape Breton--Canso, the member for Lethbridge, and the member for Sackville--Eastern Shore on this wonderful bill. It shows a true commitment to rural Canada.

It is said that the wisdom of children is not always apparent, but when I ask my children who their heroes are in life, unfortunately they do not respond that their heroes are politicians. They respond that their heroes are firefighters, members of our police forces, nurses, doctors, people who support our society, people who take care of our society, people who protect society. In that case children's wisdom is very pertinent. I think all Canadians support that the people who protect us and spend a lot of time on call, 24 hours a day in the case of volunteer firefighters, are critical for rural Canada.

In the Mactaquac region of my riding an ambulance service was being considered for discontinuance. Thirty members of the community came together, took their training and became emergency first responders on their own. They are volunteers who work shifts, on weekends and during the week. Thirty normal citizens have come together to do this. It certainly shows a true commitment to their rural community. That is a case of first responders.

If we look at rural Canada in general, in my riding of Tobique—Mactaquac the two largest towns have 6,000 people and the rest of them are anywhere from 300 to a few thousand. A lot of them have volunteer firefighters. Much of the quality of life in rural Canada that we enjoy is dependent upon volunteers. Within my riding there are thousands of volunteers at various levels.

Probably the most critical volunteers in terms of quality of life in a rural community are our firefighters. In deciding on where they are going to relocate, people look at health care. People in rural Canada travel distances for health care. Education similarly requires travel. Recreation has the same situation with economies of scale. It is sometimes difficult to have the level of services that are available in urban Canada.

The key services that people consider are policing and fire fighting when relocating to rural Canada. We have to look at the quality of life in rural Canada and how we can support it. Bill C-273 is very important because it does that. It reinforces volunteerism specifically for our emergency services whether they be firefighting or emergency response. The bill not only speaks to the volunteer firefighters but it speaks to the quality of life in rural Canada.

As I said, there are hundreds of volunteer firefighters in my riding, but in general, volunteers in rural Canada are very critical. Volunteers face stressful situations. These people put their lives on the line many times. They will go into situations where they will see an infant die or they will see people who lose family members through fire or other accidents. Volunteer firefighters and first responders go through very stressful situations. The impact it has on an individual's psyche warrants the passage of Bill C-273.

The 24 hour on call was mentioned. That is critical family time for people with children. The volunteers know when they go on a call it could put them into danger and it could be jeopardizing their own family. It is not just the volunteers who make sacrifices. The volunteers' families make sacrifices as well. This must be recognized. Not only is there the safety aspect but there are the stresses on the family life as well.

We have all been wakened up by the sounds of sirens at night. We can often picture the destinations of the volunteer firefighters and first responders, fires and situations where their lives will be put in grave danger.

I live beside the beautiful Tobique River. I was playing with my daughter on the front lawn one afternoon when the sirens went off. Across the river we could see a number of emergency response vehicles, including a fire truck. My daughter asked me what the sirens were about and I said that when there are sirens, people are responding to people in need. She asked what that meant. My daughter is five years old and does not have a concept yet of emergencies. I said it could be a fire or a number of different situations but the people riding in the vehicles are the people who protect us. That is when she asked if they are our heroes and I said yes, they are the heroes in our communities.

It made me think of the wisdom of children. It made me think of our emergency responders and firefighters. They do so much for Canada's rural communities. They do so much for our quality of life.

Those individuals make a financial commitment as well. There is a variety of set-ups across Canada in terms of volunteer firefighters. Some are given virtually nothing and they still volunteer their own time and money to perform that great service for their communities. We have to look at the situation where they are not only volunteering time but they are also putting their money on the line.

During the year of the volunteer the UN studied volunteerism around the world. We know from that study on volunteerism around the world that Canada was rated number one in terms of people volunteering their time, and number one in terms of people volunteering their money. Volunteer firefighters are the backbone of the volunteer community. They have to be recognized for that.

That is why Bill C-273 is so important. It talks about the volunteering of time, because time has a cost to it. Not only that, it speaks to the money volunteers are committing, whether it be in terms of equipment, the gasoline they use to get to the emergency situations or the time lost away from work. Fortunately in rural Canada many employers recognize the necessity of volunteer firefighters and they give volunteers time off. We have to understand there is a sacrifice for taking time off. It may not be financial, but there often is a sacrifice when people miss critical times at their jobs.

In closing, I speak in full support of Bill C-273. It is very critical to the quality of life in rural Canada. It is critical to recognize the time that volunteer firefighters and emergency response personnel take. It is very important to my children and their heroes in their communities.

[Veterans, February 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues.

In completion, the war memorials bear witness, silent witness, to those who gave their lives for us and to those who protect us still.

Our job is to make sure the stories of Canada's veterans, men and women who served us so nobly in war and so ably in peace, are remembered and the memories are passed on to our children.

In a small way that is really what the motion is all about. It is a tangible demonstration of our pledge. We pledge to them to never forget.

[Veterans, February 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who have indicated their support for my motion. We have talked about the pain and suffering of various veterans from the past wars, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the need to recognize their sacrifices. I will put into context what those sacrifices were.

I have not known war in my lifetime. I have learned about war from history books as many people in the House have. We have heard stories from veterans at our Remembrance Day ceremonies. Let us look at some of the past wars and experiences. I would like to share a few with members now.

Bellenden Hutcheson won the Victoria Cross and the military cross. He was in the 76th Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery at Vimy Ridge. In a letter he wrote to a colleague, he said:

I felt particularly sorry for the young artillery men, (and many of them were about 19) who were being subjected to the ordeal. I remember one man who had a ghastly wound which would obviously prove fatal in a short time, pleading with me, amidst the turmoil of the explosions, to shoot him...Every soldier who has seen action since knows that it requires the highest type of stamina and bravery for troops to lie in a trench and take a heavy shelling without being demoralized and panic stricken, therefore I shall always remember the orderly rescue work carried on by the officers and men of the artillery in the face of the concentrated shelling that occurred that afternoon.

I do not think we can realize the horror of war. However. when we hear accounts of a soldier asking his doctor to shoot him amid heavy shelling, it gives us an idea of the pain and suffering that people went through during war time.

During the Korean War, for example, a Military Cross recipient Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Hollyer, in documenting why he received the Military Cross, talked about what he had done and the terrible situation in which he had put himself. Not only was he in a situation where he exhibited bravery, but he was surrounded by enemy troops in the Korean War. In order to fight for his country for freedom, he asked them to bombard the coordinates where he was sitting because he was surrounded. He said “bomb me where I sit because there are army troops around me”. He thought that was the most effective strategy. He put his life on the line so he would have the most impact in the war theatre.

Many of our colleagues in the House will remember a gentleman named Smokey Smith from New Westminster, B.C. As an MP, we often entertain guests in the gallery after question period. On of the proudest moments I had was when Smokey Smith was guest. Many members will remember the rousing ovation we gave him as the last surviving Victoria Cross winner.

There was an interview with Smokey Smith about his time in the Italian campaign in World War II. They had just knocked out a tank. He lost everybody in his group, and he was left alone. In the interview, he said the tank out. The interviewer then asked about the German infantrymen who were in the back of the tank and who swarmed around to the front and came toward him. He said “That is right”. The interviewer asked him how far would they have been from him and he said, “Oh, 30 feet, 25 feet, something like that”. The interviewer then asked who was firing at him and he said, “Nobody, just me because Jimmy was still in the ditch, he was wounded”. The interviewer said “So these 10 or so German infantry men were coming at you and you fired at them”? He said “ I opened up”. The interviewer then asked him what happen and he said, “Well, I got four of them; the rest of them took off, thank the Lord”.

Another story comes from my family's hometown of Saint John West. A gentleman named Donald Thompson talked about freedom. He talked about meeting a German gentleman in Inverary at the unveiling of a Canadian museum. The German gentleman talked about the fight with Germany and he apologized to him. The German said that he was sorry if he was offended by anything he had said. He said that he was not offended by his comments. He said that every thinking German would agree with him when he said, “If Hitler had won, we would not be free. So thank God you won”. That is the important thing that comes from war.

Those were in the words of Donald Thompson. He went on to say, “Mr. Thompson, it is important that young people and future generations of Canadians come to understand what you and your generation endured.

He responded by saying, “I think it is important from the point of view of the future of the country and the value of freedom. I think freedom is such an important thing, and it is something that comes at a price. If we take it for granted, then we can lose it. We can lose it, not only just from external forces, but we can lose it from internal conditions. So I think it is important that they realize the price that has been paid and realize that they have to be willing themselves, maybe not to”--

[World Pond Hockey Championship, February 22nd, 2005]

Madam Speaker, it is with enormous pride that I rise in the House of Commons today as the MP for Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, home of the now famous World Pond Hockey Championship.

Plaster Rock is a small town with a whole lot of spirit and a whole lot of spunk. The townspeople have combined their love of the sport and their love of the community to turn a frozen lake into a field of dreams for hockey purists around the globe.

This year's tournament drew 96 four-man teams from 8 provinces, 16 states, England and the Cayman Islands, not to mention media interest from CNN, TSN, ESPN and the list goes on.

The tournament returns to the traditional roots of Canada's game, playing hockey as it should be played: with fun, fellowship and old fashioned values. It stirs fond memories of open air matches from earlier times, turning 40-year-old men into 14-year-old kids.

I have had the privilege to play in the World Pond Hockey Championship and to preside at its opening and closing ceremonies. I know firsthand the tremendous preparation and hard work that goes into organizing an event of this size and stature.

I want to congratulate the organizers on another hugely successful World Pond Hockey Championship and may they be rewarded for their efforts with a new arena.

[Curling, February 16th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise in the House today to congratulate four young women who curled their way to a Canadian junior championship on Sunday.

I was thrilled to be in the stands cheering on a rink skipped by Andrea Kelly, a native of Aroostook, which is the village next to my hometown of Perth-Andover, as they scored a nine to six victory over Alberta in an exciting final game. The team coached by Paul Green, also from Perth-Andover, includes Kristen MacDiarmid, Jodie DeSolla and Lianne Sobey.

This is the second time in seven years that a rink from my riding has won the Canadian junior women's curling title. In fact the Grand Falls foursome led by Melissa McClure captured both the Canadian and world crowns in 1998. I guess we could say that when it comes to curling, Tobique--Mactaquac rocks.

To Canada's newest rock stars, I wish Andrea and her teammates the same success as the McClure rink when they compete at the world championships in Pinerolo, Italy next month. Again congratulations and all the best to Paul, Andrea and the rest of the team. They are the pride of Perth-Andover, the pride of our province, and soon to be the pride of Canada when they represent our country at the world's.