Lynn Myers

[Speech From The Throne, February 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for Halifax West for a very good speech and one which I think all members of the House listened to intently because of the merits that were contained therein.

I want talk a little bit about the government's plans. The Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the cabinet and caucus are working toward a very good system of tax cuts that are starting to kick in right now. They will have an impact not only on ordinary Canadians but, in a macro sense, on the entire country.

I wonder if the hon. member for Halifax West can comment on the precise nature of the impact of those tax cuts. What will it mean for Canadians no matter where they live? What will the impact be on the country as a whole, especially as we move more and more into a globalized economy where the interconnectedness is very much in play? I would like to hear the hon. member's comments because I know he is a seasoned veteran and has great wisdom in this area.

[Speech From The Throne, February 1st, 2001]

Madam Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member opposite on his new role as critic. While he was bemoaning a number of things during the election I was thinking of a number of things that happened, including the Betty Granger incident in Winnipeg, the Asian invasion, the fundraiser in Vancouver with the racist comments, Doug Christie and the rally with the white supremacists, and Jim Keegstra saying how proud he was to vote Canadian Alliance.

That aside, would the member in his position now—

[Speech From The Throne, February 1st, 2001]

They wore pig buttons. That is correct. They went on to have pink pigs out on the front lawn of the House of Commons. Now we see this interesting twist of fate, with members from the reform alliance, those holier than thou people, getting up and saying they want to buy back in.

For example, the high priestess of principle, the member for Edmonton North, and others who said with great principled statements and morals up to the teeth that they would never be part of this, are now part of it. I wonder about the morality of that and I wonder if the member could comment on that.

I also wonder about the morality of people who make strong public statements about the wise us of tax dollars, the morality of spending tax money wisely, while the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition bellies up to the trough and asks Alberta taxpayers for $800,000 when it could have been settled long before that amount of money was spent.

I want to hear from the member opposite about the morality of bellying up to the trough for pension money, having stated categorically they never would. I want to hear why his leader asks Alberta taxpayers for $800,000 to pay a lawsuit he could have settled for about $60,000. Where is the morality in that? I want to hear the hon. member's response to that.

[Speech From The Throne, February 1st, 2001]

Madam Speaker, I begin by congratulating you. I know you will do a tremendous job in the chair as you always have done in the past in other venues. I wish you the very best.

I listened with interest to the member opposite in terms of things moral and otherwise. Could he comment on the morality of people saying that they will never be part of a pension plan, that they will never be part of dipping into what they consider to be a gold plated pension? It strikes me that members on that side of the House even went so far as to make pig noises in this hallowed place.

[Correctional Service Canada, October 17th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I have visited prisons across Canada and I can tell the House first-hand that this government is committed to incarcerating offenders and doing justice in Canada. More to the point, unlike the opposition members who do not want to work with the government in this very important area, we not only rehabilitate but punish offenders in the most effective way.

Instead of caterwauling away, they should be congratulating Correctional Service Canada.

[Supply, October 16th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I can talk about the record of the government. I can talk about health care and the reinvestment in prenatal programs. I can talk about EI and the government's move in this area for women and their families. I can talk about equity. I can talk about all kinds of programs in terms of head start programs and children's programs.

I do not understand why the members of the NDP, and that leader in particular, want to take the high ground here when they would bankrupt the government with their spending spree. They have no concept of equality. They have no concept of equilibrium. What they would do is spend the whole pot on whatever they think is appropriate without being fiscally prudent.

The leader opposite should hang her head in shame knowing that she cannot bring about the balance necessary. I can defend the record of this government any day of the week and twice on Sundays because we have done the right thing. What they cannot get their heads around is having the fiscal responsibility necessary to govern.

[International Plowing Match And Farm Machinery Show, October 5th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Wellington county on hosting the International Plowing Match and Farm Machinery Show 2000. People from around the world attend this annual event which this year was held in my riding of Waterloo—Wellington.

It is important to note that the annual International Plowing Match and Farm Machinery Show is Canada's largest outdoor farm machinery show and the premier showcase for plowing in our country. The famous tent city on over 100 acres featured lifestyles exhibits and vendors from across Canada. Held every year in a different county or region within Ontario, the match of 2000 was proudly scheduled for historic Wellington county. This year over 150 competitors from across Canada competed in this event with $35,000 in prize money.

Plowing matches give us an opportunity to celebrate Canada's agricultural heritage and educate Canadians, both urban and rural, on the history and the future of agriculture. This year's event was a great success.

A big thank you to George Robinson and all his committee members and volunteers for a great job well done. Congratulations.

[Prisons And Penitentiaries, October 4th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, as you know Correctional Service Canada has zero tolerance when it comes to drugs. As a result of its good work and the work of the Government of Canada we have done three things. The first is to have ion scanners in place. The second is that planning is in place for drug dogs to sniff out drugs. The third is random searching. As a result of this great work, positive testing for drugs has gone down from 39% in 1993 to 12% last year. This is great news.

[Points Of Order, September 25th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Kootenay—Columbia raised a point of order last week to which I would now like to respond.

I would like to emphasize that during question period I was not reading from or directly quoting the SIRC report, which is a classified report, as the House knows. I can advise the House that the solicitor general has asked the Security Intelligence Review Committee to make as much of that report available as possible, subject to any national security concerns.

The solicitor general has advised me that he will be tabling the resulting report as reviewed by the Security Intelligence Review Committee once that is available.

[Organized Crime, September 20th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, clearly the member opposite did not listen to my answer and does not get it. The answer is quite simply that there was no political interference. CSIS, the RCMP and all involved in this matter continue to work very hard on it and will continue to do so based on the values of this country and based on the values of all Canadians.

Instead of looking for the conspiracy theory, which the member opposite always wants to do in trying to get the theory of the grassy knoll and other things, he should bear down on the facts. The facts today are evident and they are presented here in the House.