Lloyd St. Amand

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the hon. member's speech. He and other members opposite have talked about consultation and the importance of consulting with stakeholders and other groups as they, at some point, formulate a made in Canada plan. We have heard a lot about this plan over the last several weeks, but no target date whatsoever has been given for when that plan will be announced.

However, dealing with consultation, as the member will know, fully 20% of the energy efficiency programs have been cut over the last few weeks. I would like to ask the hon. member to tell us exactly who was consulted with respect to the decision to cut fully 20% of the energy efficiency programs.

[The Budget, May 10th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the member opposite. I commend him on his speech.

He mentioned various sectors of the population in his riding that will benefit to a greater or lesser extent from the budget. I would suggest, of course, that it will be to a lesser extent, but unless I was not listening carefully enough, there was no mention of students. In particular, there was no mention of post-secondary or community college students. Of course, the member being from St. Catharines, he has Brock University in his riding.

I would like to ask the member how it is that students in his riding will actually benefit more than they would have under the Liberal plan. I suspect the hon. member will recall the Liberal plan, which would have given to all students, unconditionally, $6,000 toward their studies. As I understand it, the Conservative plan will provide students with an $80 credit for textbooks and with non-taxation of any bursaries or scholarships. Would the member comment on that?

[Hike for Hospice, May 10th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, May 7, more than 200 members of my community participated in the second annual Hike for Hospice, an event which raised $32,000 for the Stedman Community Hospice located in Brantford, Ontario.

I would like to commend all the staff and volunteers associated with the hospice, especially Executive Director Cheryl Moore, who has dedicated her heart and soul to making the hospice such a wonderful and important resource to members of my community.

I would also like to recognize Constable Cy Villa, the honorary chairman of the event, Olga Consorti of the St. Joseph's Lifecare Foundation for her hard work in promoting and organizing the event, and the Brant Men of Song who provided exquisite entertainment.

The importance of a compassionate, comfortable and supportive palliative environment cannot be overstated. The Stedman Community Hospice is a true blessing to our community.

[The Budget, May 9th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I commend my hard-working colleague on his insightful speech about the budget.

There is one thing I have had some difficulty figuring out. As I understand it, the proposed transit pass program will cost taxpayers $2,000 to reduce one tonne of greenhouse gases. The energuide program to reduce one tonne of greenhouse gases was costing only $20. I am wondering if there is any logic to this. Perhaps my friend could shed some light on it.

[The Budget, May 9th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the member for Halton's speech which began, I say respectfully, with a self-congratulatory tone that was almost unbelievable.

He also went on to talk about the former member, a colleague of mine whom I know from watching him work so diligently and effectively on behalf of his constituents surely listened to the constituents of Halton on a very regular basis. Whether he was in the custom of holding town meetings or forums, I do not know, but I can tell members that the former member listened well and hard to his constituents.

The member opposite talks about listening to his constituents. I have no doubt that he listens to his constituents. When students ask him, as I am sure they do, whether it is preferable to receive an $80 credit for books and tax free scholarships, and whether the Conservative plan is preferable to the Liberal plan of providing those students $6,000 unconditionally in the first year and last year of their post-secondary studies, does he actually say to those students, if he listens to them, that the Conservative plan is to be preferred over the Liberal plan? What does he say to those students? I am curious to know.

[The Budget, May 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member how I should answer, as a member of Parliament, those many constituents who have contacted me about early learning and child care.

In particular, I have heard from single mothers who have one or two young children under six. They are single mothers who are not working and are responsible for their children day to day with a partner or husband not in the picture and with no child support flowing. They are single mothers who want to pick themselves up, who want to do better or who want to go back into the workforce but simply cannot do it.

I would like the member opposite to answer me without using the word choice, which is a phantom word frankly when it comes to the handout by the Conservatives. How is a single mother possibly going to benefit from the budget? How is she possibly going to return to the workforce?

[The Environment, April 26th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, last year in the budget $150 million was allocated to brownfield remediation. In addition, last fall the Liberal government committed $12 million for the cleanup of the Mohawk-Greenwich site in my riding of Brant.

On January 6, while campaigning in my riding, the Prime Minister said, “we will clean up the brownfields in this riding”.

Will the $12 million that has already been booked be delivered, or is this just another pledge to add to the growing list of Conservative flip-flops?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, April 24th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the speech from my hard-working and dedicated colleague. He mentioned many issues important to Canadians which are not mentioned in the Speech from the Throne or are touched upon in a very scathing way only.

He mentioned in particular first nations. He talked about the bare mention or reference to our aboriginal Canadians, 1.3 million of them. Five months ago today the historic Kelowna accord was signed. My concern is that aboriginals across Canada are thinking yet again there will be another delay of another five months. Ideally, they would at least have received from the government a commitment to implement the Kelowna accord. Five months later that commitment is not there.

Bare reference has been made to aboriginal issues in the Speech from the Throne. I have heard about it in my riding. I am wondering if my hon. colleague has heard comments in his riding from his constituents about the inadequacy of the Speech from the Throne vis-à-vis our aboriginal brothers and sisters.

[Child Care, April 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I recently visited the Montessori Children's Academy located in Paris, Ontario, where I met with staff and students participating in the preschool program. I was very impressed by the facility, the staff and, most of all, the wonderful learning and caring environment.

In my riding of Brant, many parents and child care administrators have great concerns that children and educational and care facilities such as the Montessori Children's Academy will be left out of the new government's child care agenda. Heather Wilson, the director of this facility, stressed to me the need to give the children of our country the best possible start in life, emphasized by the message of her academy, “Early Learning Lasts for a Lifetime”.

The reality in Canada is that most families have both parents working full time outside their homes. They deserve to have quality and universal care and their children deserve a stimulating learning environment that will lead them on a path of healthy growth and lifelong achievement.

[Electro-Federation Canada, November 25th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on behalf of Electro-Federation Canada and its efforts toward promoting innovation.

I wish to recognize the federation's efforts in addressing issues that demonstrate its concern for the environment, in which it develops more energy efficient and environmentally friendly products. By improving these products it is helping the environment.

The federation is also working with the Canadian Appliance Manufacturers Association to help minimize the effect that household appliances have on our environment and to improve Canada's performance in the world through training and education.

Thanks to the federation's efforts, many problems are being addressed to help Canada compete on a global level in every sector of our economy and to keep valuable manufacturing jobs within Canada.