Lloyd St. Amand

[Committees of the House, April 18th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources in relation to the RADARSAT-2 satellite.

[Aboriginal Affairs, April 10th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, negotiations to end the aboriginal occupation in Caledonia are in their second year.

Protests have spilled over into Brantford with disruptive effects on residents and on business. Simply put, a developer obtains a building permit, begins construction, protesters come and development stops. The government has to date adopted a hands-off policy and has stayed silent.

Apart from hoping that other levels of government will resolve the issue, what exactly is the Conservative government proposing to do to deal with the matter?

[Canadian Aerospace Technology Protection Act, April 9th, 2008]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-534, An Act to prohibit the transfer of certain assets and operations from MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Limited to Alliant Techsystems Incorporated.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce the bill to the House and have it seconded by the distinguished member for Kings—Hants, whose help has been most valuable.

I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge the leadership and initiative demonstrated by the member for Ottawa—Vanier. It is essentially his leadership and concern reflected in the bill that has resulted in the bill being introduced.

With respect to the substance of the bill, the summary reads:

This enactment provides that an existing agreement for the transfer of certain assets and operations from...MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Limited to a United States corporation...and any future agreement between the same parties for a similar purpose is of no effect unless it is approved by both Houses of Parliament.

The sale of MDA to the U.S. company would substantially jeopardize Canada's technological sovereignty and, in addition, 1,900 jobs would be lost directly, with thousands of other jobs being negatively affected indirectly.

A line in the sand must at some point be drawn. Canada is not for sale. Our technological sovereignty is not for sale.

The bill would have retroactive effect. The agreement entered into between the potential buyer and the seller in January would be rendered null and void, no matter when the sale is consummated, unless the agreement has been approved by a majority vote of the House of Commons and the Senate.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[April 8th, 2008]

Then, Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary and the minister should contact the mayors of Delhi and Tillsonburg to get their take on the non-action--and there is no lesser word--and the absolute absence of responsibility taken by the government for tobacco producers. Those are towns that have been decimated because of the difficulty confronting tobacco producers.

The farmers themselves and nearby communities have been devastated by the government's non-action, a government that has been in power now for over 26 months. For tobacco producers, these issues are not new, that is true, but the question remains then: why has it taken over 26 months for the government to do anything?

What we hear today from the parliamentary secretary is that dialogue has been initiated. He has not been listening perhaps, because the dialogue has been ongoing, except that it has been ongoing from one side--

[April 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, my request to have additional time on a particular issue was triggered by a response I received from the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food on February 14. I asked the minister what action he intended to take with respect to the very desperate straits in which tobacco producers were and are finding themselves. The minister answered:

The member knows that we are moving on this file and that we will get the job done. He should stay tuned.

That was some seven weeks ago and nothing of substance has been done for the 1,500 quota owners who are facing very difficult times.

It is important to note that this is not simply a bail out of yet another sector which is facing difficulty. Tobacco producers are in a unique situation and the minister, his parliamentary secretary and members of the agriculture and agri-food committee know that.

It is not just about the high Canadian dollar. Everybody is facing the high Canadian dollars. It is not just the pressure from global competitors because many are facing that type of pressure.

The reality is that almost 40% of tobacco consumed in Canada is contraband. No other commodity is facing pressure from such an illegal competitor. Forty per cent is contraband tobacco, which is what, in and of itself, makes the situation of tobacco producers unique, and the minister knows that.

How disappointed, how shocked, frankly, the tobacco producers were when there was nothing in the budget of the Minister of Finance to assist them. Expectations had been raised and hopes certainly had been fueled but to this point nothing whatsoever has been done for this sector.

The average age of tobacco farmers is 58. They were so upset as a result of a conference call on Monday of last week that 150 of them descended en masse at the office of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration in whose riding most of the tobacco farmers live but do not work. Hardly any work, frankly. They were so upset that they remained.

Local media in my riding and in neighbouring ridings have taken up the cause, particularly, a journalist named Michael-Allan Marion, who writes for the Expositor, a daily in my riding. Mr. Marion has been articulate and relentless in his coverage of this issue in his desire, felt by constituents, by readership, that something be done for tobacco producers.

I ask the parliamentary secretary today to explain, if he can, what the minister meant when he said on February 14, “The member knows that we are moving on this file and that we will get the job done. He should stay tuned”.

I have stayed tuned, tobacco farmers have stayed tuned and the channel must be changed. There is nothing on the screen. What is on the horizon for tobacco producers?

[Business of Supply, April 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, like the member for Timmins—James Bay, I listened with interest to the speech from my colleague. Obviously, my colleague from Dartmouth—Cole Harbour has the respect of everybody in this chamber. I have no doubt that he has similar respect from the constituents in his riding. I know how hard he works for the constituents in his riding.

On that point, I wonder if the member has had an opportunity to converse with any member of the armed forces who has actually been to Afghanistan and returned with any on-the-ground accounts of progress which have been made by our troops in Afghanistan.

[Allan Cup Tournament, April 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the 100th Allan Cup Tournament, featuring teams from across Canada, will be held in Brantford, Ontario from April 14 to 19, hosted by the Brantford Blast.

The Allan Cup has a very distinguished history. It is a much revered championship, contested annually, representing senior hockey at the highest level in Canada. The owners of the Brantford Blast, Peter and Judy Ham, and General Manager Steve Cheeseman have worked long and hard to organize a tournament, which will be memorable for everyone involved.

From a local perspective, 10,000 students are being invited to attend the games and elementary schools will participate in a program entitled “Adopt a Team”. Players from the adopted team will visit area schools to convey to students the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle, obviously including hockey and other physical activities.

I welcome all to attend the 100th Allan Cup tournament, and wish to convey the thanks of my constituents to the ownership and management of the Brantford Blast.

[Tobacco Industry, April 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, on February 7 in committee I asked the Minister of Agriculture what he was willing to do to help tobacco farmers. He claimed that he was moving on the file and that I and others should “stay tuned”. He repeated this answer in the House on February 14.

Quite to the contrary, the minister has provided nothing for tobacco farmers, who are in very desperate straits. Why did the minister say he would take action sooner rather than later if he actually intended to do nothing whatsoever?

[Aboriginal Affairs, March 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, Six Nations, in my riding of Brant, has 12,000 residents. Many of those residents boil their water because it is unsafe.

In October 2005, the Liberal government committed $10 million to refurbish the water treatment plant in order to address this deplorable situation. The Conservative government, 25 months later, has not honoured the commitment and those residents continue to boil their water.

We all know that aboriginal issues are not a priority for the government, but surely providing people with safe drinking water is the government's minimum obligation. When will Six Nations receive the necessary $10 million?

[March 6th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite spent a fair bit of time talking about earlier budgets. He did, in fairness, touch on the 2008 budget. However, with respect to the 2008 budget, I would like to quote Jason Myers, president of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, who wrote:

Disadvantage Canada, that's what this budget represents for Canada's manufacturing and exporting sectors....We [as manufacturers] were very specific in what the nation's most innovative industry needed and we received recycled ideas and pocket change at a critical time when we needed tangible solutions. It's disappointing.

The member opposite touched upon the Windsor-Detroit tunnel. Surely he is aware of the 30-year high unemployment rate in Windsor. Ten per cent of individuals in Windsor are not employed, are not able to find work, a community that relies heavily on the manufacturing sector.

The government, with respect to the automotive sector, has provided auto funds of—