Lui Temelkovski

[Physician's Assistants, November 22nd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to address the issue of the recognition of physician's assistants within the federal health care system. Physician's assistants are trained to a level of skill that makes them an invaluable resource to health care and to Canadians as a whole.

Originating for the purpose of providing top-notch health care to military personnel, the physician's assistants' extensive skill sets provide Canada with an opportunity to bridge a gap that currently exists within the federal health care system.

Physician's assistants have long been recognized in other nations for their unique skills as medics trained to a higher level of independent duty. Their training ranges from orthopedics, pediatrics and emergency medicine to psychiatry, internal medicine and general surgery. They are also qualified to provide prescriptions.

Many Canadian trained physician's assistants have gone abroad to practise as their skills are not yet properly recognized in Canada--

[Supply, November 18th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, when one looks at the member who just spoke, it is easily recognizable that they are obviously doing something different in the province he comes from. Are there any jurisdictions in his area that are doing an above average job in healthy living?

[Oak Ridges Moraine, November 17th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the ecological treasure known as the Oak Ridges Moraine, which forms a large part of my riding, is a natural system of water, soils and plants, animals, and various other organisms, interwoven over the course of thousands of years.

It is a natural habitat providing a home to numerous species and a system which acts as a powerful filter for the hundreds of thousands of people living within and around its domain, filtering otherwise deadly toxins from the water, land and air.

The aesthetic value alone of the moraine is something that should never be compromised, yet when wedded with its invaluable presence for our senses and our health, inevitably many would suffer if all those benefiting from this existence were not to assume a stewardship role in its preservation.

I look forward to supporting all efforts to benefit the moraine.

[Credit Card Interest Rates, November 4th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the issue of high credit card interest rates in Canada is one that affects most Canadians. Users of credit cards can generally circumvent these exorbitant rates through the making of their money payments on time. However, for those who have, or maintain, for any reason, any balance on their credit cards they are subject to some of the highest credit card rates in the world.

Canadians carry an estimated $50 billion on their credit cards. As parliamentarians we have a universal responsibility to Canadians as a whole to protect them from such greed by establishing more ethical, responsible and civilized parameters so that we may alleviate some of this unnecessary debt burden that affects so many Canadians.

[Bell Canada, October 29th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, over the course of the past several months numerous constituents, myself included, have encountered issues with the service of Bell Canada. As one of Canada's largest providers of telecommunications services, it is imperative that the service be reliable and professional.

The introduction of what is termed “Bell Bundles” also introduced billing and service difficulties for customers. For instance, customers are not being billed the way they have requested or told they would be billed; exceedingly long waiting times for customer support services; harassing customers to take unnecessary services; and customer support representatives who are not informed regarding the other portions of the bundle services, ultimately resulting in frustration and very poor service for users of Bell.

Given the importance of telecommunication services in the country, I look forward to a quick resolution to this problem.

[Hydro One Transmission Line, October 26th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring attention to the construction of the proposed 230 kilowatt double circuit transmission line of Hydro One, set to run from the Parkway transformer station in Markham to the Armitage transformer station in Newmarket.

As members may already know, there has been a public outcry in relation to this project. In our riding alone, we have received in excess of 2,000 electronic petition letters requesting that the proposed plans not proceed.

In addition, I wish to add that the known risk to human health, including both flora and fauna, is too universal and substantiated by world leading sources to logically and humanly allow such a project to proceed as presently planned.

I look forward to any suggestions in exploring more viable and less dangerous alternatives to providing power across such an expanding region.