Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was liberal.

Last in Parliament May 2004, as Canadian Alliance MP for Saskatoon—Humboldt (Saskatchewan)

Lost his last election, in 2011, with 2% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Encroachment upon Quebec Jurisdictions September 23rd, 2003

Madam Speaker, I am bringing to the attention of the House an issue that I have raised repeatedly. It is the issue of raced based hiring quotas and the government's hiring practices.

I understand that the member opposite is going to respond to my question. I suspect that he has a verbiage of talking points that has been supplied to him by the Liberal government, but I would like him to drop that and listen to what I am about to say.

We can either hire people based on their merit and qualifications, or we can do racial inventories and racial profiling and hire people on that basis. In other words, we can either assure equality of opportunity, or we can legislate equality of outcome.

I am standing here today to say that legislating equality of outcome does not and cannot work. It breeds resentment and is unfair and discriminatory. If the parameter is based on race, then it is fundamentally racial discrimination. It is not possible to discriminate in favour of someone on the basis of their race without simultaneously and unfairly discriminating against someone else because of their race. To give someone else an advantage based on their racial ancestry or their skin colour means that someone else has to be discriminated against. I think it is a fundamental truth.

Furthermore, to have these policies and these racial hiring quotas that discriminate in favour of one racial group and against others is very demeaning to the group that is discriminated in favour of because it basically says that because of their racial ancestry or their skin colour they are inferior and not capable of competing on a level playing field and they need this extra advantage. I think that is insulting, demeaning and offensive. Furthermore, it is simultaneously offensive and demeaning to the people who are discriminated against based on their skin colour.

Does the member opposite not understand that? To me it is extremely simple and obvious. Let us cut to the chafe, put down the talking points and talk about this one on one.

Madam Speaker, I look at you sitting in the Chair. Did you get the position because you are a woman? I would hope not and in fact I know not. You got the position because you attained it and deservedly so.

Should we then say that the next Speaker has to be a man? I would say not necessarily so. Should men begrudge women who sit in the Speaker's chair because they attained it on their own abilities and qualifications? Heck no.

Whoever is sitting in the Speaker's chair of the House of Commons should be there because they deserved it and they earned and attained that right. We should not pre-judge, prejudice or discriminate against anyone based on gender, skin colour, ancestry, race. We should all be equal and let equality of opportunity prevail.

Fisheries September 23rd, 2003

Mr. Speaker, once again the Liberals have thumbed their noses at the principle of equality. For years the Liberals have known that Indian-only fishery regulations are discriminatory and illegal, and two recent court rulings confirm this fact. Judge Kitchen called the regulations “government sponsored discrimination” and Judge Saunderson called it a “policy of political correctness”.

Why is the government appealing court rulings that restore equality to the west coast fishery to prop up a racist Indian-only fishing scheme?

Canada Marriage Act September 23rd, 2003

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-450, an act to amend the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act in order to protect the legal definition of “marriage” by invoking section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to introduce this bill, which would protect the legal definition of marriage as a union of a man and a woman by invoking the constitutional notwithstanding clause.

I would like to thank the hon. member for Dauphin—Swan River for seconding the bill and note for the record that I offered the Canadian Alliance the opportunity to second the bill and it declined based on an order from its leader. Not only did he once again act as a dictator, he is a duplicitous hypocrite.

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

Chief Actuary Act September 16th, 2003

Mr. Speaker, he is ducking the question. He is avoiding the issue. The fact of the matter is that the federal government's policies of excessive EI premiums, applying the GST and excise fuel taxes to municipalities sucks money out of the property tax base. Property taxes are supposed to be used to service the property. It does not make sense. He is ducking the question. He is ducking the issue.

The fact of the matter is that as a property owner in Saskatoon, I find my money from my property going off to Ottawa. That is wrong and he knows it.

I would like him to address the issue, quit giving me all his statistics and answer the question. Why does he think it is appropriate that we could divert taxes from property in Saskatchewan into Ottawa so that the government can waste it on its socialist programs? It does not make any sense and it is unjustified, definitely.

I would like him to please answer the question directly.

Chief Actuary Act September 16th, 2003

Fair enough, Mr. Speaker.

I will use a different example for my point. The firearms registry sucked a billion dollars right out of the pockets of property owners in Saskatchewan. It was sent to Ottawa so the government can impose its stupid program upon us.

This is very serious. It is sucking money out of our properties and using it to fund socialist programs. I want a decent answer this time.

Chief Actuary Act September 16th, 2003

Mr. Speaker, this is of course in follow up to a question I previously asked the Minister of Finance, to which I did not receive a satisfactory answer or explanation. Let us cut to the chase here.

The Liberal federal government is imposing a tax regime upon municipalities that extracts money out of the property tax base. It makes municipalities pay the GST. It makes them pay excise taxes on fuel. The excessive employment insurance rates of course burden every business in Canada but I am coming at this from a particular perspective.

It all sucks money out of the property tax base of municipalities and it does not make any sense to do that, does it? What it is doing is diverting money straight out of the pockets of property owners into the federal government's coffers. What happens is that the money is then used to pay for Tequila Sheila's programs. Okay, that is off base a little bit.

Supply September 16th, 2003

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. As the keeper of the House, if you will, I believe it is your obligation and duty to uphold the keepings and the will of the House of Commons. We voted in 1999 to entrench and reaffirm the definition of marriage which in the dictionary is the union of a man and a woman. Therefore, I would ask you to revisit your vote because as the keeper of the House you should reflect what it is we are doing here.

Marriage September 16th, 2003

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Alliance leader stated that he supports codifying civil unions in law for homosexuals.

However, the biggest failure on same sex marriage rests with the Prime Minister. He is refusing to honour the clause that he himself put in the Constitution, a clause that acts as a legitimate check and balance against laws made by unelected and unaccountable judges.

Why is the Prime Minister refusing to invoke his own constitutional notwithstanding clause to protect the legal definition of marriage?

*Question No. 241 September 15th, 2003

—With respect to each of the years between 1993 and 2002, what has the government, through the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, determined to be the total amount of Goods and Services Tax paid by: ( a ) Canadian municipalities; ( b ) municipalities in Saskatchewan; ( c ) the City of Saskatoon; and ( d ) municipalities located in the federal riding of Saskatoon-Humboldt?

Ways and Means June 12th, 2003

Yes, Mr. Speaker.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)