The same thing happened in Manitoba.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2004, with 65% of the vote.
Business Of The House June 9th, 1995
The same thing happened in Manitoba.
Canadian Wheat Board June 9th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, my supplementary question is for the minister of agriculture.
As he knows, the current system is simply not working. It is penalizing farmers who are struggling to diversify. It is ironic that at a time when the federal government has spent millions of dollars on western diversification, the wheat board is standing in the way of those farmers who have already found their markets and simply want to market their grain.
Will the minister at least amend the Canadian Wheat Board Act to remove organic crops from wheat board jurisdiction and allow this industry to develop?
Canadian Wheat Board June 9th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
In my riding of Peace River some farmers have diversified and are now growing organically grown wheat. This is a special-
ty product which the Canadian Wheat Board simply cannot handle. Organic farmers have had to find their own markets, yet the wheat board insists these farmers go through all its costly red tape.
The fine for bypassing the Canadian Wheat Board on this issue is $12,000 and two years in jail.
Will the minister allow organic farmers to sell their product without jumping through all the wheat board hoops necessary?
Canadian Wheat Board Act June 8th, 1995
It is the same with organic grain.
Buffalo And Fort Erie Public Bridge Company Act June 2nd, 1995
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to inform the House the Reform Party is supporting Bill C-81.
The bill amends the act for the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Company, the company responsible for the Peace bridge linking Fort Erie and Canada with the city of Buffalo in the United States.
The Peace bridge is the second busiest border crossing highway link between Canada and the United States. This bridge carried nearly 8 million vehicles in 1994. One million of these were trucks containing over $20 billion of traded goods.
With the implementation of our trade agreements and as a result of positive economic conditions, the Peace bridge finds itself not quite up to the task of facilitating smooth traffic flows.
Commercial traffic has accelerated to the point where there is a lot of congestion on the bridge and at the adjacent plazas. This has caused traffic jams on the access roads and local streets on both sides of the border.
To ensure the bridge can facilitate all trade and traffic, the bridge authority would like to implement bridge improvements called the gateways project.
To finance the gateways project, the bridge authority intends to market two 30-year bond issues in the United States totalling $70 million in 1995 and 1997. It will use its toll revenue to service this debt.
We in the Reform Party recognize that strong north-south infrastructure links are crucial to building on trade agreements we have implemented with United States.
If these infrastructure projects can be financed by the private sector, so much the better. It is our understanding that the bridge authority is profitable and has no long term outstanding debt. It is also our understanding that the government is protected from liability should the bridge authority ever default on debts in the future.
Since the federal government is not financially responsible for the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Company, it is appropriate for the governor in council to approve borrowing increases.
In the future we will have to look at a different way of financing these projects. There will have to be more infrastructure financed by the private sector, by municipalities, as we cannot sustain these from the federal government. That would be looking down the road and I hope that approach could be used.
The other reservation we have is that the bridge authority should be held accountable in its meetings to the public. If various parties want to present briefs on the effects of toll increases or any environmental concerns, these briefs should be available to the public.
With this reservation, the Reform Party would support the bill.
Petitions May 31st, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the third petition I have before me is signed by 670 members of my riding. It has to do with firearms control.
These individuals ask Parliament to support legislation that severely punishes all criminals who use firearms and commit criminal act, supports the Criminal Code provisions that protect the rights of law-abiding citizens to own and use recreational firearms, and supports the repeal of legislation regarding firearms that has not lowered crime, has not been cost effective or is overly complex, making it inefficient or unenforceable.
Petitions May 31st, 1995
The second petition, Mr. Speaker, is signed by 342 people from my riding. It concerns the subject of high risk offenders who commit personal injury crimes.
The petitioners call on Parliament to enact Bill C-240 and future legislation that permits detention of high risk offenders after the completion of their sentence. This measure is suggested by the petitioners to lower the occurrence of personal injury crimes committed by these individuals. I agree with the petitioners.
Petitions May 31st, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions before me. The first is signed by 236 members of my riding. It calls for Parliament to oppose any attempt to include sexual orientation in the human rights act or the charter of rights and freedoms. The petitioners feel such inclusion would infringe on the historical rights of Canadians and I share their views.
Members Of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act May 12th, 1995
Let us examine the pension plan for a moment. It is certainly a step in the right direction. We know that. But there is still an age limit of 55 for qualification. Who else in the public and private sector can do that? Nobody I know. It is still two and a half times more generous than any other public or private sector pension plan. It is important for us to deal with the issue fairly.
In conclusion, because of the misunderstanding, I move that the member for Calgary Centre be now heard.
Members Of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act May 12th, 1995
The member for Lisgar-Marquette just reminded me that we will not be paying for it, not our generation. It is easy to bring in a plan somebody else has to pay for. In fact, that is what will happen with deficit financing.
There is a $550 billion federal debt in the country, rising at the rate of $115 million a day. Who is going to pay for this in the future? It will not be the members who are sitting in the Chamber, not our generation. It will be our children and grandchildren. What kind of a deed are we perpetrating on our future generations in this country?