Darrel Stinson

[Vernon Vipers, April 15th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud and pleased to congratulate from my riding a local junior A hockey team and four-time winners of the Royal Bank Cup, the Vernon Vipers, for donating to the Okanagan University College Foundation more than $10,000 from fifty-fifty raffle proceeds from their games between January and March of this year.

The money will be used to fund student awards, including a $2,000 scholarship for a student enrolled in full time studies, as well as bursaries for students enrolled in adult basic education, certificate, diploma and degree programs.

The mandate of the Vernon Vipers organization has always been to promote excellence in both hockey and education. With the cancellation of the NHL season, and with the Vernon Vipers' spirit of community mindedness and investment in the region's youth, I strongly recommend that the Vernon Vipers receive the Stanley Cup.

May I add that the Vipers did this without one cent of sponsorship money.

[Petitions, April 14th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, the last four petitions, that I am fully in support of, are from hundreds of my constituents of Okanagan--Shuswap.

The petitioners urge Parliament to use all possible legislative and administrative measures, including invoking section 33 of the charter, if necessary, to preserve and protect the current definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

[Petitions, April 14th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, I have five petitions to present today.

The first petition is from my constituents of Okanagan--Shuswap who call upon Parliament and the Government of Canada to oppose U.S. plans for missile defence. The petitioners request that the United Nations be required to permanently ban missile defence systems and space-based weapons worldwide by October 24 of this year, or convene a mandatory space preservation treaty signing conference thereafter for that purpose.

[Petitions, February 25th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am please to present three petitions. The first is on behalf of my constituents of Okanagan—Shuswap which calls upon Parliament to pass legislation to recognize the institution of marriage in federal law as being the lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

The last two petitions, that I am in total favour of, also from my constituents of Okanagan—Shuswap, request that the Government of Canada hold a binding national referendum together with the next federal election to ask the following question: “Must the Government of Canada continue to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others? Yes, or no”.

[Petitions, February 23rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition, also from constituents of Okanagan—Shuswap, with a total of 120 signatures, asks that the Canada Health Act be amended to include intensive behavioural intervention therapy treatment based on the principles of applied behavioural analysis as an essential treatment for autism. The petitioners ask that university academic chairs be appointed at each university to teach autism treatment. They also request that all provinces be required to help people with autism by providing funding for this essential treatment.

[Petitions, February 23rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present two petitions today.

The first petition is signed by over 170 residents of Vernon in my riding of Okanagan—Shuswap. They are concerned about serious violent crimes by repeat offenders living at the Vernon halfway house.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to require that the Correctional Service of Canada take stronger steps to protect law abiding citizens by ending statutory release, informing the public immediately when a violent offender does not report back on time from day parole or other release into the community, and immediately investigate why the Vernon halfway house has the worst record in Canada for its inmates committing violent crimes.

[Correctional Service Canada, February 23rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the community of Vernon in my riding and the men's shelter known as Howard House go back many years together.

After an earlier shelter burned, community members bought an old hospital, cut it into five pieces and moved it on to a new first floor at the present site. That took widespread support.

But then the Liberal government and Correctional Service Canada changed policies about who could be released from prison. Parole boards let offenders out after serving a fraction of their sentence, even when one of the board members judged an inmate likely to re-offend.

Several murders were committed by Vernon Howard House residents. The public learned too late when offenders disappeared. Too few police were hired to protect the innocent and many people got scared and angry.

Now, on February 28, at 7 p.m., local people are invited to the Vernon rec centre to learn more and finally have their say about Howard House. I urge Correctional Service Canada to finally listen.

[Petitions, December 13th, 2004]

My third petition, Mr. Speaker, is also from my constituents. The petitioners call upon Parliament and the Government of Canada to oppose U.S. plans for missile defence.

The petitioners request that the United Nations be required to permanently ban missile defence systems and space-based weapons worldwide by October 24, 2005, or to convene a mandatory space preservation treaty signing conference thereafter for that purpose.

[Petitions, December 13th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present. The first two petitions, endorsed by over 270 constituents of my riding of Okanagan—Shuswap, call upon Parliament to protect our children from sexual exploitation by taking all necessary steps to raise the age of consent from 14 years of age to 18 years of age.

[Finance, December 13th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, it has been over a year since the devastating fires in British Columbia and still many landowners are caught in a log salvage, higher income, no tax deferment situation.

Will the Minister of Finance help B.C. landowners by allowing income tax on this emergency profit to be deferred and paid over 10 years, yes or no?