David Anderson

[Boating Safety, June 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member has very correctly pointed out, this is a serious question with respect to loss of life and also the injury of individuals, many of whom are children.

In addition to the measures with respect to flotation devices, measures with respect to speed restrictions and safety equipment, at the start of Safe Boating Week which begins tomorrow, I will be making further announcements to enhance boating safety in one of the most popular recreational activities that Canadians have.

[Fisheries, June 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the ignorance of the member displayed in the preamble of his first question extends into his second. He simply does not understand or he is not willing to admit that a substantial portion of that shrimp quota is going to Nova Scotia companies.

With respect to the second aspect of his remarks that fish come first, I simply ask him, can we have fishermen if we do not have fish? The answer is no. Can we have fishing communities if we do not have fish? The answer is no. I suggest it is time he and his party started to recognize the importance of conservation in making sure we have that fish resource.

[Fisheries, June 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is simply ill informed. The quota allocation dealt with two sets of components of the fleet. On the first dealing with the seventeen major license holders, two and a half of the licenses are held by Nova Scotian companies.

[Fisheries, June 4th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member is a member of the fisheries committee he should understand that neither I nor the premier of Newfoundland run that committee. He should also know, if he has attended the meetings, and apparently there is some doubt about this, that in fact the bill is now before the committee. If the committee proposes amendments, that is good.

The rest of us in the House will consider them when the bill is reported.

[The Late Robert Lorne McCuish, June 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, today the government caucus joins with the House in paying tribute to the memory of Mr. Lorne McCuish who from 1979 to 1988 served as member of parliament for Prince George—Bulkley Valley.

Like many British Columbians, Mr. McCuish was born in Winnipeg but was certainly at heart a true British Columbian. He was raised in Vancouver before moving to Prince George in the 1950s. It was there that he became involved in public service to his community. He gave almost 20 years of his life to public service, working for the greater good of British Columbians, particularly those in northern British Columbia, and of course the country at large.

First as an alderman and then as a parliamentarian he served his fellow citizens enthusiastically, energetically and certainly to the best of his ability.

He ran for parliament for the Progressive Conservative Party in 1979 and became the first person to represent the new Prince George—Bulkley Valley riding.

Lorne made it his personal mission to serve the people of his riding fairly and honestly. His neighbours responded to this deep commitment by electing him to the House three times before his retirement in 1988.

Lorne will best be remembered for his tireless commitment to his constituents, not an easy task considering his riding was well over 100,000 square kilometres and at the outset did not contain a single federal government office. The nearest federal building was a Canada employment centre in the neighbouring riding of Prince George—Peace River.

Lorne had a solution to that problem. He decided instead to take the government to the people and he would spend at least one week of every six travelling his constituency throughout northern British Columbia holding accessibility sessions in town halls, schools, libraries, hotels, community centres and church basements.

His constituents both liked and respected him for his commitment and for his feisty, tell it like it is style.

On a personal note, he will certainly be remembered for his sense of humour and for his love of life. He was famous in this Chamber for his practical jokes and indeed he was called one of the most mischievous MPs ever, but that was always done with good spirits and in a lighthearted way. His personal philosophy was always to live life to its fullest, never to take himself or others too seriously and to live every day to the best.

Mr. McCuish was a husband, a father of four and a grandfather of six, a legacy which will last far longer than any accomplishment of those of us in office.

Those of us who represent constituencies many miles from our nation's capital know what Lorne knew, that our work would not be possible without the support of our family and our friends at home.

As both a British Columbian and a Canadian, Lorne McCuish made an important contribution to our society as the member of parliament for Prince George—Bulkley Valley. I convey to the House on behalf of the Liberal caucus and constituents our deepest condolences to his family and to his friends.

[Fisheries, May 28th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, as a general rule we are trying hard to make sure those in the local area who use the facilities are responsible for their maintenance and up-keep.

There are, however, as the hon. member has suggested, certain unique and unusual circumstances with certain wharfs and ports where we have made other arrangements or varied standard arrangements with the fishermen.

If he would give details of the case in question I would be able to respond to it. Perhaps he could discuss it with me at some other time.

[Fisheries, May 28th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, no issue has caused more trouble between the United States and Canada in the last few years than this one. We have had it on the front burner in discussions between the United States federal government, the Canadian federal government, the Prime Minister and the President. If the hon. member insists upon forgetting or overlooking that the Americans are bound by a constitution and that that constitution gives certain powers to the states, he will continue to misunderstand the difficulties we face on this file.

[Fisheries, May 28th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the subject of the overfishing by Alaskans and their failure to abide by the Pacific salmon treaty is a matter of concern that has been raised by my colleague the Minister of Foreign Affairs with his counterpart, by myself with my American counterpart as well as governors of the states of Washington, Oregon and Alaska, and in addition by the Prime Minister with the President of the United States.

What the hon. member forgets is that the United States is bound by a constitution whereby states have certain rights and the federal government in some areas cannot intervene any more than we in this House can tell a province what to put into their educational curriculum in that particular area. We cannot do that. They cannot interfere in a state jurisdiction.

[Questions On The Order Paper, May 25th, 1998]

Canadian and American catches of salmon on the Taku and the Stikine Rivers in individual units are outlined in the tables attached.

[Fisheries, May 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member has been these last few months.

We will be resuming negotiations with the Americans. This follows the offer of the Alaskan government to communicate, co-operate and collaborate on the issue of coho preservation.

We have had discussions with the American federal government. We expect that there will be negotiations taking place in Juneau on Thursday of this week. In addition, the governor and I have agreed that we will meet together sometime in the next two weeks.