Murray Calder

[Petitions, May 17th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present another petition to the House calling for the release of historic census records to the public. The petition is signed by more than 5,500 Canadians. Combined with the signatures of the previous petitions that I have presented on this subject in this session of parliament, the total number is now over 9,000.

The petition points out that an estimated 7.5 million Canadians are engaged in the pursuit of their family history and that census records are a valuable tool for such research. The records have been used in historical research, for tracing genetic diseases and in settling wills and estates.

The petitioners are calling upon parliament to take whatever steps are necessary to retroactively amend confidentiality clauses of the Statistics Act since 1906 to allow the release to the public, after a reasonable period of time, the post 1901 census records.

[Petitions, May 7th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition calling for the release of census records to genealogists and historians. The petition is signed by more 2,200 Canadians from seven provinces.

The petitioners point out that an estimated 7.5 million Canadians are engaged in the pursuit of their family histories and census records are a valuable tool.

They call upon parliament to take whatever steps are necessary to retroactively amend confidentiality clauses of the Statistics Act since 1906 to allow the release of the post-1901 census records after a reasonable period of time.

[Children's Park, May 1st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment today to talk about childhood dreams and a special playground in my riding.

EVERYkidspark in Orangeville, Ontario, is Canada's first boundless playground. What I mean by boundless is that it is accessible to children of various ability levels. A child who is bound to a wheelchair can at this park feel the thrill of going down a slide in total comfort. She or he can explore new challenges and play alongside his or her able-bodied siblings and friends.

This is a wonderful childhood pleasure and a dream come true for children with special needs, but it was not arrived at easily. EVERYkidspark committee has worked hard to garner tremendous support from the community to make this park a reality.

I extend to those devoted parents and professionals, especially Wendy Cook, the project's originator, best wishes for every success in expanding upon the limitless possibilities of this playground, which is every child's dream come true.

[Supply, April 24th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with a lot of interest to the member across the way who talked about the Canadian Wheat Board.

We must first understand that the Canadian Wheat Board is not the same as it was in the past. It is not only a crown corporation that has five members appointed by the government, it now also has 10 members who are elected by the farmers.

Canada has a reputation for selling food products, and in this case grain products, that are second to none. The Canadian Wheat Board has done an admirable job in the past, is doing so in the present and will continue to do so in the future.

The member across the way seems to think that all farmers out west want to do away with the Canadian Wheat Board. I have had the opportunity as vice-chair of the standing committee on agriculture, along with the member opposite, to hear farmers out west. That is where the debate is going on right now.

The member across the way should give the wheat board a chance now that its officials are elected by grassroots farmers. He should give it a chance to change itself from what it has been as a crown entity.

The United States has consistently gone after the Canadian Wheat Board. Why has it done so? Does the U.S. really think our wheat board is a bad thing or does it want it abolished because it does a good job for farmers out west?

[Foot And Mouth Disease, April 3rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the one thing that we have heard tonight is how serious it would be if the disease ever came here. We have seen what has been happening in the United Kingdom where tens of thousands of animals have been shot and buried. There might be a possibility that it has also infected the deer population. This is a problem that will not be solved quickly. It has jumped the channel and is on the continent proper. It is in France, the Netherlands, Iceland and Argentina. This gives us a rough idea of how extensive it is.

The minister said tonight that it would cost the United Kingdom over $20 billion to get it under control, not to eradicate it but to get it under control. On the continent itself the cost in Europe could be over $100 billion. These are things that the government takes very seriously.

The member spoke about an outbreak in Saskatchewan in 1952. I did some research on it to get a rough idea of what happened, because at that time I was only one year old. In 1952 it cost $1 billion to get it under control and to eradicate it. The member has been talking about $20 billion. In 1995 dollars, using the Saskatchewan example, it would cost well over $30 billion in just the one instance. This is one of the reasons we have to be very careful with it.

It is an amazing little virus too. According to the website for the Ontario ministry of agriculture and food and rural affairs, the foot and mouth virus survives freezing temperatures. It has an incubation period of 8 to 21 days. It has been found viable in milk pasteurization of 72°C for 15 seconds. It has been removed from cattle stalls 14 days after the removal of cattle. In addition, it has been removed from urine after 39 days, soil after 28 days in the fall and soil after 3 days in the summer. That tells me right off the bat that it is sensitive to ultraviolet rays. It has been removed from dry hay at 22°C after 20 weeks of storage.

It can be carried by people for up to 14 days after contact with the disease. It can be inhaled and trapped in a human's respiratory tract for up to 36 hours and then expelled in saliva or breath. It can travel 300 kilometres by water and 80 kilometres over land. It can cling to clothing, shoes or luggage for at least nine weeks.

When we have travellers coming back to Canada from the United Kingdom and Europe, here is what they should do. They should declare all meat, dairy and other animal products they bring into Canada. The items should be left at the airport where they can be destroyed.

If the traveller must visit a farm he or she should make sure that clothing and footwear are free from soil or manure, clean and disinfect footwear by washing with a 50:50 solution of vinegar and water, machine wash clothes in hot water or have them dry cleaned. It is also recommended to stay away from a farm for at least 14 days after returning.

Livestock producers and organizers of shows, which is another point where livestock will come together, should exercise caution before allowing visitors on farms or to livestock events. They should make them aware of the risks and the precautions to take. Although humans are not susceptible to foot and mouth, they are carriers. They should advise tourists to take additional sanitary precautions such as washing and disinfecting all personnel effects and equipment that accompanies them.

It is particularly important to clean and disinfect footwear as described above and to provide protective footwear and clothing. Organizers of shows and events must take extra precautions in installing disinfectant footbaths and foot mats at the facilities.

It has been raised a couple of times tonight, are we doing enough? I want to tell everybody that in November 2000 we did a national and an international simulation exercise. That included representatives of the livestock industry, the provinces and Emergency Preparedness Canada. It was very extensive. It was how to isolate and eradicate the virus so it cannot spread. Right now we are doing a follow-up workshop to ascertain what we learned by doing that exercise.

The next thing we did was put forward a foreign animal disease manual. That is being put on the website of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The website is www.inspection.gc.ca

Another thing I would like to see as the vice chair of the standing committee is a contingency plan brought before the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food so we can assess it. I would like to see that done as quickly as possible. I believe it is important.

I have to say again that we are committed to continuous learning. We did that by sending over some veterinarians. They were in the UK and experienced first hand what the disease was like. They were brought back to Canada. They went through the disinfection procedure. They stayed away from livestock. We are now going to have them talk to our animal science people and give lectures on what they experienced while in the UK.

Who can teach somebody else better than somebody who experienced it first hand? They experienced the hurt and pain of having to go into somebody's farm and shoot all their livestock. They experienced having lines of cattle, sheep and pigs out in a field. They experienced the fact of having a huge hole dug at a former air force base and having the livestock buried in it. They experienced all that first hand. They also experienced what the British veterinarian service has gone through to try to contain the virus. They have all that very pertinent knowledge and information that they brought back to help us put together a good contingency plan so that if the worst ever happens, we can have this under control as quickly as possible. That is imperative.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is also prohibiting the importation of susceptible animals and animal products from the EU and Argentina. It has also suspended the issuance of import permits of live animals, semen, embryos and animal products of susceptible animals. We have control over any import permits that have been issued but not used. These are being cancelled. We are working on tracing any products coming into Canada to know exactly where they are.

In closing, I would like to put it on the record that we know this is a very important issue. It is a problem we do not want to see get out of hand. Quite frankly, I feel that we as a government are doing everything physically and humanly possible to make sure that foot and mouth disease does not get into Canada.

[Petitions, March 28th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by nearly 1,200 Canadians from nine provinces and one territory concerning the release of census records to genealogists and historians.

The petition points out that an estimated 7.5 million Canadians are engaged in the pursuit of their family history and that census records are a valuable tool for research. The records have been used in historical research and for the tracing of genetic diseases, settling of wills and estates.

The petitioners call upon parliament to take whatever steps necessary to retroactively amend the clauses of the Statistics Act since 1906 to allow the release to the public after a reasonable period of time of the post-1901 census records.

[Statistics Act, March 28th, 2001]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-312, an act to amend the Statistics Act and the National Archives of Canada Act (census records).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to reintroduce a bill to allow the public release of the post-1901 census records. The bill is intended to amend the Statistics Act and the National Archives of Canada Act to allow the transfer of census records from Statistics Canada to the National Archives of Canada where records could be released to the public subject to the Privacy Act.

The main element of the bill, that census records be keep secret for 92 years and released to researchers after that time, is the key recommendation of the expert panel on the access to historical census records. That panel was established by the Minister of Industry, and its recommendations were released in December 2000.

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

[National Horse Of Canada Act, March 28th, 2001]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-311, an act to provide for the recognition of the Canadien horse as the national horse of Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased again to reintroduce the national horse of Canada act, an act to provide for the recognition of the Canadien horse as the national horse of Canada.

This sturdy little horse has played a role in Canadian history since its arrival in New France in 1665 from the stables of Louis XIV. It has acclimatized to our harsh conditions evolving into a breed that is strong for its size, intelligent, well-tempered, resilient and determined. These qualities make it a perfect symbol for Canada.

Though indispensable to the inhabitants of New France, and later to the maritimes, Ontario and the west, this horse faced extinction by the end of the 19th century. Breeders have restored and developed this breed so that today there are more than 1,000 Canadien horses in Canada.

The national recognition would increase the profile of this breed, enhance its marketability and assure its future as the great Canadian symbol it is.

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

[Supply Management, March 21st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, as a chicken farmer I want to commend our Liberal government for its steadfast support of supply management, a system that provides many family farms in my riding and across Canada with stability and profitability.

The stable environment provided by supply management encourages investment and research into better production practices. Consumers benefit from top quality chicken, eggs and dairy products at a very reasonable price. Supply management works.

Canada has defended its system of supply management at the international level and won. I call upon the government to continue its support for supply management and to ensure a bright future for our family farms and the top quality products they produce.

[Agriculture, March 16th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, two days ago I and some of my colleagues attended a farm rally at Lansdowne Park to try to get the extra $400 million in support that farmers need this year.

I want to congratulate the leaders of the NDP and the Conservatives for making agriculture their lead questions that day. At the farm rally the Leader of the Opposition told farmers that agriculture was his number one priority, but was agriculture his lead question in the House that day? No. Was it his second question that day? No.

If agriculture is a priority for the Canadian Alliance, why was it question number eight? The leader of the Canadian Alliance is crying crocodile tears for farmers. This is the party that said no subsidies. He should be ashamed.

Let all of us make agriculture our number one priority.