Murray Calder

[Supply, October 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the hon. member's speech across the way. I have actually been listening to his rhetoric for the last six years and not much has changed.

The Reform stated in its 1998 Blue Sheet-Principles & Policies of The Reform Party of Canada that it was going to a phased reduction and elimination of all subsidies and support programs.

The taxpayers' budget of 1995 called for $640 million to be saved by downsizing the Departments of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Industry, Fisheries and Oceans, and Natural Resources. It also called for a further reduction of $690 million to be saved by cutting other regional and sector specific funding through the Departments of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Environment and Industry. It even asked for an additional $1 billion in savings by cutting 15% from the overhead cost of all departments in the government.

I really have to ask where the member is coming from. I think he is talking through his hat. We at least, on this side of the House, have taken a serious approach. He is talking about renting his land out. I am an active farmer. I happen to be in supply management, which is one of the things the hon. member says he wants to do away with.

[Liberal Party Of Canada, October 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, today is a very special day for parliament. October 25 marks the anniversary of a giant step forward for all Canadians. We have destroyed a $42 billion deficit. Unemployment has gone down from 11.2% to 7.5%, the lowest rate in 10 years. We have seen 1.7 million jobs created since 1993.

On top of all this Canada has been ranked the best country in the world in spite of the Reform Party, and we have held that title for seven years now.

All Canadians can share in this pride and celebrate the Canadian way. Yes, today is the sixth anniversary of the Liberals taking office. We put Canada on the right track so let us clear the track for Canada.

[Agriculture, October 14th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Yesterday the WTO issued a ruling on Canada's imports and exports of milk. Can the minister tell us whether this in any way threatens our excellent system of supply management for dairies?

[Supply, June 7th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member across the way talks about contradiction. Let us go back six years to 1993 and look at where the finances of the country were at that time. We were running a $42.5 billion deficit. We had close to $600 billion of accumulated public debt. Our government came in and got the financial house of the government back in order. He is right. Cuts were made to amateur sports. Cuts were made to everything to get the government's books back in line. We have done that.

We also promised in the 1997 election that when we started generating surpluses we would start putting the money back in in a strategic fashion. That is exactly what we are doing right now. We are living up to that commitment.

[Supply, June 7th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, in my own community I have been a Kinsmen dealing with service clubs for 25 years. We have worked with minor sports in our area. I agree with what the member is saying, that sports is to have fun but there are also role models in sports. That is what we see the government committing money to right now, the role models on the international stage whom we try to emulate in the small sports we have fun with.

The member asked what is available for families. There are a number of initiatives the government is working on right now in terms of single wage earner families and so on. There are tax issues where we are working for low income Canadians. These all fit into giving Canadians extra money so they can spend that money where they see fit. If it happens to be sports, then that is what they do.

[Supply, June 7th, 1999]

I agree with the hon. member behind me, it is good.

The second area of the new funding is coaching. Access to qualified coaches is a key ingredient for athletic success. In the area of coaching support, our objective is to provide increased support to high performance coaching and to create new full time positions for high performance coaches in order to enhance international athlete development and to improve athlete development programs.

An increased number of qualified and full time coaches is widely recognized as essential to Canadian athletes achieving their potential in international competition. Also critical to achieving this objective is the creation of stable employment positions, including adequate compensation and professional development opportunities.

Through the new funding initiative we will increase the number of federally funded high performance coaches; increase the number of coaches working with athletes with disabilities; supplement existing salaries and honoraria for current high performance coaches; support professional development and training opportunities for coaches; provide apprenticeship and mentoring initiatives to increase the number of women in career track coaching positions; provide coaching development opportunities for aboriginal coaches. Our overall objective is to double the number of high performance coaches currently funded by the Government of Canada over the five year period of the new funding for sports.

The third area of investment with the new funding for sports relates to increasing access to high performance training and competition opportunities. Access to top calibre international competition is necessary for our athletes to achieve their objectives in the international competitions, including world championships, the Olympics and Paralympic Games. It is not enough to simply train without testing skills and abilities against world level competition. Our objective with this new funding is to provide high performance athletes with increased access to world class training programs and services and to high calibre competitions in order to improve results at world championships and the Olympics and Paralympic Games.

Specifically the new funding has provided more opportunities for high quality training, improved the training environment through the provision of enhanced services for athletes, and provided more opportunities for athletes to compete at international events. In addition, the funding has been made available to develop programming for aboriginal athletes who have demonstrated a high performance potential.

In the short term the new initiatives to be undertaken for athletes through the new funding for sports should result in enhanced performance by athletes at the Olympics and Paralympic Games in 2000 and 2002 and at other world championships. In the long term they will also provide much needed support to develop top level high performance coaches and nurture the development of the next tier of athletes.

We are very proud of our commitment to high performance athletes through our ongoing financial support and in particular the new funding for sports. We are proud of the many young Canadians who compete for Canada on the international stage.

[Supply, June 7th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to comment on the government's response to the recommendations of the subcommittee. I am pleased that the government has taken action on over 75% of them.

The hon. member's question implies that athletes are not currently at the heart of the concerns of the government. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am pleased to be able to speak about the government's commitments to athletes in our new funding both to the athletes directly and to the systems which support them.

I would also like to speak about a commitment the government made to athletes during the last election campaign. We promised an additional $10 million per year for five years. We have kept that promise.

On January 22, 1998, the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced the new funding for sports: $10 million per year starting in the 1998-99 fiscal year for five years. At that time the minister said that when one of our athletes succeeds on the world stage all Canadians from every walk of life and every corner of our nation shares in that victory.

That is what this announcement is all about. Indeed that is what Canada is all about. This announcement was about providing additional support to athletes in three areas: training, competition opportunities for athletes, support for coaches of athletes and direct assistance to athletes.

At the same time the new initiatives would enhance the government's efforts related to access and equity for traditionally underrepresented groups including women, athletes with a disability and aboriginal people.

Seeing Canadian athletes represent Canada on the world stage provides Canadians with a strong sense of national pride. Canada's high performance athletes are excellent role models for all Canadians, particularly our youth. Their achievements instil pride and inspire youth to pursue excellence in sports and other endeavours. Our athletes also serve as international ambassadors, reflecting Canadian values in the world at large.

Sports provide Canadian youth with important opportunities for personal development as well employment skills through specialized training and experiences. With the new funding for sports the federal government's budget for sports is about $60 million per year. Of that $8.8 million go directly to athletes, $35.4 million to sports organizations and programs, and $15.5 million to games hostings. The athletes are at the centre of our expenditures whether directly or indirectly.

I will give a few more details about the new funding for sports and how it is being used to directly benefit Canada's high performance athletes. In the area of athlete support, the purpose of these new funds is to support more high performance athletes who are in the developmental stage. This support is important for young developing athletes because of full time training on a year round basis which is necessary for athletes to be competitive at the international level.

Before the new funding for sports the number of athletes receiving assistance was quite frankly insufficient to ensure continued development. We needed to provide additional support to developing athletes and we have done that. In addition, we wanted to support more female athletes and to provide more support for athletes with disabilities.

Our objective with the new funding for sports in this area is to provide direct financial support for living and training expenses and tuition support for an additional 300 high performance athletes each year. We are providing additional assistance to an increased number of senior level national team athletes and an increased number of junior and developing athletes and an increased number of athletes with a disability.

[United Alternative, May 6th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, as Reformers prepare to judge the united alternative at the end of the month, they should look at its success rate for broadening support.

In 1992 the Reform Party reported that it had 132,000 members. Today it only has 65,000, half that number.

With that kind of negative growth, Reformers will not need to vote themselves out of existence, they can just wait until their support totally withers away and drops off.

One Reform MP was quoted as saying this about the united alternative, “The sooner we can put this behind us, and defeat this ridiculous notion and get on with our real business, we'll be better off”.

I could not disagree more. The more time Reform spends on the united alternative, the fewer Reformers there are. And the fewer Reformers there are, the better Canada is.

[National Horse Of Canada Act, May 5th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the members who have stood here tonight and supported my private member's bill, Bill C-454.

I am a little disappointed that the Bloc would try to cheapen what the Canadian horse is, a symbol of Canada, a symbol of our heritage, the symbol of the integrity of Canada. I am a little upset about that.

I want to thank the other parties that have definitely shown their support. The Progressive Conservative Party has shown its support. The Reform Party has shown its support. The NDP has shown its support. So has my own party. I express a heartfelt thanks to the members who have stood here tonight.

I would like to seek unanimous consent for the following motion. Given that clearly there is considerable interest in this issue and given that the opposition, particularly the Reform Party says that it wants more free votes in the House, I would move that Bill C-454, an act to provide for the recognition of the Canadian horse as the national horse of Canada, be deemed to have been chosen as a votable item.

[National Horse Of Canada Act, May 5th, 1999]

moved that Bill C-454, an act to provide for the recognition of the Canadian horse as the national horse of Canada, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured today to have my private member's bill, Bill C-454, debated on the floor of the House of Commons.

I wish first to acknowledge the hard work of the hon. member for Lanark—Carleton who introduced a similar bill in the last parliament. He has worked hard to win recognition for an important part of our history, and for this he deserves our thanks.

Today I will explain why I introduced this bill and why I believe the Canadian horse should be recognized as the official horse of Canada.

The Canadian horse has been an integral part of our history and our heritage. Scientists now believe that horses originated in North America 50 million years ago. When the first humans arrived in North America they migrated from Asia across a strip of land that is now gone. At the same time the horses were migrating to Asia by the same route. Our first nations were the first humans to have contact with horses. Eventually these horses disappeared from North America. They moved to China, then the Middle East and finally northern Europe.

The circle was completed by the mid-1600s. The ancestors of the current Canadian horse came from France with the early French settlers. They were introduced to Canada between 1647 and 1670 by Louis XIV who sent roughly 30 horses from his own stables in Normandy and Brittany. There was no standard Norman or Breton breeds in the 17th century. As a result, the Canadian Horse can trace its ancestry back to several breeds, including the Andalusian, the Arabian and the Percheron horses.

The Canadian horse became distinctive over time as it adapted to Canadian conditions. The shortage of food meant that the breed became smaller than its French ancestors. Today the Canadian horse could be classified as a medium size horse.

The cold climate and the shortage of barns meant that only the strongest survived. The breed became exceptionally strong and able to thrive in difficult Canadian conditions. The horse has a thick winter coat, a thick mane and tail, and short ears, all of which help to protect it from the harsh Canadian winters. The Canadian horse is the best horse suited to the Canadian climate. Indeed, it is the hardiest breed in the world and often is called the little iron horse.

Canadian horses were indispensable to the settlers in New France. They helped clear, plough and cultivate the soil. They made roads. They transported people and goods. They carried children to school and doctors to the sick and dying. They provided entertainment in the form of horse racing. Indeed they were the foundation of the economic well-being of New France.

It is no surprise to discover that the inhabitants of New France had a great admiration for their horse. When in 1757 the inhabitants found themselves desperately short of food, the administrators of the colony directed the people to butcher some of their horses for meat. The inhabitants were horrified. They would not eat their horses, they said, because it would be like eating one of their family.

The Canadian horse later played an important role in Manitoba, Ontario and the maritime provinces. They cleared the wood from the farms in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. They hauled the timber that built the famous wooden ships constructed in the maritimes. After the conquest, many residents of New France headed west to the Red River Valley taking their sturdy horses with them.

The United Empire Loyalists, driven from their homes during the American revolution, often passed through present day Quebec on their way to their new homes. Many bought Canadian horses to help them with farm work and to use for transportation. The Canadian horse was common in Upper Canada in the 1800s.

In fact, in my area, Grey county, those horses were used by the surveyors who were bringing supplies from Owen Sound down to the Guelph area. From Hamilton up they had to transport everything by backpack on these horses to be able to do the surveys to open up that area.

I have experienced walking behind a walking plough and seeing those horses in action. They are the most efficient and hard working animal and have helped Canadians in many achievements. They were involved in building roads in our area as well. Gravel had to be hauled by wagon and not by the huge dump trucks that we have today. They set up the rudimentary transportation routes back in the early 1700s and 1800s which are the highways we drive on today.

The Canadian horse is still bred in my area by Brenda and Geoff Pantling of Orton, Patricia Cooper of Palgrave, Kathleen MacRobbie of Mount Forest, and Barbara Kidd of Arthur.

In the 1800s many Canadian horses were shipped to the United States. They were bred with other horses to create both the Morgan and Standardbred breeds. The Tennessee Walking Horse and the Saddlebred breeds can also claim Canadian ancestry.

The Canadian horse was used as cavalry mounts and pack horses particularly during the American civil war. Its toughness made it a well suited horse for war. War and interbreeding have threatened the very existence of the Canadian horse. By the end of the 1800s the Canadian horse was in danger of extinction.

Breeders responded by creating a stud book in 1886 and forming the Canadian Horse Breeders Association in 1895. Then the federal government recognized the importance of this horse and took vigorous steps to protect this symbol of Canadian heritage. Export of the horses was stopped. A new and more selective stud book was established in 1907. In 1913 a breeding centre was opened at Cap Rouge, Quebec. Through combined efforts of the federal government and private breeders, the Canadian horse was saved. There are now more than 1,000 Canadian horses in Canada.

The Canadian horse is a perfect symbol for Canada. It has those traits that we, as Canadians, value. I am talking about all Canadians. The Canadian horse is strong for its size. It is both persistent and resilient. It is an intelligent and well-tempered Horse. The Canadian horse has a long life. Like this country itself, Canadian horses are very peaceful. From the time of ancient Greece, the horse has been an emblem signifying strength and courage. The Canadian Horse is one of the world's strongest and most courageous breeds. For this reason, it is the perfect emblem for Canada.

The Hon. Sydney Fisher who was minister of agriculture for an incredible 15 years from 1896 to 1911, had the following to say on the Canadian horse:

—as a rule, is the most kindly, gentle, and docile animal I have ever had the opportunity of handling, and he is also one of the truest to his work. He never gives out, it does not matter what he is at. If he is on the road he travels along forever, and if he has a load behind him he will tug at it until he moves it. He never balks, and children can handle him with the greatest safety. In every way he is docile and kindly.

The 1914 Breeders Gazette of Chicago tells an interesting story about a Canadian horse. A wood merchant from Pennsylvania purchased a Canadian horse which he harnessed on the same pole beside another horse 200 pounds heavier. I have a colleague here who is involved in the forestry trade who will probably tell members a story similar to this. The Canadian horse always kept up his end and never seemed to get tired. After two years, the heavier horse died. When asked what happened, the driver said “the Canadian horse worked him to death”. Another heavy horse was also teamed with the same Canadian, but it died the following year while the Canadian worked on.

No wonder the author of the International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds calls the Canadian horse the best kept secret of the 20th century.

Symbols are important to any country, not for the country's economic health, but for its identity, for its sense of self. Previous governments and previous parliaments have recognized the importance of symbols. In 1964 parliament had a six month debate over a distinctive Canadian flag. In 1975 a private member's bill declared the beaver as the official symbol of our sovereignty. Recently parliament recognized hockey and lacrosse as national sports.

Other countries also recognize the importance of symbols. The eagle is the national bird of the United States. The wax palm is the national tree of Columbia. The carib wood is the national flower of Dominica. The Azteca is the national horse of Mexico.

Symbols are one way that we communicate our heritage, our history, our values, our identity. Countries have always identified themselves with flags, coats of arms and other emblems.

Canadians are no different. We have a deep respect for our symbols. We treat our flag with reverence and enthusiasm. We respect the beaver and the coat of arms of the country. As Charles Frederick Hamilton of the RCMP said in 1921:

—a nation needs emblems and symbols to preserve traditions and inspire love of country.

Just 10 days ago something happened which demonstrated the importance of symbols and their ability to stir strong sentiments. The Parti Quebecois unanimously adopted a resolution saying that the Canadian horse should be recognized as the official horse of Quebec. In the course of the discussion, delegates were told about the bill that we are now discussing. They were encouraged to adopt the resolution so that Quebec would beat Ottawa to the punch, so that Quebec could recognize the Canadian horse before the federal government had a chance to do so.

Of course, the province of Quebec is perfectly within its rights to declare an official horse for Quebec. However, it strikes me as a cheap political ploy to do so only to steal the federal government's thunder.

I have this to say to the Parti Quebecois and to the Government of Quebec: Recognize the Canadian horse if you like, but do so because you appreciate its importance to our history, not because you want to score cheap political points. To recognize this horse for the wrong reasons is to cheapen its worth as a symbol of the history and values of both Quebec and Canada.

Certainly the Canadian Horse has played a key role in the history of Quebec. However, it has also played a crucial role in the development of Canada as a whole. It is a symbol of our development as a country and of our diversity. It is a symbol that we are strong, independent and equal to the task. It is a symbol not just of the heritage of Quebec but of the history of this entire country.

Today, more than ever in our history, we need faith and confidence in ourselves as Canadians. We need to recognize the symbols of our past, our heritage and our values. This bill will recognize one of those symbols and I ask all members for their support.