Lost his last election, in 2004, with 36% of the vote.
Football November 26th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, this weekend we will be celebrating one of the great Canadian traditions, a game invented in Canada. I speak of the game of football.
The best in the east and the best in the west will come together in Vancouver, British Columbia: the Hamilton Tiger Cats versus the Calgary Stampeders. No doubt two political junkies will be there. I speak of the premier of Alberta and the hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage.
Supply October 28th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, the system we have now allows for small operators to start up their businesses. Obviously the Competition Bureau will look at the operators to make sure they have enough facilities, that their facilities are safe and that they have enough resources to operate.
There are many facilities. For instance, my friends from out west will tell us that CanWest is doing a great job. First Air owned by our native people is doing a fantastic job up north. There is room in the marketplace to make sure that smaller communities are looked after.
Under the legislation and under the legislative framework we will make sure we have enough slots for aircraft. We will make sure that travel agents are controlled and are also operating for our small communities, that they are able to access these flights and co-ordinate them. We will make sure there will be enough space at the airports. From time to time there will be subsidies.
When we make a regulation we have to make sure all of our communities are serviced. Those small communities will be looked after under the legislation.
Supply October 28th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleagues and I have fun and we do work together. We are still in the realm of the hypothetical.
When we make changes and those changes call for legislative changes, we have exchanges and debates in the House. It is those legislative changes and those debates that make our systems better.
My hon. friend has some concerns that I can understand. However, I think he has been to some of the transport committee meetings. He will know we have had some advice that notwithstanding there will be a dominant carrier, there are ways and means to make sure we keep that competition, that the small areas are looked after and that the pilots are looked after. We are looking into all of that. We cannot reach the conclusion that the technique we are going to use is good or bad until such time as we have tabled the legislation.
Supply October 28th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I will try to answer the hon. member's question in this fashion.
The government has not had any offers before it. The government has not moved beyond the 10% rule. The government cannot be accused of being unethical because it is all hypothetical.
Supply October 28th, 1999
A member of the opposition says there is too much bureaucracy. We want to get rid of that too and that is what we will try to do.
There are repair facilities in one part of the country and head offices in other parts. Pilots on both sides are lobbying. Members of parliament are getting antsy. They are being pushed in one direction or the other.
The main point is what is in the best interests of the public. Can they get access to their communities? Will the fares be as cheap as possible because there is enough competition in the marketplace? Can they have better flights and faster routing using other systems? That is what we are examining. As far as I know, every time the government has changed regulations it has been for the better. That is what I hear when I am in the transport committee.
The Bloc is trying to tell us that we should stick to the 10% rule. It may be what we end up doing. However, it must not be in the legislative framework as the Bloc is trying to do here today, to force us to make a decision based on something that we do not know anything about.
These two airlines are competing to see who is going to take the position when the dust has settled and the shareholders have decided. These are corporate moves. We will be faced with having to make a decision. The minister has listened to public forums and gathered all the needed information. He asked the Competition Bureau to look at it. He asked the regulators to look at it. When this offer comes before us we want all our options open. We will make a decision and the decision will be that Canadians will still effectively have control.
The question is will there be effective control? Will small communities be serviced? Will the rights of the workers be respected and looked after? Will their contracts be looked at so they do not lose benefits they are currently getting? Will that be handled in a proper fashion?
There are all the other balanced approaches we have to use to make sure there is competition in the marketplace, to make sure that Canadians have more options and cheaper fares. These are the things that need to be looked at and they cannot be looked at with our hands tied behind our backs by saying it is going to be 1%, 2%, 3% or whatever.
Times do change. I said earlier that Bishop Wright got up in church and said that people would not fly. People do fly and as a matter fact, we can now go to the moon.
Supply October 28th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to speak to the opposition motion. I will share my time with the member for Mississauga West.
Today's motion reminded me of what happened in the early days of aircraft flying. I am reminded of a story told by Bishop Wright one Sunday in church when he was lecturing to the congregation. At that time there were two significant things happening. One was that there were to be blood transfusions coming out of Stanford and he thought that was not a good thing. There was no mention of it in the Bible. As well, he said “I hear that some people have developed some of these metal things that can fly”. He said “Ladies and gentlemen of the congregation, I want to tell you that flying is only reserved for angels”.
The government is here to make legislative changes, but those changes have to be what is best for Canadians. The country is large and has a northern climate. There are airports in many remote areas. Canadians would like to be able to get across this country as often as they can and as cheaply as they can. Every once in a while when it gets a little cold they want to go south. As a member of the transport committee, the question I have is what is in the best interests of the public and how can we get there? The minister has outlined five points.
The problem with the debate today is that it is being clouded by extemporaneous things. We have our own little nuances and little enclaves because we are a federation. We have to look beyond the federation to see how the system can be better while being reminded that this is a Canadian institution. None of us in the House, including members on this side, will ever give that up.
We want to have full control of the Canadian airline industry. So far we have done well. We started with Air Canada which had a lot of help from the government. The government helped Air Canada get on its feet. As always happens in this place, when Air Canada started making money the opposition did not like it and we had to privatize it. We said it was okay, that it could fly on its own.
Later on we did the same thing for Canadian Airlines in a balanced approach. We gave it some international routes and allowed it some slots in British airports. It is working quite well.
The transport committee heard from the Canadian Transportation Agency. It heard from the Competition Bureau. They have a lot of resources, skills and experience. They told us that we have benefited from deregulation over the last number of years.
I do not think the Minister of Transport got up one morning and decided that the industry had a problem. We ended up with this problem because of the changes in the international market, in international allegiances and alliances and because things do change in the marketplace.
Health October 22nd, 1999
Mr. Speaker, last June the Minister of Health tabled an announcement regarding the medical use of marijuana in a Health Canada document on the medical use of marijuana. The minister, under section 56 of the act, exempted two persons.
Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health explain to the House what other actions have been taken over the summer?
The Environment June 7th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, with the advent of summer, its hot hazy days and the increased use of automobiles, there will be an increased use of fossil fuels. These fossil fuels interact with sunshine, creating a temperature inversion and the resultant pollutants to the atmosphere. This creates a lot of problems for Canadians.
What is the Minister of the Environment doing today to improve the quality of the air which Canadians breathe?
Environment Week June 2nd, 1999
Mr. Speaker, this is Environment Week, a week set aside for Canadians to recommit themselves to environmental action. This week Canadians have an opportunity to act to meet our climate change goals and commitments. The federal government wants to help.
In last year's budget $150 million was committed to the climate change action fund. The fund includes a public education and outreach program. This program builds public awareness and informs and engages Canadians on climate change. It encourages partnerships between governments, communities, the private sector and other organizations in early action measures.
We do know this: we must act; we can act; we are acting. Only by acting now can we protect the environment for today and for future generations.
Agriculture May 28th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, over the past year farmers in my riding of Bruce—Grey have suffered a tremendous reduction in their incomes due to drought.
The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food has secured $900 million from the Government of Canada. Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food inform the House as to what the current negotiations are with the provinces? When and how quickly will that money flow to the farmers in my riding?