Lost his last election, in 2004, with 35% of the vote.
Petitions November 2nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I have the pleasure to present a petition from people in Minden, Kinmount, Kirkfield, Tory Hill and other places,
They are calling for the repeal of Bill C-68 to redirect the money to a more effective reduction of violent crime, improvement of public safety, more police on the street, more crime prevention, more suicide prevention centres, more women's crises centres, and other things.
Fred Gillies October 29th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the outstanding volunteer efforts of Mr. Fred Gillies.
Mr. Gillies lives in Minden, Ontario which is located in the beautiful riding of Haliburton—Victoria—Brock. Fred was part of the Canadian Volunteer Advisers to Business organization.
This organization is part of Canada's effort to stimulate development in disadvantaged economies. Last year this organization provided almost 23,000 days of service valued at $8 million.
Fred, accompanied by his wife Goldie, spent 12 weeks in Georgetown, Guyana assisting proprietors of a specialty food processing company. Fred trained quality control personnel in microbiology and employees in sanitation procedures and processing techniques.
Thanks to Fred Gillies, disadvantaged countries can gain the tools needed to be successful. Great job, Fred.
Canada Customs And Revenue Agency Act October 1st, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I want to inform the member for Ottawa Centre that I have moved out of his riding. I am now in the riding of the Minister of Industry, but I will stay on his mailing list because I enjoy his publications. They are well informed and he always goes into great depth.
The member for Ottawa Centre started out on a personal note as he talked about people who work in the tax department who are his constituents. They are people we deal with every day as members of parliament when we are trying to help people through the maze of problems they get not just with taxes but with many things. I have had to deal with the tax department myself and the only good part of it was that the lady's name was Hope. That was about all I had.
I want the member to comment further on some of his experiences with the employees of Revenue Canada and the good work they do for us as members of parliament.
John Eakins September 29th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dedicated and hardworking former member of provincial parliament from my riding, the late John Eakins.
John Eakins passed away in Hamilton on September 16, 1998 while undergoing cancer therapy treatments where he was staying to be closer to his family.
Mr. Eakins was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the riding of Victoria—Haliburton in 1975 and served five terms until he retired before the 1990 election. From 1985-87 he was Minister of Tourism and Recreation and after that Minister of Municipal Affairs.
Prior to entering politics Mr. Eakins served as a councillor in the town of Lindsay for three years and mayor of the town for six years. He was well respected by his constituents and he was a friend to many he served.
I would like to thank John for his many years of public service and ask that this House offer condolences to his family.
Petitions September 22nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have a petition to present calling on parliament to impose a moratorium on the ratification of the MAI until full public hearings on the treaty are held across the country so that Canadians have an opportunity to express their opinions on it.
Petitions June 3rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the pleasure to present a petition from people in Wilberforce, Highland Grove and Tory Hill. The petitioners call upon parliament to support Bill C-225, an act to amend the Marriage Act and the Interpretation Act so as to define in statute that a marriage can only be entered into between a single male and a single female.
Petitions May 8th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure to present a petition from constituents of Victoria—Haliburton who are asking the government to remove the GST on all reading material.
Colouring Contest May 8th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, each year I organize a page colouring contest. The rules are quite simple. Each page creates something of interest from their home town on the back of my letterhead paper using only the crayons provided.
Binney and Smith Canada, the only manufacturers of Crayola products in Canada, is located within my riding. It donated the crayons and the prizes for the pages. I thank Binney and Smith for providing a wonderful assortment of prizes for all the pages who competed.
Once all entries have been submitted Helene Monette, a security guard in the House of Commons, judges each entry. This year's winner is Gaelle Halliday from St. John's, Newfoundland. Her creation was a very innovative piece of art. All entries were very well done.
I thank the pages for their hard work and commitment to serving all members of parliament. Once again we have a great group of pages to assist us.
Alberta Forest Fires May 7th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of National Defence inform this House as to what action this government is taking to help the people of Alberta in regard to the devastating forest fires in that western province?
The Late Bill Scott April 30th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, it is with deep regret that I rise today to remember the late William C. “Bill” Scott, a dedicated constituency politician from my riding of Victoria—Haliburton.
I had the privilege to serve as member of parliament after Mr. Scott retired, before the 1993 federal election. Mr. Scott was a kind man who placed an emphasis on his duty to constituents. He was very approachable and his good will attracted people to him.
Before entering federal politics, Bill played important roles as director of Agricultural Societies of Ontario, past president of the Lions Club, hockey referee with the Ontario Hockey Association and the Ontario Minor Hockey Association and as an associate member of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 441, Kinmount.
He started his political journey as reeve of the township of Snowdon. Mr. Scott won the Progressive Conservative riding nomination over seven other candidates in 1965. He was never challenged for that nomination after that.
Mr. Scott was first elected a member of parliament in 1965 and he served an astonishing eight terms representing Victoria—Haliburton.
Mr. Bill Scott was born and raised in Kinmount, a small friendly community in the riding. He always remembered where he was from first and foremost. Bill Scott dedicated his spare time to the Kinmount fair, one of the most successful rural fairs in Ontario. His involvement began as a youngster and led to president of the Kinmount fall fair board. His involvement in the fair was very important to the community and to all those who attended the fair year after year.
Bill Scott had an active beef farm which enabled him to be very aware that agriculture was an important industry in the riding. He was a strong supporter of volunteers. Wherever he had the opportunity to praise volunteers and the work they did he took full advantage to do so.
In Ottawa Bill served many years as a member of parliament. On July 1, 1992 he was elevated to the Queen's privy council. He also served as Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons in 1979 and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs in 1989.
Bill Scott used both Ottawa and his riding to effectively serve for 27 years in this House as a politician.
I will always admire Bill Scott for what he did for Victoria—Haliburton. Bill's family gave this country a hardworking politician committed to improving his hometown, his riding and his country.
My sincere condolences go to his wife Betty, daughter Laurie, son Guy and all the family. We thank Bill for a job well done.