John O'Reilly

[Infrastructure, October 28th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, in the 35th Parliament of Canada the riding of Victoria—Haliburton was successful in obtaining 238 infrastructure grants from the federal initiated program. That number was the highest in rural Canada. We in Victoria—Haliburton are pleased with the level of co-operation from all levels of government.

The provincial member and the federal member worked together to encourage municipal leaders to submit programs, and we were all winners.

In the present program we in Victoria—Haliburton are once again leading the way with over 53 projects in the works.

I want to guarantee the residents of Victoria—Haliburton, in particular upcoming municipal candidates, that my complete support for this program is guaranteed. Let us keep the approvals flowing.

[Petitions, October 22nd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the pleasure to present this petition regarding public nudity.

[Fleetwood Canada Ltd., October 21st, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise and salute the employees of Fleetwood in Lindsay, Ontario.

Fleetwood is the maker of the highest quality recreational trailer products in North America. It recently celebrated its quality above all achievement of attaining a rating of 93% for customer satisfaction. The employees of Fleetwood in Lindsay have proven once again that they can compete with the world and win every time.

Congratulations to the management and staff for their tremendous achievement and dedication to quality above all.

[Supply, October 9th, 1997]

Or the CAW.

[Petitions, April 18th, 1997]

Madam Speaker, I rise pursuant to Standing Order 36 to present a petition which indicates that 38 per cent of the national highway system is substandard.

Therefore the petitioners call upon Parliament and urge the federal government to join with provincial governments to make the national highway system upgrading possible.

[Interest Rates, April 18th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, financial institutions are charging 17 per cent interest on their major credit cards. Department stores are charging up to 28 per cent interest on their cards.

Is there any progress by the government on reducing credit card interest rates?

[The Budget, March 21st, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the hon. member for her fine approach to the budget and the informative speech which she gave.

I wonder if she could elaborate a little on measures for the disabled which are in the budget.

[John Craig, March 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to congratulate John Craig, a student from Haliburton Highlands High School.

At the age of 16, John has started his own business. John's business is a fitness facility in the village of Haliburton, Ontario. Along with the business, John gets great grades, plays on the football and cross-country teams, participates in drama and works weekends at an electronics store.

The idea for the business came when the old fitness facility in Haliburton closed. John leased the facility, brought in weights from his house and purchased additional ones. All this cost him $5,500 and if he gets an aerobics class it will cost him another $700.

His brother, Dan, has helped him considerably, along with his friends. His rent is considerably less than that of the last tenant but the most important factor will be his client base. John is working on that by placing flyers around the community and placing ads in the local paper.

I wish John all the best with his small business endeavour.

[Gerry Donoghue, March 4th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute Mr. Gerry Donoghue, a veteran of Hill TV journalism who is in the gallery today.

Mr. Donoghue is no stranger to these halls. He has been a cameraman on Parliament Hill for 37 years and has had an admirable career with several news companies.

Having worked in this place since 1959 he has observed the work of eight Prime Ministers and has watched history unfold. He represents the men and women who work with the press in this country. They are the eyes and ears of Canadians in our political institutions and a pillar of our democracy.

Well done, Gerry Donoghue.

[The Budget, February 20th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order.

I respect the views of the hon. member for Medicine Hat but that is the third time he has used the term "jobs, jobs, jobs" which was Mr. Mulroney's statement.