John O'Reilly

[Great Lakes Region Of Africa, November 18th, 1996]

Madam Speaker, I obviously cannot answer the question in 30 seconds because I would have to go into such detail. No one plans a war. No one plans to have 400,000 people cross a border in one day. Nobody plans on training people and how long that will take. That is something we react to.

I am sure the member for Calgary Centre was very supportive of our rapid deployment capabilities, as he supports this mission which he has indicated. He knows that no conflict can have a time limit. It depends on the need of the people at the time.

[Great Lakes Region Of Africa, November 18th, 1996]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Calgary Centre on his intervention. He has allowed me to speak a little longer about the strength that I have and feel as a member of the defence committee. I know that the Canadian troops are the best trained in the world, have the best attitude and have the highest degree of commitment to anything that they are assigned to do.

I believe our troops can handle this as they have handled other missions and as they continue to handle missions in places like Haiti, an area where bilingualism is a great asset. Our peacekeepers are well trained and well equipped. They are able to handle the missions that they are assigned. They handle them with the honour and dignity that comes with the strong history of the Canadian peacekeeping force.

The Canadian peacekeeping forces are known worldwide for their generosity, their support and their humanitarian ways. I think they will continue to do that. I would like to think that there is money in the defence budget to be able to handle that. I put my trust in the minister of defence that we have the capacity to do that. I put my confidence in the fact that the military has indicated to me that it is able to handle this mission. It has the money, the resources, the know-how and the ability. It is very anxious to treat this problem where it is. It does not want to let it spread to other areas.

The members of the armed forces do not want only to be peacekeepers, they want to teach people how to live a better life and how to sustain themselves for the long term. That in kind helps Canada sustain itself by not having these people on the shores of other nations in boat loads and so forth. I think that is very important. I believe our peacekeepers are able to handle this and that there is a budget available or we would not be sending them.

However, it is necessary, even if we have to scrape and scrounge somewhere, to ensure that this mission is carried out to the betterment of the whole world.

[Great Lakes Region Of Africa, November 18th, 1996]

Madam Speaker, I want to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Ottawa West.

I want to speak in favour of the mission to Rwanda, Zaire and the rest of central Africa. The world is watching the situation on the African continent. In the last number of days over 400,000 refugees have crossed back into Rwanda in the Goma area. In the next few days over 150,000 will return to Rwanda.

Fighting, starvation, dehydration and disease are running rampant. The situation must be addressed. Canada has taken the position that it must step forward to help in a humanitarian fashion. Our history in peacekeeping puts us in a good position to be the leader, with the world showing its confidence in Canada to lead the way.

We must remember what this mission encompasses. As the Prime Minister indicated earlier, the enemies are suffering, pain, disease and hunger. We need to offer aid.

The sub-Saharan region is in great need of help on a long term basis. There are some non-government agencies in my riding of Victoria-Haliburton similar to a small group of Christians who run HAVE, which stands for Help A Village Effort, that operate out of the county of Haliburton.

This group sends money and people every year to help people to obtain clean water by drilling wells. They supply clean drinking water and all that goes with it: sanitation, hygiene, nutrition and a different way of life. They teach how to treat sickness and how to avoid disease. They teach people to read the instructions on a simple water pump. This is a major problem in an area with little or no educational system. These people will continue to try to help in the sub-Sahara region.

I had the honour to attend a conference in 1996 in Washington. It was called "A 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment". The major sponsor was the National Geographic Society. This conference, ironically enough, pinpointed the exact problem we are dealing with today.

The most successful missions to the sub-Sahara are small and include, first, a banking system that lends small amounts to farmers in Africa. The majority are women by the way. They have a huge success rate, with a 99 per cent payback record.

Second is a seed program for farmers, with training by the Canadian agricultural community, to help the African communities obtain knowledge in modern agricultural techniques.

Third is programs in education on basic reading for instructions in order to read labels and symbols, or language training for sanitation and attending to basic human needs.

We must take this opportunity to step in and lead the way. The world is not only watching with hope, it is counting on Canada to show the United Nations' countries that our intervention is for the long term building of a self-sustaining country in Africa.

There are many reasons to send aid to the sub-Sahara. There is only one, fear of the unknown, that holds other people back. Some countries, because of their colonial history, are unable to help. Canada is able to help.

In conclusion, I wish to offer my support to this mission and hope it is the first step in helping the sub-Sahara and all of Africa to become self-sustaining.

[Boys And Girls Club Scholarships, November 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to congratulate the Boys and Girls Club of Ontario for raising over $90,000 toward scholarship funding for 90 youths across Ontario.

The Boys and Girls Club started a scholarship program in 1992 to cover the rising costs of post-secondary education faced by many of their youth members. From an initial $4,000 and four awards the program has grown to over $40,000 and 41 awards in Ontario in 1996.

Within the riding of Victoria-Haliburton two youth members have benefited from this scholarship program. Tracey Medina hopes to one day work with children who have social and emotional disabilities. She will be attending George Brown College. David Stubbs has chosen to study recreational leadership at Humber College and one day hopes to pursue a career with the Boys and Girls Club. Both individuals are invaluable members of the Lindsay club.

I would like to thank the Boys and Girls Clubs across Ontario for raising the funding for these and other accomplished youth.

I wish Tracey and David all the best in their future endeavours.

[Fighter Pilots Competition, October 30th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to salute Canada's top guns. At the high profile international fighter pilots competition in Florida, Canadian fighter pilots won the world series of flying and beat the American team hands down.

I applaud the whole team but in particular Captain Steve Nierlich from the village of Sunderland in beautiful Brock township in my riding of Victoria-Haliburton.

The prestigious top gun award is the highest individual award in aerial combat. Canadians everywhere can be proud of this fighter pilot and look forward to the team appearing in the Remembrance Day fly past on Parliament Hill. The Canadian fighter pilots and flight crew of CFB Cold Lake have positioned Canada as No. 1 in the world in air combat. Canadians should be proud of their spectacular performance.

On behalf of all members of the House I would like to pay tribute to the Canadian fighter pilots and ensure that they get the recognition they deserve. Congratulations on a job well done.

[Helen Newton, October 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today and congratulate Helen Newton from Minden, Ontario.

Mrs. Newton was selected to receive one of three TV Ontario teaching awards from a long list of teachers from across the province.

Children across Ontario often read the delightful book Flat Stanley . Mrs. Newton's class makes its own Flat Stanleys to swap with classrooms around the world in a project that blends old-fashioned writing and geography with surfing the Internet.

Since the school does not have access to the Internet, Mrs. Newton takes the kids' adventures home to her personal computer and sends them to classrooms in Hawaii, Texas, France and the rest of the world via her modem.

Congratulations, Helen Newton.

[Member For Peterborough, October 24th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to draw to the attention of the House the fact that a very talented member of Parliament has won the Elected Officials Ploughing Championship at the recently held 79th annual Peterborough County Ploughing Match.

Yes, the member for Peterborough has accomplished something quite unique. He won the title last year for the first time, the first for any member of Parliament to win this event.

Now he will officially be known as Re-Pete, not just Pete. I congratulate the member for Peterborough and send out this notice. Next year the member for Victoria-Haliburton will end this reign of the member for Peterborough. There will be no Three-Pete.

[Petitions, October 21st, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure, pursuant to Standing Order 36, to present a petition from people living in Victoria-Haliburton.

The petitioners humbly pray and call on the Parliament of Canada assembled to enact legislation to ensure that Canada remains one country, undivided, from coast to coast to coast.

[Jennifer Hale, October 21st, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today and inform the House of a great accomplishment by a young promising dancer named Jennifer Hale.

Jennifer has been accepted to the Royal Academy of Dancing in London, England. This academy accepts only 15 students per year worldwide.

Jennifer is 18 years old and is from Lindsay, Ontario. She has been studying ballet, highland, modern and jazz dancing at the Lindsay Dance Studio for 10 years.

I would like members to join with me in congratulating Jennifer for her fine accomplishments and wishing her all the best with her future studies and endeavours.

[Seniors' Bill Of Rights, October 11th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the parliamentary secretary for shortening his time in order to allow me to speak on Motion No. 265 of the member for Guelph-Wellington on the seniors bill of rights. This motion to direct the justice committee to draft a seniors bill of rights is very timely.

My riding of Victoria-Haliburton is very influenced by the constant rise in the number of seniors, some very young seniors by the way, who are retiring in beautiful rural ridings to enjoy the tranquil settings, pristine lakes, nature trails and the many advantages to living in rural Canada. The riding of Victoria-Haliburton is experiencing a boom from the Toronto area in the seniors market. The growing market is a knowledge based group with much to offer the communities they retire in.

Bobcaygeon village situated on three islands between Sturgeon Lake and Pigeon Lake with the busiest lock on the Trent canal system and about 750 miles of inland fresh water is experiencing the fastest growth in the seniors market in Ontario.

The residents of Bobcaygeon and area lead all other areas in responding to my surveys of constituents. The advice they forward to me and my colleagues is based on a very thorough understanding of the issues of the day and a great understanding of history.

With this in mind, the seniors bill of rights would be very welcome in my riding and other areas of similar nature, like Guelph-Wellington.

The Canadian Association of Retired Persons sent suggestions. We all agree with them.

I want to support the member for Guelph-Wellington in her efforts to establish a seniors bill of rights and encourage all members to lend their support.

Mr. Speaker, may you and all members and staff of the House of Commons have a joyous Thanksgiving.