John O'Reilly

[Witness Protection Act, May 26th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise and speak on Bill C-206, legislation for the protection of witnesses and the relocation system. I commend the hon. member for Scarborough West for bringing the

Many court cases are lost because of fear from witnesses. Family safety is paramount to allow witnesses to give evidence without fear of reprisal from criminal elements. My three years of work in the Ontario parole system taught me and made me very aware of the problems that exist within our penal system. Inmates live in constant fear within the system, afraid of being identified as rats because rats have a very short lifespan in the prison system.

Gangs from every segment of our population exist in prison. They control the institution from the prisoner's point of view. If a witness who is himself or herself a criminal wants to change their lifestyle this program offered by Bill C-206 is a ticket for them to give valuable evidence and be assured of some life after the court appearances.

Innocent family members are also offered an escape from the criminal life they may be trapped in and have no way out of. The reform of our criminal justice system may come from bills like this one from members and particularly from the member for Scarborough West.

I have experience in an organization called Crime Stoppers which I helped form and was the first chairman of in the town of Lindsay. I learned that anonymity was the key to success. Pay for evidence for convictions. Judges grant search warrants based on tips from Crime Stoppers because they know it comes from very close sources to the crime.

We even had instances of people calling from the Lindsay jail for bail money through the Crime Stoppers program. People are motivated by not having to worry about going to jail if they give evidence or having to exist in a criminal element in our prisons by giving evidence. This proves the point that being assured of no punishment allows people to come forward and give evidence against criminals who have no regard for life or limb of any witnesses and will do almost anything to eliminate a witness from a court trial that may put them behind bars.

Bill C-206 is an important step toward the fight against organized crime. Youth gangs, organized mature adult criminals and other elements in our criminal society are not prosecuted for fear of reprisal from witnesses. If this program does anything to address that problem it will certainly make me feel better that we have done something in Parliament to forward our criminal justice system in a method that allows it to work as it properly should without fear of reprisals and to be able to have a life after.

Canadians will benefit from the bill. All members should support it and help promote witness protection as a right of every individual in Canada. It will take away that fear, take away that element that criminals thrive on, that wonderful thing that they have of intimidation. Take that away in some form and we help to make our society a better place in which to live.

I support the bill in its entirety. I hope that it goes forward and that every member of this House will support it and support other bills that come forward, no matter whether they come from our friends on the opposite side of the House or from members on this side of the House. If they make sense and if they help us to promote our society to be a safer, better place to live, we should look at all members supporting them and bringing forward ideas and bringing forward amendments if we need to.

The bill should go forward and it should help Canada be a better place to live.

[Binney And Smith (Canada), April 26th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, Binney and Smith (Canada) may not be a household name to most Canadians. However, on closer inspection I am certain we will see otherwise.

The company got its Canadian start in 1926 and moved to Lindsay, Ontario, in 1933 and was renamed Canada Crayon Company. It was early in 1934 that it produced Canada's first Crayola crayons and in 1958 it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Binney and Smith Inc. and is the only current manufacturer of crayons in Canada.

And manufacture it does. Last year 185 employees produced over 150 million crayons and 30 million markers. It is a model of success which every company in Canada should follow. In 1992 the entire product line was named Toy of the Year by the Canadian Toy Testing Council. In September last year it was one of five companies to receive the outstanding business achievement award from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce in recognition of outstanding achievement and business excellence.

We salute a great Canadian company, Binney and Smith (Canada) in Lindsay, Ontario.

[Lindsay Kinsmen Band, April 22nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the 40th anniversary of the Lindsay Kinsmen Band. Formed in the spring of 1954 by Lloyd McMullen and Muriel and Earl Kennedy, the band has become part of the history of the town. It has touched the lives of thousands of young men and women who pursued a musical career in the town of Lindsay and formed a lasting tie to the community.

Furthermore, the band has distinguished itself with appearances at various national and international fairs and exhibits, including the Calgary Stampede, the New York World's Fair, Expo 67 and the 1970 Klondike Days in Edmonton. It has been said that at each place it visited it left a lasting impression.

There are now 54 enthusiastic members of this band and they proudly carry on the spirit of past bandmasters, drum majors, teachers and members.

I salute the parents who have spent countless hours of their time with the band. I ask all MPs to wish success and a happy 40th birthday to the Lindsay Kinsmen Band.

[Highway 16, April 19th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, I thank the House for the opportunity to speak on Motion M-3 in the name of the member for Leeds-Grenville.

The highway 16 connection of Ottawa to highway 401 has more to offer than just a few minutes off the drive. Making a two-lane highway into a four-lane highway would allow for a much safer route. There is only one nation's capital to deal with and the access is poor unless one lives in Montreal.

Highway 7 on which I travel from Ottawa to the Tweed turnoff is a very popular route for large trucks to and from Toronto and Ottawa. That section of highway 7 is extremely overburdened because of the poor access from Ottawa to highway 401. This stretch of highway 7 is the most dangerous piece of two-way highway in Ontario. A better, safer route to our nation's capital is what we are asking for.

My trip to the House includes highway 7 usually four times a week to and from my riding of Victoria-Haliburton which is four hours from Ottawa by car, the only way I have to get here. School buses, transport trucks, camper vans, motor homes, motorcycles, cars pulling trailers, walkers and bicyclists all use that stretch of highway 7 from Tweed to Ottawa. Completion of highway 16 would ensure less risk to the people on highway 7 from Ottawa to the 401.

Highway 37 is very busy. It runs from highway 7, down through the village of Tweed, to the top of Belleville to connect with the 401. We could ask Elmer Buchanan, the MPP for Hastings, about his unfortunate accident this past winter on highway 37 from which he is still recovering. I am sure the Ontario government would take that into consideration.

My thrust is not immediate on highway 16. My thrust is on relieving the burden of the entrance to our nation's capital along highway 7. In conclusion I urge all members to support the bill.

[Killer Cards, April 19th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my concern about the importation of serial killer cards into Canada.

I, like many colleagues, am opposed to these shameful cards entering our country. I have hundreds, maybe even thousands of constituents from Victoria-Haliburton in Ontario who have signed a petition stating that the killer cards not be allowed in Canada.

We live in a violent enough society, evidenced by senseless shootings in the last few weeks, and we do not need to send another violent negative message to our youth by allowing these cards to circulate in our schools.

I echo the petitions which are circulating throughout this country and urge this House to amend the laws of Canada to prohibit the importation, distribution, sale and manufacture of killer cards in law and to advise producers of killer cards that their product, if destined for Canada, will be seized and destroyed.

[Chris Hodson, March 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mr. Chris Hodson, the newest member of the Ontario legislature who won a provincial byelection in Victoria-Haliburton on St. Patrick's Day.

He has been described as a political newcomer, however after closer examination his family name has a long history, including this very chamber. His grandfather, Clayton Wesley Hodson, was the member of Parliament for Victoria from 1945 to 1963. His uncle, Glen Hodson, was the member of the provincial parliament for Victoria-Haliburton from 1963 to 1975.

Once again I want to congratulate Chris on his victory. I look forward to working with him to provide excellent representation for the constituents of Victoria-Haliburton.

[Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act, March 24th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, I am sorry I will not be able to get into the friendly banter back and forth. I did not want to speak on the political diversity of our parties but on the redistribution in Bill C-18 and how it affects my riding of Victoria-Haliburton, because that is really what we are here for.

I disagree there is no outcry against redistribution. My riding is one that is second in geographic size in southern Ontario. It is being torn apart by redistribution. My riding takes in Victoria county and Haliburton county. It also takes in the township of Brock, which is really in the region of Durham. It takes in the south end of Peterborough county and the north end of Peterborough county from beautiful Buckhorn all the way to Bancroft.

Geographically it is the same size as Prince Edward Island. It is a large area to cover and has a lot of people. My riding will be reduced in size which I should be applauding, but in the fashion that I feel is important to the House I went and consulted with the area that is being taken away and the area that is being added. Neither one of them wants to move.

Brock township is an area that would be well served by being added to Victoria-Haliburton. It would be taken and added to the top end of Newcastle or Clarington which has absolutely no geographic similarity other than they are both in Ontario. It would be taken away from the central region of Victoria-Haliburton, a populous area. Keeping in mind that I have a population of 101,000 according to the 1991 census, it would be reduced to somewhere around 94,000.

There are many reasons to support the redistribution or not support it. My reasons are strictly based on my own riding and the effect redistribution will have on it. I am heartened when I hear the member for Beaver River speaking because I also have a Beaver River in my riding. It runs through Brock township and Beaverton and into Lake Simcoe. On Monday of this week I went to Beaverton to meet with the Brock township council. We discussed among other things the redistribution aspect but also the rejuvenation of Beaverton harbour. Hopefully that harbour will be part of the government's beautification program and, in looking at the economic problems that exist, Brock township will be enhanced by having a good harbour in Beaverton.

When we talk about the press not coming to the fore on this matter, as I read the Lindsay Daily Post in my riding it starts out with an editorial that says: ``John O'Reilly is right''. For the press to say that in itself is something that strikes right at my heart, but I am opposed for two reasons: first, my riding is affected in a way that is not beneficial to it and, second, there is a great cost involved in redistribution.

The cost of adding six members of Parliament is something I think the Reform Party, and myself included, should look at very hard. Why would we want to add that kind of money? Why would we even think in these tough economic times of adding millions of dollars to taxpayers' expenses? I can understand

Reformers saying that they would like to know what the rules are before the game starts.

We have to look at the issue and say that we cannot strike a committee in the government and tell it what its conclusions are to be. If the committee is to investigate redistribution and the reasons for redistribution it has to go in with a clear mandate. It cannot be something that is driven by politics. It has to be something that is driven by economics and the times we live in. It is not just the drawing of lines on maps that eliminate Brock township and add Ennismore. I will speak on Ennismore also. Ennismore being added to my riding makes less sense than taking Brock away.

My riding now runs across the eastern end to above the village of Norwood, which makes absolutely no sense. Once again it is a large geographic riding and very difficult to cover. Ennismore is above the city of Peterborough. Redistribution takes the city of Peterborough, makes a doughnut out of it and gives the rest of the area around it to the surrounding ridings. Adding Ennismore, which is steeped in Irish Catholic history, should obviously be an advantage to me.

I am not speaking strictly on partisan terms. The fact of the matter is that Ennismore is being added to the centre of Victoria-Haliburton where my constituency office and the town of Lindsay are located. Ennismore is above the city of Peterborough. Most people in Ennismore gravitate to the city of Peterborough to work. All government services are in the city of Peterborough. As these areas are added to ridings like Victoria-Haliburton and as Brock township is taken away and added to something else, the whole boondoggle, as I call it, makes absolutely no sense. I oppose it. Also I am not comfortable with closure. I must say that I do not find closure to be a comfortable way to do government. I say that quite heartily.

I have looked at the problem. Maybe it is minuscule; maybe it is not. The commission is out right now. Besides the $5 million it has already spent or wasted, as I would put it, it is going to waste more money in booking rooms, hiring staff, holding meetings, putting me and my constituents into a position where I am preparing on one side to oppose redistribution of my riding and on the other side supporting closure so that I do not have to go to the meetings and waste more taxpayers' money.

I talked to some Reform members and when I was through the comment one of them made was that I was more Reform than they were. I must agree with that because money and the spending of taxpayers' money are close to my heart. I came out of municipal politics where I instituted a system in my municipality that stopped debenturing and started reserves. Now I see that the municipalities in my area that have followed the procedure are able to take advantage of the infrastructure program because of planning they started in the past.

We all realize there are no more taxpayers' dollars to try to get. We have to save at every opportunity. Besides the process that is ongoing, a way of saving taxpayers' dollars would be by stopping the process. April 14 will be the first date under the process we could actually see the bill go through, cut off the hearings and bring redistribution to a halt. Then it should be restudied and looked at along the lines of Canada as a whole.

When I talk about my geographic area being the same size as Prince Edward Island, I do not mean to talk about four members from Prince Edward Island handling the same area that I handle as one member. Obviously I am already saving money under the program. The fact of the matter is that redistribution for my riding does not make sense. It will not benefit the voters of Victoria-Haliburton whom I represent. I hope other members represent their voters in the same way. I worry about that interim period where a huge amount of voting power is taken away from one riding and put into another. Does the member then spend less time there and more in the one that is being added? Those are questions I have not been able to answer.

I know my 10 minutes is coming to an end, but I hope members realize that stopping the hearings saves money. Five million dollars has been wasted; let us not waste any more. Let us look at the ridings that are adversely affected like mine and the damage it does to the system I have to work in. Let us stop in any way we can and take a hard look at redistribution and its effects on my riding and on other ridings in Canada.

[Fenelon Falls Curling Team, March 22nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the Fenelon Falls Secondary School girls

curling team which has earned a berth in the upcoming provincial high school curling championships in Sault Ste. Marie starting today until March 25.

We have all heard of the surprise performance in sporting competition, the small conquering the large, the David and Goliath syndrome. The courageous team I speak of, skip Jennifer Dickson, vice-skip Andrea Howard, second Cayley Rodd and lead Christina Dunn, won but a few games in the Cannington-Lindsay-Fenelon league this year.

However, in true underdog fashion the team peaked at the right time, finally winning a shootout against Trenton to see which team would represent central Ontario region at the all-Ontario provincials.

It is the first team from Fenelon Falls to compete at the championships and it will face a level of competition never before experienced.

I salute this team as it heads into uncharted waters and wish it all the best as it represents all central Ontario schools at the provincials.

[Bernie Nicholls, March 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great privilege that I rise today and salute a recent milestone attained by a gentleman born and raised in West Guilford in Haliburton county, Mr. Bernie Nicholls.

A few weeks ago Mr. Nicholls became the 39th player in the history of the National Hockey League to attain 1,000 points in scoring. He has joined the elites in the game: Gordie Howe, Jean Beliveau, Bobby Hull, Stan Makita and others who have reached the millennium mark and beyond in the NHL.

Bernie has achieved this level while enduring a great number of changes in his life both professionally and at home. He started his career in Los Angeles, was traded to the New York Rangers where he played for a short time, was moved to Edmonton and is now with his current team, the New Jersey Devils. Add to this movement from team to team the loss of a child this past fall.

That Bernie has been able to play this long and with such high skill is a testament to the perseverance, ability and commitment to hockey. He recognizes that his family obligations are first and foremost in his mind.

[Supply, March 14th, 1994]

That is enough to make you lose your hair.