Pat O'Brien

[Criminal Code, June 13th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I wonder if I could ask for the indulgence of the House to revert to routine business to allow me to present a unanimous committee report from the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs.

[Stephen Truscott, June 1st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, 41 years ago Stephen Truscott was the victim of a miscarriage of justice. This young man lost his freedom, was almost executed, and spent many years under an assumed name.

Because this case occurred in Clinton, close to my home of London, Ontario, I have researched it thoroughly for many years on several occasions. I visited the scene of the crime. From all the evidence that I have read, it is my personal belief that Stephen Truscott is innocent of this heinous crime. Millions of Canadians also agree.

There are many questions that need to be answered and many problems surrounding this trial. The investigation of this crime has been less than thorough, to say the very least.

I add my voice to all those other voices calling on the Minister of Justice to review this case when the minister receives the application so that Stephen Truscott can reclaim his good name.

[Petitions, May 31st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the other two petitions are signed by hundreds of Canadians mostly in my riding but also in other ridings.

The petitioners urge parliament to fulfil the promise of the 1989 resolution of the House of Commons to end child poverty as soon as possible.

[Petitions, May 31st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the honour to present three petitions signed by a number of my constituents.

The first petition calls on parliament to review the mandate of the CRTC and to allow for the licensing of religious broadcasters.

[Jeanie Johnston, May 17th, 2000]

moved:

That this House salute the Jeanie Johnston as it recreates the voyage of the ships that brought to Canada in the 19th century thousands of Irish immigrants fleeing famine and extend a parliamentary welcome to this ship and her crew.

[Division No. 1321, May 17th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been discussions with members of all parties and you would find unanimous consent to adopt Motion No. 393, standing in my name, without debate.

[Kurdish Refugees, May 16th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, for the past 10 years the international community has witnessed many atrocities against the Kurdish people. We have seen a variety of nations in the region use violence against the Kurds to achieve their political goals.

Thirty-five million Kurds live in the Middle East and they do not have a country to call home. Without a country they have been denied human, social, political and cultural rights. This conflict has the potential to create instability in the region.

The Kurdish question cannot be settled by force. Canada has a role to play in the region by advancing our human security agenda. We are a multicultural nation and through our example we can show the region that a nation that protects minority rights can prosper.

The situation involving the Kurdish people is too serious to ignore. To do so will lead to more conflict and suffering in the area.

[Reserve Force Uniform Day, May 3rd, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, today is Reserve Force Uniform Day. Reservists throughout the country are wearing their uniforms with pride to their places of civilian work or study.

Our reservists come from virtually every segment of Canadian society. Although from different backgrounds, they have one thing in common: their love of Canada and commitment to military service.

Canada's reserve units are located throughout the nation and foster national unity. In my city of London, Ontario we have four units, the 1st Hussars, the 4th Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, the 22nd Service Battalion and HMCS Prevost .

Reservists have played a vital role in the defence of Canada. From pre-Confederation to today, reservists have served with courage and distinction. Today our reserve forces are participating in peacekeeping missions throughout the world and have recently provided assistance during national emergencies here in Canada.

Please join with me in saluting Canada's outstanding citizen soldiers.

[Shipbuilding Act, 1999, March 28th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to respond to this private member's bill, put forward by the hon. member for Lévis-et-Chutes-de-la-Chaudière. Frankly, the bill sounds a bit like a broken record and essentially repeats the same old demands for subsidies and tax breaks which our government has been hearing from the shipbuilding industry since 1997.

The industry is asking for a tax haven, but the Canadian taxpayers are asking for tax breaks.

Canadians are very clear. They do not want government to artificially prop up industries through interventionist and costly financial measures like the one suggested in Bill C-213.

During the second reading debate the hon. member for Elk Island argued that the bill's proposed loan guarantee program, similar to the American Title XI program, would be cost free. He said “The American taxpayers have not shelled out one red nickel in order to implement the program”.

Let me put this myth to rest right now. Loan guarantee programs are not free of cost. In 1998 costs to the American government were roughly $3 billion U.S. for contingent liabilities and almost $2 million on default payments. Based on our neighbour's experience it is evident that such a program would be very costly to set up.

The hon. member also contended that if ships built in Canadian shipyards were exempted from the regulations relating to lease financing, the existing depreciation rates for ships would apply without any restrictions. Consequently, he argues, the tax disadvantage that prevents ownership or lease financing of ships would be eliminated.

The fact is that the shipbuilding industry already has access to accelerated capital cost allowances. These are more generous than for any other industry in Canada, and even more generous than tax credits in the United States.

Furthermore, Canadian taxpayers would never accept both an accelerated CCA and an exemption from leasing regulations. If this were permitted the cost of a ship could be written off more than once and it would create a tax shelter. That is what the current leasing regulations help us avoid.

A third measure proposed in Bill C-213 is yet another demand for a tax break. It would create on a national basis the same type of program that Quebec set up in 1996-97. The tax measures proposed in the bill are not only costly to taxpayers, they are old, tired, interventionist tools from the past, the very tools which Canadians want us to stop using.

We must take charge of the future, not by returning to the past, but by investing in innovation, by training smart workers and giving them upgraded equipment and production techniques to do the job, and by forging alliances that will lead industries in the pursuit of excellence.

The policy instruments used by the federal government are modern instruments. They concentrate on areas that can make a real difference and that use taxpayers' money wisely. The acquisition of new builds in Canada by the federal government is done on a competitive basis and is restricted to Canadian sources.

I know that we have agreed to a four minute limit. There is much more I could say in explaining in detail why this is simply not a good suggestion in the private member's bill, however well intentioned. Canadians simply do not want to return to those kinds of mistakes from the past.

[The Irish People, March 17th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the coat of arms of Canada bears among its symbols the Royal Harp of Tara and the Shamrock of St. Patrick to recognize the outstanding contribution of the Irish people in the formation of our blessed nation.

The Irish began to arrive in a trickle as early as the 17th century in Newfoundland. That trickle became a river during the 18th and early 19th centuries. That river became a great flood of Irish refugees during the tragic years of the great famine in Ireland.

By the time of confederation in 1867 fully one-third of the people of Canada were of Irish origin, including the visionary Father of Confederation, Thomas D'Arcy McGee.

Today some four million Canadians are of Irish ancestry. Former prime ministers Lester B. Pearson, Louis St. Laurent and Brian Mulroney all shared Irish ancestry. Some 70 MPs in the House of Commons are of Irish ancestry, by far the largest cultural representation after French and English.

Today I wish the people of Canada and Ireland a very happy St. Patrick's Day.