Paul Bonwick

[Petitions, October 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is on behalf of residents in the south end of my riding. The petition deals with stem cell research. There are over 300 signatures on it.

Residents of Canada draw the attention of the House to the following: that hundreds of thousands of Canadians suffer from debilitating illnesses and diseases, such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes, cancer, muscular dystrophy and spinal cord injury; that Canadians support ethical stem cell research which has always shown encouraging potential to provide cures and therapies for these illnesses and diseases; and that non-embryonic stem cells, which are also known as adult stem cells, have shown significant research progress without the immune rejection or ethical problems associated with embryonic stem cells.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament to focus its legislative support on adult stem cell research to find cures and therapies necessary to treat the illnesses and diseases of suffering Canadians.

[Petitions, October 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions this morning to present to the House on behalf of the residents of Simcoe--Grey. The first petition concerns child pornography.

Residents of Canada draw the attention of the House to the following: that the creation and use of child pornography is condemned by the clear majority of Canadians; and that the courts have not applied the current child pornography laws in a way which makes it clear that such exploitation of children will always be met with swift punishment.

The petitioners therefore call upon Parliament to protect their children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that all materials which promote or glorify pedophiles or sado-masochistic activities involving children are outlawed.

[National Rail Days, October 9th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to extend an invitation to all members of the House to participate in Canada's National Rail Days on October 30 and 31.

The House realizes that our national rail industry plays an integral role in Canada's economy and well-being.

Further, as the House contends with such important issues as sustainable management of our environment and our competitiveness as a nation, few sectors within Canada have the ability to play such a positive role as the rail industry.

I must also state that in spite of these tremendous opportunities there are also some policies and other challenges that are restricting the railways' ability to deliver further benefits for Canadians, recognizing of course that these challenges can be overcome with the collective will and support of the House.

It is in this regard I would invite all members of Parliament, who have an interest in the rail industry, to participate on October 30 and 31 in addressing these challenges and seizing these opportunities.

I look forward to seeing all of my colleagues there.

[Resumption of debate on Address in Reply, October 1st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the member may suggest that we are drinking Kool-Aid, but I think something a little more lively is in their cocktail across the floor with that silly rhetoric.

I will stand here today and say quite clearly that there is nothing arrogant about my position. I am humbled to be able to serve the residents of Simcoe--Grey and for that matter Canadians all across this great land and there is no arrogance about it.

The member talked about students. Does he recognize first of all that under his colleagues in the province of Ontario the cutbacks to students have been absolutely shameful? Where the federal government has been investing, the provincial Conservative government has been dropping. Does he also recognize that enrolments are up in universities all across this great country? Does the member not also recognize that 95% of student loans are being repaid in a timely fashion and in the appropriate timeline?

Obviously the premise of the hon. member's question is totally unfounded. Canadians are being provided an opportunity for education. The government is investing in those young people to provide them an opportunity to make sure that we achieve the greatness that we rightly deserve.

[Resumption of debate on Address in Reply, October 1st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, sadly enough, I will assume that the hon. member has the same speech writer as the Alliance Party. Clearly he is confused about the numbers that he is using. I assume he read one of his colleague's notes over in the other lobby.

Clearly, 25% of the promises may be already realized. Keep in mind that we are in the middle of our mandate. The government is still working on these things. The government is still accomplishing many things. Unlike the hon. members from the Conservative Party, on a daily basis we are here and we are committed to resolving many of the commitments that have already been raised.

The hon. member brought up several points. I will not try to respond to all of them because I would like to open the floor to some intelligent questions from other members. The member talked about student debt. I seem to remember sitting here a couple of years ago and listening to the announcement of one of the largest investments in post-secondary education, namely the Canadian millennium scholarship endowment fund. That was one of the largest investments ever made on behalf of a government for young people in this country.

There are RESPs. Canadians all across this great land are benefiting from RESPs under the sound financial stewardship of this government.

I am absolutely amazed. Quite clearly the member either did not listen to the throne speech or he has not followed the record of the House over the last number of years. In my opinion the government has made incredible investments in our youth.

[Resumption of debate on Address in Reply, October 1st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the residents of Simcoe--Grey, it is an absolute pleasure and an honour to stand here today in the House and bring forward my comments on the throne speech, the history of this government and the future of this great country of ours. Sadly enough, as I listened to members of the opposition, namely the member for Calgary Centre, I was disappointed because this is an opportunity for all parliamentarians regardless of political stripe to present a different vision, to present a vision for this great land of ours.

I am firmly convinced that we stand on the threshold of a great opportunity in this country. As a government, as parliamentarians and most important as a nation, we are provided these efforts based on the efforts of all Canadians from past generations and this present generation as well.

Mr. Speaker, I am splitting my time with the member for Lac-Saint-Louis and apologize for not mentioning that initially.

We stand at the crossroads of an incredible opportunity. The government has the opportunity to take our great nation and create a model for countries all around this great world. It is no secret that as a government, as Canadians, we want to make sure that all Canadians are provided an opportunity to move forward, that all Canadians benefit from the hard work and commitment of many generations of Canadians and from the sound financial management of the economic and social priorities the government has demonstrated over the last number of years.

I believe the throne speech articulates the very things that Canadians want, that they expect and that they deserve.

Few things can be as important to this country blessed with such a diverse, complex and sensitive environment as a commitment to protect that very environment for future generations. It is for this reason I was pleased to see the commitment from our government that suggests there is no greater priority than safeguarding the very environment that will provide healthy lives for our children and our children's children. This is fundamental to the health and prosperity of our nation for generations to come. I could not have been more pleased to see that our government, the only party in this House, is truly standing up to defend environmental initiatives and make sure there is a strong commitment to ensure we are addressing our responsibilities not only in Canada but around the world.

Speaking of future generations, environment and health are critically important. However, we recognize clearly that in order for our future generations to experience all the benefits they are certainly entitled to, they must be provided a good sound knowledge base and access to that knowledge base. I could not have been more pleased when I heard the Governor General say, “no investments do more to break the cycle of poverty and dependency, and to maximize the potential of every Canadian”, leading into long term investment plans that allow “to break the welfare trap so that children born into poverty do not carry the consequences of that poverty throughout their lives”.

That demonstrates the caring and compassion of Canadians and the direction of the government. We do not want to see children left in poverty. We want to focus on programs that support financially challenged families, single mothers and single fathers raising children. It is incumbent on any government to make sure the appropriate programs are in place so that we break the cycle of poverty. I believe that vision is articulated in the very throne speech we heard yesterday.

I believe I speak on behalf of all my fellow Canadians in recognizing the enormous benefit and the enormous investment that has been made in providing schools and libraries, and the children who are using those schools and libraries, with the information technology and access to that information technology that is second to no other country in the world. There has been a huge investment made in that very topic. Canadians are better off because of it and will continue to be better off because of it.

I have heard hon. members across the floor talk about lack of vision but I have heard no vision from them. I have heard criticism for the purpose of criticizing. That is a shame.

When I sat here yesterday and heard the Governor General speak about the commitment to supporting municipalities, rural municipalities in my particular case, I could not have been more pleased. For years I have stood in caucus and in the House and suggested we need a long term sustainable infrastructure program.

Contrary to what the members in the Alliance or the members in the Conservative Party would say, this is fundamentally important to the growth of rural municipalities. They need a federal partner on an ongoing basis, not time sensitive programs. We are talking about providing some of the most basic of things within municipalities: water, sewers, roads, bridges, things that would allow them to grow and prosper. We cannot be setting specific timelines in place, putting them in a position where financially they are compromising themselves simply by way of a specific date.

In that respect, I could not have been more pleased to hear the government commit to a long term plan to support municipalities. That is a vision for Canada, not the type of vision we hear from across the floor.

I must state clearly that there were many things in the throne speech that I was very pleased with. However, there were a couple of points that I was somewhat disappointed in and which I certainly must address.

I make the commitment that between now and the budget some time next year, I will be a strong advocate to ensure that we maintain a strong commitment to debt reduction as well.

We hear about the strong economy. We hear about a decline in our debt to GDP ratio. We are experiencing the 7% unemployment rate, contrary to the 11% and 14% rates when the Conservatives were in power.

It is important as a legacy for the government and as a legacy for future generations that we continue the ardent approach we have had for the last five years in dropping our hard national debt. It is no legacy to leave the children of tomorrow with a beautiful home and a huge mortgage. We have the beautiful home, but it is incumbent upon the government to continue its focus on debt reduction while trying to balance a social and economic agenda.

The government has to operate under three principles, a three-legged stool. One is the economy; one is social programs; and the third one is the will.

When I listened to my colleagues from the Alliance, they simply missed the point. They are solely focused on the economic points and are prepared to gut social programs. They have no accountability when they talk about $20 billion for spending on this and $10 billion for spending on that and in the same breath talk about eliminating or reducing taxes.

It is a three-legged stool. A government must offer a balanced approach. A government must recognize that the economy and the social programs are very much intertwined. We have to recognize that it is an incredible investment on behalf of all Canadians to provide opportunities for those who do not have them today.

It has been said many times in the House and all across Canada that our most valuable resources are our youth. That was clearly articulated in the throne speech yesterday.

The government has a history, a track record of sound financial stewardship. When I came to the House in 1997 I was looking at a $43 billion deficit. They throw that out loosely. That was just a few short years ago. Since then we have experienced some hard decisions. We have experienced an opportunity to create balanced and surplus budgets while supporting things like agriculture and child benefit programs, reinvesting in the military and seeing unemployment rates drop from 11% to 7%.

I would stand here today and tell Canadians to take comfort in the fact that the government in moving forward is not going to leave the weak behind. We will remain steadfast.

As I said at the start, we are at the threshold of greatness and great opportunity. As outlined in the throne speech, we will capitalize on that.

[Resumption of debate on Address in Reply, October 1st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I listened respectfully to the words from the Right Hon. member for Calgary Centre. I am disappointed that he has missed an opportunity with his allotted time to present a different vision here in the House rather than to simply criticize for the purpose of undermining the hard work over the past seven to eight years by Canadians to get the country in the shape that it is in today.

Is it the hon. member's opinion that the country is in better shape today under the Liberal government, with single digit unemployment, running back to back five year surpluses, debt reduction, investment in our children and attacking poverty? Or does he believe it was better when the Conservatives were in power with double digit unemployment, $43 billion deficits, debts growing beyond belief, mismanagement and I will not comment on the integrity of the former Prime Minister and his colleague, Mr. Mulroney.

Does the hon. member believe that the country is in better shape today financially than it was when his party was sitting on this side of the House?

[Terrorism, May 29th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to once again offer our thoughts and prayers to the families who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. I believe it is important for the survivors to know that as Canadians our hearts are with them throughout the year and not simply on one day.

Sadly enough, our riding lost a person in this tragic attack. Ken Basnicki was a devoted husband and a proud and loving father. As Ken's wife Maureen and his children Brennan and Erica attempt to pick up the pieces of a shattered life it is imperative that we as a government, in fact we as a country, offer them the support they require during these difficult times. It is my hope that in this home we call Canada, as a family of Canadians we rise to the challenge and help take care of our own.

To the Basnicki family and all the survivors of 9/11, I offer on behalf of the House of Commons our sympathy, our prayers and a promise: We shall not forget.

[The Budget, November 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, today I bring forward a message from the residents of Simcoe--Grey regarding the upcoming budget.

Our journey has been long and not without challenges. Canadians for generations to come will look back at our eight previous budgets and the direction laid out by the Liberal government with a sense of relief, relief at the fact that our government was able to reposition our economy from near certain economic ruin at the hands of the Conservatives to a country that is now recognized as a global leader.

The requests are that we continue to provide the necessary federal funding for health care, remain steadfast in our commitment to tax reduction, provide the necessary funding to our military and security agencies to do their jobs properly, remain vigilant in our focus on debt reduction and not lose sight of our obligation to our environment.

Lastly I say that we must not give up the valuable ground we have gained by moving toward deficit financing. I ask the minister not to borrow from tomorrow's generation to pay for today's.

[The Environment, November 21st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am requesting the support of the House of Commons on behalf of the Conservation Authorities of Ontario. Over the past 50 years the Conservation Authorities have been charged with the responsibility of maintaining the delicate environmental balance in our Great Lakes Watershed Basin. They have done this by creating unique partnerships with all levels of government as well as the private sector.

It is also worth mentioning that in fulfilling their mandate they have saved our government over $3.5 billion annually. I should also state that these same Great Lakes Watershed Basins contribute over $7 billion annually to our economy.

However, to contend with the eroding environmental conditions facing our Great Lakes, the Conservation Authorities have brought forward a two-part plan: the healthy Great Lakes program and the fish habitat endowment fund. Not only do we have a constitutional obligation to support these initiatives, but, greater than that, we have an obligation to our environmentally sensitive Great Lakes.

On behalf of the Conservation Authorities of Ontario, I respectfully request everybody to join in supporting these initiatives.