Paul Bonwick

[Terrorism, September 18th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the residents of Simcoe--Grey, I extend sincere condolences to our neighbours in the United States.

A tragedy of this magnitude touches each and every one of us. In my riding we are still hopeful that one of our own will be found in the coming hours.

The outpouring of emotion has been enormous. We have experienced literally hundreds of expressions of sympathy and equally as important, offers of support. Whether it be through candlelight vigils or the hundreds of constituents who have travelled to my offices to sign a book of condolence, our hearts and prayers have been with our American friends.

We have no closer neighbour than the United States. Quite simply, our American neighbours are family, and it is in this regard I am confident in offering our support to our Prime Minister when he stated “together we will defy and defeat the threat that terrorism poses to all civilized nations”.

On behalf of the residents of Simcoe--Grey, we will stand with the Americans in their hour of need.

God bless Canada and God bless the United States of America.

[Merchant Navy Veterans Day Act, June 5th, 2001]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-374, an act to establish Merchant Navy Veterans Day.

Madam Speaker, I offer my sincere appreciation on behalf of all merchant navy veterans from coast to coast to coast to all my colleagues in the House.

This is indeed a very proud day for Canada and a very proud day for veterans from all across this great land of ours. The bill has been in the works for many months and was spearheaded through a local constituent of mine, Mr. Jack Stapleton.

On behalf of all 301 members of parliament, I ask Canadians to come together on September 3rd to celebrate the sacrifice that many men and women paid and the widows who were left behind by those who passed away during their tours in various conflicts in which Canada. I ask Canadians to come together and celebrate the fact that we have a free and democratic country due in large part to the efforts brought forward by merchant navy veterans.

As the member of parliament for Simcoe—Grey, I say bravo to all the veterans in Canada and especially the merchant navy veterans.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Citizenship Act, June 5th, 2001]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I wonder if you might seek the unanimous consent of the House to allow me to table a private member's bill this morning identifying September 3rd as Merchant Navy Veterans Day. The rationale for this is because I am not sure I can get it on the order paper prior to the House rising for the summer and obviously we will not be back in time for September 3rd. The hope is that many of the veterans who are alive today will have an opportunity to celebrate that national day on September 3rd.

[Neurofibromatosis Month, May 16th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring to the attention of our Prime Minister, members of parliament and Canadians across the country that May is officially recognized as Neurofibromatosis Month. NF is caused by spontaneous mutation of a gene that every human has. This mutation acts to promote tumour development in over one in four thousand North Americans.

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending a fund raising event sponsored by the Benjamin Thornewell Memorial Fund. Benjamin was a happy, outgoing child who passed away of NF at the age of eight and a half. The impact this fine young Canadian had on all of us is exemplified in the fact that over 300 community members came together to raise over $17,000.

I congratulate Benjamin's mother, Pat, and everyone involved in this huge success. Canada should come together and leave Benjamin a legacy of which he can be proud. Let us support the necessary research to find a cure for NF.

[Tourism, April 4th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question that is actually relevant to Canadians right now. My question is for the Minister of Industry.

In rural ridings like mine of Simcoe—Grey the tourism industry is offering enormous potential for economic prosperity and for opportunities for future generations. The challenge for smaller municipalities is their inability to develop the necessary infrastructure to accelerate growth in this critical industry.

Would the minister tell the House what our government is doing to assist rural communities like mine in developing their tourism base?

[Supply, April 3rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am certainly not defending anybody. What I am doing is simply clarifying the record. Sadly enough we have come to a situation today where we have aspersions being cast by that side of the House that are completely unfounded and inaccurate. It really bothers me that the level of debate in the House has sunk to the level that it has today with the opposition Alliance bringing forth these heinous accusations.

I sat and listened to the member for Edmonton North, who made a couple of disturbing statements in the House today. It was something along the lines—I tried to write it down but she was speaking very quickly out of both sides of her mouth so it was difficult to get it down verbatim—of “they have no trust in what he says”. I assume she was referring to Canadians when she said they.

Let us examine the record. We have a man who has dedicated 38 years of his life to Canada, to federalism and to raising the quality of life for all Canadians. On three separate occasions Canadians have shown their support and confidence in this individual and this party by electing three successive majority governments. We have to extrapolate on that and keep in mind that as a result of those three successive majorities, we have three successive defeats on that side of the House.

Now we can get to the point. They are personalizing, nothing more, based on the losses they have experienced three elections in a row.

My point for the member for Edmonton North is simply to remind her of and ask her to comment on the following. In 1996 she attended in my riding and made a very clear statement that she felt it was a disgrace and absolutely ridiculous that Liberal members of parliament would accept a parliamentary pension from the House. She said that and said she would never do it. She said her party would never do it. Here we stand when she has in fact done the complete opposite. Who can Canadians trust? Can they trust somebody who went on television and on air and made a commitment and backtracked on it, or a government that has offered good governance to the country for the last seven years?

[Speech From The Throne, February 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite obvious by the member's statements that she is truly concerned about not only the plight of young people here in Canada but those abroad as well. There were many topics touched on in her comments. I might have to relegate myself to one.

She spoke about the opportunity for youth. I would like to provide an example of where we can really make a difference with youth but not simply on the cultural side of things.

There is a program under Youth Service Canada and delivered through Human Resources Development Canada. It has made an incredible difference in the lives of young people in my riding. It has provided them with the necessary lifestyle skills and the necessary job skills to secure full time permanent employment in our society. Those young people have become productive and happy members of society. In that regard, I think the government has done an incredible job in making sure we deal with the problems our young people face.

[Speech From The Throne, February 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that there are clouds on my horizon. As I look across and see the Canadian Alliance it is always cloudy. It is always gloom and doom. That is not the reality in the country. It is not about negativity; it is about being realistic.

Canada is very well positioned to weather any economic storm. When one looks at the economy and what has been achieved in the last seven years, it is an absolute economic miracle. Those are not my words. Those are the words of the Financial Times .

I see my colleagues in the reform alliance getting upset because they do not have a plan to deal with these kinds of issues. They do not want to talk about positive growth, what has been done to reduce debt or the most massive tax reduction strategy in Canadian history. They do not want to talk about an incredible shoring up of our social programs. They want to talk about gloom and doom in the U.S. There are times when I am not totally positive whether I am debating with members of parliament or congressmen.

I will tell Canadians that Canada is very well positioned to lead the way in this new age technology globally. We will do it. We will continue based on the track record and on the historical evidence the government put forward today. I am proud to say that I will be part of that parliament.

[Speech From The Throne, February 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it is an absolute pleasure to rise in the House today to provide my reply to the Speech from the Throne.

Before I do so, I want to take a moment to offer my thanks to the residents of Simcoe—Grey for once again establishing their confidence in my party, my Prime Minister and myself in the election this past fall. They have bestowed on me incredible honour and responsibility and I once again take this opportunity to tell them that I do not take that honour and that responsibility lightly.

To my family, friends and supporters, I could not possibly say thank you enough for their help and the confidence that they have shown in me. I take this job very seriously. I tell them from the bottom of my heart that I do appreciate their confidence and I will not let them down. I know that my Liberal colleagues will not let them down either as we focus on the future of this great country to ensure that our generation and future generations enjoy a higher quality of life than those which have proceeded us.

I want to send a special thank you to my wife Sandi and my three children, Amy, Alex and Matthew. Without them, it certainly would have been incredibly difficult. Sandi certainly has done an incredible job in allowing me to come here and represent the constituents of Simcoe—Grey.

I would also be remiss, Mr. Speaker, if I did not offer my thanks and congratulations to you. The citizens in your riding are certainly well served by one of the most effective and honourable men in the House of Commons. I want to offer my sincere appreciation for the help and guidance you have provided to me over the last three and a half years. In my first term of parliament your experience was called on by me on numerous occasions, and you never ceased to direct me in the appropriate way to best serve my constituents. I appreciate that from the bottom of my heart.

To Her Excellency, our Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson, I offer my thanks. Her Excellency has provided a vision for Canada that all Canadians can buy into. She has set bold goals and bold visions. She has made a very bold statement as well, that is, that all Canadians will, as they have in the past, come together to make sure that Canada will continue to be the best place in the entire world in which to live. I offer my thanks to her for making such an incredible statement in such a few short minutes.

That is exactly what Canadians will do. We will work together, because that is the type of people we are. We are a caring and compassionate community. We certainly appreciate tolerance and diversity, but we build on our weaknesses to create strengths. We have done it in the past and we will continue to do it under this Liberal government.

As Liberals, as Canadians, we will seize the opportunities. With those opportunities in this ever changing global economy will come challenges. We recognize those challenges on this side of the House. We work very hard with our cabinet colleagues and with the members in the caucus to make sure that Canada overcomes all of those challenges, whether we are dealing with agricultural, cultural or industrial issues, all of the aspects that the House and our committees deal with.

The government has done a very good job of trying to make Canada the best place in the world in which to live. It could not have happened without the 30 million plus Canadians who joined us in that fight. They have joined us in the fight to make sure that the next generation has more advantages and is better positioned to carry forward in this new age economy. This government has been successful. The last election speaks very clearly to that.

Canadians were loud and clear. They told us that they wanted a balanced approach. They told us they wanted government to work with the people, the provinces and the municipalities and to make sure that it is not simply the strong that move forward, to make sure that as the country moves forward as a whole we take the weakest with us as well. The throne speech has done exactly that. It has laid out a course. It has laid out a vision that the country as a whole can buy into to ensure that as we in the country move forward the weakest are not left behind. It is not the Canadian way to leave the weakest behind.

Contrary to what some of my friends in the Alliance might think, it is incredibly important for the federal government to play a key role in the everyday lives of Canadians. There is a need for a strong federal presence in the country, from coast to coast to coast. Through the delivery mechanisms and bureaucracies we have, we are doing that, and we will do a better job.

I can cite numerous examples within my own riding. There is Human Resources Development Canada, without doubt one of the hardest working bureaucracies we have in government today. I take this opportunity to thank the dedicated men and women who have been delivering the programs that have made a difference in the lives of people in my riding. My hat is off to those people, because despite the scurrilous accusations that have been made in the House and outside the House toward some of those individuals, the federal government has made an incredible difference through these bureaucracies, with the support of Canadians throughout our great country.

One of the things that touched my heart in the throne speech, perhaps because I have three children of my own, is the focus on a national children's agenda. I was moved when the Governor General talked about the new challenge for Canadians. “Seize this challenge” was the statement. We were told to come together and make sure that there are new opportunities for our young people, not simply for those in the upper or middle economic classes but for all young people. When I hear those kinds of things, I get terribly excited. I think we can make another big difference in this coming 37th parliament.

A lot has been done. I am looking across the floor and people are nodding. These people recognize that the government has done an incredible job with the young people of the country. I certainly appreciate the fact that they are acknowledging that.

Whether we talk about Canada's national child benefit program, the $2.2 billion investment signed in September 2000, or the extending of parental leave for new parents, the Liberal government has made a big difference.

However, what is very clear in the throne speech is that there is still a lot of work to be done and a long way to go to make sure that things gets better. That is the government's responsibility: to make sure that as we move forward as a society the weakest are not left behind. I have heard the Prime Minister say that we will not leave the weakest behind. I have heard cabinet ministers say it. I have heard my colleagues say it when I have visited their ridings and they have visited mine. We will make sure that this is a country founded on one country moving forward, not on parts of a country moving forward.

The throne speech also touched on a variety of other topics, many of which will play a very critical role in the development of my riding.

As you are aware, Mr. Speaker, having visited it in the past, my riding has an economy made up of three separate and distinct things: agriculture, tourism and industry. I was extremely pleased to see that all three areas were touched on in the throne speech because that provides an opportunity for municipal councils, non-profit organizations, agricultural groups and private sector companies to know in just what direction the government is heading.

The government has clearly outlined a path for positive growth. It does not hoard negativity. it does not use fear mongering. Rather it lays out a vision for Canada of which I know everyone in the House is extremely proud.

Some questions have been raised in the House over the last couple of days about how the throne speech will position the Canadian economy in relation to the downturn in the U.S. economy.

I would be remiss if I did not thank our finance minister for the wonderful job he has done in ensuring that our youngest Canadians have an incredible foundation, a secure foundation, which is a complete change from seven or eight years ago. Based on that foundation, Canada will move forward. It will be a global leader, not only economically but, unlike my friends in the reform alliance party, it will be a leader socially as well.

I tip my hat to the Governor General, the Prime Minister, my colleagues, the newly elected members and to you, Mr. Speaker. I will enjoy working closely with them to make sure the 37th parliament is the best parliament in Canadian history and that we achieve the results to which the Liberal government is committed: a stronger and more united Canada.

[Jason Arnott, June 13th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute a great Canadian, Jason Arnott. Jason, who needs no introduction to hockey fans across the country, happens to be a local boy from Wasaga Beach where he began his hockey career in the minor hockey system. He then went on to play for the Stayner Siskins as well as teams from Lindsay and Oshawa where he was a member of the 1990 Memorial Cup champions.

Following this he played for the Edmonton Oilers until 1997 when he joined the New Jersey Devils. Then on June 10, Jason scored the winning goal during the second period of overtime against the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup finals.

Throughout his incredible career Jason has never lost sight of his roots. He continues to be a huge supporter of local charities in Wasaga Beach including minor hockey.

I know I speak on behalf of his parents, Bill and Eileen, the town of Wasaga Beach, the Parliament of Canada and all Canadians when I extend congratulation and thanks to Jason Arnott. Today Canada recognizes him as one of its finest hockey sons. By the way, Lord Stanley's Cup will soon visit Wasaga Beach. I say congratulations to Jason.