The member has my vote.
Lost his last election, in 2004, with 41% of the vote.
Speech From The Throne February 1st, 2001
The member has my vote.
Canada Health Care, Early Childhood Development And Other Social Services Funding Act October 5th, 2000
Mr. Speaker, I listened attentively to the right hon. member. I would like to remind him that in 1993 the government inherited a fiscal framework and a $42 billion deficit.
Further, in the 1995 budget there was a non-confidence motion on the floor of the House by the then opposition Reform Party. The then leader of the Conservative Party, the member for Saint John, voted that the cuts the government made to try and put the fiscal framework back together were not deep enough. That is where the Conservative Party stood in 1995.
Another point we have to make is that there is not a member of parliament in the House that does not want a good health care system for the country. The notion that the member and his party are the only ones that care about a proper health care system is not factually correct.
When a Prime Minister of Canada can pull 10 premiers together, including a separatist premier, and unanimously agree on a pact, I think that is something that Canadians respect.
Supply September 21st, 2000
Madam Speaker, I think I have really said it all but I will say one more thing to all the members of the opposition parties. The member of parliament for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge put an amendment on the floor today and hopefully before the end of the day something miraculous will happen and all members will come on side and the amendment will be accepted, as the Minister of Finance has suggested.
Supply September 21st, 2000
Madam Speaker, I will say this humbly, but the government of Quebec does not support the oil companies. In fact, my understanding is that most of the members of the Bloc Quebecois support the report. I just do not understand why the hon. member is at odds with her own community.
Supply September 21st, 2000
Well I saw it twice with my own eyes and twice it was rejected.
Let us forget about the incident this morning. What is more important is that the Minister of Finance for Canada during question period today asked the leader of the Canadian Alliance to come on board and accept this amendment and he did not act.
Supply September 21st, 2000
Madam Speaker, I want you to ignore the fact that the member for Medicine Hat just said that I misled Canadians. I was in the House today sitting next to my colleague, the member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge, and I can tell you, Madam Speaker, that the motion was put on the floor twice.
Supply September 21st, 2000
Madam Speaker, today's debate represents somewhat of a defining moment in this parliament because something unique has happened here.
I would like to go back to two months ago when the newly elected leader of the Canadian Alliance was at a press conference across the street. One journalist asked him what his number one priority would be when parliament returned. The leader of the Canadian Alliance said that the number one issue for him would be parliamentary reform.
The very first motion that the Canadian Alliance put on the floor of the House after the summer recess deals with a very important issue, the reduction of fuel prices. As members of parliament, all of us are seized with this issue and we are looking at it in its complexity.
Something unique happened on our side of the House. The backbench member of parliament for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge and many of his colleagues spent the last two years of their parliamentary lives going across the country listening to Canadians, to mom and pop gas station operators and the operators of oil companies. They studied the issue, what is the problem and how could we fix it. A report was produced. That report, as most members in the House would admit, is one of the finest pieces of work ever put out by a backbench team.
What happened in the House today is something I have never seen in 12 years. It was not a minister of the Government of Canada who led off with the government position today; it was the member of parliament for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge who said “This is our position”. Why I think this is somewhat of a defining moment is that the member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge, who has strong views on the issue, and I think few would challenge his understanding of its complexity, put forward a constructive amendment to the Canadian Alliance motion.
This is what the member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge tried to get accepted by the Canadian Alliance: “That given the record increases in the price of gasoline, home and diesel fuel severely hurting Canadian consumers, especially those with lower incomes, this House calls upon the government to assist Canadians in coping with the rising financial burden and this House strongly urges provincial and territorial governments to consider providing similar assistance”.
The Canadian Alliance rejected to allow that motion to come to the floor. It rejected to allow members of parliament from all parties to consider that. This is significant to me because I am as passionately committed as anyone in the House to making the roles of members of parliament more meaningful and I was hopeful when the new leader of the Canadian Alliance said that his number one priority was going to be parliamentary reform. Today we had an example where parliamentary reform could have been dealt with in a constructive way for all Canadians, especially lower income Canadians and the Canadian Alliance walked away from it.
Madam Speaker, I am splitting my time with my dear friend and colleague from Ottawa Centre so please warn me when I have a minute left.
I appeal to the members of the Canadian Alliance that when their leader states that his number one priority is parliamentary reform and a government backbench team, led by the member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge, puts forward a constructive amendment on behalf of all Canadians, to take that as an opportunity to constructively work together on a complex issue that every single member of parliament believes must be dealt with.
The single most important point that my colleague from Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge made today was that we should design a plan where the altered formula of incomes or revenue streams do not go into the treasuries of the oil companies but into the pockets of consumers, especially low income consumers.
That amendment was repeatedly put on the floor today. In fact, today during question period the Minister of Finance challenged the Canadian Alliance to work with the government and accept the member's amendment. He did not say that we would do it tomorrow or next week. The Minister of Finance said that we would vote today and that we would make it happen today.
Canadians listening to the debate today will judge fairly that over the last two years it was not a minister or a big department of government but a member of parliament with his colleagues who developed knowledge, listened and put a report forward. The government gave members of the Canadian Alliance an opportunity today to come on board and work together on behalf of all Canadians with lower incomes and they walked away from it.
The Canadian Alliance missed a great opportunity to follow through on their so-called commitment to parliamentary reform.
Eric Lamaze September 18th, 2000
Mr. Speaker, the story of Eric Lamaze is a story of success and accomplishment rather than failure. His first exposure to cocaine was as a fetus. His mother was a cocaine addict and he was effectively a street kid from the beginning of his life. He has no father; his mother does not even know who his father is.
While there have been a few bumps in the road, through determination and hard work Eric Lamaze has overcome his disability. All the medical experts agree that his success is a miracle.
There were catastrophic circumstances surrounding his latest infraction which was put before an independent adjudicator, Professor Ratushny. No party at the hearing disputed the catastrophic circumstances surrounding the infraction. No party disputed the overwhelming medical evidence. The legal process ran its course and Professor Ratushny has agreed on the basis of all the evidence that Mr. Lamaze was not responsible for the catastrophic circumstances that led to his latest infraction. It is therefore no surprise that Professor Ratushny has reinstated Mr. Lamaze effective immediately without conditions.
I call upon the Canadian olympic—
Committees Of The House May 16th, 2000
Put it back into the economy.
Committees Of The House May 16th, 2000
Mr. Speaker, I was just about to make my point. It is very important.
The point I want to make is that, in spite of frustration, in no way, shape or form should the member leave the image with the people of Canada that we do not support Human Resources Development Canada.