Ken Boshcoff

[HAGI Community Services for Independence, November 18th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to extend congratulations to HAGI Community Services for Independence on the occasion of its 30th anniversary.

HAGI Community Services for Independence is recognized as a leading community service agency in Canada. Under the direction of its members and consumers of its services, the organization offers a broad range of programs to persons with disabilities, including transportation, housing, independent living services as well as enrichment activities.

Please join me in wishing Executive Director Al Buchan and the board of directors every success as they continue to improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities.

[Northern Ontario School of Medicine, November 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to announce the opening of the first new medical school in Canada in over 30 years. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is a partnership between Laurentian University in Sudbury and Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.

With a special emphasis on rural and remote medicine, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine will pioneer the marriage of technology, education, research and health care delivery. The school is based on the premise that medical students tend to practise where they have studied and graduates will contribute to reducing the critical shortage of physicians in northern Ontario.

I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to founding dean Dr. Roger Strasser and his dedicated team who have worked tirelessly for the past three years to see this dream come true.

I ask members to please join me in applauding Canada's newest medical school, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

[Agriculture, November 2nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, as chair of the rural caucus and understanding that there are many other issues that the House has to deal with, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

For the record, will the government vigorously support our supply management systems at every available international forum, especially at the World Trade Organization talks this fall?

[Energy Costs Assistance Measures Act, November 1st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, in my riding the government announcement to assist seniors and those least able to accommodate the changes in fuel pricing has been very well received. When I approach seniors homes or other organizations, particularly those people receiving the national child care benefit supplement, it has been quite positively received. Some of the organizations that have been coming to see me about federal and provincial clawbacks and those types of things with regard to those least able to accommodate them have viewed this step as being very positive.

When I hear the comment that people would not want to receive this, I cannot believe that would be quite true. It has been very well received in my riding and when it comes, I believe it will happen at a time when it will be most effective.

In view of the fact that we are protecting the most vulnerable and it combines with the strategy for long term energy conservation, why would this not be well received in the member's riding?

[Infrastructure, October 26th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of International Trade.

Numerous countries that have significant trade with Canada also have policies that ensure that government funded projects include a considerable percentage of local labour and purchasing. The United States buy American policy requires that 60% of components used in manufacturing, such as steel or wood, must come from the U.S. and that final assembly must be performed in that country.

What is our government doing to ensure that federal funds provided for infrastructure improvements, such as gas tax funding, are spent in Canada and provide employment for Canadians?

[Softwood Lumber, October 25th, 2005]

Mr. Chair, municipalities throughout Ontario have been petitioning the federal government due to the cash-strapped situation of the softwood companies. They cannot reinvest or retool and are very much concerned about the loan guarantee aspect. I know that the member for Vancouver Island North is well aware of this.

For the record, the previous questioner was from Thunder Bay—Superior North. The member in front of me is from Kenora, straight up. I am from Thunder Bay—Rainy River, where the previous member was Stan Dromisky for Thunder Bay—Atikokan. That is just a little parliamentary geography and history.

The second part of my question deals with this push from these municipalities. We are receiving many petitions and concerns. The hon. member has been to Washington many times. I have been there once, so I am vaguely familiar with the difficulty of getting our message across and with the need to get the elephant's attention, essentially.

The role of an envoy has been mentioned. I have seen how things are done in Washington and how determined, consistent and persistent we must be to get American attention and how much effort has been expended by the government. I have watched the Minister of International Trade and several other people consistently sending the same message in a very diplomatic, straightforward, logical and rational view. How would that envoy's role open more doors?

[U.S. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, October 24th, 2005]

Mr. Chair, the hon. member for Niagara probably has more vehicle crossings in a month than we do in a year at all three of our crossings. The commercial aspect for him and his riding is probably more important in terms of total quantity and value, although for our three crossings, forestry, softwood lumber and all of those types of things become very significant in terms of delay and pace. There is no doubt that commercially it is very significant. It is the same as our cross-country highway system.

When we try to look at these as solvable issues, when I think about it I am not going to give a stock answer and say that we are working on it and it is going to get done. I am going to say that I take it at face value and it is something that has to be improved. It clearly has to be more of a priority and has value in terms of the nature of the question. I will say respectfully to the hon. member that I believe we probably can do more and we will do more. I am certain that we must.

[U.S. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, October 24th, 2005]

Mr. Chair, I understand the phasing very well. I also understand very well the economics of what this will mean to an American family. Yes, their passport terms are 10 years as opposed to our 5 years. I also understand how expensive it is for American families coming this way. I would think that the price Canadians will have to pay for passports to go there will have to be addressed, perhaps in future budgets. There is an option there for us too.

As was mentioned, there are other alternatives, not the least of which are recent examples which have shown there is some potential that may make it not so onerous.

For all of these questions, I would ask, as someone from the NDP would, where does change begin? When we can show that these border communities that are most directly affected can, at the community level, show their governments what the impact is, then I think there will be some pressure and some success and it will be effective.

[U.S. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, October 24th, 2005]

Mr. Chair, first a minor correction. Fort Frances is a Canadian community. I understand we cannot know all our geography, but it is a very important community in northwestern Ontario.

The degree of cooperation with the American people also has been very exemplary. Indeed a senator from the United States has been involved, and they have been calling meetings themselves to garner Canadian support against the proposal.

The member talks about leadership. I was quite pleased to see the number of initiatives both from Foreign Affairs and our Prime Minister on this issue, and his personal interventions with the President. That came through loud and clear from our Minnesota neighbours. They were pleased for the Canadian support from our leadership, so perhaps I must have missed something earlier.

Second, if border communities could come together to facilitate some of these things that would reinforce what can be done at a national level and it would be most positive.

[U.S. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, October 24th, 2005]

Mr. Chair, this issue is absolutely critical for northwestern Ontario.

My riding of Thunder Bay--Rainy River covers the entire northern boundary of the State of Minnesota. I have three border crossings: Rainy River at the Manitoba border, Pigeon River, Minnesota and also Fort Frances, Ontario.

The decline in American visitors over the past four years results in about $150 million loss of revenue for northwestern Ontario. We know that historically from 1972 to August 2005 the trend has been a 42% decline.

What does that mean for small communities such as those in northwestern Ontario? It means the marginal difference between a business being successful or not. Tourist operators, grocers, the craftsmen, gas bars and recreational suppliers all have been hit in some way or another. The number of stations and the number of opportunities have declined very visibly.

I have been asked by many organizations to speak tonight, particularly by northwestern Ontario tourist operators who have led the campaign for Americans to come back to Canada. We want them.

I believe the government can communicate far more effectively. We have had many issues over the past number of years from handguns, driving under the influence, things even such as mid-west United States potatoes and firewood. All of these have had their impacts on border crossings and complaints.

Ontario has lost a greater portion of the U.S. market for the past four years than any other province. Therefore, our role in dealing with the policies of another sovereign nation must be to emphasize that this is a two way street.

More complications, such as proposed by the western hemisphere travel initiative, will make even more Canadians rethink their plans to visit the United States. This is another form of reciprocity that I do not think anyone in the United States expects. I believe the walls, barriers and restrictions will hurt both our nations.

As a former mayor, I was part of a group that initiated an international friendship games between Thunder Bay, Ontario and Duluth, Minnesota. It is with great enthusiasm that I support His Worship Mayor Dan Onichuk of the town of Fort Frances who has proposed a forum of Canadian and American border communities to address some of these roadblocks as they apply to each particular regional situation.

Our new Canadian Border Services Agency has been working very hard to eliminate the problem situations at the field level. It is the first line of both security and hospitality, which is a difficult combination requiring special skill sets. Considering the volume of people who pass through without incident, it does a great job. However, when someone is turned away, it results in a big furor with rippling adverse publicity.

When I give the Canadian examples, I am only going to emphasize what will happen when the same thing occurs on the American side. When Americans impose more restrictions, it will make it less attractive for Canadians to go there; back to the two way street scenario.

As a government, we need to support, through websites, staff training, presence at trade shows in the United States and any other means, the fact that as Canadians we want Americans. I know our friends in the United States, who are fighting this proposal, also feel the same way. We have to reinforce those positive forces.

When I refer to the two way street for the western hemisphere travel initiative, I know for certain that it will also hurt the U.S. travel industry. Therefore, we must make the American tourism and hospitality industry our allies to resist overly onerous and overly zealous rules and restrictions.

It was quite gratifying as a member of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates to hear witnesses from Passport Canada talk about the progress it has been making in addressing our issues. It will be representing us shortly in the petitions on the western hemisphere travel initiative as part of the general overall governmental perspective.

Making Canada more attractive to our American neighbours, still the longest undefended border in the world, should remain a major point of focus. A national tourism strategy to bring Americans to Canada, working in concert with provincial campaigns, can do much to offset the inevitable negative effects that would surely occur if the WHTI comes into reality.

What does the loss of $150 million a year mean to northwestern Ontario? It will be hugely detrimental. I do not want to use the big negatives like catastrophic, but please do the math. This is a very heavy and consistent drain of an economic multiplier. Not only will it be full time people, but students, part timers, everybody will be hurt, including our national image. What business could sustain such hits year after year?

People in organizations in the Rainy River district, which became part of my riding in the last election, recently decided to stop complaining and do something effective. We had a meeting with everyone concerned. All parties dealing with border crossings came together and the positive and cooperative attitude was excellent.

With the assistance of the Rainy River Futures Development Corporation, we designed and built a visitor-friendly website to make it easier for Americans to visit us. Every time tourist operators are faced with an inquiry from Americans, they know now exactly what they can or cannot bring, what the legal implications of their criminal records may be and how to overcome them.

Currently, a study is underway, helped by the province of Ontario, to get some more finely tuned answers as to why the Americans have stopped coming. We know one thing that we will find from this. The answers that will come from this study also will tell Canadians why they will not be interested in going back to the United States if the border gets tougher to cross.

This example proves what we can do and what we can achieve if we work to find solutions. We could apply this to a two way plan. We have to prove to our American neighbours that we are presenting viable solutions, not making more difficult problems.

On October 31, which I believe is the deadline for submissions, I hope our government, with the combination of people from all parties, support what we have to do. We cannot tell a sovereign nation how to write its legislation, but we can show from example that we are first and foremost a friendly, supportive nation. We saw how extremely effective the Mexican proposal was. Its tourist pitch was “Closer Than Ever”, and that resulted in millions of new visitors to Mexico after 9/11. We know that the potential is there.