Elsie Wayne

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 9th, 2002]

It is shameful. We have a lot to worry about in view of what happened in the U.S.A.

When we look at President Bush, what is our stand on Iraq? I know we have had and will have some debate here but what is our stand on Iraq? Where are we? If Bush goes to war with Iraq where is Canada?

I was in Bulgaria with the NATO committee and up on the big screen came the representative of the United Nations who said that Canada had to put some money into its military for it was down at the lowest end of the scale.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 9th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Jonquière for giving me five minutes of her time.

When the Speech from the Throne was given I think most Canadians were very disturbed and disappointed, mostly because the government left out our military.

We had hoped and expected that the Prime Minister would have taken into account the pleas of our international allies, the Secretary-General of NATO, the Conference of Defence Associations, the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs, the Auditor General and the countless men and women in uniform who have made the case that our military is in need of financial assistance. All of them have come forth in the last four years saying that it is time for the government to put some money into the military.

We just have to look at what happened a year ago in the U.S.A. When the terrorists struck there were we prepared? No. When we sent our men over to Afghanistan they had to be airlifted by the Americans. They had to eat their meals at the American mess. If our men were out training and the mess was closed they had nothing to eat. I was getting calls from the parents of the young men who were sent over there. They did not even have their uniforms like the rest of them had.

Look at us today, Mr. Speaker. Look at the Sea Kings. They are 40 years old. A pilot from just outside my city lost his life. His father called me because he had been a pilot. He said “Elsie, I flew those Sea Kings. Those Sea Kings should not be in the air”. They should not be in the air.

I have to say that it is strictly politics. I can see politics being played by the government in the replacement of the Sea Kings. It wants to wait until the Prime Minister retires and then he will not have to worry whether the EH-101s become the replacement. However, while the government waits more lives will be lost.

Let us look at our submarines. My God, we went out and bought used submarines. What happened? Just in the past month in London, England our Canadian people were ask to go over to England and test the submarine. They were fixing it over there. The men said that there was no way they would go out and test the submarine because it was not safe. It is still sitting over there because the men will not go out in that submarine. We have just wasted another $800 million on submarines that are now not useful and not good for the navy.

Let us look at our air force and the numbers in the army. At one time we had 85,000 people. Where are we now? We are at around 30,000 people.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 9th, 2002]

Madam Speaker, I am sure the hon. member knows that in my riding we have the most modern shipyard there is in Canada. That shipyard built the frigates for our navy. The shipyard has sat idle now for over two years. The men that all worked there, and almost 4,000 people were working there, are now on welfare and their hearts are broken. The government is stating that it wants to purchase or rent ships from another country.

Does the hon. member think that we should be building our own ships right here, not just frigates but all of the ships that we need, for the Coast Guard, for our navy and for our armed forces?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 9th, 2002]

Madam Speaker, I note that my hon. colleague dealt with the Kyoto accord but I would like to ask him another question with regard to the Speech from the Throne.

Reference was made in the throne speech to the possible decriminalization of marijuana. This would be one of the biggest mistakes Canada could ever make for our young people.

I worked with young people. I took some of them out of the alleyways and brought them into the building in which I was working. I talked to 32 young students who told me they were being given marijuana to smoke during their lunch hour.

About four Christmas Eve's ago a young man came to my door and thanked me for taking him out of the alleyway. He said that if I had not done that for him he would still be on cocaine. He told me that his mom and dad asked him to thank me.

Decriminalizing marijuana would be a very dangerous way to go with our young people. What does my hon. colleague think about the possible decriminalization of marijuana in Canada?

[Petitions, October 9th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have a second petition which has 302 names on it. The petitioners call upon Parliament to focus its legislative support on adult stem cell research to find the cures and therapies necessary to treat the illnesses and diseases of suffering Canadians.

[Petitions, October 9th, 2002]

Sorry, Mr. Speaker. The petitioners call upon Parliament to protect our children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that all materials which promote or glorify pedophilia or sado-masochistic activities involving children are outlawed.

[Petitions, October 9th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition concerning child pornography from my riding. There are 166 signatures and it states as follows: “We the undersigned residents of Canada draw the attention of the House--

[Member for Ottawa South, October 8th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister is scheduled to be the official escort to Her Majesty the Queen when her royal tour brings her to the nation's capital, this notwithstanding that on Friday last he told reporters in Montreal that he favours severing all ties with the monarchy after the Queen's reign ends.

By my count, the Deputy Prime Minister has sworn an oath of loyalty and service to Her Majesty no fewer than four times in the last two years, yet he has used his position as a minister of the Crown as a podium from which to rail against our history and our heritage. The minister says that instead of the monarchy he would prefer an entirely Canadian institution, but he fails to recognize that the monarchy is as Canadian as the House of Commons itself.

I pray that the Deputy Prime Minister will apologize to the Queen when he hosts her. In fact, he should go to the Prime Minister and say that he should not be her host and that the Prime Minister should put someone else in his position when the Queen comes to Ottawa.

[National Defence, October 1st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, some of the people who were most disappointed by yesterday's throne speech are the brave men and women of our military. Only a passing reference was made to our most courageous citizens, without any commitment to increase defence spending, and now we know we will not see a replacement for the Sea Kings until the Prime Minister retires so he does not have to debate the EH-101.

Will the Prime Minister give our armed forces a firm financial commitment today for new equipment and more personnel so they can do the job they need to do at home and abroad?

[Committees of the House, June 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his statement, certainly when it comes to the east coast.

I have stood many times in the House of Commons calling for a national shipbuilding policy. One of the reasons for that is not just defence but to make sure we build our ships and have the supply and surveillance ships that we need to go out to the 200 mile limit. We do not have them today. That is why these foreign ships can come in and take over 20,000 pounds of fish.

When those foreign ships come in and start dragging the bottom of the ocean they take the eggs and the baby fish. It is unbelievable what has been happening. This has had such a negative impact on our fishery in Canada.

I had the distinct pleasure of attending a UN meeting in New York with the former minister, Mr. Tobin. However, Mr. Tobin was afraid I would bring up the seal situation at the UN. However his researchers had also looked into it as I had. It is unbelievable what happens to seals when it comes to fishery. Seals can eat hundreds of thousands of tonnes of fish.

I ask my colleague to think about the positive impact a shipbuilding policy would have on all those communities. If we were to put the shipbuilders back to work we could then do the surveillance required and save the fishery as well. It is a two part deal.

I want to know what my colleague thinks about this. At the present time we do not have the surveillance that should be there and we do not have the ships we need to look after the 200 mile limit.

One only has to look at what is happening in P.E.I. and in New Brunswick. My own city is not what one would call a fishery city but I just cooked a shad for my husband before I left to come here. The shads we catch today are a lot smaller than they used to be. There is an urgent need from one end of the country to the other for us to deal with the fishery.

What does my colleague think about this need for us to build our ships here in Canada to look after that 200 mile limit?