Elsie Wayne

[Shipbuilding, June 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry. Many months ago the government appointed a commission to look at shipbuilding and bring in a national shipbuilding policy. The Saint John shipyard has been sitting idle for over a year and 3,000 men have been out of work.

When will the government and the minister bring in a shipbuilding policy that makes us competitive around the world and put our people back to work?

[Supply, May 17th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member mentioned illicit drugs coming into the country. I was at a meeting not too long ago in my riding at which a representative of the provincial police force spoke. When the meeting was opened up to questions, I asked the police officer if more drugs were coming into the country since the elimination of the port police. As we know the government decided to eliminate all port police across Canada.

He thanked me for the question and said that I was the first person to ask that question. He said they were having a terrible time at every port because there were no port police. He said that with the removal of the port police the situation of illicit drugs entering the country should be looked at very seriously.

I ask the hon. member that when the committee meets that it take a look at that situation. I think we can make very positive changes if we bring back the port police.

[Supply, May 17th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I want the hon. member to know that I did a research paper with regard to marijuana and exactly what it does to young people and people of all ages. The research I did was out of Berkeley university. I want the hon. member to know that the first marijuana cigarette that anyone smokes goes into their brain cells, unlike an ordinary cigarette, and remains there for nine days. We are all aware that young people who get into the alleyways and start smoking up do it more often than every nine days.

Just so the members know, about three or four years ago on Christmas Eve a young man came to my door to tell me that his mother and father wanted him to thank me for getting him out of the alleyway and off cocaine.

I have been told that the hon. member and his party are in favour of decriminalizing marijuana and making it available. I want to know if that is true. Is that part of what this committee is looking at? Is that part of what is being put on the table?

[Blood Samples Act, May 16th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure and an honour for me to rise in support of Bill C-217. I take this opportunity to praise the hon. member for Fraser Valley for his tireless work on this file and, more important, for bringing forward a matter of great concern to true Canadian heroes. If the hon. member for Fraser Valley would like to come over here and sit beside me, I would not have a problem with that at all. He has done a wonderful job.

Bill C-217 respecting the blood samples act offers a measure of protection, security and peace of mind to those brave Canadians from every part of the country who put their lives in harm's way to defend and assist those in need. There can be no more noble legislation than that which protects those who protect us. There is a policeman in the gallery tonight who works in the community to protect us.

It has been said that Bill C-217 would benefit Samaritans. I am reminded of the parable of the good Samaritan as recounted to us in the readings of Luke 10:30-37. It is a story of a traveller who was beaten and robbed by a pack of thieves. Left by the side of the street, hurt and bloodied, this innocent victim was in dire need of help. Others came down that same road but passed the traveller and would not reach out a helping hand.

Then came a Samaritan who was himself on a journey and who bore witness to this victim of crime in desperate need of help. The Samaritan did not know the traveller and did not know what had happened. The Samaritan did know, however, that he should treat his neighbours as he would want to be treated himself. The Samaritan stopped and helped the severely beaten traveller, not knowing even so much as his name.

We are fortunate that many brave Canadians have taken this parable to heart. I cannot imagine our not taking the steps in this place, no matter how great or small, to ensure that those who selflessly put themselves in the path of danger are afforded some measure of protection. Whether our modern day Samaritans are heroes by virtue of career or circumstance, they must always be mindful of the fact that helping others must often involve taking risks. The very challenges they overcome to help those in need often make their acts much more heroic.

We know all too well that the modern world has its share of danger. It is hidden from the naked eye but can strike us down as painfully and as deliberately as any danger that is plainly visible.

It is not difficult to imagine that a policeman, a firefighter, a nurse or an ambulance attendant could come into contact with the bodily fluids of someone who has been injured. We could even go as far as to suggest it is expected that they would.

I know that because my mother and father, on their 50th wedding anniversary, were in a car accident caused by two young people who were drinking. Their car rolled over and my mother was pinned. Firefighters and policemen had to cut her loose to get her out of the car. She never walked again. Those who looked after my mother and father did have my parent's blood on their hands. They saved their lives that night and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

There are many people in the constituency of Saint John, New Brunswick, which I represent, who put their lives in harm's way. I thank them also from the bottom of my heart tonight. In today's society, when policemen are called out and have to go into a home, they put their lives on the line as they never know whether the person in there will attack them with a gun or a knife.

These bodily fluids can cause the spread of infectious diseases that would in some cases be life threatening. For heroes who might well have come in contact with infected bodily fluids, the possibility exists that they might well live out their days under the looming spectre of a debilitating disease.

When we consider the potential consequences of these selfless acts and the risk to those who undertake them without hesitation, we would agree that the onus falls clearly on us in the House to ensure that every possible preventative measure is in place.

The House is well aware that I am neither a lawyer nor a physician. I am just an honorary doctor. However it seems to be a matter of pure common sense that we would seek to take a blood sample for the single purpose of protecting the lives of those who protect us. We all know that by taking a blood sample medical professionals can conclude whether there is a risk of contamination and can decide whether or not to give the powerful drugs available to them that might well fend off an infection.

When my colleague from Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough spoke to this legislation he cited an example of a Calgary police officer who was bitten by an AIDS infected suspect in the course of his daily work. The officer, a loving husband, had to endure a barrage of tests and trials to guarantee that he was not infected with AIDS that day.

Clearly there are questions here that go to the heart of individual rights. If it were my cousin, Gordon Fairweather, standing here instead of myself, I am sure he would speak to those issues and those concerns more eloquently than I. Suffice to say, however, that our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms clearly protects each individual Canadian and I see no corruption of those rights by voting in favour of Bill C-217.

I cannot imagine a world where a police officer, a fireman, ambulance drivers or the people in the ambulance must face the daily possibilities of being infected with AIDS. I cannot imagine a world where an ambulance attendant would have to hesitate before giving medical attention to a victim for fear that he or she might contract a disease. The rights of the person who has blood taken are already protected to a large extent. Police officers must obtain warrants and go before a justice before a blood sample can be taken. In most instances there are exceptions.

Bill C-217 has been carefully drafted so as not to go too far afield in breaching a persons human rights. Current sections of the criminal code would also apply to compel those who would use the particular section not to go outside a person's human rights.

There are current sections that apply to impaired driving, sexual assault and the new DNA databank that would come under similar scrutiny in the judicial chambers. It is an important step toward protection and enhancement of safety for everyone.

I again commend the hon. member for Fraser Valley for this initiative. It is a tremendous common sense initiative and one that my party, the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, wholeheartedly endorses. I encourage all members to do likewise.

I cannot imagine a world where our police officers, our firefighters and our ambulance attendants would have to hesitate before giving medical attention to a victim for fear that they might contract a disease. They never hesitate. They do their job immediately. We owe them a lot. Bill C-217 is one thing that we do owe to them.

I believe that we must take this step. This is the responsible thing to do. It is the right thing to do. Each and every one in the PC Party is in favour of the bill.

[National Defence, May 15th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, if the parliamentary secretary had stayed for the full meeting we had last week, he would have found out from one of the retired officers that the government told the officers what they were to tell the committee.

They are given a document. They are not allowed to tell us exactly what we need to hear. Will the minister confirm to the House today that his office continues to censor officers with talking points before they speak to the parliamentary committee on defence?

[National Defence, May 15th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence stated that as soon as a general retired he received with his first pension cheque some type of conscience that he did not have when he was in the CF.

Was he expressing the views of the government? If not, will he retract those statements or resign his position in government today?

[Starred Questions, May 14th, 2001]

When does the government anticipate finalizing a just and full settlement with the Merchant Navy veterans?

[Veterans Affairs, April 26th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians cannot trust the government. The government broke its word about revisiting the equalization formula. The Minister of Industry broke his word to the shipbuilding industry and workers particularly in Saint John. The Minister of National Defence broke his word on the replacement of the Sea King helicopters.

Now it looks like the government might well break its word to the merchant navy vets. Will the government and will the minister tell these veterans that they will receive the other 40% of their compensation package today?

[Agriculture, April 24th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, potato farmers in Prince Edward Island have been waiting since last October for the government to stand up for them.

Neither the Prime Minister, the Minister for International Trade nor the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food have been able to get the United States to lift its illegal ban on the export of Island potatoes.

Last weekend the agriculture minister had a perfect opportunity to press the case of P.E.I. potato farmers with U.S. agriculture secretary Ann Veneman, yet he did not know until Friday evening at 8 o'clock that the secretary was going to the summit.

Now the agriculture minister is stating that it is just a matter of time before the border will open. That is not good enough. Island farmers have to make decisions this week if they are to plant a crop. They need to know if they will have a market for their potatoes this fall.

When will the government stand up for the farmers in P.E.I. and give this issue the priority it deserves?

[Employment Insurance Act, April 4th, 2001]

Madam Speaker, I do not know what happened to the Liberals' values. I do not know where they went. The clawback of welfare is unbelievable. We are supposed to have EI for the dignity of our people. That is what it is there for. However this measure took away the dignity of the people.

A little girl came to see me at my riding office and she was crying. She asked me to help her. She told me her father did not have work and that he would need to go to the United States. She said she did not want to leave her nanny and grampy and aunts and uncles who were there. There is no way that this should happen. We need to make changes to restore the quality of life of Canadians from coast to coast.