Mr. Speaker, we are presently reviewing the matter concerning our veterans, our merchant navy veterans and the entire benefit structure for our veterans. The hon. member is just jealous that her party did not do it when it was in power.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 55% of the vote.
Veterans Affairs October 26th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, we are presently reviewing the matter concerning our veterans, our merchant navy veterans and the entire benefit structure for our veterans. The hon. member is just jealous that her party did not do it when it was in power.
Merchant Navy Veterans October 21st, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I have met with four organizations concerning the question of the merchant navy.
I consulted four groups on this issue, and they all support the Liberal government's actions.
Merchant Marines October 19th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, when that government was in power it said no to the merchant navy veterans when they asked for what this government gave under Bill C-61. It said no to the merchant navy veterans when they asked to have discussed what we are discussing today.
The hon. member should cross the floor and say thank you to the Prime Minister for the Liberal yes instead of the typical Tory no.
Merchant Marines October 19th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I have discussed the matter with the Merchant Navy Coalition, the Merchant Navy War Veterans Association, the Royal Canadian Legion and the National Council of War Veterans Associations.
This is under discussion, as all matters are under discussion concerning veterans, because we want to maintain our international standing as giving the best services to our veterans compared to any nation in the world.
Marine Conservation Areas Act November 26th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, thank you for your wise judgment that marine actually means something that is in the water. Of course marine management means management of something in the water.
Apart from the other things I mentioned that were missing prior to the advent of this government, if we ask the fishermen of Quebec what the next worst thing in marine management and conservation that affected their lives has been in the past, the biggest error ever made by a former federal government, they would say the non-protection of the sea bed. They would say that for a very good reason. We have over the years allowed the massive destruction of our ecosystem and allowed intensive dragging of the ocean floor in our commercial fisheries.
I will give an example of the importance of marine conservation. Last year there were 123 draggers that took part in the shrimp fishery on the continental shelf. There were 6 Canadian vessels and 117 foreign vessels. These were 350 foot vessels with huge plates on either end of a drag, 10 feet long, 8 feet high, 4 feet thick, iron and steel that drag the bottom of the ocean and create a virtual vortex of sediment in the middle like a sand storm on the bottom of the ocean, destroying everything in its path. That is why the Government of Canada, in referring to what the member for Drummond said, is not only interested in what takes place inside the 200 mile zone, but is interested in extending our jurisdiction. Before the next federal election the government is also intent on extending jurisdiction in order to stop this massive destruction of the bottom of the sea floor.
The parliamentary secretary was there when we had our public meetings in the province of Quebec, all along the shore from Blanc-Sablon down to the Gaspé coast. These fishermen and fish plant workers want to make sure the Government of Canada stops the destruction of the food supply of our cod, salmon and turbot.
The Government of Canada is firmly there to say no to these totally destructive methods of fishing that have taken place in the past which former governments have been guilty of, especially the former Progressive Conservative government which ruled the fishery in those days.
It is very unfortunate that the Bloc is not in favour of the principle of marine conservation. The Government of Canada will make sure we advance in the future to protect our marine environment.
Marine Conservation Areas Act November 26th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, after listening to several speakers from the Bloc, I have to say a few words about the inaccurate assessment of the second reading of this bill given by some of the opposition members.
Second reading is about the principle of the bill. What is the principle of this bill? The principle is a particular type of conservation, marine conservation.
If I went to the Iles-de-la-Madeleine and asked fishermen what was the most important thing affecting their livelihood, they would say marine conservation. In what area were the greatest errors made by the federal government over the years? It was in the area of marine conservation.
If I went down to the Gaspé and talked to the people there they would say the same thing. If I went up to Blanc-Sablon and talked to the people there they would say the same thing.
Why am I able to say that? I was part of a committee that travelled in the past year and held public hearings. We had group after group telling us that the greatest disaster in their lives was created by policies of the federal government in the past that destroyed their livelihood. They were very specific.
The hon. member for Drummond stood in her place a moment ago and made a sarcastic reference to the fact that the Prime Minister was concerned about the marine resources from the land right out to 200 miles. Let me correct her. The Prime Minister is concerned about the resources that go right out to the end of the continental shelf, not just 200 miles but 350 miles.
I will tell this House why. Go to the Quebec north shore and ask the fishermen there what happened to their mackerel. It is the greatest spawning ground in the world for mackerel, as the Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the hon. member who represents Iles-de-la-Madeleine know, because they are very knowledgeable in the fishery. The greatest spawning ground for mackerel is the coast of Quebec.
What happened to that resource? In the 1980s licences were given. To whom? To Norway, Sweden and some other European countries. It was to block the spawning run where the mackerel were headed to the coast of Quebec to spawn in late May. That was poor fisheries management on the part of the Tory government of the day. It was the most outrageous thing that destroyed the spawning ground of the mackerel. In one year there were seven Norwegian vessels right between Sydney Bight and Port-aux-Basques. The next year there were nine and the year after there were eleven. Why? It was because of poor fisheries management of non-conservation of our marine resource.
If we asked the fishermen what perhaps was the second worst policy of the government of Canada then, they would refer, as the parliamentary secretary knows, to the policies of former governments on squid where unfortunately squid cannot get to the Quebec coast if blocked by foreign nations off the coast of Nova Scotia. Why? Because of poor management of our marine resource. If we ask fishermen on the coast of Quebec what is the third worst marine conservation measure ever taken by the government of Canada in the past, they would say the policy on capelin. Why? Because that is perhaps the most important food of salmon that go up the rivers in Quebec and other provinces. It is the food of northern cod and turbot that the people in Quebec need as fishermen.
Committees Of The House June 3rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.
Committees Of The House April 2nd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to present the second report from the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. This is a unanimous report by all committee members. It is a tribute to the excellent job done by MPs from all parties, as well as the clerk of the committee, Mr. William Farrell and the research branch of the Library of Parliament in the person of Mr. Alan Nixon. I wish to table this report in both official languages.
Committees Of The House March 23rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, yes, we do have that attached to the report, a statement by the Bloc concerning the translation. We did have problems and we do have that attached to the report
Committees Of The House March 23rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure to present to the House the first report from the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, a most excellent report.