Lost his last election, in 2000, with 34% of the vote.
Postal Service June 12th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, Canada's aging population is increasingly choosing to relocate to senior citizen complexes. Many of these seniors find access to their postal services difficult especially during winter conditions.
Could the minister responsible for Canada Post tell this House whether steps have been taken to ensure that all senior citizen complexes are provided with postal delivery?
National Parks Act June 11th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I begin by speaking on Motion No. 3 put forth by my hon. colleague from Rimouski—Mitis. She is a very diligent, hardworking and conscientious member of our committee and I totally respect the motion she has put forth.
All members of the committee were faced with a very difficult situation because we wanted to do what was right. That was the intent and I sensed that from all members of the committee. It was difficult to deal with this and I had to do quite a bit of soul searching and reflection on the representations made to the committee.
An agreement is an agreement. There had been an agreement signed by all six parties involved. The agreement stated that if all six signatories were in agreement the agreement could be renegotiated. Not all six signatories wanted it reopened. What happens if, for example, the federal government comes in as one of the signatories and decides it wants to reopen? Other members of the agreement might not be in favour of that. An agreement is an agreement and unfortunately or fortunately we have to stand by that agreement.
As my hon. colleague mentioned, the group that made representations to have this reopened stated this was done purely for economic reasons so that the people of the Inuvialuit region could derive some financial benefits from that. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. There is 80% to 90% of the anomaly of the potential mineral find that falls outside the boundaries of the park. This in no way will prevent these people from being able to earn income from this mineral find. This is another reason I have trouble in supporting this motion.
There is also the bluenose caribou herd whose main calving ground falls into this area which some people would like to see changed or carved out of the park and I therefore have concerns with this.
If we change the boundaries set forth in this park we are setting a dangerous precedent. There are other parks that fall into this category such as Gros Morne Park as well as other parks and if we change the boundary for this one then we are leaving a lot of other parks open for renegotiation. I think that sets a dangerous precedent.
With all due respect to my colleague for Rimouski—Mitis, on behalf of my party, we cannot support this agreement.
National Parks Act June 11th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to Motion No. 1, which was put forth by my hon. colleague from Rimouski—Mitis.
On behalf of the Progressive Conservative Party I support this motion. It puts a bit more meat or teeth into the beginning of the bill to say exactly what we are creating. Therefore, I support the motion.
Questions On The Order Paper June 11th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, is the end of the session the end of this parliament or the end of this sitting session?
Questions On The Order Paper June 11th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I respectfully ask the hon. member when we could expect an answer to Question No. 21 which we asked not so long ago, I believe it was on October 3, 1997. Can we get some kind of commitment as to when that answer could be expected?
Supply June 9th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I do not want to name the member, but I found out that at the time the member was representing the riding of Beaver River.
Supply June 9th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, we have been hearing a lot of criticism from the Reform Party today directed toward the government's Bill C-68 on the registration of firearms.
I am a little confused. I have a titbit of information that I would like to share and I would like my hon. colleague from the Reform Party to answer.
I am reading from Hansard , November 6, 1991, the comments of the hon. member for Edmonton North who was referring to a Canadian Police Association survey. She said that over 90% of the respondents believed that guns of all kinds should be registered. She agreed with that and went on to say that she thought every Canadian would agree with that.
Just what message is the Reform Party giving? We hear it criticizing the government and now we hear the comments of the member for Edmonton North. I would like the hon. member to speak to that.
Supply June 9th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, many witnesses who testified at the standing committee on justice with regard to firearms registration said many times that a registry of firearms is certainly not going to prevent crime in any substantive way. The Conservative Party supports proper control of firearms and their proper use, but we think this expense of $85 million referred to by the government is low. We hear rumours of a potential for maybe $500 million.
Supply June 9th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, yes I am calling quorum.
Supply June 9th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I just wonder if you would perhaps check if we have quorum or not. After this morning's debate, I am concerned about what is happening.