Sarkis Assadourian

[Supply, October 29th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have been following the debate since this morning on the government appointments motion by the opposition.

We are fortunate to live in a country like Canada which gives members of Parliament or citizens the right to participate within a system and come to the House with the intention of separating a province from the country. That is our system and we cannot deny that.

If one does not appreciate the democracy we have here, all one has to do is step one foot outside this country to appreciate what we have in this country. However that is a matter of perception.

There is an expression, Mr. Speaker, do not do as I do, do as I tell you to do. The hon. member for the last 10 minutes spoke against our system and the federal government. We all know he is a member of the Bloc Quebecois and Bloc Quebecois' twin organization, Parti Quebecois which has ruled Quebec for the last 10 to 15 years. Basically they are two sides of the same coin.

On the smart idea that the member brought forward in the last 10 minutes, is it the same as the Parti Quebecois does in the province of Quebec? I know the Parti Quebecois appoints officers overseas to what it calls Quebec House and it asks them to be Parti Quebecois members. If it can do that for them, why can it not do that for us? I cannot figure that out.

[Supply, October 29th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I followed the comments made by the hon. member from Nova Scotia attentively. He criticized the system we have in the House of Commons. I would like to remind him and also ask him if this is not the same system unions use to elect their executive? They are given a mandate to govern and after so many years they return and ask for a mandate again and if they are renewed, fine, if not, they are thrown out. This is the same system in the House of Commons. If he is so critical of our system maybe he should start changing the union system first.

Second, if he were proposing proportional representation for us maybe it would be a good idea for him to start in his place. We could follow his career and his union's achievement. If it were good for the unions then maybe the House of Commons would adopt the same principles of proportional representation.

[Petitions, October 24th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is Canadians from across the country who call upon the government to open an embassy in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. They mention the fact that Canada is the only G-7 nation that does not have an embassy in Yerevan and that Armenia has an embassy in Ottawa. They ask the government to consider opening up an embassy in Yerevan.

[Petitions, October 24th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from residents of Peel region, including Brampton. They ask the House to protect children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that all materials which promote and glorify pedophilia be banned in our country and be outlawed on the Internet.

[Petitions, October 24th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions. The first one is from Brampton Centre which calls upon the government to focus its legislation to support adult stem cell research to find a cure for and therapies necessary for illnesses and diseases of suffering Canadians such as, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, cancer, muscular dystrophy and spinal cord injuries.

[North Korea, October 22nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The world has recently discovered that North Korea has secretly developed a weapon of mass destruction and has admitted to the capability to manufacture nuclear weapons. Reports state that the North Koreans presently have at least two long range nuclear weapons.

Will the minister explain to the House what effect this will have on Canada's foreign policy in the region and what action has been taken to face this challenge?

[Committees of the House, October 21st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask for the unanimous consent of the House to move a motion that, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize as genocide the killing of 1.5 million innocent Armenians, men, women and children in the period from 1915 to 1923; (b) condemn the genocide of the Armenians and all other acts of genocide as an ultimate act of religious, racial and cultural intolerance; and (c) recognize the importance of remembering and learning from the mistakes of the past.

[Resumption of debate on Address in Reply, October 8th, 2002]

Madam Speaker, I was following attentively the comments made by our colleague from the Alliance Party. He said the first job of a nation is to defend itself.

Let us be reasonable. Canada is a huge country, the second largest land mass in the world. Our population is 31 million maximum. How does the member suggest that we defend this huge land militarily? We could draft every other person and I do not think there would be enough soldiers in the country to defend Canada's land mass.

As my colleague mentioned, the only enemy we have is nature. The country from coast to coast is about 5,500 kilometres and north to south it is about 4,800 kilometres. How much money can we pour into the system to defend this land mass which is impossible to defend?

If the member has suggestions besides saying increase the money, throw the money to the military, perhaps he could make them so people could hear how he proposes to defend the land mass.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 8th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Algoma—Manitoulin for his wonderful comments and presentation.

He spoke about the throne speech and the future of health care, the health of the economy, the health of society, Kyoto, and urban and rural relationships. He also mentioned that he would be very proud to run on the Liberal record since 1993.

However he forgot to mention the record. I would like to ask the hon. member to give us the record of the Liberal government since 1993 of which he is so proud that he wants to run again.

[Turner Fenton Secondary School, June 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct pleasure to rise in the House today to congratulate the staff of Brampton Centre's Turner Fenton Secondary School on their receipt of the Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence, and in particular Ms. Patricia Mooney, a teacher at Turner Fenton, for receipt of the Certificate of Achievement.

The awards are presented by the Prime Minister in recognition of outstanding support for teaching excellence.

I know that my constituents of Brampton Centre join me in congratulating Ms. Mooney and all those involved in supporting excellence in education at Turner Fenton Secondary School.