House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was air.

Last in Parliament May 2004, as Liberal MP for Don Valley East (Ontario)

Won his last election, in 2000, with 67% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Minister for International Cooperation December 14th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have addressed this question a number of times in the past week. I think the hon. member should allow the ethics counsellor to do his work which is to see what, if any, problems there were with the alleged conduct of my colleague, the Minister for International Cooperation, rather than dredge up individual details here in the House of Commons.

Infrastructure Program December 14th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, there is no agreement on the infrastructure program with Quebec at the moment. We are prepared to work with the province, especially in the field of transportation.

Literary Works December 14th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, I do not think it serves debate well to enter into this kind of discussion. The Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and I, today, have stated the government's policy on this matter and I think that should be the end of it.

Literary Works December 14th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said outside the House and the Deputy Prime Minister yesterday said that Mr. Saul's thoughts on various subjects in no way represent an official statement of government policy.

Literary Works December 14th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that Mr. Saul throughout years of being an author has expressed a number of views, not all of which the hon. member may be comfortable with. The fact is that he has the right to express those views. He is an author. Simply because he now is with the Governor General at Rideau Hall is no reason to tell people that he can no longer pursue his chosen career as an author.

Literary Works December 14th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, as I already said, Mr. Saul has the right to express his own views, and I think that the situation was clarified by the government.

Literary Works December 14th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister addressed this question yesterday, as did the Prime Minister outside the House. Mr. Saul is a private citizen and is entitled to his own views. His views in no way constitute official government policy or statements of government policy. For that reason we will certainly not accede to or address the hon. member's question.

The Budget December 12th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, the standing committee said that Canadians need to be provided with the security of knowing that we have a national, single, accountable, consistent and seamless system of transportation security. That was what the Minister of Finance announced in the budget: the Canadian air transport security authority will provide just those guarantees for the travelling public.

The hon. member then said that the committee's report reflects his own thinking absolutely. Once again we have the hon. member in a political contortion act in the House of Commons, arguing against his own logic.

The Budget December 12th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, I already answered that question when the hon. member from the Bloc put the reasons for not having armed personnel on planes.

It is very serious when weapons are introduced in a confined space such as an airplane at 37,000 or 39,000 feet. It is a decision we did not take lightly, but upon reflection and certainly after discussion with stakeholders, including the change of heart of the Air Canada Pilots Association, the government acted and it acted in the best interests of the travelling public.

Air Transportation December 12th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's concerns are the same as my own.

They are the reason we gave this some serious thought. We decided, however, that it was in the best interests of the travelling public to have the RCMP on board aircraft for general security.