Eugène Bellemare

[Prescott Gala Of Excellence, October 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday evening, the Prescott business community held its gala of excellence with over 280 people in attendance at the Knights of Columbus hall in Alfred.

Daniel and Linda Lalonde, a brother and sister heading the Dan R. Equipment firm of Plantagenet, received the Prescott award of excellence, while a number of other people and businesses were given honourable mentions or similar awards.

I would therefore like to thank the organizers of the gala out for this opportunity to honour individuals and businesses in Prescott who went the extra mile in the past year.

[International Development, October 20th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, for 50 years Canada has contributed substantially by progress to the improvement of living conditions in developing countries.

The government remains committed to international aid. It pledged that it would be increasing international development assistance as stated in the Speech from the Throne. There is always more to be done in developing countries and the government is committed to doing more.

[Safe Boating, June 4th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are very concerned about the nearly 200 deaths and 6,000 serious accidents that occur annually in pleasure boating. With National Safe Boating Week, which begins tomorrow, what measures will the Department of Fisheries and Oceans be taking to meet the concerns of Canadians?

[The Environment, June 3rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, this being Environment Week, and following an initiative launched last year by the Minister of the Environment to have Canadians renew a personal commitment to protect their environment, over 43 millennium eco-communities are currently active in Canada.

The millennium eco-communities, which are groups of citizens working at the local level, are showing us that, to get results at the national level, initiatives must be taken at the local level. Let us not forget that international success is based on local commitments, and that planetary success cannot be achieved without the determination of each and every one of us.

[Premier Of Ontario, May 28th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, with an election campaign in full swing, Ontario's premier, Mike Harris, says that Franco-Ontarians in the Ottawa region are living in the past in their efforts to keep the Montfort hospital open.

This is the same Mr. Harris I ran across in Montreal during Quebec's last referendum. He was there to show that he cared about Quebec's francophones. Today he is bent on destroying the only French language teaching hospital in his province.

This is a strange way of promoting the future of Franco-Ontarians and Canadian unity.

[Public Service, May 10th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, in his spring 1999 report, the Auditor General of Canada indicates that the federal government will have to recruit some 3,000 scientists and technologists in the next five years.

Could the President of the Treasury Board tell us what strategies the government intends to take to meet this important objective?

[Petitions, April 20th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, my petition is in the same vein as that of my colleague from Ottawa Centre. It is a request to have the law amended so that grandparents can have access to their grandchildren when there is a divorce.

[Computers, March 23rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, today the need to learn computer skills is an important key to success. That is why the government launched in 1993 the computer for schools program which provides computers to schools and public libraries across the country.

A few hours ago, Gloucester High School, a school in my riding, welcomed my colleagues, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Industry, who were there to mark an important milestone in this program. Indeed, the school just received its 125,000th personal computer under the program.

I thank the Prime Minister and the Minister of Industry for their involvement and commend this excellent initiative, which will help young people acquire high technology skills.

[Francophone Communities, March 18th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the separatists decided to boycott the launching of the Year of the Francophonie. A Reformer accuses francophones of being whiners and of getting preferential treatment.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage tell us how the International Year of the Francophonie will help Canada's francophone communities?

[Canadian Public Service, March 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board.

Public service retirees and employees are saying that the government wants to use the surplus in the public service, RCMP and National Defence pension funds without being entitled to.

What makes the Government of Canada think that it has the right to this surplus but the employees and the pensioners do not?