Roy H. Bailey

[Veterans, February 20th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, George Harry Mullin and John Robert Osborn are Victoria Cross recipients and their names are legendary in my constituency.

Today I want to inform the House of another hero. Roy Sweet is a World War II vet in his 80s who wanted to preserve the memory of these Victoria Cross heroes. They were honoured years ago with plaques placed on a corner of the land owned by their families, but over the years the families moved away and the plaques became overgrown with weeds and were seldom accessible to the public.

Mr. Sweet and members of the local legion wanted to move the plaques, one to a local cemetery in Wapella and the other to the cenotaph in Moosomin. They ran into numerous obstacles and it seemed the plaques would languish in obscurity in the seldom visited farm fields, but thanks to the intervention of many, the plaques were eventually moved to their new locations and are accessible to the public all year round.

I ask the House to join me in saluting veteran Roy Sweet for his thoughtfulness in preserving the memories of two of Canada's Victoria Cross recipients.

[Supply, February 20th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I have listened to the debate with great interest. I have studied this from time to time, maybe not as much as the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, but I have been very interested in it.

I would like to ask the member a question. You mentioned the fact that the Liberals formed a government with 38% of the vote. That too was a regionalized vote. How would proportional representation affect or change the position that I find my constituents in, where we have two government members elected from the province and some 16 or 14 more from across the west? If we had proportional representation, you still would not find a member of the ruling party standing on his or her feet and speaking out for the constituents who are going downhill very quickly. Proportional representation might change the composition, but in a country as wide as Canada I still think we would fail to get regional issues addressed by the House.

At present Saskatchewan has two Liberal members. Never once, going into my second term, have I seen anyone on that side of the House standing up in support of true agricultural reform that would benefit the people in western Canada. Look at what happened in the November election. Could the hon. member tell us how proportional representation would benefit my constituents and put them at ease that their voice was going to be heard by the government?

[Youth Criminal Justice Act, February 14th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his fine delivery. A common trend has developed across Canada which is generally called bullying by an older student or a bigger student on the playground or on the way from home. Often this is assault, but when I follow through on such cases the particular individual is never charged with assault.

At the present time the school, the staff and the principal are restricted in what they can and cannot do. This phenomenon is growing. It is a national phenomenon that we need to stop. I would like my learned friend to comment on that, because it does lead to more offences later on.

[Saskatchewan Curling, February 13th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, a recent poll conducted by a Saskatchewan radio station named curling as Saskatchewan's number one sport, with hockey a close second.

Saskatchewan is well known for its addiction to curling. Not only does Saskatchewan love the game, but it also loves to play host to curling events, both national and provincial.

A month ago volunteers from Weyburn and for miles around put on an extraordinary show when Weyburn hosted the National Mixed Curling Championship. Later in January, the Estevan Curling Club hosted the Tournament of Hearts, which selected the Saskatchewan rink for the national finals.

Of course I am proud of the Estevan and Weyburn areas for showing the many visitors their unlimited hospitality and of course I am proud to tell you that they are both in the Souris—Moose Mountain constituency.

[Veterans Affairs, February 8th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, rather than correct a past injustice the government is dragging this issue through the courts and we wonder for how long.

The minister is quite right that in October the Ontario Court of Appeal said that the government was wrong and that what it had done was illegal.

The courts say that the government owes these vets money. Will the minister now do the honourable thing, drop the appeal and negotiate with the vets? Will he do the right thing and do it now?

[Veterans Affairs, February 8th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Veterans Affairs. In 1975 the government's task force said that it owed money on interest it had held in trust for disabled vets.

Again in 1985-86 the auditor general gave the same warning, but in 1990, rather than listening, the government passed a law saying that veterans could not sue for the money owed them.

Last year a judge said the government's law was illegal, but rather than act in the best interest of disabled vets the government has appealed the decision.

Will the minister now do the right thing and return the money owed to the vets, or will he drag this issue through the courts indefinitely?

[Supply, February 8th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague from Winnipeg mentioned broken promises. Coming from Saskatchewan I could talk until midnight about broken promises.

The NDP member who just spoke was in the House when we had gold plated pensions. He was here when we had to serve six consecutive years. Conceivably a member could be elected at 19 years of age, retire at 25 and get a pension. Does his conscience bother him in that he sat in the House and supported that pension?

[Speech From The Throne, February 7th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I was interested in comments made by the minister concerning Customs and Revenue Canada and its modernization. Having travelled on both sides of the 49th for my constituency, I am particularly interested because of the deep concern Customs and Revenue Canada has about the modernization of technical and electronic entry, moving back and forth across our border.

I have talked to these people. It is interesting to know that on the American side officials say that this is taking place to save on manpower. Customs officers in Canada tell me they have great fears, simply because many of the ports of entry would be 50 to 60 miles from the nearest RCMP office. Having the largest number of border crossings in Canada, I would like to hear comments on that.

[Speech From The Throne, February 6th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I too would like to congratulate the member from Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, and I wish to ask her if she has the same theme in her part of the province: we lost a large number of students this year and that has effectively closed some of our schools. The number of young people leaving the rural areas is so large that in many areas the traditional curling teams and hockey teams are done for, probably forever. Is that true in the hon. member's community?

[Speech From The Throne, February 6th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During my speech I inadvertently used the wrong figure when I was pleading for the government to return the money owing to the merchant marines. I should have said $10 million. I think I said $70 million.