House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was senate.

Last in Parliament October 2000, as Reform MP for Nanaimo—Alberni (B.C.)

Won his last election, in 1997, with 50% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Environmental Secretariat April 22nd, 1994

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment. The choice of Montreal for the environmental secretariat was supposedly based on the following criteria: transportation accessibility, support services, diplomatic services, cost of living, and environmental record.

An analysis of the consultant's report shows that Toronto has more flights to all three capitals than Montreal. Ottawa offers more diplomatic and government services. Montreal's cost of living is 10th on the list of 25 contenders and Montreal's environmental record is 20th on the list, a terrible record. Clearly-

Young Offenders Act April 12th, 1994

Mr. Speaker, two years ago in Courtenay, B.C., six-year old Dawn Shaw was brutally raped and killed.

Her killer, now 17, is Jason Gamache. The biggest surprise to come out of this trial was not that he had done the deed. Jason Gamache was a repeat sex offender who was not allowed to be with children and he was 11 months into therapy when he murdered Dawn Shaw.

Not even the Courtenay RCMP was aware of this young offender's record of sexual assault. Why? It was because the Young Offenders Act prohibits any professional treating a young offender from discussing the case in public.

This case calls for two changes in our justice system: first, major changes in the Young Offenders Act and, second, a public registry of sex offenders. We cannot let Dawn Shaw's death be in vain.

The Environment April 11th, 1994

Mr. Speaker, my supplemental is for the Prime Minister.

Contrary to the environment minister's supposed criteria the Prime Minister now states that Montreal was awarded the environmental secretariat because it has the highest jobless rate.

Given these inconsistencies which hardly justify such patronage, has the government adopted the policies of the previous Conservative government of showing favouritism to the Prime Minister's home province?

The Environment April 11th, 1994

I will rephrase that, Mr. Speaker.

Why did she advise the House and 24 potential host cities when she knew that the selection process was fixed in favour of Montreal?

The Environment April 11th, 1994

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment.

On January 24 the minister stated in the House that selection of the host city for the NAFTA commission of the environment would be "open, transparent, public and objective, a process free of politics. The selection will be made based on environmental performance of these cities. Montreal along with others will be considered in a non-partisan fashion". The end result was that Montreal, a city that dumps half of its sewage untreated into the St. Lawrence River, was chosen as the host city.

My question for the minister is this. Why did she mislead this House and 24 potential host cities-

Greenpeace March 24th, 1994

Mr. Speaker, my supplementary question is for the Minister of Natural Resources.

Given that this misinformation campaign is costing the Canadian economy both in terms of lost revenue and lost jobs, what is the government doing to counter this misinformation campaign in Europe?

Greenpeace March 24th, 1994

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Revenue.

Over the past number of months Greenpeace has been carrying out a misinformation campaign in Europe regarding forest practices in British Columbia.

Canadians are sick and tired of their tax dollars being used to support special interest lobby groups. If groups such as Greenpeace wish to engage in political activities, they should rely solely on the contributions of their supporters and not on backing from Canadian taxpayers.

Will the minister undertake a full scale review of the criteria used to determine tax exemption status for Greenpeace and other non-profit organizations?

Forestry March 11th, 1994

Mr. Speaker, in the United Kingdom, Scott Paper Limited has cancelled its pulp contract with MacMillan Bloedel. This contract was worth $5.4 million and represents a substantial loss of Canadian export business.

This cancellation is the result of threats; threats made by Greenpeace, threats based on misinformation about B.C. forest practices.

Now is the time for Canada to address the lies being spread in Europe and the U.K. We in this House must ensure that foreign companies are not blackmailed by misinformation campaigns and if we are to live up to the promise of jobs and sustainable development action must be taken to protect Canada's number one industry.

The Environment February 16th, 1994

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the hon. minister for this initiative. I believe it is the direction we want to go and that most Canadians want to go. Most of us feel inside that we are environmentalists and this comes from the way we recycle our paper or compost or garbage. It is the mood of Canadians to move in this direction.

I would like to go back to a little history of where we have come from, because I believe the pendulum has swung through from the economy versus the environment. It was an either/or situation and I believe it was to the detriment of many Canadians.

That basically was the old way. I believe the new way, the integration of the economy and the environment, is the way to go because that is sustainable development. I believe that is the direction that this legislation is taking.

The goal is to combine a strong economy with a strong environment. This is basically as the minister has said and I believe it is excellent.

Now to the round table itself. I would hope that their perspective is balanced. I believe that balance will come from the people who are on this board. I would hope that the make-up of the board is not all one side of the equation or all of the other. I hope there is a very broad base so that we have the voice of all Canadians.

I would also hope that there is a national perspective, a perspective that comes from coast to coast and including the territories. I would be most disappointed to see the make-up of this round table from largely central Canada or one point in Canada.

I would like to move on to the mandate because I am a bit unsure, and that is maybe because I am new in the House. Is this an advisory body or a legislative body? To whom does it report? The minister said that the Prime Minister will be chairing it. Does it report to the House, to caucus or to the Prime Minister? I see it is to you.

Basically those are the points I wanted to address. I would hope that the meetings are open and that the public is involved. What will be the cost? We need to know where Canada is today, which is in a debt hole, and how much this is going to cost.

Finally I would hope that this is a meaningful process, that three or four years down the road that we have not rehashed what we know about sustainable development only to find that we have not really moved ahead.

Justice February 4th, 1994

Mr. Speaker, my compliments to the hon. minister for giving such a full, complete and direct answer when direct answers from this government are sometimes very hard to come by.