Harold Culbert

[supply, February 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the hon. member's presentation.

Just a very quick question. I wonder if the hon. member considers his party and himself the only members in the House interested in the well-being of people, both financially and otherwise, right across this country. I am sure that was not his intention but that was certainly the impression he gave.

I have had conversations with members from all regions of this great nation of ours, as well as from all political parties represented here. First and foremost their interest is in their ridings, their constituents and certainly in the welfare of this great nation of ours.

I want to point out to the hon. member that we on the government side will be asking those very same questions of our ministers and will continue to. We want to assure members of

the Reform Party and the citizens of this great nation that government members are responsible and interested in every government department and will continue to be.

[The Late Louise Breau, February 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to pay tribute to Mayor Louise Breau of Millville, New Brunswick, who passed away on February 3, 1994.

Not only did Mayor Breau serve her community, she also served on the New Brunswick Villages Association and on the Provincial Municipal Council for New Brunswick. She was keenly interested in the well-being of her fellow citizens and worked tirelessly on their behalf. She will be missed by Millville and throughout New Brunswick.

On behalf of members of the House of Commons I extend sincere condolences to her family and friends and to the citizens of Millville, New Brunswick.

[Social Security System, February 2nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, during the presentation of my hon. colleague, the member across the way, there were a couple of points that became very obvious, the first being the reference to programs currently not working in Quebec and also that federalism had failed.

I would suggest that with the minister's tabling of his report and his release on Monday of this week that the exact opposite has occurred. There is no question as the old saying goes, at least in my riding, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

My hon. colleague's statement that in Quebec it is not working quite obviously there appears to be a need to upgrade, to review, reform and make better the programs that we have for all Canadians and that is exactly what the minister stated.

I would like to quote once again from the minister's own words. He said: "I am asking the House, our colleagues in the Senate, our counterparts at the provincial and territorial level, members of business and labour sectors, the leaders of our communities and indeed every Canadian to throw out the old ideas, put aside vested interests", which the hon. member referred to, "and begin thinking of the kind of ground rules we need in Canada to restore fairness, hope and a sense of security".

I would ask the hon. member to refer to those in light of her suggestion that federalism has failed and the programs are not working in Quebec.

I believe just the opposite with the minister's statement here in the House and she has an opportunity to relate, to provide the input that the minister is asking for.

[The Late Judy Rose McKay, February 2nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to pay tribute to the contributions of a courageous leader in the fight against kidney disease. Judy Rose McKay, 46, of Woodstock, New Brunswick, died on Sunday, January 23.

One of the longest survivors of a kidney transplant in Canada, Judy McKay served as the first president of the local and provincial chapters of the Kidney Foundation of Canada. A founding member of the Lorna Morse Chapter of the Kidney Foundation of Canada, Judy was always concerned for the welfare of others and leading the way in the fight against kidney disease.

On behalf of my family and friends, the constituents of Carleton-Charlotte, and my colleagues in the House of Commons I respectfully offer my condolences to the family and friends of a local hero.

[Speech From The Throne, January 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I too want to congratulate the hon. member on an excellent presentation to the House. I was extremely impressed.

I want to follow up on one area that she touched on toward the end of her presentation concerning government offices moving out to, I assume she was suggesting, various parts of the country.

In that light, I would ask the hon. member if it was her thought to do this only after investigation might take place as to the economics of making that transition and the economics of where they were going compared to where they are at the present time.

[Foreign Affairs, January 25th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I extend my very best wishes as you confront the many challenges ahead in this 35th Parliament of Canada. I offer my personal congratulations on your election and appointment as Deputy Speaker.

I also extend my warmest appreciation to the many helpful members and staff of the House who provided assistance to me and my staff as we prepared to represent the constituents of my riding of Carleton-Charlotte. I am very proud to stand here today as their elected representative. I am humbled to have been honoured with their trust. It is with great enthusiasm that I look forward to working together with my colleagues in the House of Commons as we attempt to build a better tomorrow for all Canadians.

On behalf of the constituents of Carleton-Charlotte I wish to recognize the many Canadian veterans for their distinguished service. There are many veterans and active duty servicemen and women from the Carleton-Charlotte riding who have served our nation with pride. These men and women have been instrumental in establishing our leadership role in United Nations peacekeeping efforts. It would be negligent and irresponsible for us to turn our backs quickly on these achievements and the fact that our servicemen and women continue to work to maintain this leadership role made possible by our distinguished veterans.

After careful consideration of the many occasions where Canadian servicemen and women have fulfilled their peacekeeping obligations, I encourage my colleagues to recognize the many international successes they have achieved. They have successfully promoted international democracy while being recognized around the world as partners in peace.

Canada is a peaceful nation which commonly provides humanitarian aid. Let us not lose sight of this priority. We may have to review our role with the United Nations. We may have to review concerns with our Canadian defence and foreign policies, but I hope we will continue to respond to the needs of troubled nations for many years to come.

I respectfully request that my hon. colleagues give due priority to the most important concern of the day, and that is the safety and security of Canadian peacekeepers. When we are confronted with a threat to their security we must immediately protect Canadian servicemen and women and we must assure their families of their safe return.

This is certainly not the first time, and I sincerely doubt it will be the last time, there has been a threat to the security of Canadian peacekeepers abroad. Although I would like to encourage the House to give due consideration to the defence and peacekeeping policies, I believe we must first protect those who made sacrifices for us all.

Recent events in the former Yugoslavia have clearly demonstrated the importance of ensuring the protection and security of Canadian peacekeepers when considering future commitments. As many nations forge ahead in search of peace and democracy economic repression often causes hardships which require humanitarian aid. We must address these needs of our global neighbours with a sense of steward-like responsibility.

As a partner in the effort to bring peace and democracy to the citizens of Bosnia-Hercegovina we must give consideration to this tragedy by continuing to provide humanitarian aid to those in need, not by professing to be an expert on this international crisis but by assuming a responsibility for our servicemen and women and for our role on the international stage as partners in peace.

While protecting Canadian interests we must also consider the interests of the citizens of the former Yugoslavia who are without security, electricity, food and water. If there remains a possibility of being a partner in this effort under more secure conditions, then we must continue on.

We have the good fortune of being protected by the Canadian Armed Forces, one of the most respected and well-known peacekeeping forces in the world. We should recognize this good fortune by giving proper consideration to the advice of our military leaders. Perhaps it is time we stood behind those who stand behind us. We should work with our military leaders to facilitate the protection of the Canadian peacekeepers so that

they maintain our international responsibility and may complete their duties as assigned to them by the United Nations.

The United Nations is an organization which contributes greatly to the development of the global community. We must continue to be a full partner within the organization and continue to maintain a positive relationship with our international neighbours.

We must also continue to fulfil our leadership role in promoting the importance of the United Nations to the global community. We must encourage the United Nations to fulfil its responsibility to the international community and continue to promote peace and democracy while delivering aid to those in need.

We can be proud of our historic relationship with our United Nations partners. If we intend to maintain our leadership role with the United Nations we must continue to uphold our peacekeeping and humanitarian responsibilities. We cannot expect the United Nations to do its part unless we are prepared to do ours.

[Information Highway, January 25th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister responsible for industry, science and technology.

Is it his department's intention to work with the provinces to develop a Canadian information highway? Premier McKenna is committed to developing in New Brunswick an electronic information highway. I believe there is a similar need for a Canadian information highway for all of Canada.