Brenda Chamberlain

[Canada's Commitment in Afghanistan, May 17th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member talked a lot about the hurried manner of what is happening here this evening. Indeed, I share those same concerns about the hurried manner. There are so many questions that have not been answered.

We do not know about the Darfur component. We do not know about the aid component. Even in question period today the Conservatives were confused about the exact amount of aid. We were getting different numbers and different components.

What is right for our troops? We do not know. We do not know what has been evaluated, what went right in this mission and what went wrong. We do not know all those things. Our own committee of the House has not looked at this.

I share the member's concerns that this is a very hurried process and it is an affront to our troops. It is a terrible thing.

At one time someone said that if we would not send our own children, then we should not do this. I would ask the hon. member to comment.

[Canadian Forces, May 17th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to speak on behalf of one of my constituents, Master Warrant Officer James Tolmie, who has served this country for the past 33 years as a member of the Canadian Forces.

Mr. Tolmie has expressed his sadness and disappointment in the government's decision not to fly the flags at half-mast for the fallen soldiers in Afghanistan. He feels as though our government owes this gesture of respect to all the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty while serving our country. I would agree.

I would like to recognize all the members of the Canadian Forces who have served and who are presently serving our country and to let them know that this House honours their commitment and respects the great contributions that they have made at home and abroad.

We are grateful and we are indebted to them.

[The Budget, May 10th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the hon. member talk about a lot of things, a lot of people and a lot of groups that were forgotten. She talked about the older workers, EI people, Kyoto, the aboriginal people, children, the environment, status of women, the average family and all families being neglected in some fashion. It seems to me that there were so many groups that it is hard for me to understand why the member supports the budget.

I know there is one thing that people in Quebec really want in this budget, and perhaps they are getting a tidbit, but nothing has been spelled out. It is just empty promises to get support. I feel saddened about that.

One issue she talked about was the increase in gas prices. I know my constituents are really cross about the high gas prices. We know before the election that the present Prime Minister said that if gas prices went over 85¢ he would take away the federal tax. He has not done that.

Does the member not think the Prime Minister should take that tax away when he promised he would?

[The Budget, May 10th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague mentioned a number of issues that I am quite concerned about in the budget.

Kyoto is the number one issue. Many people now know much more than they ever did about what we need to do for the environment and for our children and our grandchildren. I know that the leader of her party for a long time supported Kyoto and really believed in it.

I am quite concerned that this budget has nothing in it. In fact it not only has nothing in it, but it actually has cutbacks in it. It has eliminated $2 billion worth of programs that were working, that were helping individuals learn how to do things better and to conserve energy. Those programs are gone and I am quite concerned.

The second issue I am concerned about is EI. The member touched on EI. For a long time I have worked on behalf of EI in this House and the member also has worked diligently on behalf of EI. There are serious deficiencies in this budget. As the member herself has worked for so very long on EI, I need a good explanation of how the member can feel comfortable in supporting a budget that is so deficient.

The member mentioned other issues, one of which was aboriginal affairs. Today the chair of that committee had to resign for making inappropriate comments. The member also raised the child care issue.

[The Budget, May 9th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to ask a question on wait times. As anyone who has been in the House for quite some time would know, the wait time issue has been my issue.

The Liberal government did a lot to move that issue along, but I know that this was one of the priorities for the Conservative government in the budget. I would really like the minister to explain to me exactly what the government is going to be able to do for wait times. I know that it has pledged $19 million for foreign credentials, but I do not think it is enough to do the job. I do not think it is going to be able to do what the government thinks it can do.

I am sure the minister hears what I do when we are out on the streets from the people who need to see a doctor, just a general practitioner, or the people who need to be referred to a specialist. This continues to be a problem. I do not think it is necessarily a partisan issue. I think this has to be a people issue. We are here, as he has said, for the Canadian people and it is very important that we as Canadians deliver that if we can.

[Petitions, November 2nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to table petitions signed by my constituents calling upon Parliament to support intensive behavioural intervention therapy treatment based upon the principles of applied behaviour analysis.

These petitioners would also like to see the creation of an academic chair at a university in each province to teach such treatment to university students.

[Guelph Human Resource Centre, November 2nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to recognize the Guelph Human Resource Centre of Canada for students and the very successful summer they had. This year, the Guelph Human Resource Centre posted 706 positions, a 21% increase from 2004. This means that in 2005 the centre helped more employers meet their staffing needs and helped more students find summer jobs.

Some 350 students also received help one on one from summer employment officers. These are individuals who help students with developing or improving a resumé, practising an interview, or help with drafting a cover letter in one on one employment advising sessions.

I wish to commend all those dedicated individuals who worked so hard this summer to help so many students in my community. I hope that they can build upon their success in 2006.

[Millennium Scholarship Excellence Award, October 19th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to recognize and congratulate four outstanding students from my community. This past July the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation awarded Rebecca Cain, Margherita Braga, Brynn Laxton and Aliya Nanjee millennium excellence awards for the 2004-2005 academic year.

The recipients were chosen in a nationwide competition on the basis of outstanding achievement in four key areas: academics, community service, leadership and innovation. Rebecca was one of 100 students to receive a national award of $5,000 renewable up to three times. Margherita, Brynn and Aliya were three of only 623 students nationally to receive a one-time local award of $4,000.

I congratulate these fine students and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation for supporting them.

[Wage Earner Protection Program Act, October 5th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, there will be much debate in committee and if there is need for further action I am sure the committee will recommend it and things will come back to this House. I have no doubt about it.

However, under this legislation, 97% of the people would be satisfied in full. What is key is that when people are going away without money and they do not have the ability to put food on the table or lights on, this bill would go a long way to address that.

I implore the House to move forward on this legislation. I think everybody has spoken one way or another. If there are certain areas in which they would like to see changes, that is fair enough and that can be decided in committee, but let us move and let us move quickly.

[Wage Earner Protection Program Act, October 5th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, that is a good point. There is no doubt that good ideas come from all sources in this House, absolutely.

With that particular piece of legislation, there were some flaws in it, quite frankly. We have tried to go back and get this right. It is important. When we look at the statistics we see that 10,000 to 15,000 workers annually have unpaid wage claims when employers go bankrupt. That is huge and we have to do something to address that.

I am really pleased that the hon. member is in support of this and wants to move ahead with this. As I said, I think all members have indicated pretty strong support when they have spoken. The idea is good. It is a sound idea and definitely its time has come, so let us move it forward.