House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 1997, with 49% of the vote.
Petitions February 9th, 1995
Madam Speaker, it is my honour pursuant to Standing Order 36 to table three duly certified petitions from constituents of mine.
The first one is signed by 61 residents primarily of the Assiniboia and Rockglen districts. It calls upon Parliament not to enact any further firearms control legislation, regulations or orders in council.
Petitions February 8th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the final petition has 65 signatures of constituents mostly from the Swift Current area. They are petitioning the House to immediately amend the Criminal Code to extend protection to the unborn child, to extend the same protection enjoyed by born human beings to unborn human beings.
Petitions February 8th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, my second petition is also from constituents of mine, mostly in the Pangman, Truax and Ogema districts of Saskatchewan, requesting that the Canadian Wheat Board continue to be the sole marketing agency for export wheat and barley sales.
Petitions February 8th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to table three petitions from constituents of my riding.
The first petition was signed by 133 members of the Shaunavon Wildlife Association at their annual awards banquet. They state that gun control regulations in Canada are already excessive and without evident benefit. Therefore, they call upon us in Parliament to desist from passing additional restrictive legislation with respect to firearms or ammunition and to direct our attention to the apprehension and adequate punishment of those who criminally misuse firearms or other deadly weapons.
I heartily concur with that petition.
Farm Credit Corporation February 8th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, Brian Mulroney could not have answered it better.
Does the minister not realize that he does not enjoy the confidence of western Canadians and that appointments of this nature just further erode that confidence?
Farm Credit Corporation February 8th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, during the winter break the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food reached way down into the Liberal hack bag in order to find an appointee for the board of the Farm Credit Corporation. Joan Meyer, a long time constituency backroomer, was campaign manager for failed Liberal candidate Rob Heindrichs and is married to Liberal party contributor and failed provincial candidate Don Meyer.
What qualifications, apart from her unimpeachable Liberal party credentials, does Mrs. Meyer have for this appointment?
Gun Control February 6th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, we live in a tolerant and compassionate society. It is so compassionate that Denis Lortie could steal an automatic weapon from the army, terrorize a provincial legislature, murder three strangers, wound several others and end up back on the streets in 10 years.
There are however limits to compassion. Under the justice minister's gun control proposals a farmer who neglects or refuses to register his single shot .22 could be sentenced to a year behind bars for inconveniencing the bureaucracy.
The inmates really have taken over the asylum.
Violence Against Women December 6th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, in the space of a couple of centuries women have advanced from being chattels to being real persons and now in the pantheon of the politically correct back to being mere victims.
I find this extraordinarily offensive and I think it demeans women. Women are people and should be treated as such. Violence exists throughout society. It is symptomatic of an alarming loss of civility, traditional values which have gone down the pipe.
Talk about women being victimized in the thirties. I am old enough that I can remember those times. Yes, spousal abuse went on in those days but when it did anyone who took part in that sort of activity was (a) socially ostracized or (b) stood a very good chance of getting the socks beaten off him by the abused woman's brothers, father, cousins, uncles and so on. This was commonly done.
You don't know; you were not there, madam.
Hibernia Project December 6th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I wish to deplore the fact that my native province, Saskatchewan, is not receiving its fair share of work on the Hibernia project.
With almost 3.5 per cent of Canada's population, we did not even get a shipbuilding contract. Our busy shipyards on the shore of Lake Wascana in Regina are ready to contribute. After generations of colonial exploitation by Ontario and Quebec, it is high time that they gave us our share of the gravy. We demand fairness. We must get down to work.
Firearms Registration November 29th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, a 20-year man in the RCMP recently made the following statement to me: "In my experience the use of firearms to commit assaults or murders pale by comparison to the use of knives or blunt objects. Restricting the lawful use of firearms by other citizens is an unnecessary intrusion.
If the government goes ahead with plans to register long arms we will be so bogged down by paper work and enforcement that criminals will be much better off. We might as well put our uniforms and revolvers in the closet because we will be busy filling out forms".
In my experience, the most vocal opponents of firearms registration are RCMP officers and especially retired officers,
including former Assistant Commissioner Robert Head and a couple of fellows right here on the Hill.
L.H. Nicholson, the most respected commissioner in the history of the force was adamantly opposed to registration. Of course the Liberals are not interested in the views of people who actually know what they are talking about.