Albina Guarnieri

[Criminal Code, November 26th, 2008]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-231, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (consecutive sentences).

Mr. Speaker, volume discounts for rapists and murderers, that is the law in Canada today. It is called concurrent sentencing that cheapens life. The life of the second, the third or the eleventh victim does not count in the sentencing equation. The lowest price is the law every day in our courts.

This was true when this bill passed third reading in the House by a 4:1 margin in 1999. It was true last month when the premier of Saskatchewan called for consecutive sentencing when a child killer who confessed to sexually assaulting 40 women was freed without serving one day for any of those 40 victims.

Consecutive sentences for multiple murderers and rapists remain the only way to bring proportionality to sentencing and bring a measure of justice to victims of immeasurable crimes.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Veterans Affairs, June 18th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the government's record on veterans affairs can be summarized as frothy promises mixed with flat results.

The government broke its promise to give VIP services to all widows and, in the last two years, only added 5,000 survivors to the program. In the last two years of the Liberal government, we added 20,000 without fanfare.

The government excluded allied veterans from the VIP in three budgets while criticizing a decade-old decision to do the same thing. It announced a Veterans Bill of Rights that had no bill, no legislation and absolutely no new rights.

On agent orange, after two years of delay, about 3% of those it promised to compensate will see any money.

However, the government followed through on the New Veterans Charter passed in 2005 and opened new OSI clinics in Calgary and Fredericton, also announced that year.

I feel that veterans deserve a government that exceeds expectations the way veterans did for their government.

[Public Transit, May 9th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the annual reports of the Toronto Transit Commission prove that the government's non-refundable tax credit for transit passes is a total failure when it comes to increasing ridership and protecting the environment. The TTC results reveal that ridership trends did not change at all after the transit pass plan was launched; no more riders, no less pollution.

The government's tedious tax credit plan was supposed to pay for two free months of public transit, but as the TTC says, there is “The Better Way”. The government could work with the provinces and use the same money to deliver free public transit for two months every year: no receipts, no accountants, just a free ride for all who can get out of their cars, get a break from gridlock and get a breath of fresh air.

[Foreign Affairs, April 18th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, maybe it is time to build a firewall around the government caucus members. This is not the first time the member for Calgary West has helped to put this Conservative government on the world stage.

He is also infamous for calling Nobel peace prize winner Nelson Mandela a communist and a terrorist. Just recently, the foreign affairs minister has trashed the governor of Kandahar with allegations of corruption.

When will the Prime Minister rein in his foreign relations wrecking crew--

[Foreign Affairs, April 18th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, a government member, who was once labelled a foreign political saboteur by CNN, has undermined Canada's ability to have constructive dialogue with China on human rights.

The member for Calgary West has compared the Beijing Olympics to Adolf Hitler's 1936 Berlin Games. He has even mused about an insurrection.

With his foreign affairs minister calling for the overthrow of the governor in Kandahar and a backbencher calling for riots in Beijing, when will the Prime Minister put some diplomacy in his foreign affairs policy?

[Municipal Property Taxes, April 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, homeowners in Mississauga and around the country are bracing for massive property tax increases as the federal government continues to shortchange the future of Canada's cities.

The latest estimates show that homeowners will pay thousands more in property taxes over the next decade to rebuild roads, transit, waste management, and other municipal infrastructure that are the essential bodily functions of a growing economy.

In Mississauga the bill will work out to $100 per resident per year, adding over $300 to the average property tax bill. This is the end of the road for Canada's cities. Property taxes will have to rise unless the federal government rises to the occasion and finally commits to funding the infrastructure our economy is built on.

[Vimy Ridge, April 9th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, it was a year ago that Canada paused to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the triumphant yet tragic battle of Vimy Ridge.

Canadian schoolchildren at the Vimy Memorial in France witnessed the scale of the magnificently restored tribute and felt the scale of the sacrifice it represents. Here at home, at memorials across the country, the memory of those who fought at Vimy continues to bring pride, tears and inspiration even after four generations.

The mission Canadians accomplished at Vimy was more than the capture of a key summit. It captivated the nation and captured the respect of the world. Those who rose from the trenches 91 years ago today will forever rise in the memory of a grateful nation.

[National Flag of Canada, February 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, today Canadians celebrate National Flag of Canada Day. Forty-three years ago the maple leaf flew for the first time over this Parliament and the nation it represents.

Today presents an opportunity for all Canadians to reflect on what our flag represents.

As we all share this iconic symbol, the national treasures and common values it signifies are shared with all of us. We all feel the respect and friendship the maple leaf attracts when we travel abroad. We all cherish the universal education and health systems that we share at home. And we all honour the current and future veterans whose sacrifice gives future generations the freedom and privilege that comes with life under the maple leaf.

On this National Flag of Canada Day, I ask all my colleagues to join me in celebrating our past achievements, as well as looking ahead toward an exciting future that we will share under our common flag.

[The Environment, February 5th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, last year the federal government added only confusion and confrontation to the provincial equalization formula, which remains devoid of national objectives.

Meanwhile, there remains no effective national program for reduction of greenhouse gases by provincial power producers. Now is the time for an environmental equalization program.

For an investment of little more than one-tenth of the surplus announced in the fall, the government could provide provinces with $5,000 per gigawatt hour of clean energy and deduct $5,000 for every gigawatt hour produced from coal and half of that amount for natural gas. This would reward provinces such as Ontario that have committed to get out of coal and would provide a powerful incentive to provinces rich in natural gas to stop using coal as their primary source of power.

An environmental equalization program would link federal transfers to the national challenge of the century and it would be a vehicle to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions.

[Canadian Forces, February 4th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's latest examination of military health care proves that the government is failing Canadian soldiers returning from Afghanistan. Uncertified health practitioners are not allowed to treat civilians but are allowed to treat soldiers while a shortage of resources has forced many to go outside the military for medical help.

How can the government claim it is standing up for our soldiers when their health care service is breaking down?