Alex Atamanenko

[Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, January 31st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak to Bill C-33. It is important that we look at the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act dealing with fuels as part of a long range study on the impact of biofuels, not only in Canada but also throughout the world.

We support the bill in principle because of its potential benefits to farmers who finally, thanks to the surge in the biofuel industry, have at least a better chance to make a profit from going green.

My party and I also support increased funding and an expanded mandate for the Canadian Co-operative Association, specifically renewed funding for the cooperative development initiative, beginning as of April. Cooperatives, as we know, can be a very important part of this whole biofuel initiative.

When dealing with growing crops for fuel, however, we must look at it under the umbrella of food production. Does the cultivation of corn, for example, or wheat for fuel take away land which has been used to grow food. That is a fundamental question not only in our country, but throughout the world. This is an important question in light of the dwindling stocks of food supply in the world. I will try to come back to this later.

In Canada, Manitoba has attempted to reach what I call a healthy compromise in the food versus fuel debate. It has taken a three point approach to biofuels, which include agriculture, the greenhouse gas effect and the economy. It is using local grain and also some from Saskatchewan.

The federal program proposed by Bill C-33, however, opens the door to the import of sugar and palm oil, which are potential food stocks, and in many instances the cultivation of these commodities in the southern hemisphere has proven to be devastating for the environment as well as for local farmers. We have to be careful. We need a planned, balanced, moderate approach.

The province of Manitoba has determined that 10% of its grain and oilseed stock is not food grade and can thus be used for the value added industry. For example, wheat can be broken down to sugar for ethanol and protein for animal feed. We see in Manitoba a concrete result for farmers. There is now a market for B grade crops and winter wheat, and winter wheat is still being grown.

[Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, January 31st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, it seems to me that over the last couple of years our country has been sliding away from being in the front to fight for human rights to kind of taking a back seat. We are not standing up for the young kid in Guantanamo Bay who has been there for three years. Some of us parliamentarians have had to sign petitions in the hope that someone does that work on our behalf.

Right now we are saying that if someone is a terrorist we will just send them back or round them up. I will use the example that is kind of humorous. If my in-laws were to come to Canada they could theoretically be rounded up and put in jail because of these security certificates.

What will happen to Canada if the bill does not go through? Will we be in danger from terrorists?

[Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, January 31st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

I would like to ask a question. I do not believe that the Canadian public really understands what a security certificate is all about. I would like my colleague to confirm one thing.

For example, my in-laws live in the United States; they are American. In theory, if they were to come to Canada and if they were suspected of wrongdoing, they could be arrested and put in jail without being given a reason and without having access to a lawyer. Is that true? Are security certificates a threat to us?

[Petitions, January 31st, 2008]

My second petition deals with seniors and the fact that Statistics Canada has made a major error in its calculations of the consumer price index showing the rates for hotel/motel rooms dropping 16.5% when they actually had risen 32.2%.

The petitioners, around 150 of them, call upon the Parliament of Canada to take full responsibility for the error and take the required steps to repay every Canadian who was shortchanged by a government program because of the miscalculation of the CPI.

[Petitions, January 31st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions. One is addressed to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development. The petitioners state that students are being hit hard today, that the chronic federal underfunding of core post-secondary education has led to soaring tuition fees and average student debt is approaching $25,000, and that it is very difficult in the area of student loans.

Therefore, these petitioners would like the government to create a federal needs based grant system for all Canada student loans in every year of study by rolling in the budget of poorly targeted federal PSE programs and the expiring millennium scholarship foundation, to reduce the federal student loan interest rate, to create a federal student loan ombudsperson, and to create enforceable federal standards governing the conduct of government and private student loan collection agents subject to the policy objective of helping students find ways to repay their loans, among other things.

[Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2007, December 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, today my colleague has been accused of living in the past and dwelling on things that have happened before.

I would like to get his idea on what he sees for our country in the future. Does he see that we are perhaps at a crossroads where we have the gradual takeover of the citizen's agenda by the corporate sector? If this is the case, how can we grab our country back and get on the right track, which most Canadians expect us to do?

[Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2007, December 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we look at this from the point of view not just from in our country, but in a global context. In her latest book, Naomi Klein talks about the Chicago School of Economics, the philosophy of Milton Friedman, the idea of privatization, deregulation, the full load of social programs and that we do not need any kind of government involvement in our lives. It documents the devastation that it has caused in countries like Chile, Russia, Argentina, Iraq and also South Africa.

We are seeing the pullout of government programs, the surplus, the cuts, no money for affordable housing, no national child care program and the issue of poverty not being addressed. Does the member feel we are somehow slipping into a corporate agenda that we are going to be unable to get out of unless we put some stop to the direction the current government is going?

[Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2007, December 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to get the member's idea on some points.

In British Columbia we are told that we have a real prosperous economy and everything is going well and yet when we look around, we see what is happening. We see that we have the highest child poverty rate in Canada. We have seniors care which is in disarray. We have problems with our health care system. Certainly there is no affordable child care on a large scale.

If we look nationally, we have a budget where there are surpluses, but we do not have a national affordable housing program. Students are suffering, trying to get by so they do not have horrendous debts after finishing university. The health care system needs some help. We do not have a pharmacare system, which could help seniors. The infrastructure in our rural communities is crumbling. At the same time we are talking about corporate tax cuts, a surplus of over $14 billion and cuts to the GST.

I would like his comments on some of the points that I raised in regard to the big picture in Canada.

[Committees of the House, December 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I have two questions. The first one deals with the funding formula, which the member mentioned, for first nations advanced education formula which expires in March 2008. Apparently, there is no clear direction yet and first nations people have not been included in meaningful discussions. I do not understand that and I would like the member to comment on it.

Second, the member also mentioned that there was no serious national strategy for post-secondary education for first nations. How can we have a national strategy for first nations when we do not even have one for post-secondary education in general? How is it that our students in post-secondary education pay horrendous tuition fees? Why do we not have something that brings those fees down or eliminates them so we can come into the 21st century, like other countries have done, which then increases our economy and invests in the future?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, December 10th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, food sovereignty is an extremely important issue for Canadians.

In Nelson, B.C., a conference was held recently to discuss the future of food.

The National Farmers Union convention this year focused on the issue of food security and democracy.

A few weeks ago, I attended an event in Russell, Ontario, where we learned that a strategy is being developed for food sovereignty in Quebec.

The president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture said we must take action or Canada will lose its food self-sufficiency.

The report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food recommends that a national food policy be established that will help guarantee long-term food safety.

The response often given by government officials to food sovereignty is that our hands are tied because of trade obligations.

Other countries are putting the needs of their citizens first. It is time for Canada to develop a food policy that puts Canadian farmers and all Canadians ahead of any WTO, NAFTA or other trade obligations.