Anita Neville

[Film Industry, October 14th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, Winnipeg is home to many talented young filmmakers, musicians and artists who have chosen to remain in Winnipeg and pursue their crafts. One such Winnipeg based filmmaker is Noam Gonick, and I stand today to recognize the many achievements of this innovative and creative filmmaker.

Mr. Gonick's work in film, publishing and broadcasting has challenged conventional boundaries. His first feature, Hey, Happy! , premiered at the 2001 Sundance film festival and was a critical success when released worldwide.

I particularly wish to congratulate Noam on his most recent film, Stryker , about young people in gangs in Winnipeg. This past September, Stryker premiered at the prestigious Venice international film festival, one of the two Canadian feature films selected to screen and the only Canadian drama.

Young, creative filmmakers are the future of Canadian film. On behalf of all Canadians, I congratulate Noam Gonick on his successes.

[Women Entrepreneurs, October 13th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, last week the Women's Enterprise Centre in Winnipeg celebrated its 10th anniversary. Since 1994 to March of this year, Western Economic Diversification Canada's Women's Enterprise Centre in Winnipeg has provided approximately $6.2 million in loans to help start up or expand 193 women-owned small businesses. It is estimated that this investment has helped to create or maintain 527 jobs in Manitoba. It has also hosted more than 19,000 people in training sessions.

Last year the Prime Minister's task force on women entrepreneurs recognized the Women's Enterprise Initiative for its excellent work and recommended the program be adopted across the country.

Initiatives like the Women's Enterprise Centre build on the Speech from the Throne's priority to foster investment by attending to the conditions that encourage entrepreneurs and providers of risk capital.

[Middle East, October 12th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak out about a threat to the integrity of the United Nations General Assembly. Its legitimacy is eroding because of its hijacked agenda toward the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Twenty-three resolutions last session, a special investigative committee, and multiple reports show that the assembly has crossed the threshold of partisanship and has become a mouthpiece for the Palestinian side in the dispute.

Israel's violations, real and alleged, are ceaselessly highlighted, yet not a single resolution focuses on Palestinian terrorism and Israeli suffering. Not a single document condemns Palestinian incitement, and not a single report examines corruption and brutality of the Palestinian Authority.

The bias cannot be clearer. As a country committed to international peace and security, it is incumbent on Canada to lead the effort to rescue the UN from politicization. We acknowledge the bias in the assembly's agenda, but we still take part in the hijacked process through our support--

[Paralympic Games, October 8th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I pay tribute to Kirby Cote, a swimmer from Winnipeg, on her impressive achievements at the recent Paralympic Games in Athens.

Ms. Cote is a 20 year old legally blind swimmer who trains in my riding of Winnipeg South Centre. Her determination and her commitment to her training and her sport are indeed an inspiration to us all.

Ms. Cote won a medal in every event she entered at the Athens Paralympics. She completed the games with five gold medals and two silver medals, a remarkable achievement indeed.

It was exciting to watch a young athlete from Winnipeg win the first gold medal of the games for Canada. Kirby started off the games with a gold medal performance in the 100 metre butterfly and she did so by clocking her personal best time and a Canadian record.

On behalf of all Manitobans and all Canadians, I would like to extend our congratulations to this outstanding athlete.

[Status of Women, October 7th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the establishment of a Standing Committee on the Status of Women is an important step forward for women parliamentarians and indeed all Canadian women.

The national Liberal women's caucus has called for this initiative several times over the past years and is extremely pleased to see the request realized. Having a national all-party committee will strengthen and build upon the progress that has been made by the women's movement across the country.

I know that my colleagues on this side of the House offer full support to this committee and look forward to working in a positive manner with colleagues from all parties to further the equality of Canadian women.

[Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, May 11th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, during the weekend of June 18 to 20 of this year, the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry will conduct a variety of parades and activities in the city of Winnipeg.

One of these activities is to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the regiment's service to Canada. On August 10, 1914 the charter of the regiment was signed in Ottawa and in just over a week the regiment grew to 1,098 members.

Named after Her Royal Highness Princess Patricia of Connaught, the regiment is best known to the public as the Princess Pats or the Patricias.

The combat and peacekeeping record of the Princess Pats runs from World War I right through to last year's tours of duty in Bosnia and Afghanistan. Throughout this period, the regiment distinguished itself in a manner in which all Canadians take pride. The regiment deserves our thanks for duty well done.

It gives me great pleasure to offer my sincere congratulations to the Princess Pats on its 90th anniversary. While we will miss them in Winnipeg, we wish the 2nd Battalion well in its new regimental home in Shilo, Manitoba.

[Grain Transportation, May 5th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has a 1996 commitment to dispose of hopper cars. My question is for the Minister of Transport. Could he give us an update on the status of the Farmer Rail Car Coalition's proposal to own and operate the hopper car fleet in the interests of farmers and producers?

[Criminal Code, May 4th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to be recorded as voting with this motion, please.

(The House divided on the amendment, which was negatived on the following division:)

[Petitions, May 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure today to present a petition on behalf of the United Church of Canada's Beads of Hope Campaign.

The petition contains approximately 3,000 signatures requesting that the Parliament of Canada act on the HIV-AIDS pandemic. Those signatures represent part of the total of approximately 40,000 signatures that the Beads of Hope Campaign has received so far in support of this campaign.

[Stevie Cameron, May 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, today one of Canada's most notable journalists receives an honorary Doctor of Divinity from the Vancouver School of Theology at UBC. While known across the country as a consummate investigative reporter and former editor of Elm Street magazine, Stevie Cameron's deep commitment to working with the homeless and hungry across Canada is less well known.

An elder with St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Toronto and the coordinator of the “Out of the Cold” program within that parish, she has worked on behalf of the homeless and poor in downtown Toronto for the past 12 years. Stevie has helped many other groups across Canada start their own “Out of the Cold” programs.

For the past two years, much of Stevie's efforts have also focused on Vancouver, where she has been researching the Port Coquitlam murders for her new book. The story of the missing women of Vancouver will serve as a study of poverty, homelessness and addictions, and the response or lack thereof of public systems to the needs of these women and their families.

I wish to congratulate a multi-talented Canadian woman who makes a difference on the Canadian landscape.