Bill Casey

[RCMP and Law Enforcement in Canada, April 12th, 2005]

Mr. Chair, we all agree that we owe a great debt to the RCMP who lost their lives. We also owe a great to the RCMP officers who still serve and we have an obligation to them to give them the tools and resources to work.

My riding is served by the Northeast Nova drug section. My riding is also a rural area, something like Mayerthorpe. It experiences the same risks and challenges. Recently, there were rumours that the Northeast Nova drug section was going to be disbanded. The community came together and fought against that, and at least the decision has been delayed. I would hope that the minister tonight would confirm that this decision will be reversed.

In the exploration to find out what the problem was, we discovered that the RCMP in Nova Scotia has a shortage of officers. The problem is budget; it does not have the budget. It does not have enough money to hire enough RCMP officers to do the minimum level of law enforcement in Nova Scotia.

The minister will know this because I have brought this to her attention several times. She has acknowledged that, but we need a commitment from the minister, both on the Northeast Nova drug section and also for the whole province of Nova Scotia. The RCMP must be given the absolute minimum level of RCMP officers to provide at least the minimum level of law enforcement.

Again, we owe a debt not only to those fallen officers, but we owe a debt to the RCMP officers who are there now. We must provide them with the tools, the resources, and the people to work with. If the minister could provide that assurance to Nova Scotia, we would be very grateful.

[Atlantic Accord, April 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are trying to create a lot of confusion around the agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of Nova Scotia on offshore resources and I would like to clarify that situation.

The actual agreement is only two pages long and has nine paragraphs. There are no strings attached, no conditions. The legislation is over 100 pages long, contains hundreds of paragraphs and has all kinds of strings and conditions attached. That is not the deal.

Yesterday, Conservative MPs asked the Liberals to keep their promise to Nova Scotia and pass this two page piece of legislation but they refused to pass the motion. It is not complicated. A promise made should be a promise kept and the Liberals owe the promise to Nova Scotia to be kept.

[Question No. 85, March 24th, 2005]

With regard to Social Development Canada's Social Development Partnerships Program SDPP, since its introduction: ( a ) what is the total amount of SDPP funding that has been allocated to Nova Scotia in comparison with other provinces and territories; ( b ) by fiscal year, what is the percentage of total national funding that has been allocated to Nova Scotia; ( c ) how many applications for SDPP funding have been received from Nova Scotia organizations; and ( d ) how many of these applications have been approved?

[Canada Pension Plan, March 23rd, 2005]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-353, an act to amend the Canada Pension Plan and the Canada Pension Plan Regulations.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of Parliament, it is frustrating sometimes to have a constituent come in with a doctor's report that says the constituent is totally disabled and cannot work again, only to submit that application to Canada pension and have an official overrule the doctor who examined the patient. Often this official is not a doctor.

My bill would simply ensure that only a doctor at Canada pension can overrule another doctor's opinion.

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

[Transport, March 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the Digby wharf scandal in Nova Scotia has started to compete with ad scam scandal for waste and accountability. The MacDonnell Group holds the record for consulting fees by charging 4,068 hours to the project. There was no accountability and nothing to show for the money. That is more hours than were charged by either the Lafleur group or the Gosselin group in the sponsorship scandal.

What will the minister do to try to find out where the $3 million went and what will he do to get the wharf back to the people of Digby?

[Question No. 66, March 10th, 2005]

With regard to the government project known as the national energy science and technology strategy: ( a ) what is the total amount of funding the government will allocate to industry, universities, and scientific research foundations for the purpose of developing the tidal and wave energy industry in Canada; ( b ) what are the expected time frames within the national energy technology strategy for Canada to meet the emission-reduction targets established under the Kyoto protocol; ( c ) what are the government’s total estimates on the level of emissions that will be reduced as a result of tidal and wave energy projects; ( d ) what are the Government’s total estimates on the amount of electrical power that could be generated as a result of support to the tidal and wave energy industry with the national energy science and technology strategy; ( e ) what is the total amount of support funding planned, by sector (wind, tidal, wave, geo-thermal, etc), within the national energy science and technology strategy?

[Question No. 65, March 9th, 2005]

With regards to the refit of HMCS Fredericton in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Halifax Shipyards): ( a ) what will the total cost of the refit be for HMCS Fredericton; ( b ) when does the Canadian Armed Forces expect HMCS Fredericton to complete her current maintenance cycle and return to full operations with the fleet; ( c ) in regards to the maintenance and improvement aboard HMCS Fredericton, are there any technicians from France involved in the overall refit process and if any, from what corporation do they originate; ( d ) should the refit for HMCS Fredericton reveal that other work or maintenance is needed, what is the expected percentage or amount of “work arising” costs?

[Question No. 64, March 9th, 2005]

With regard to the number of foreign nationals, if any, working on Canadian navy vessels on the East Coast of Canada: ( a ) how many are currently engaged in repairing, upgrading or refitting of Canadian navy vessels on the East Coast of Canada; ( b ) on which vessels, or class of vessels are these workers assigned; ( c ) what are the countries of origin of said workers; ( d ) excluding BAE Systems, what other foreign-owned corporations have employees engaged in the repairing, upgrading or refitting of Canadian navy vessels on the East Coast of Canada?

[Natural Resources, March 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of promises, nine months ago the Prime Minister promised the people in Nova Scotia 100% of the offshore gas and oil revenues. This is another promise made but not kept. Not one red cent has flowed to the province of Nova Scotia, and there is not even legislation tabled to start it.

With only nine days left in the fiscal year, when will the Prime Minister table legislation to make the offshore deal work so Nova Scotia can finally get 100% of the gas and oil revenues?

[Supply, February 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. So many of our members feel strongly about the accountability of foundations that all Conservative members will split their time for this debate.