Bill Casey

[Committees of the House, May 30th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure and honour to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Health in relation to Bill C-211, an act respecting a federal framework on post-traumatic stress disorder. After some incredible testimony and impressive witnesses with emotional stories to tell, the committee has studied the bill and decided to report the bill back to the House with amendment.

[Bay of Fundy, May 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, 60 years ago, in August of 1957, National Geographic made the Bay of Fundy and her tides its cover story. More and more, the Bay of Fundy is being recognized as a marvel of nature to rival any in the world. The Bay of Fundy was recently recognized as one of the seven wonders of North America, along with the Grand Canyon. It is right up there with it.

Around the incredible Bay of Fundy can be found not only the world's highest tides but Canada's oldest indigenous settlement; the largest intact Acadian village; a UNESCO Global Geopark; the largest tidal power experiment in the world; whales, dolphins, and rare birds; isolated islands; hiking; and some of the oldest fossils in the world.

MPs around the Bay of Fundy have established the Bay of Fundy caucus to work with our municipal, provincial, and private sector counterparts to promote the Bay of Fundy as an incredible tourist destination. Our goal is to double tourism in the region in five years, and we are well under way.

[Committees of the House, May 9th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Health in relation to Bill S-211, An Act respecting National Sickle Cell Awareness Day. This follows the lead of the United Nations in recognizing the most common genetic disease in the world. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with no amendment.

I would like to thank the member of Parliament for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour and Senator Jane Cordy for sponsoring this bill and bringing it forth in such good order. I want to thank all the members of the Standing Committee on Health for their diligence and deliberation on this bill as we sought an answer.

[Natural Resources, April 5th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the abandoned coal mines of Springhill, Nova Scotia have been sealed-off for more than 60 years. However, for the past three decades, businesses and civic buildings in the town have been heated by the warm water that flooded those miles of deserted mines, a very low cost and sustainable source of heating energy. However, geothermal heat remains largely unexploited, even as we are working to prepare Canadians in every province for a low emissions future.

Even though the potential for geothermal heating in Canada is great, there are few tax measures and programs to encourage this development. Now is the time for the federal and provincial governments to put forward measures that encourage the exploration and development of geothermal energy sources.

[Committees of the House, March 23rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Health in relation to Bill C-277, An Act providing for the development of a framework on palliative care in Canada. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House, with amendments.

I want to thank the MP for Sarnia—Lambton for her good work on this. This bill had all-party support. It is timely and very much appreciated by all. Certainly, I am very pleased and proud to present the report.

[Status of Women, March 21st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the recent session at the UN commission on the status of women was attended by the Minister of Status of Women and several members of the standing committee. Two of my constituents from Truro, Linda MacDonald and Jeanne Sarson, made presentations there on the need for appropriate laws.

These two women are tireless advocates for human rights and women's rights in particular. Could the Minister of Status of Women outline what progress was made at these UN meetings?

[African Heritage Month, February 22nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the excellent Nova Scotia Highlander Regimental Museum, with curator Ray Coulson, occupies one end of the Col. James Layton Ralston Armoury in Amherst, Nova Scotia. It is there that one can find a monument to the 486 North Nova Scotia Highlanders, who went to war in Europe and did not return. Among those lost were several African Nova Scotians who grew up right in Cumberland county.

This is African Heritage Month, so let us especially remember the sacrifices of African Canadian soldiers, both men and women, sacrifices made at a time when they were not afforded every opportunity in society. At the very least, we should work now to preserve their memory and the monuments that reflect their incredible sacrifices.

[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, February 15th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise on this bill because I was a member of the health committee that studied it. We heard from doctors, nurses, scientists, and police, but the most compelling testimony was from paramedics. I want to mention the paramedics from Vancouver especially, because they deal with this issue day in, day out, all day long. I do not know how they can do it repeatedly. They told stories about finding young people unconscious in alleys with needles still in them, how they would bring them back to life, and then two days later they would get another call and come back to the same situation with the same person. It was an incredible story. What we are dealing with is an incredible emergency, and Bill C-37 is designed to deal with that emergency.

I want to ask the minister this. How can passing Bill C-37 help those paramedics especially, because I do not know how they can do it, day in, day out? It must have a tremendous effect on them and their families.

[Committees of the House, February 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour and pleasure to present, in both official languages, the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Health in relation to Bill C-37, an act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related amendments to other acts. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with amendments.

At this time, I want to thank all members of the health committee who worked diligently to get this through in an appropriate time. Although there were some philosophical differences, everyone appreciated the sense of urgency and helped to get the bill through. I want to thank all members from all parties for their co-operation on this bill. We think that this bill will save lives.

[Sierra Leone, February 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, on January 15, 1792, 15 ships filled with African Nova Scotians set sail from Halifax for the west coast of Africa in order to establish a new country called “Sierra Leone”. Most of these African Nova Scotians were former slaves who had fled America for Nova Scotia and were now hoping for a new life in Africa. These hardy souls established what is today Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone.

There are still homes in Freetown built the same way they were in Nova Scotia in 1792. There are still streets with Nova Scotia names. People can still name the Nova Scotia towns where their ancestors once lived. The amazing thing to me is that I knew nothing about this significant piece of Nova Scotia history until I visited Sierra Leone a few years ago on a parliamentary mission with the Speaker. I urge those who are interested in this incredible story to go to the Internet and search out “Nova Scotia settlers”, and this amazing story will unfold before their very eyes.