Blaine Calkins

[Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, September 28th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for bringing the bill before the House but, based on the answer she just gave to the previous question, I am led to believe that somehow, if someone makes a lot of money and contributes more to the economy, that person's vote is worth more than the vote of someone who does not.

In keeping with the reasoning of her logic, I believe 6% of the gross domestic product of this country comes from Fort McMurray which has a population of 80,000. Based on that, perhaps Fort McMurray should have 6% of the vote of this country.

I would like her to elaborate on why it is that the money being generated from mineral resources is worth more than the individual person. It comes down to one person, one vote, equal representation across the country. I just cannot reconcile the member's logic in justifying the bill.

[Business of Supply, September 28th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Could you find some time to review the objective of the motion today? It is about women's issues, but we seem to be discussing budget cuts. If we could have some relevance on this, I would appreciate your ruling.

[Business of Supply, September 28th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her excellent speech. It was very refreshing to hear about the positive things that are happening for women in this country instead of the constant slander and victimization from the parties opposite.

I would like to point out to my hon. colleague that in Alberta, where we no longer have a provincial debt, we spend more money on social programs per capita than any other province.

I am wondering if the member could bring some sense as to why the Government of Canada just announced its major contribution to bringing down the national debt and what positive effect that is going to have for the future of all Canadians.

[Agriculture, September 22nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, as part of our platform the Conservative government promised to give western grain farmers the freedom to make their own marketing decisions and the choice of participating in the Canadian Wheat Board.

Could the Minister of Agriculture please tell us what actions he has taken to provide agriculture producers with freedom of marketing choice?

[Federal Accountability Act, June 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, after 13 years of Liberal waste and corruption, Canadians want their federal government to do things differently. Canadians voted for change and this Conservative government is delivering with the federal accountability act.

The Liberal member for York South--Weston praised the federal accountability act, saying that it was an “important piece of legislation”. Could the President of the Treasury Board possibly explain why some of the Liberals are working against openness, transparency and accountability?

[Petitions, June 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise in the House today and present a petition on behalf of the constituents of Wetaskiwin, many of whom live in the Lacombe, Black Falls and Bentley area, which calls upon Canada to become more accepting of refugees and to play an international leadership role in addressing issues in other countries that lead to people having to leave their homes, and to strengthen our ability to accept refugees in a fair, just and expedient manner.

[Criminal Code, June 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question to ask the member opposite based on what I have heard.

Everyone who commits a crime in Canada is a product of some exclusion of society. Therefore, it is justified that they are able to commit these crimes and we should all feel sorry for them.

If someone were to commit a sexual offence, aggravated sexual assault with a firearm, be convicted under the change in law and not able to commit another offence for five years, would the member feel good about telling the parents of a young daughter from his constituency that the individual was locked up for five years and not on the street able to do it again? That would be five years for an offence like that where victims would have some feeling of retribution and a sense of justice for the crime committed against them.

[The Environment, June 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have probably heard reports that the west wants in. Yesterday the premiers of Canada's four western provinces said they want in. They want to be part of the government's made in Canada climate change plan.

Why are they coming on side? These premiers recognize that the government is serious about a plan made in Canada for Canadians. After all, the Liberals failed to come up with a workable plan. This led to emissions rising to 35% above the Kyoto targets they negotiated.

No doubt the premiers feared that if we stuck to the old Liberal Kyoto targets we would have to shut down every car, truck, plane and train in Canada today. The C.D. Howe Institute reported that the old Liberal climate policy would cost at least $80 million over the next 35 years, without reducing greenhouse gas emissions one iota.

The Conservative environment minister is turning a new leaf on the environment with a commitment to Canadians that money for the environment will be spent in their own backyard.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, this is a matter that deals with a social transfer. It is a massive block of money that is sent from the federal government to the provincial government, so it can choose how it wants to allocate that money in the province. The member is absolutely correct. It can go to education and other programs. That is the old way of doing business, which is to have one government passing money on to another level of government with strings attached and have governments squabble and quibble over the money.

I am proud and very happy about this budget as somebody who received a post-secondary education for eight years and had to apply for loans the whole time. As a former faculty member at a post-secondary institution in my home province, post-secondary education has been very important to me. I never got any money back or a tax credit for $10,000 worth of books that I bought, but finally, this government is putting money back in the hands of those students. I had money given to me for bursaries that was clawed back in income tax. We are addressing--

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I will not withdraw my congratulations to the Prime Minister or the finance minister. As a matter of fact, I will recongratulate the Prime Minister and the finance minister for providing us with one of the best budgets that I can remember in recent history.

There is $5.5 billion allocated for wait time reductions across the board in the budget. There is $52 million for the cancer initiative and there is $1 billion in new funding for pandemic research. There is a lot of money already there.

In my home province of Alberta right now, and I am very proud to be from Alberta, it is taking new initiatives and investing the money to find ways to make the system more efficient and more effective. Everybody understands that health care is very expensive and it is a very near and dear issue to most people. Canadians want health care when they need it.

There is nothing worse than sitting on a waiting list, knowing we have some ailment, knowing that we cannot move because a hip or a knee needs to be replaced, or waiting for cancer treatment. We have to get people the help they need when they need it. That is why I am very pleased that one of our top five priorities is to establish those wait time guarantees, working in consultation with the provinces, and ensuring we have the funding to deliver on that guarantee.