Bob Saroya

[Government Accountability, December 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are borrowing every failed Kathleen Wynne policy. Wynne was forced to apologize for driving energy prices so high they are unaffordable for seniors and families. Wynne had to end her cash for access fundraising scheme, because everyone demanded she stop this unethical shakedown. Wynne also had to admit that her infrastructure plan built a bridge upside down.

Why do these Liberals not take Kathleen Wynne's lead, apologize, and quit following all her bad ideas?

[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, December 1st, 2016]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-324, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (production of or trafficking in substances).

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to introduce a bill that would amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to prohibit the possession, production, sale, or importation of anything if it is known to be used in the production or trafficking of certain substances included in schedule I of the act.

These substances would include methamphetamines, ecstasy, fentanyl, and W-18. These substances are a deadly scourge in our communities, which are now plagued by a full-blown epidemic of fentanyl overdoses. Those that traffic and produce these substances must face the long arm of the law.

I will always work to ensure the health and safety of all Canadians, especially my constituents in Markham—Unionville. I hope all members of the House will support this bill.

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

[Rouge National Urban Park Act, November 25th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, this is a political head game by the Liberals. They are empty words. It would not work. We have the parklands, the railway lines, the highways, and every single thing.

A number of my family members live just three minutes from the park. It is a residential area. Would this mean that we would have to let a fire burn for months, for weeks, or whatever? Do we let floods go through it? We have 1,700 different species of plants in there, birds, fish, mammals, insects, reptiles, and many other things. There is 10,000 years of human history. The whole thing is good, except for the amendment in Bill C-18. It does not make sense.

[Rouge National Urban Park Act, November 25th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, these are all the political games being played by the Ontario Liberals.

If we want to look into the overall situation, we should be thanking these people. Some may remember the names of David Crombie, and also Pauline Browse and Jim Flaherty. By the way, they were all Conservatives. They were the people who made the difference. This is where we are at this moment. If there is a chance, the Rouge National Urban Park information centre should be named after Jim Flaherty or Pauline Browse. They are the people who made this happen.

[Rouge National Urban Park Act, November 25th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss Bill C-18, on the Rouge National Urban Park Act. This has been put forward by the Liberal government as a strategic move to provide political cover for the opposition by the Ontario Liberal government to the previous Conservative government's establishment of the national park. Most notably, I oppose the Liberal government's inclusion of “ecological integrity” as the first priority of the park management.

The park is most exciting for my riding of Markham—Unionville, since it provides the opportunity for GTA residents to engage with nature, local horticulture, and agriculture.

Conservatives support the enlargement of the park through the inclusion of additional lands. We are extremely proud of our former government's commitment of $143.7 million over 10 years to create a Rouge National Urban Park, a unique space where nature exists alongside the ever-growing urbanization of Toronto and the GTA.

To make it work, Ontario [Liberal government] originally agreed to transfer Rouge Park to [the federal government], which would operate the site as a national park of 5,665 hectares. That is more than 14 times the size of Vancouver's Stanley Park.

This seemed like a done deal until late 2014, when Brad Duguid, the then Ontario minister of economic development, employment, and infrastructure, began playing political games. In September 2014, he wrote to the Conservative government “to complain that the legislation that creates the federal park, did not include adequate environmental protections.”

...after Bill C-40 passed through the Senate without the amendments Ontario [Liberals] wanted, Mr. Duguid wrote a second letter...saying the province [would] no longer transfer its land to the federal government.

Bill C-40 clearly stated that the federal government needs to “take into consideration the protection of its natural ecosystems and cultural landscapes and the maintenance of its native wildlife and the health of those ecosystems.” The Ontario Liberals claimed “take into consideration” was not strong enough.

But let's remember this is an urban park. It is not set in the wilds of Canada; it contains private residences and businesses, and is criss-crossed by highways, roads, railway lines, transmission lines, and utility pipes, all in a concentrated area.

As well, if the rules were too rigid, [the federal government] would not be able to return any of the land to the province if it needed it for new infrastructure—a specific request from the Ontario government when the two parties signed a memorandum of agreement on the project in 2013.

Contrary to Ontario's [Liberals] rigid position, [the previous Conservative government] made reasonable compromises [in creating this national park]. It...protects the flora and fauna and any endangered species. It prohibits hunting, dumping, mining, logging and other unparklike activities—some of which, such as logging, are still allowed in Ontario provincial parks. There would be full-time Parks Canada wardens to enforce the rules.

Moreover, the [previous Conservative government had] committed $143.7-million to the project over 10 years, far more than the province ever promised for Rouge Park.

Given the difficulties of establishing a national park in the heart of the GTA, the previous Conservative government was praised for striking a right balance. The Ontario Liberal government never acknowledged this. It was more interested in playing political games prior to the 2015 federal election.

Mr. Duguid said, “There’s a federal election this year. I expect that following that, whether this government’s re-elected or there’s a new government elected, there may well be a change of heart by then.” At the time, The Globe and Mail stated that the Conservative government's position was coherent and that the Ontario Liberals were playing games, jeopardizing the historic project in the process.

I am opposed to the amendment, which would make “ecological integrity” the first priority of park management in Bill C-18. This is a purely political move by the Liberal government to provide political cover for the Ontario Liberal opposition to the previous Conservative government's establishment of the Rouge National Urban Park.

Putting the words “ecological integrity” into Bill C-18 does nothing regarding the management of the park, for two reasons.

First, ecological protection is already a clear priority. The plan for the Rouge National Urban Park already meets or exceeds all 30 of the urban protected area guidelines set out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

An independent City of Toronto staff report reported as follows:

The [Rough National Urban Park management plan] goes beyond existing plans by committing to the implementation of: actions and targets for species-at-risk; elements of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resource's 2011 draft Fisheries Management Plan for the Rouge River; natural resource monitoring and reporting; and management practices on park farmland that will benefit the environment.

Many experts also oppose the designation “ecological integrity”, including the former chair of The Rouge Park Alliance, the chair of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust, the Altona Forest community stewardship committee, and the Toronto Zoo.

Secondly, Parks Canada, which is to manage the park and is devoted to the protection of national treasures such as the Rouge National Urban Park, opposes Bill C-18, since it is unrealistic to adopt a mandate of making ecological integrity the top concern of park management. A true environmentalist's definition of ecological integrity would mean leaving forest fires to burn, floods to run their course, and wildlife survival, all without human intervention.

The problem is that the park, being an urban park, is by definition inherently connected to human presence. Within the borders of the park, there are highways, power lines, a pipeline, working farmland, and a former landfill site. The park sits beside residential neighbourhoods and is very much integrated into the ever-growing and increasingly populated GTA.

Additionally, stating that the top priority of the park management is to preserve ecological integrity could mean an opening for interference with, or complete removal of, farmers from the Rouge National Urban Park. Currently, parts of the park are occupied by farmers, some of whom have tilled that land since the 1800s.

All of this means that since it is not possible, in practice, to make ecological integrity the primary guiding principle of park management due to the park's urban nature, then the designation of ecological integrity would only be empty words.

I will cut it short. In conclusion, I will fully support this national urban park, but not the ecological integrity amendment to Bill C-18.

[Pomegranate Film Festival, November 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, every year the Armenian community of the GTA and Markham organizes the Pomegranate Film Festival. This was the festival's 11th year, which successfully showcased 35 outstanding Armenian-inspired films by internationally acclaimed actors and directors.

I was honoured to attend the premier of four-time Emmy Award winning filmmaker Bared Maronian's documentary film, Women of 1915. The film traces the plight of Armenian women during the genocide of 1915 and how American, Canadian, and Scandinavian women flocked to the killing fields and rescued thousands of Armenian women and children.

The Pomegranate Film Festival is the result of a 100% volunteer effort. I would like to congratulate the large group of very dedicated volunteers; the chair of the committee, Mr. Sevag Yeghoyan; and the Armenian community.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 14th, 2016]

With regard to government advertising campaigns since November 4, 2015, and broken down by department, agency, and crown corporation: (a) what is the title or description of each campaign; (b) what is the time period over which the campaign took place, or is taking place; (c) how much is budgeted for each campaign; (d) how much was actually spent on each campaign; (e) how much was budgeted in traditional media for each campaign; (f) how much was budgeted for social media for each campaign; (g) which traditional media outlets were used for each campaign; and (h) which social media outlets or platforms were used for each campaign?

[Advent of Guru Nanak, November 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Vaha Guru Ji Ka Khalsa.

Vahu Guru Ji Ki Fathe.

Today in 1469, with the advent of Guru Nanak, the radiance of knowledge, pierced through this world. Nanak, the founder of Sikh way of life, decreed that truth is good. However, greater still, is truthful living.

In the 15th century, he proclaimed, “Why disrespect women, from whom even kings are born”, thereby claiming equal rights for women. With knowledge from the divine, he guided the world to accept diversity and look beyond differences. He opposed the caste system and other divisions among society. He started the system of langar, a free kitchen, based entirely on contributions, which serves over a million free meals daily in India alone.

Guru Nanak's teachings remain available to the world through the eternal holy book, Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

I offer greetings to all Canadians on this most auspicious occasion.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 4th, 2016]

With regard to claims by the government that the child care benefit will lift 300 000 children out of poverty: (a) what specific methodology and projections are used to make the claim; (b) how many children were in poverty as of January 1, 2016; and (c) how many children are expected to be in poverty, based on this claim and studies related to it, as of January 1, 2017, January 1, 2018, and January 1, 2019?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 4th, 2016]

With regard to groups and organizations which received funding related to the re-settlement of refugees since November 4, 2015: (a) which groups and organizations received funding; (b) how much funding has been allocated to each group or organization; (c) how much funding was been delivered to each group or organization as of September 19, 2016; (d) what is the description of services each group or organization which received funding was expected to provide with the funding; (e) has there been any audits or assessments to ensure that the groups or organizations which received funding are spending the funding in the manner set out in the funding agreement; and (f) what are the details and findings of each audit or assessment referred to in (e)?