Borys Wrzesnewskyj

[Petitions, November 2nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I would like to present a petition signed by over 130 constituents who oppose the legislation providing Canadian veteran benefits to Red Army veterans.

The Soviet Red Army was an instrument of the Kremlin in the commission of unspeakable mass atrocities and war crimes against the peoples of Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic States, Hungary, the Czechs, the Slovaks and other countries and peoples.

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians who were refugees from Red Army brutality in the occupation of their homelands in central and eastern Europe arrived in Canada during and after World War II. As a result, the petitioners pray and request that the Government of Canada rescind the legislation it introduced that would provide benefits to those who served in the Soviet Red Army during World War II.

[Hon. Stanley Haidasz, October 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, on August 6, the hon. Dr. Stanley Haidasz passed away. With the passing of Dr. Haidasz, the people of Canada lost a great Canadian; the Polish-Canadian community lost an outstanding trailblazer; parliamentarians lost a colleague, and my family and I lost a friend.

When Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau announced that Canada should no longer be referred to as a bicultural nation and was in fact a multicultural nation, the person he turned to to implement this landmark federal policy initiative was none other than Stanley Haidasz, who became Canada's very first Minister of State for Multiculturalism.

By appointing someone with a name like Haidasz, Trudeau made it clear that he saw multiculturalism as a foundational principle of our Canada.

Although Dr. Haidasz passed away this summer, I felt it appropriate that I take the opportunity today to mark this great parliamentarian's contributions to our country.

[Member spoke in Polish, as follows:]

Wieczny odpoczynek racz mu dac Panie.

[Petitions, October 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I would like to present a petition signed by 190 constituents who are very concerned about the violation of animals rights.

Animals are treated cruelly and often left abandoned during relief efforts and emergency planning, despite the fact that it has been scientifically proven that animals can feel pain and suffering.

Over one billion people around the world rely upon animals for their livelihoods, millions of others for their companionship.

As a result, the petitioners urge the Government of Canada to support a universal declaration on animal welfare.

[Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, September 29th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, recently the Prime Minister attended the world summit at the United Nations and my understanding is that the President of Colombia was present at that summit as well. Considering the amount of time we are debating this very important free trade agreement with Colombia here and the very serious issues being raised including human rights issues, did the Prime Minister have the opportunity to sit down and discuss some of these issues with the president of Colombia at that summit?

We know that the Prime Minister's time unfortunately was limited at the UN because he rushed back at a cost of $60,000 to taxpayers to take the Challenger jet back to Oakville to attend Tim Hortons. Tim Hortons has opened up a location in New York. He could have done it just around the corner from the UN and saved taxpayers $60,000.

However, did he have an opportunity to meet with the president of Colombia to discuss some of these issues. If he did not meet, was it perhaps because his time was so limited because he rushed back on this taxpayer funded $60,000 Challenger trip to Tim Hortons for a double-double?

[Internment of Persons of Croatian Origin Recognition Act, May 26th, 2009]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-394, An Act to acknowledge that persons of Croatian origin were interned in Canada during the First World War and to provide for recognition of this event.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce my private member's bill, the internment of persons of Croatian origin recognition act.

The purpose of the bill is to acknowledge and commemorate a tragic episode in our nation's history when persons of Croatian origin were rounded up, interned and used as forced labour in a number of internment camps in Canada.

With the outbreak of World War I, prejudice and racism was fanned into xenophobia, culminating in the implementation of the War Measures Act as a result of an order in council by the Canadian government.

Five thousand, nine hundred and fifty-four so-called enemy aliens, of whom more than four hundred and fifty were of Croatian origin who had immigrated to Canada from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, were interned.

While some would prefer to sweep this tragic episode of history of the internment operations of 1914 to 1920 into the dustbin of history, the Croatian Canadian community remembers and, through public acknowledgement by the government, seeks to bring closure to a painful episode in our common history.

By enacting this legislation and recognizing this tragedy, it is my hope that a better public understanding of what happened will reinforce and promote our shared values of multiculturalism, inclusion and, above all, mutual respect.

It is my sincere hope that my colleagues on all sides of the House will embrace and support this worthy and long overdue initiative.

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

[Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act, May 14th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, centuries ago, with the arrival of Europeans to the Americas, the devastation of our first nations, the indigenous people, began.

Many of those first nations are no longer with us and those who are often live in horrible conditions. Even in the last century, under the guise of enlightenment, we put in place paternalistic programs, such as the residential schools program for which we finally tried to make amends a year ago in this House of Commons.

I would like to thank the member for Labrador. In many ways he is a conduit for the aspirations, for the very hopes of our first nations people in Canada. He provides tremendous first-hand insight into the feelings of our first nations and the fears they have. Today he is sounding the alarm. He has stated that there is alarm among our first nations that Bill C-8 has not been a cooperative and inclusive approach, that we are harking back to those days of paternalistic approaches.

If we do not take the time to embrace a consultative process, what, in his opinion, would be the consequence to our first nations?

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, May 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, many have referred to these changes being modest. In fact, they are pretty thin gruel when put into the context of the government doing everything it can to prevent the RCMP from having the opportunity for collective bargaining. Officers are expected to work in some of the most remote communities of the country and to do shift work. If they set up families, their spouses often have to stay at home. When they pay that ultimate price, what does the RCMP Act, the same act that prevents collective bargaining, give them? It gives two months salary to the family for the life of the RCMP officer.

Is this not a clear demonstration, should they decide they wish to have collective bargaining, that the government should not stand in the way and prevent RCMP officers who want fairness?

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, May 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Winnipeg Centre gave quite a discourse about the public service and its pensions. He quite rightly pointed out that the proposed amendments in the bill are modest.

They are the right things to do and we should support them, but there is a bigger issue at stake. It is this lack of fairness that the RCMP faces because it cannot enter into a collective agreement. Its members do not have an opportunity to form unions or stand up for their rights. It is perplexing why the government would not allow RCMP officers to have the same rights that other law enforcement agencies in the country have, whether municipal or provincial.

I will point out why this is such an important issue. As the member has noted, the public accounts committee spent a tremendous amount of time investigating the pension scandal in the RCMP. A number of senior officials ended up having to resign. One was found in contempt of Parliament. However, most people think that this is incredibly unfair. If RCMP officers die in the line of duty, what do we give them? We give them two months salary. That is what their family gets. Is this fair? Why have we ended up with such a lack of equality and fairness in the system?

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, May 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, it has been noted by a number of speakers that they attend the yearly memorial for fallen law enforcement officers here in Ottawa. It is something that should be attended. But after the memorial, and more poignantly, after the funerals, with federal law enforcement officials, with the RCMP, what do the families face? We provide them a death gratuity equal to two months' salary. We are addressing the superannuation of pensions, but they will never see the pensions. Their families will never see their loved ones again, and what do we provide? We provide two months' salary.

If the government truly wanted to bring fairness and equality, would it not have also used this as an opportunity to provide for educational benefits for spouses and children of fallen federal law enforcement officers, similar to those that exist in jurisdictions such as Ontario for the Ontario Provincial Police?

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, May 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we support this amendment to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act but, quite fortuitously and coincidentally, this morning I introduced a private member's bill to provide for educational benefits for the spouses and children of RCMP officers, federal law enforcement officers, who die in the line of duty.

Every morning we all get up, get ready to go to work and say goodbye to our families. We work hard. We work according to the rules and we know that at the end of the day we will return to our families and our safe communities. However, we have those safe communities because there are those who take on the role of ensuring that those who do not play according to the rules are prevented from endangering the lives of our families and the safety of our communities. When they say goodbye in the morning, sometimes those law enforcement officials may be saying goodbye forever. It is a tough job.

As I said, it is quite fortuitous that this has come up this morning. I would like to know the parliamentary secretary's opinion on whether or not he would also consider bringing fairness to this particular area and help to propose legislation that would address this particular, very poignant issue.