House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 53% of the vote.
Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply October 19th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the late Pierre Elliott Trudeau had a vision for our country that every citizen would be treated equally. At a young age, it was the idealism of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms that encouraged me along the path that has brought me here to the House.
Could the member for Kitchener--Waterloo tell us how our process of denaturalization and deportation undermine our Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply October 19th, 2004
In fact, Mr. Speaker, I used slightly different terminology. I did not just say housing; I said “shelter” because I see housing as just a component of shelter. Yes, as both members mentioned, we need to address the issue of housing. We need to address it in a much better way than we have over the past decade.
However, in regard to why I use the term shelter, perhaps this is the easiest way to explain what I mean. Some two decades ago, I had the opportunity to backpack through the Austrian Alps. It was fascinating, because in those mountains one finds communal sheds. They are there because sometimes travellers in the mountains may be caught by an unexpected storm and they can go to those shelters to find sanctuary.
In many people's lives at some point in time, there are unexpected storms. There can be situations of substance abuse, of abuse within a family context, or sometimes just unexpected occurrences like economic downturns. People require a place where they can turn to for shelter. The concept I refer to as shelter is a place in every community that people can turn to, whether it is for the actual physical shelter or also to find the human warmth and professional shelter they may require in those stormy circumstances they find themselves in.
Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply October 19th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for referring to me as an optimist. Yes, I am optimistic, and that is one of the reasons that I ran for election, unlike some of the members on the opposing benches who are quite pessimistic about our future. One of the reasons we can be optimistic about the future is those 11 years the member mentioned, years of markers set and achieved.
As I said in my speech, we have put the foundations in place so that we can be optimistic about the future. I said in my speech that we have a great social safety net in Canada, but people do slip through its holes. We intend to address those issues.
The member also mentioned the military. I did not speak to military issues in my speech because my primary concern is a social charter. That is what I spoke to. However, I thank the member once again for referring to me as an optimist.
Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply October 19th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Prime Minister on the Speech from the Throne. In its broad outlines were our government's three major priorities. However, this throne speech is just the latest marker along a path toward a greater vision.
It is a vision that entails the establishment of a social charter; a social charter as part of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Once attained, such a charter will be an example of what a society can make possible, the castle on the hill, which once built, the rest of the world can turn to for inspiration.
Each throne speech and each government that this Prime Minister has been a part of has set itself difficult targets and markers. In 1993, having inherited a dangerous downward fiscal spiral, the then finance minister set as fiscal goals the attainment of which many were rightly skeptical about. However, due to the hard work and sacrifices of all Canadians, 11 years later, each target has been achieved.
The Liberal government's fiscal responsibility was a rebuke of the policy of stacking more and more debt on to future generations, and a realization that we will only be able to dream greater dreams for Canada in the future by governing responsibly in the present.
When transitions occur there is no point in time that one can look back and definitively say this is when it began. However, I believe that in the future when the vision of a social charter becomes our reality this throne speech and the resulting debates and legislation will be that starting point. This minority government and all of us in this House will be seen as the first builders of the castle on the hill.
During this transitional period our minority government still acknowledges the fiscal challenges of our recent past and its lingering debt effects. However, having now put a firm fiscal foundation in place, we can recommence building upon the social programs enacted by governments, including minority governments of the 1960s and 1970s.
This mirrors what 70% of Canadians told us through the ballot box in this June's election. Seventy percent of Canadians voted in favour of socially progressive platforms, and we intend to deliver. Canada has an extensive social safety net. Unfortunately, many Canadians still slip through its holes. This throne speech spoke of not just weaving a tighter social safety net, but of putting in place social programs which would be the beginnings of a new social construct that would provide equal life opportunities and quality of life for all Canadians.
For example, to give all our youth the aforementioned equal life opportunities, universal daycare based on the QUAD principle, qualitative, universal, accessible and development daycare will provide an equal start to all children, ensuring that those of this generation will have a lesser need of social safety nets.
Our education bonds are a signal, a start in addressing the fiscal burdens that act as a barrier to entry which can overwhelm those wishing to enter post-secondary institutions.
The fiscal foundation is in place and we are now constructing the pillars. Education, medicare and shelter are the pillars on which the construct of a social charter will be built. It is a vision that is a continuation of a dream from the 1960s and 1970s. This throne speech has the potential to act as a catalyst to return us to a dream which the fiscal uncertainties of the 1980s and 1990s forced us temporarily to set aside.
During the election campaign my constituents in Etobicoke Centre would often ask, “Is this vision affordable?” I would reply, yes. Let us afford ourselves the opportunity to dream a greater dream. It may take us a generation to build, but let us plan for it. Let us set the time lines and begin the construction.
When the voters and I met in May and June, we also spoke of local needs and a local vision. We spoke of the communities in our urban environments. Our local vision for Etobicoke Centre and the GTA was one of ribbons of blue and green, parklands along Etobicoke's and the GTA's waterways, connecting our communities and connecting us to a beautiful new waterfront.
I hope to use the National Capital Commission's parklands along waterways as an example of how we can improve the quality of life of all of Etobicoke Centre's and Canada's communities.
Finally, I would like to thank the citizens of Etobicoke Centre for showing their confidence in me and for entrusting me to be a conduit for their personal hopes and societal dreams. It is a role in life's journey that few are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to fulfill.
I look forward to working with my House colleagues, perhaps against the odds of minority governance. When people ask, “When did the new beginning start?”, they will be able to pick the date of this government and say, “These were the men and women who put in place the first pieces of a social charter which became a part of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms”. They will say, “They were the builders of a new Canada, of that castle on the hill”.
Citizenship October 18th, 2004
Madam Speaker, two generations ago my grandparents arrived in Canada as refugees. What they found was a land of opportunity and freedom where they could lay down roots and prosper. In time, they started a small business and named it “Future” because they could look forward to their future in this new country.
Today it is an honour to represent Etobicoke Centre, a community that is reflective of Canada's multiculturalism. During Canada's Citizenship Week, let us reflect on the responsibilities of belonging to a proud, strong and multicultural society. This year's celebration centres on the theme of cultivating one's commitment to Canada. Who more can appreciate a commitment to Canada than those who worked so hard to receive citizenship, and who in Canada have found a new home and new opportunities.
I join members of this distinguished House in congratulating the new citizens of our country, firm in the conviction that with each new citizen we are deepening the human diversity and adding to the cultural mosaic that makes this country so remarkable.
Canada Shipping Act October 15th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate you on your appointment.
I am pleased to rise today to address the House about the importance of Bill C-3, an act to amend the Canada Shipping Act, the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act and the Oceans Act, that has been tabled by my colleague, the Minister of Transport.
The bill reflects the government's initiative to reform the ways of promoting safety on the waterways and protection of the marine environment. In the past, responsibility for policy relating to marine safety and the protection of the marine environment has been divided between the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Minister of Transport.
The government has now consolidated the rule making responsibility under a single department to furnish stakeholders with a single point of contact for policy issues related to marine safety. This will make the marine regulatory framework more responsive, coherent and consistent. It will also free the Canadian Coast Guard to focus on its operational mission, including search and rescue.
This machinery of government bill is nonetheless an important piece of legislation because of its benefits for the shipping industry and marine activities as well as marine transport.
I would like to provide some statistics. Canada is home to the largest inland waterway open to ocean shipping. Every year over 40 million passengers and 17 million vehicles travel by ship in Canada representing over 15% of worldwide ferry traffic. Marine is the dominant mode of overseas trade with annual shipments in excess of $100 billion. Over 75,000 small commercial vessels ply our waters. The Canadian marine transportation sector directly employs more than 25,000 people. The number of Canadians who take advantage of our waterways for recreational purposes is estimated at around 8 million and they do so in 2.5 million pleasure vessels.
This large scale economic and recreational activity is generally conducted in a way that is safe, efficient and environmentally friendly. Shipping uses less fuel per tonne of cargo than does any other mode of transportation. Hence the great importance in the marine sector of a transparent and predictable regulatory system that accomplishes public policy objectives efficiently while eliminating unintended impacts, to use the language of the Speech from the Throne. A regulatory system must be securely founded on clear laws.
To quote again from the Speech from the Throne, “Smart government also includes providing an up-to-date legislative framework for business”. Although technical in form the bill would improve the way government does business. Rule making would be better coordinated and more accessible to Canadians meaning better protection for seafarers, the public and the marine environment, as well as clear rules and processes to promote a competitive marine transportation sector.
I would like to reaffirm my support for Bill C-3 as tabled by my colleague today.
Ukraine October 13th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Ukrainian officials recently summoned Canada's ambassador to Ukraine for publicly raising alarms about the possibility of an undemocratic election in the country's upcoming presidential election. As well, there has been an attempt, by poisoning, on the life of the frontrunner, Mr. Victor Yushchenko.
What is Canada doing to make it clear to Ukrainian authorities that a genuinely democratic political system is a prerequisite for the country's full integration into the western community of nations?
Breast Cancer October 6th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday I joined 160,000 fellow Canadians participating in the largest single day fundraiser in Canada dedicated to eradicating breast cancer.
Cancer is one of Canada's worst killers, and when breast cancer strikes a woman, this killer strikes at an organ which symbolizes nurturing and life itself.
What is especially tragic is the frequency of this killer. It is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among Canadian women.
The eighth annual CIBC Run for the Cure will support breast cancer research, education, diagnosis and treatment. The five kilometre run, and I can still feel it in my legs today, or the one kilometre walk was held in 40 communities nationwide and raised over $18 million.
I join all members in congratulating the volunteers, organizers and participants in the CIBC Run for the Cure.