Bradley Trost

[Petitions, November 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege to present a petition of behalf of probably a couple of thousand Canadians from across the country. They are particularly concerned about federal funding to International Planned Parenthood Federation because of its promotion of abortion and its aggressive lobbying to promote abortion around the world and its opposition to physicians' freedom. They are also very concerned because the federal government has been giving $18 million, $6 million a year, to this organization which pays its chief executive close to $500,000 instead of spending it on needed health care for women.

[Canadian Wheat Board, November 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, there is something particularly egregious when corporate management takes the money of shareholders and spends it in opposition to shareholder interests. It is a very sad day when management comes to believe that a company exists for the benefit of the managers and not for the benefit of the shareholders.

In the corporate world, shareholders can sell their shares when management abuses company finances. The same cannot be said for farmers who are forced, against their will, to subsidize expensive PR campaigns produced by the Canadian Wheat Board. If the Canadian Wheat Board were voluntary, this would be fine, but farmers must sell their grain to the CWB. They cannot opt out of the Wheat Board no matter how self-servingly Wheat Board bureaucrats act.

Proponents of a single desk Canadian Wheat Board bitterly complain when elected officials campaign for a dual market, but they are only too happy to forcibly take money from all farmers to run their propaganda campaigns.

The Wheat Board may not know how to market grain, but it is in a class by itself at marketing hypocrisy.

[Committees of the House, November 19th, 2009]

Why did you vote against it?

[Petitions, October 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition today from people from all four western Canadian provinces.

The petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to end funding to Planned Parenthood by the Canadian International Development Agency. They are particularly concerned because they view it as an organization that attacks family values and they are also particularly concerned because the money that CIDA is spending is supposed to be going to development aid and to help the poor people of the world, and instead it is being wasted on promoting propaganda.

[Petitions, October 20th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I have the pleasure of presenting a petition today from Canadians of Ontario, Saskatchewan and B.C. who call upon the House of Commons and the Government of Canada to stop the funding of Planned Parenthood by the Canadian International Development Agency. This is particularly relevant since CIDA is tasked with helping to promote and eliminate poverty around the world whereas Planned Parenthood, as the petitioners note, promotes the destruction of innocent preborn human life.

[Petitions, October 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to present in the House today petitions, not only from people in my constituency but from Alberta, Ontario, clearly all across the country.

They are calling upon this House to promote the values they cherish, which are Canadian values in support of pre-born life.

They are particularly calling upon the Government of Canada to stop the funding of planned parenthood by CIDA, the Canadian International Development Agency, believing that CIDA should be concentrating on dealing with fighting poverty instead of concentrating on destroying human life.

[Petitions, September 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege to present a petition from people, predominantly from southern Ontario, calling upon the Government of Canada to stop all funding to Planned Parenthood by CIDA.

[Uranium Mine Ownership Act, September 16th, 2009]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-436, An Act respecting ownership of uranium mines in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this legislation is to give the uranium industry the same ability to receive foreign investment as is commonly noted in other mining and natural resource sectors.

While it is not known by many members of the House, there are specific restrictions on foreign investment in uranium mines dating from the same principles and behaviour of the national energy program in the same era and philosophy.

It should also be noted that this bill also puts in national security provisions noting that uranium is a natural resource that has certain applications that are not always peaceful.

Finally, I would like to note the principles of this legislation have been widely supported by different political parties in Saskatchewan.

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

[Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, September 15th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, my speech on Colombia must have been pretty good, since I am not receiving too many questions on it. The questions seem to be on other matters.

The main premise of the hon. member's question was that free enterprise and free trade caused the economic crisis around the world last year. I would beg to differ. I would say that the American housing sector had been essentially socialized through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, government institutions and distortions through the U.S. tax system, which instead of being free market ended up subsidizing the building of homes.

What the United States engaged in was not socialism for the poor, but socialism for the rich, and it ultimately came back to haunt the Americans. Again, without those massive government interferences and various other aspects engaged in by U.S. political leadership, I do not know if we would have seen the bubble and the collapse in the United States that affected other parts of the world. I fail to see how free trade agreements in any way caused what happened last year.

[Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, September 15th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I am not sure what my hon. colleague's question has to do with the debate about Colombia, but let me respond as someone who is proudly the son, grandson and great-grandson of western Canadian grain farmers and as someone who himself has farmed.

I am very proud to support what the government is doing when it comes to changes to the Canadian Grain Commission and its position on the Wheat Board. The member should know that industry tends to be supportive of these changes. The industry is also very aware that the quality of Canadian grain is one of our greatest selling points and it will do nothing to jeopardize the quality or reputation of our grains.