Chris Charlton

[Business of Supply, January 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member's speech with some interest. I understand he is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and, therefore, has a government role to play in this debate. However, he is also a member of Parliament. Surely, like us, he has been inundated with phone calls, with letters, with petitions from his constituents who are profoundly concerned about these changes to our mail delivery system.

In particular, I would suggest that it is seniors in our communities who have been at the forefront of this fight, and I suspect that seniors in his riding, too, will have voiced the same concerns. Of course, those seniors are represented by organizations like the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, the Congress of Union Retirees of Canada and the Canadian Association of Retired Persons.

Is the member suggesting that all of these people are wrong in their profound concern about the end of home delivery services through Canada Post? Does he actually believe that the CEO of Canada Post is right when he says it is great exercise for seniors to have to go to community mailboxes?

[Interparliamentary Delegations, January 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the reports of the Canadian group of the Interparliamentary Union respecting their participation at the 129th IPU assembly and related meetings in Geneva, Switzerland from October 4 to October 9, 2013.

[Questions on the Order Paper, January 27th, 2014]

With regard to the City of Hamilton's legal action against the government over the environmental assessment of the Red Hill Creek Expressway: (a) what is the amount of money spent by the government on this action to date; (b) what is the current status of the legal action; and (c) which documents filed with the court from either party can be accessed by the public and made available?

[Ethics, December 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, once the Prime Minister claimed Ben Perrin was not involved in the legal agreement, but the RCMP proved that wrong.

The Prime Minister then claimed that no one except Nigel Wright knew about the deal, but RCMP documents proved that wrong too.

Is there any other information about this cover-up that the Conservative government would like to share with Canadians before the RCMP releases more details?

[Petitions, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a number of petitions today from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, southwestern Ontario and the Golden Horseshoe, including my community of Hamilton Mountain. The petitioners are asking the House of Commons to enact my bill, Bill C-201, on an urgent basis, because it does not make any sense that tradespeople be out of work in one area of the country while another region suffers from temporary skilled labour shortages.

[Lincoln Alexander Day Act, December 9th, 2013]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-563, An Act respecting a Lincoln Alexander Day.

Mr. Speaker, Lincoln MacCauley Alexander, one of the most outstanding and accomplished Canadians of our time, was born on January 21, 1922. Rising above the prejudice of the era, he embraced the opportunity of public education. He developed his talents and reached his full potential through disciplined study and the strength of his character.

He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. Home again after the war, he graduated from McMaster University and Osgoode Hall Law School and qualified as a lawyer.

Responding to the call of public service, he was elected to the House of Commons in 1968, representing Hamilton West. In 1979, he was appointed to be minister of labour, making history as the Government of Canada's first black cabinet minister. Later he served as chair of the worker's compensation board of Ontario, now known as the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board; as the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the representative of Her Majesty the Queen; and as chancellor of the University of Guelph, among many other community contributions.

He passed away on October 19, 2012 at the age of 90. His life was an example of service, determination and humility. Always fighting for equal rights for all races in our society and doing so without malice, he changed attitudes and contributed greatly to the inclusiveness and tolerance of Canada today.

I cannot think of a more fitting tribute than to make January 21, the date of his birth, Lincoln Alexander Day in Canada. I am pleased to have the full support of the members for Hamilton Centre and Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, as well as our leader and the entire caucus, for this important bill. I hope we will be able to pass it today.

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

[Ethics, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister knew that the Conservative Party had offered to pay Mike Duffy's illegally claimed expenses, and if the Prime Minister knew the Conservative Party had, in fact, paid for his legal bills, what did the Prime Minister have to say about Irving Gerstein's comments, from November 2, when he claimed the exact opposite? When can we expect the Prime Minister to sanction Mr. Gerstein for misleading Canadians?

[Ethics, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we know from RCMP documents that Irving Gerstein spoke with Nigel Wright and Mike Duffy about using the Conservative Party fund to pay back former Conservative senator Mike Duffy's improper expenses.

When did the Prime Minister first learn that the party had offered to cover the entire payment? Was it on May 15?

[Petitions, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as members know, the Conservatives have said for quite some time that they are concerned about regional skills shortages in our country, and yet the government has not done very much to address labour mobility.

In fact, the petitioners point out that many tradespeople can be out of work in one area of the country, while another region suffers from temporary skilled labour shortages simply because the cost of travelling is too high. Out of work tradespeople currently have to finance their own travel and accommodation should they wish to move to another region where jobs are available.

The petitioners therefore support my bill, Bill C-201, and urge everyone in Parliament to do the same because the bill would allow tradespeople and indentured apprentices to deduct travel and accommodation expenses from their taxable income so they could secure and maintain employment at a construction site that would be more than 80 kilometres from their home.

[Ethics, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this week ends like so many others, with Conservatives blaming everyone else and taking no responsibility for their actions.

One day the Prime Minister blamed “the bureaucracy”, which really is his own department, for Ben Perrin's missing emails; the next he blamed Ben Perrin for destroying them.

Does the Prime Minister expect us to believe that Ben Perrin could have been able to permanently erase all of his emails simply by hitting the delete button?