Chris Charlton

[Business of the House, December 15th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to say that I know exactly what the parliamentary schedule is for the remainder of this week and for the next few as well. I am pleased that we will all be able to get back to our ridings to work on behalf of our constituents, to celebrate Christmas and the holidays with our family and friends and to reflect on the work we do here on behalf of all Canadians, particularly those who are having a hard time making ends meet this holiday season.

Today I would like to extend wishes for a merry Christmas and happy holidays and to offer a very big thanks to everyone in and around the House of Commons.

Of course, that includes my colleagues on all sides of the House and all of our staff, who make us look good most of the time.

Canadians watching at home might not realize it, but there is a huge network of talented and professional staff who work tirelessly to make this place run like clockwork.

First is you, Mr. Speaker, and your staff, along with the unbelievably helpful procedural experts in the clerks' offices, the table, the journals branch, the committee directorate staff, the Library of Parliament staff and, of course, all of the incredible pages.

There is the Sergeant-at-Arms and everyone from security, as well as traffic operations, the drivers of our green buses, dispatch operators, mail room staff and messengers.

There is the cafeteria staff and all the food services and catering team.

There is the maintenance staff, the tradespeople in the Parliamentary precinct, materiel management and room allocation.

There is everyone in information services, including telecom, ISSI, printing services and the broadcasting team.

There are the people who deal with HR, finance, travel and pay and benefits.

There are the folks who document all our words at Hansard and those who translate and interpret them from one official language to the other.

Finally, I would like to pay special tribute to three valuable members of the team in the Parliamentary Precinct who will not be returning with us in January when the House resumes sitting: Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel Rob Walsh, Parliamentary Librarian Bill Young and Danielle Lemieux-Lessard in the private members' business and petitions office.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, and everyone who works so hard in this place. I wish a merry Christmas and happy holidays to all, including the government House leader.

[Steel Industry, December 13th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that for a mere promise the government let the company off the hook and sold out Canadian steelworkers. There is no guarantee this money will be spent on addressing the issues that brought this to court in the first place: maintaining jobs and local production. Without that, where is the net benefit the Investment Canada Act is supposed to guarantee? Capital investments without job guarantees are a win for U.S. Steel, but workers will continue to pay the price.

When will Conservatives stop selling out our manufacturing sector and create a real plan to save industrial jobs?

[Steel Industry, December 13th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, U.S. Steel violated the Investment Canada Act when it failed to meet employment and production commitments. Two years ago, the Minister of Industry took U.S. Steel to court for failing to keep its promises, but now another promise is all it takes for the Conservatives to drop their court case.

When is the government going to stop making backroom deals with their insider friends and start defending Canadian communities, Canadian jobs and Canadian families?

[Fair Representation Act, December 12th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, NDP members will be voting yes.

[Petitions, December 8th, 2011]

I just need two more seconds, Mr. Speaker.

The petitioners simply want the government to acknowledge that there is a sound economic case to be made for universal public medicare and then to get on with the job of developing and implementing a national pharmacare program.

[Petitions, December 8th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to present a petition that was developed by SEIU Local 1 and circulated by SEIU retirees. They gathered hundreds of signatures in support of the urgent need for a national pharmacare program in our country.

The petitioners point out that our goal ought to be to have a national drug plan that would enable all Canadians to enjoy equitable access to medicines while at the same time controlling the rising cost of drugs.

They are keenly aware of a report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives which concluded that the existing patchwork of private and public plans in Canada is inequitable, inefficient and costly. The report found that Canada is the third most expensive country for brand name drugs because it deliberately inflates drug prices in order to attract pharmaceutical investment.

Instead of tackling the issue head-on, the government is talking about privatization and user fees. Those are hardly the answers for an aging population that is already finding it difficult to make ends meet and whose retirement savings are again put at risk by another economic downturn.

The request by the petitioners is as straightforward as it is urgent. They simply want the government to acknowledge that there is a sound economic case to be made for universal public medicare--

[Petitions, December 8th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to present another three petitions signed by hundreds more people in my riding of Hamilton Mountain who call upon the House of Commons to finally take action on asbestos. They note that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer the world has ever known. In fact, they point out that more Canadians now die from asbestos than from all other industrial and occupational causes combined.

The petitioners also draw the attention of the House to the fact that Canada remains one of the largest producers and exporters of asbestos in the world. Asbestos use is banned in Canada, but Canada still spends millions of dollars subsidizing and promoting the asbestos industry abroad and blocking international efforts to curb its use.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament to ban asbestos in all its forms and to institute a just transition program for both asbestos workers and the communities in which they live.

They also call upon Parliament to end all government subsidies of asbestos in Canada and abroad. They want the government to stop blocking international health and safety conventions designed to protect workers from asbestos, such as the Rotterdam Convention.

I am thrilled by the huge response my article in the Mountain News generated on asbestos, and I will continue to table petitions until the government finally listens to all those Canadians who are engaged on this file and who want to see action.

[Supplementary Estimates (B), 2011-12, December 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP vote no.

[Supplementary Estimates (B), 2011-12, December 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, NDP members are voting no.

[Supplementary Estimates (B), 2011-12, December 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, NDP members will be voting no, and I would ask you to add in the member for Thunder Bay—Superior North.