Chris Charlton

[Serious Time for the Most Serious Crime Act, June 18th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the member for Marc-Aurèle-Fortin for a very balanced, thoughtful and well articulated case with respect to this bill at second reading.

We have debated dozens of crime bills, certainly since I was first elected. I have been happy to support some of them. Others have given me pause for thought, so I thought it was particularly useful in this debate to have the member speak a bit about the difference between being tough on crime and being smart on crime.

I find that sometimes, in our rush to be labelled as being particularly proactive on matters relating to law and order, we forget the sense of justice a little bit. We have a law and order system now sometimes more than we have a justice system. I am encouraged by the fact that this bill is going to get considerable consideration before committee.

However, I wonder if the member thinks that there is enough goodwill among committee members to make the necessary amendments that have been outlined by my colleagues here earlier today. For example, the member for Vancouver East and the member for Burnaby—Douglas have both done a great job at articulating our concerns.

I wonder whether he thinks that there is an ability, and enough time and research on that committee to make this bill work in the interests of Canadians and in the interests of justice.

[Make it Seven, June 17th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the NHL wants Canadians to believe that when it comes to Jim Balsillie's efforts to bring the Coyotes to Hamilton, the court said, “three strikes and you're out”, except this is not baseball and our field of dreams is the ice at Copps Coliseum.

This Friday, hockey fans in Hamilton and from all over southern Ontario are rallying to keep the dream alive at a rally to bring the NHL to Hamilton. It coincides with Make it Seven Day throughout the rest of the country as hockey fans show their support for a seventh NHL team in Canada.

The three NDP MPs from Hamilton were among the first to show their support by signing onto makeitseven.ca and if we were not in Ottawa this week, we sure would all be at the rally on Friday.

On behalf of the member for Hamilton Centre and the member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, I am proud to rise in the House to support bringing an NHL team to Hamilton.

The final buzzer has not sounded. We still have hope. I ask all members of Parliament to join us in signing on to makeitseven.ca and help us keep the dream alive.

[Petitions, June 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by hundreds of Canadians from right across this country in opposition to the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement.

The petitioners point out that Colombia has one of the worst human rights records in the western hemisphere, with dozens of labour activists and human rights advocates killed each year. They are outraged by the kill-a-worker-pay-a-fine provisions, which make a mockery of human rights.

They note that all trade agreements must be built on the principles of fair trade, which fundamentally respect social justice, human rights, labour rights and environmental stewardship as prerequisites to trade.

Since the Conservative government has not done due diligence in this regard, the petitioners call on Parliament to reject the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement until an independent human rights impact assessment has been done and the resulting concerns have been addressed.

[Petitions, June 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table another petition that has been circulated by John Grimshaw, business manager of IBEW Local 105 in my hometown of Hamilton.

The building trades have lobbied successive governments for over 30 years to achieve some basic fairness for their members. They want tradespeople and indentured apprentices to be able to deduct travel and accommodation expenses from their taxable incomes, so that they can secure and maintain employment at construction sites that are more than 80 kilometres from their homes.

It makes no sense for tradespeople to be out of work in one area of the country while another region suffers from temporary skilled labour shortages simply because the cost of traveling is too high. To that end, they have gathered tens of thousands of signatures since I first introduced Bill C-227, which allows for precisely the kinds of deductions that their members have been asking for.

I am pleased to table the petition on their behalf and I will continue to work with the building trades until the federal government finally addresses their concerns.

[Petitions, June 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to table two petitions today signed by hundreds of people from all over southern Ontario and Quebec urging Parliament to immediately pass my bill, Bill C-378, to allow hard-working families to access their maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits without worrying that if they lose their jobs in the meantime, they will also lose their EI.

The petitioners note that one of the barriers preventing workers from accessing EI is contained in the anti-staffing provisions found within the Employment Insurance Act. These discriminatory provisions prevent new mothers in particular who have secured the full amount of special benefit entitlements from accessing regular benefits if they lose their jobs during or shortly after these specially sanctioned leaves.

The petitioners are keenly aware that in the current economic downturn lay-off announcements are coming daily and they want to ensure that these discriminatory provisions of the EI Act are eliminated. I am pleased to say that my Bill C-378 would indeed address those concerns. I very much appreciate the support of the petitioners on this very important issue for thousands of working families.

[Employment Insurance, June 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' progress report is full of fast-talk, but the one and a half million ordinary Canadians who are without a job are hurting because of the government's inaction.

All the Prime Minister can say is that maybe, maybe he will offer some help on EI in the fall. If he can help in the fall, why not now? Mortgage payments cannot wait and hungry children certainly cannot wait. Why not help the innocent victims of this recession now instead of pushing them onto the welfare rolls?

[Infrastructure, June 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, let me remind the minister what it says on his very own report card. On page 110 of the report card, the Conservatives claim to have accelerated the building Canada plan, yet according to the information that they themselves tabled in the House just a week ago, the Conservatives have allocated less than one-quarter of the building Canada plan and not a cent went to either Quebec or Ontario for base funding.

Their stimulus report was pure fiction. Why are the Conservatives saying one thing about their stimulus on an over-produced infomercial and another thing behind closed doors?

[Infrastructure, June 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect their government to be upfront with them, especially in the midst of a recession that is hurting so many. Yesterday's performance by the Prime Minister and his own personal Phil Donahue had all the substance of a 30-second spot for ShamWows.

Will the Prime Minister just do what he owes Canadians and explain why the stimulus he promised to accelerate is not reaching the very people and communities who so desperately need it?

[Food Banks, June 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, it is the season of renewal, but during these turbulent economic times, not all families are able to share in this summer's bounty. That is why I am so proud to live in Hamilton, a community where we help each other thrive.

In that spirit, I want to encourage all those who can to make a donation of time, talent or treasure to two organizations that are making a profoundly positive difference in our community.

Neighbour to Neighbour is the Mountain's only food bank, and while many of us give generously on special occasions, hunger exists 365 days a year. Please help replenish the food bank's cupboards by making a donation to help our neighbours in need.

Or if people would rather get their hands dirty, why not volunteer at the Hamilton Community Gardens, a ministry of West Highland Baptist Church? One and a half acres of vegetable gardens have already been planted, but they need weeding, cultivating and harvesting. It is gentle exercise and a great way to assist the Hamilton food bank and soup kitchen community with supplies of fresh local produce.

Thanks for digging deep. It is what we do for each that makes me proud to call Hamilton my home.

[Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, June 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I know it is really tough in the 20 minutes we have in the House to address an issue such as consumer protection in a comprehensive way.

I want to focus on a particular part of the legislation. For me one of the biggest concerns is the fact that 65% of the consumer goods sold in Canada are imported. We know from experience last year that we had to recall 90 products. This year we already have recalled 37 of them. While I think the act as a whole makes some significant progress with respect to protecting Canadian consumers, it does fall short in this aspect.

The way the act is written right now there really is no front-end approval of products coming into Canada. There is an opportunity to do a risk assessment when we suspect there is a high degree of non-compliance, but as a whole the government will only act once a product has been found to have harmed a Canadian, an after the fact process.

Could the member comment on whether he thinks the provisions of this act are strong enough with respect to the protection of consumer goods that are imported right now and can we beef up those sections? I think he will know from his constituents that the United Steelworkers, for example, have a very aggressive campaign, particularly with respect to lead in toys.

Could I have some feedback from him about how we might strengthen that part of the legislation, if not right now, then perhaps in subsequent legislation?