House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 69% of the vote.
The Environment October 8th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, at every turn the NDP has opposed every initiative that we have taken, including the things we have done for the biofuels industry that have affected producers in positive ways with respect to the industry.
We put $1.5 billion into an eco-energy initiative for biofuels, $500 million into next generation biofuels and $200 million into an eco-agriculture biofuels initiative, and the NDP opposed every one of those initiatives.
Criminal Code October 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, there were so many failures of logic, and so much misinformation and misguided information there that I hardly know where to start, and I only have a minute or so.
I would like to make the point that we need to understand that allowing people to die is a far cry from causing their death. That is one of the things that the member opposite seems to have completely misunderstood.
She made a number of comments and I would like to mention a couple of them.
She said that according to her bill, physicians are required to provide information and alternatives. The problem with that is that these physicians are basically always advocates, and we have seen in other countries that this does not work. This would not provide the necessary safeguards for patients. It would not protect patients and it would not protect Canadians.
She talked about the fact that choice exists in other countries. While that is true, many of those countries have developed death tourism, so that people go there to die. That is not in line with what we want either the heritage or the future of this country to be about.
It is ironic that she claims that an association for palliative care champions euthanasia. Is this not a complete twisting of the commitment that so many palliative care providers across this country believe in? They believe they are doing good work. They do not believe in euthanasia. Is the member not twisting this in a way that they would abhor?
Petitions October 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, my thanks to the House for that generous opportunity.
This petition is from the folks in Macrorie, Saskatchewan who are concerned about their postal service.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to maintain the moratorium on post office closures and to withdraw the legislation to legalize remailers. They also call upon the government to instruct Canada Post to maintain, expand and to improve postal services.
Petitions October 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present three separate petitions that have been signed by several hundred concerned citizens.
The petitioners state that Canada is a country which respects human rights and includes in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that everyone has the right to life, that it has been 40 years since May 14, 1969, when Parliament changed the law to permit abortion, and that since January 28, 1988, Canada has had no law to protect the lives of unborn children.
The petitioners therefore call upon Parliament to pass legislation for the protection of human life from the time of conception until natural death.
The Economy October 2nd, 2009
Maybe, Mr. Speaker, that riding needs a better MP who would stand up and represent his constituents rather than try to cause a useless and unnecessary election.
Perhaps that member should support us as we bring forward the $1 billion pulp and paper green transformation program. Instead, he is trying to fight us and cause an election. We need those folks to work with us but they have chosen not to.
We will work with Canadian forestry companies across this country.
The Economy October 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth.
Through our economic action plan, our government is taking unprecedented steps to support forestry workers and their communities. I could go through a whole list of them but it would take a lot longer than the 30 seconds I have.
We have provided $170 million under the economic action plan to help companies develop new products and opportunities. We have put $1 billion over two years into the community adjustment fund.
The economic action plan is supporting workers and communities with $8.3 billion going into that. We have moved to reduce costs for forestry companies and have improved access to credit for the forestry sector.
We are working with forestry communities. We are proud of the action plan that we have put in place.
Human Trafficking October 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the House of Commons has seen some strange sights but it has been a long time since it has seen anything as strange as our vote Wednesday evening.
The member for Kildonan—St. Paul has committed herself to dealing with the issue of human trafficking, especially the repulsive practice of enslaving and trafficking children. She brought forward Bill C-268, a bill that deals directly with trafficking by strengthening the penalties for involvement in this parasitic activity. It touches upon issues of recruiting, kidnapping, controlling, assault, transporting and harbouring involved in the exploitation of children.
Amazingly, the Bloc and some NDPers voted against this bill. For some people, ideology always overrides common sense.
Thankfully, Bill C-268 has passed third reading in the House of Commons. I call upon the Senate to deal with it expeditiously. The children of our country need it to become law as soon as possible. The Senate should do the right thing and do it now.
Privilege October 2nd, 2009
That's BS.
Mr. Speaker, despite what the member may say, the fact is that these labels, “made in Canada” and “product of Canada”, are needed by industry, are wanted by Canadians, and are needed and wanted by Canadian producers. Lee Townsend of Wild Rose Agricultural Producers said recently at committee that this will “most definitely” help farmers.
Canadians are concerned about the safety of imported food. When Canadians pick up a food labelled “product of Canada”, they expect it to be Canadian inside and out.
According to an Angus Reid survey, over 90% of Canadians agree with the direction of these new guidelines.
Furthermore, Canadians know it is unpalatable to hide foreign ingredients under a “product of Canada” label.
Canadians want to know what was in their food and our Conservative government has delivered.
Mr. Speaker, while the member opposite as a member of the Bloc can only criticize the government, our ministers and Quebec MPs continue to represent very strongly the people of Quebec.
I want to thank the House for giving me the opportunity to respond in greater detail to this question regarding the product of Canada labelling guidelines.
For years Canadians have wanted food labels that clearly reflect Canadian content of products. That is why the Government of Canada implemented new product of Canada guidelines on December 31, 2008.
I will provide a bit of history.
The Government of Canada launched the food and consumer safety action plan in December 2007. This initiated our consultations on the product of Canada labelling.
On May 21, 2008 the Prime Minister launched consultations to solicit the views of Canadians on the use of product of Canada and made in Canada claims on food products and in advertising.
This government consulted more than 1,500 people who completed an online survey; others wrote or called in their comments. Canadians overwhelmingly supported the revised product of Canada guidelines.
Our government listened. We undertook a thorough review of the current guideline on voluntary product of Canada and made in Canada claims on food products. Now the Bloc wants to revisit the issue even though Canadians have already spoken.
Under the revised guidelines, manufacturers in Canada have choices on how they label their products. They can use the label “product of Canada” or they can use the label “made in Canada” as long as they tell Canadians where the ingredients come from.
If “product of Canada” appears on the product label, all or virtually all of the ingredients and processing must be Canadian.
The “made in Canada” label will be used when the food product is manufactured or processed in Canada regardless of whether the ingredients are imported or domestic.
Under these new guidelines, Canadian consumers can be confident that the current labelling requirements provide accurate and informative labelling information on prepackaged food products.