David McGuinty

[Petitions, February 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I rise today to table a petition on behalf of Larry Martin and the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.

The petition is signed by hundreds of local residents who are urging the government to demonstrate international responsibility by recommitting Canada to contribute 0.7% of GDP to overseas development and to prioritize responsive funding to NGOs that Canadians support, which have had their funding cut by CIDA.

I am pleased to table this petition this morning and look forward to the government's response.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, December 11th, 2012]

With regard to the National Capital Commission, what grants and contributions under $25,000 did it award from January 1, 2011, to the present, including the recipient's name, the date, the amount and the description?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, December 11th, 2012]

With regard to Natural Resources Canada, what grants and contributions under $25,000 did it award from January 1, 2011, to the present, including the recipient's name, the date, the amount and the description?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, December 11th, 2012]

With regard to Parks Canada, what grants and contributions under $25,000 did it award from January 1, 2011, to the present, including the recipient's name, the date, the amount and the description?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, December 10th, 2012]

With regard to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, what grants and contributions under $25,000 did it award from January 1, 2011, to the present, including the recipient's name, the date, the amount and the description?

[Petitions, December 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I rise today to table a petition on behalf of many Ottawa residents.

The petitioners are deeply concerned about and call on the government to direct aid to support girls' education in Pakistan.

I am pleased to table this petition on their behalf.

[Petitions, November 8th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table petitions on behalf of my constituent, Janet Wilkinson, and the Grandmothers Advocacy Network.

The petitions have been signed by hundreds of local residents who are urging the government to pass Bill C-398 without significant amendment to facilitate the immediate and sustainable flow of life-saving generic medicines to developing countries.

I am pleased to table these petitions this afternoon and look forward to the government's response.

[Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, November 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a question, but perhaps I will just get a couple of facts on the record first.

I am glad to see that the government is bringing this bill forward. After all, it was four front-line cabinet ministers in the government who were named by Mr. Justice Dennis O'Connor as being responsible for the Walkerton crisis, which killed many Ontarians and poisoned thousands of others.

The second thing I would like to remind the House about is that right now, for example, we are seeing the Experimental Lakes Area of Canada being completely killed in terms of funding. It is a global masterpiece of research for water and freshwater in the country. Moreover, the Environment Canada water research unit has been completely eliminated by the government. There is no water research capacity left. NRC's water research division has been slashed. The list goes on. The sustainable development technology Canada fund has been exhausted. There is no new money coming forward for water technologies.

How does my colleague react to that, particularly given the importance of not only Canada's first nations' drinking water crisis, but also the fact that one of the fastest growing environmental technology marketplaces in the world is to actually deal with water and waste water?

[Petitions, October 22nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table a petition on behalf of many Ottawa residents who are urging the government to reinstate funding to the community access program. The signatures on this petition were collected by the South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre, which I am fortunate enough to have in my riding of Ottawa South.

Sadly, the Conservative government, according to the petitioners, is disconnecting Canadians from their communities, from business opportunities and from government services. They are shutting people out of the online conversations that are shaping our society. I am pleased to table this petition this afternoon.

[Business of Supply, October 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is not surprising that the government is proceeding surreptitiously.

These are major changes. These are risky propositions that we have not even had a chance to examine, not only in the House but in committee as well. Canadians have not been engaged. I do not know if the major industrial sectors in our country have been engaged. They may have been. They may not have been. I do not know whether other groups in Canadian society have been asked to comment on the merits of this proposed treaty.

What we are seeing is a kind of underhandedness that is disrespectful of Parliament and disrespectful of Canadians. Under the guise of promoting trade, running around the world and saying that we are the only ones open for business, carries with it a certain amount of risk because it actually weakens Canada's negotiation position, I think, with different foreign entities like China.

The comments that were referred to earlier are precisely the kind of comments we should be examining in committee. In fact, we should be calling for the president and CEO of CNOOC to appear before committee to explain those kind of comments so we have a better understanding of what is at stake.

However, once again, there will be transaction after transaction coming forward. Until we flesh out the net benefit test appropriate for Canadians, we will go from crisis to crisis. There are many deals in the pipeline ready to be negotiated right now in the oil patch, and people are watching very carefully as to how Parliament is going to proceed.