Devinder Shory

[Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, March 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to add my comments on Bill C-566, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (sponsorship of relative). This bill would allow the once in a lifetime sponsorship of a relative. As a first generation new Canadian, this gives me the opportunity to analyze a bill that could affect millions of new Canadians such as me.

All members of the House know that the bill before us is not new. This is the fifth private member's bill introduced since 2004 with virtually identical proposals.

Today, one in five Canadians is foreign born and is likely to have extended family overseas. If every newly sponsored relative could bring their own immediate family over, and every one of those newcomers could sponsor one of their extended relatives, the potential number of new applicants would be enormous. I have five siblings and more than seventy five extended family members living outside of Canada. I ask hon. members to imagine what the impact of this bill would be on our system if all of them were eligible as proposed.

[Democratic Representation Act, December 16th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to commend the minister for tabling the bill. The Liberal Party did not think about it for 13 years. However, this proves that, once again, the media was wrong in speculating that there was a conspiracy to kill this bill.

However, will the bill have a future review clause or a future readjustment clause?

[Petitions, December 2nd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to present a petition signed by approximately 900 residents of my riding of Calgary Northeast and the surrounding area.

The petition recognizes that Gage Latreille of Calgary Northeast passed away as a result of a late diagnosis of biliary atresia. In fact, his father, Dan Latreille, is here today to witness this presentation. I thank him for waiting patiently since yesterday.

The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to strongly support the testing for biliary atresia if symptoms of jaundice last more than 14 days and also to urge Canadian provinces and territories to implement mandatory testing if the jaundice lasts more than 14 days.

What happened to baby Gage can and should be prevented.

[Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act, October 28th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, being an immigrant I am very much interested in immigration and this legislation, Bill C-49. I think the government is taking the absolute right step by bringing this kind of legislation, which would not only deter smugglers but would also give a strong message to potential refugee claimants that they will be dealt with by tougher action. At the same time, it would also give the government some encouragement to decide and determine those cases of potential refugee claimants within that one-year period when those claimants will be kept in custody.

Would my colleague agree that this will give an urgent message to those potential refugee claimants that it will not be as easy as it was to go through the smuggling process and jump the queue?

[Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act, October 27th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, being an immigrant to this country, I have a lot of interest in this legislation and I listened to the member opposite very carefully.

I understand that quite a few immigrant community organizations have endorsed Bill C-49. I will try to read the names of a few: the Tamil Community Centre; Toronto Community & Culture Centre; the United Macedonian Diaspora (Canada); Taiwanese Canadian Association of Toronto; Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society; l'Association du Canada; Islamic Lebanese centre; World Lebanese Cultural Union; B'nai Brith Canada; Canadian Friends of Ukraine; Young Polish Canadian Professionals Association; Chinese Cultural Association of Greater Toronto; Canadian Confederation of Fujian Associations; Canada First Community Organization; Armenian National Committee of Toronto; Multicultural Helping House Society; Canadian Alliance of Chinese Associations; Armenian National Committee of Canada - Western Region; Vancouver Multicultural Society; to name a few.

What does the hon. member e attribute all those immigrant communities lining up in support of this bill?

[Thanksgiving, October 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend Canadian families and friends will join hands around dining room tables to count their many blessings.

On behalf of the Shory family, I wish all Calgary Northeast constituents from Coventry Hills, Harvest Hills, Saddle Ridge, Martindale, Castleridge, Westwinds, Whitehorn, Rundle and Vista Heights to Skyview Ranch, Taradale, Falconridge, Coral Springs, Parkridge Estates, Monterey Park, Pineridge and Temple a happy Thanksgiving.

Our blessings include the many veteran volunteers at the Indian Ex-servicemen Immigrant Association and the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 286 in my riding.

This coming Remembrance Day, I ask all constituents to join me for my third year in a row at the Legion in Pineridge to honour those who have sacrificed so much for the same Canadian freedoms and blessings that we celebrate on Thanksgiving.

I also wish all Hindus around the globe a happy Navratri.

[Citizenship and Immigration, June 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we all appreciate the need to improve Canada's immigration system. We need a fair and balanced system to help those who truly need our protection and to protect those who are at risk of being abused by crooked consultants. We must also protect Canadian taxpayers from those who would abuse the system by crawling through loopholes.

Canada is a land of immigrants, and whether we were born here, flew here, drove here, or sailed here, I know that all members of the House want to make Canada a better place for our children and grandchildren. Therefore, it makes me extremely proud that all sides are working together to reach consensus on such a sensitive matter.

On behalf of the constituents of Calgary Northeast and future new Canadians, I ask all members to rise with me to thank and congratulate the hard-working minister and the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration for working together.

[Petitions, June 7th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to present a petition signed by over 400 residents in Calgary.

The petitioners call on the House to protect taxi drivers and consumers at Calgary International Airport. Moving to a single taxi contract would create a monopoly, kill competition and remove consumer choice. It would not only hurt consumers but would also hurt the families of hard-working small business people.

The petitioners seek to defend their community from the unilateral actions of the Calgary Airport Authority.

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Mr. Chair, I am honoured to stand to talk about our government's leadership role in the area of eco-energy initiatives.

I will be sharing my time with my colleagues, the member for Souris—Moose Mountain and the member for Prince Albert.

As hon. members are aware, the Government of Canada has committed to reduce greenhouse emissions by 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. This is an aggressive target and the Government of Canada is moving aggressively to meet it.

Since 2006, our government has invested more than $10 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build a more sustainable environment. It is investing in green infrastructure, energy efficiency, clean energy technologies and the production of cleaner energy and cleaner fuels.

Natural Resources Canada is playing a key role in the delivery of many of these initiatives, including several of the eco-energy programs launched in 2007.

In total, the government has committed more than $4.1 billion to the eco-energy initiatives. For example, the eco-energy retrofit programs for homes and small businesses have been a tremendous success. To date, over 326,000 individuals, businesses and companies have applied for grants to help them make their homes and buildings more energy efficient, generating billions of dollars in economic activity in the process.

The results speak for themselves. Homeowners participating in the program have reduced their energy consumption by an average of 22% and have cut their household greenhouse gas emissions by an average of more three tonnes a year.

Under the small and medium size organizations component of the program, more than 950 projects worth close to $17 million in grants have been approved, recommended for approval, or completed since April 2007.

The eco-energy initiatives administered by Natural Resources Canada are also helping to ensure the energy we consume is as clean as possible.

The Government of Canada has invested close to $1.5 billion in the eco-energy for renewable power program. This production incentive is encouraging the development of new sources of clean renewable energy, including wind, biomass, hydro, geothermal, solar and ocean energy.

This program, too, has been an overwhelming success, registering over 200 renewable power projects and helping to make wind power the fastest growing form of electricity generation in Canada.

A further $1.5 billion is being invested over nine years through the eco-energy for biofuels program to increase our supply of cleaner fuels. To date, Natural Resources Canada has signed contribution agreements with 21 companies across Canada.

Furthermore, the eco-energy for renewable heat program is investing $36 million to encourage greater use of solar, air and water heating systems in commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. So far, some 700 applications for solar heating systems have been approved for grants, ranging from $2,000 to $400,000.

This initiative also has a residential component and so far is supporting 14 projects in partnership with energy utilities, developers and non-governmental organizations across Canada. Through these pilot projects, solar water heating systems are being installed in several thousand homes across Canada.

This program is also helping to build the expertise we need to carry this industry into the future, including investment in skills training and in developing standards and certification processes for equipment and industry professionals.

Through its eco-energy technology initiative, the Government of Canada is investing $230 million to advance promising technologies to increase our supply of clean energy, increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions from conventional energy sources.

These funds have been committed to a number of projects both in the public and private sectors, including $151 million allocated for the development and demonstration of carbon capture and storage technologies.

This initiative is also supporting projects to advance the development and demonstration of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, among others.

We all will agree that transportation is the source of more than a quarter of Canada's annual greenhouse gas emissions, but eco-energy for fleets and eco-energy for personal vehicle initiatives are helping Canadian drivers reduce their fuel costs and their emissions as well. Information, training and workshops are being provided to commercial drivers and fleet operators. Public awareness initiatives are helping Canadians choose the most fuel efficient vehicles that meet their needs and develop more efficient driving and vehicle maintenance habits.

These are important initiatives in which our government has taken a leadership role. These initiatives are providing immediate economic and environmental benefits. Can the minister tell the House how these initiatives will contribute to achieving our longer term economic and aggressive environmental laws?

[Petitions, April 14th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present another petition on behalf of more than 300 of my constituents and other residents of Calgary.

The petitioners call upon this House to protect the livelihood of hundreds of families and the choice of consumers against the Calgary Airport Authority's exclusive contract for limousine services awarded to a single company, which takes away employment from hundreds of limo operators in Calgary, and also kills healthy competition in the market.

I am pleased to present this petition with signatures affixed on the back.