Dick Harris

[Immigration, April 21st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the claims of the Liberal government being immigration friendly ring hollow when compared to its dismal record.

Here is what Liberal policies have brought us: record waits for travel visas to Canada; five year waits for family reunification approvals; intolerable delays for compassionate travel requests; and onerous restrictions on immigrants to qualify their professional and trade skills to satisfy Canadian standards. I do not see anything immigration friendly about that record.

This is typical of the Liberal government. It brings the system to its knees, raises the frustration stage to the desperation stage, and then just before an election makes promises to fix the problem with a threat that if someone does not vote Liberal, then everything is off.

This is sleazy politics from a--

[Petitions, April 19th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions containing several thousand names. The petitioners are from British Columbia and Alberta. They are very passionate and determined that the traditional definition of marriage, that is the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, be retained by Parliament.

They pray and petition Parliament to use all possible legislative and administrative measures, including invoking section 33 of the charter if necessary, to preserve and protect the current definition of marriage between one man and one woman.

[Petitions, April 19th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a large number of petitions. Juvenile type 1 diabetes creates many devastating health consequences that produce not only a human cost but a large financial burden on the Canadian health care system.

The petitioners pray that the federal government would secure federal funding targeted specifically to juvenile type 1 diabetes research of $25 million a year for the next five years.

[Forestry, April 15th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, British Columbia asked the government for $1 billion to $1.5 billion over 10 to 15 years to help mitigate its pine beetle disaster. Knowing full well the magnitude of the beetle crisis in B.C., the Liberals have offered B.C. less than 10% of the money that is needed with no guarantees to the future.

I want to ask the Minister of Industry, British Columbia's senior minister, why is the government so intent on shortchanging British Columbia over and over again?

[Canadian Real Estate Association, April 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, he entered the real estate business in 1977 in northern British Columbia. In 1979 he became a director of the Northwest B.C. Real Estate Board. In 1992 he became the director of the Cariboo Real Estate Association and president in 1995. He became president of the B.C. Real Estate Association in 1998 and honoured as Realtor of the Year in the year 2000.

I am talking about my constituent and friend, Gerry Thiessen of Vanderhoof, B.C., a small town of just 4,000 people in the riding of Cariboo—Prince George.

On Saturday, April 9, Gerry Thiessen will become the new president of the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Congratulations, Gerry. His hard work, honesty, dedication and integrity has been recognized by his peers and I know he will serve them very well in his new role as president of the Canadian Real Estate Association.

[Petitions, March 23rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present a number of petitions today. I will group them together in the interest of time.

They come from groups representing the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada in Prince George, the Fort George Baptist Church in Prince George, the First Baptist Church in Prince George, Joan Skuggedal of Prince George, Miss Edith Parkin of Cariboo—Prince George, Judy Black of Quesnel, and the Nechako Community Church of Vanderhoof, B.C. All of the petitioners pray that Parliament define marriage in federal law as being the lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

I know that we are not allowed to express our personal views, but if we were, I would support these petitions.

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2004, March 11th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I would ask for some clarification. I believe the member while speaking about the tax havens in Barbados said in his speech that Canada Steamship Lines is registered in Barbados and has a direct tie to the Prime Minister. Is he permitted to say something like that in the House?

[Forestry, March 11th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, of that $40 million, only $5 million got to the ground and most of it went to Liberal friends, such as the candidate who ran against me who received a couple of million dollars.

Three years ago the now Prime Minister, at a Liberal fundraiser in Prince George, said that he would treat the pine beetle epidemic as a national problem and that it was the responsibility of the national government to stand behind the people, the communities and the industries that have been affected. He went on to say, get this, “We won't be strong unless we're strong together”.

Why does the Prime Minister continue to show such utter contempt for the--

[Forestry, March 11th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Industry promised that his government would respond to B.C.'s request for pine beetle help within a few short weeks.

Now the Minister of Natural Resources says, “Uh, uh, ain't so”. The Liberals want to study the issue a little longer.

The pine beetle issue does not need any more studying. It needs cash.

Why was the Minister of Industry's promise broken and who speaks for the government on the pine beetle issue: the Minister of Industry, who should know the issue, or the Minister of Natural Resources who clearly does not?

[The Budget, March 9th, 2005]

Promise broken.